Updates to the Canadian PowerSeller Program

[vaughan@ebay.com]

Hi everyone!

Let me start off by introducing myself. My name is Vaughan. I work in the Seller Development team at eBay Canada. In my role, I am focused on bringing new sellers to eBay and helping our existing sellers (like yourselves) grow.

One of the areas that I have been working on is to improve the Canadian PowerSeller program. I wanted to share some of the improvements that we've made to date:
1. SquareTrade discount. We have secured the same promotion for Canadian PowerSellers as American PowerSellers. The discount is 30% off SquareTrade subscription services. You can find a link to the promotion through the PowerSeller Portal on the Other Promotions page under Benefits (http://sales-reports.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?PowerSellerPortal&powersellerpageid=9)
2. PowerSeller events. We will start advertising on-line PowerSeller events and any in-person events, including US events that are close to Canadian borders, on the CA PowerSeller portal.
3. On-line eBay shop for PowerSeller merchandise. We are looking into making the on-line shop available to Canadians, but we do not have a definite answer as yet. Once we know if it will be feasible, I will update everyone via the Boards.

I am going to be spending more time on the boards so feel free to send me questions/comments and I will do my best to respond. If you have specific questions about the PowerSeller program, I would love to hear them.

Cheers!
Vaughan

[bid-now-canada]

Hi there,

Here's a point: I'm not sure I understand your comment about having "to list on .com to BE a powerseller". The powerseller program does not require you to list on a particular site.

The problem is that although you are not REQUIRED to list on .COM, many US Buyers will only be interested in Items LISTED on .COM, in US Dollars: when they see that the item is in CDN $ and then eBay gives a USD equivalency, they get scared away. One buyer even wrote me to say that when he saw that we spoke French, he wouldn't buy!! You can't win.

The real issue is that for most of us, selling on eBay US is still critical to make that comfort level for our US customers, as most of our customers are American. As we must list on .COM to be successful, we need improved functionality in TL, SMP, and even the basic listings to allow for local and national Canadian Taxes, Canada Post shipping options, and how about integration with UPS.CA???? That would be immensley helpful.

Thanks so much,

Scott & Haley
Bid Now Canada

[momosworld]

Vaughan,

I think i understand what Scott & Haley are saying.

To Bid Now Canada:

When you search a listing through eBay.ca and you list in USD. You will see the listing with the USD price, then the CAD equivelent next to it.

However when you go directly through eBay.com (which im sure all Americans do) there is no conversion rate shown:

See for yourself with one of our auctions:

SEARCHED THROUGH EBAY.CA:
http://cgi.ebay.ca/iPod-PORTABLE-STEREO-for-NANO-MINI-VIDEO-U2-3G-4G_W0QQitemZ5841888594QQcategoryZ48680QQcmdZViewItem

NOW SEARCHED THROUGH EBAY.COM
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5841888594&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.com%3A80%2F%2Fsearch%2Fsearch.dll%3Ffrom%3DR40%26satitle%3D5841888594%26fvi%3D1

You will see the difference.
Hope this helps,
Moez.

[bid-now-canada]

Thanks, Momosworld! That is what we were getting at - you HAVE to list your items in USD to make the most sales, so therefore we would like more Canadian support on eBay software for those of us who are CDN but who sell to the USA. Keep on promoting CDN powersellers, we're the people who are contributing to eBay's bottom line and we wouldn't mind having our opinion heard by them.

Cheers,

Scott & Haley

[vaughan@ebay.com]

Hi Scott, Haley, Moaz,

Thanks for your posts.

Scott/Haley, I completely agree with you that you need to list your items in USD to make most of your sales. However, you CAN list in USD using eBay.ca. eBay.ca is the ONLY eBay site that allows sellers to select the desired listing currency. The US buyer searching for the item will notice virtually no difference between a listing created on eBay.com or eBay.ca so long as they are both in USD. The benefit of listing on .CA is that all the tools support Canadian shipping options.

Moaz, would you agree that listings created on eBay.ca are identical to those created on eBay.com? If not, I would love to here the differences so I can better understand some of the nuances of the site myself.

Cheers,
Vaughan

[bad_manors]

Hi Vaughan,

It sounds like you've got a productive dialogue here. My wife and I have a couple of issues with Pay Pal that are likely a common experierience for other PS folk.
Exchange rate is a double whammy- that goes without saying.
The resolution process is really stacked against Canadians and may facilitate fraud. Here's why. We ship a lot of stuff for our eBay sales and other distribution channel Canada Post Small Packet Air. If someone registers a dispute, the dispute defaults to th purchaser if the vendor does not provide a tracking number. Trouble is, Small Packet doesn't have a tracking number.
The added heartburn here is that PayPal will accept claims within a week of the date of payment.
So, de facto, they are encouraging abuse by having a resolution process that is essentially flawed. What we do in some cases is to shoot a picture of the postal slip and send that to the buyer. That's been handy but Pay Pal won't accept that, I assume because of volumes.
The answer I got a few days ago was to upgrade our shipping service. UPS and FedEx have both opened accounts for us. Here's the thing- I don't really want to leave Canada Post
Another odd thing- we asked for a spare Pay Pal debit card.
Canadians aren't allowed to have a spare according to the customer service folks at Pay Pal.

End of rant

Brad

[yogagirlvancouver]

Hi Vaughan!

I agree with Brad; he makes the same point I would. MANY of my customers are American, and I use SMALL PACKET AIR because it gets there MUCH FASTER than EXPEDITED PARCEL.

The IRONY is that with EXPEDITED PARCEL (through Canada Post) I CAN get a tracking number, BUT the service is GROUND SERVICE and often VERY slow, but with SMALL PACKET AIR, I get FAST service, but NO tracking number, so I am in the SAME boat that Brad is, if I have a customer who claims they haven't received the parcel (ie: I have provided FAST service for my customer, but have NO tracking number to satisfy Pay Pal's system, and so I will be out of pocket 😞

Pay Pal will ONLY accept a tracking number, but if I use the OTHER Canada Post service (EXPREDITED PARCEL), then my customers have to WAIT way too long, and this is not the best for their sense of customer service from me, even though I am trying my best for them, but am just at the mercy of Canada Post 😞

Also, Brad, you're doing much better than I am in actually GETTING a Pay Pal debit card! I have tried to get one FOR FOUR MONTHS, and have STILL NOT received one! Any advice? Its driving me nuts, and is making my cash flow system VERY held up (ie: waiting 5 days each time for a money transfer from my Pay Pal account into my Bank Account).

I list in US Dollars (as per your previous comments in this thread, Vaughn), and am a CANADIAN seller, BUT when I do this, I get SERIOUSLY RIPPED OFF by Payl Pal when I take the $ out of my Pay Pal account!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, as they have a REALLY HORRIBLE exchange rate back into Canadian. I need some other options, as I am losing quite a bit of money by doing things this way.

Also, Vaughn, I think that if we (Canadian Powersellers) could get the SAME deal as US Powersellers ie: co-branded boxes for shipping, AND INTEGRATED SHIPPING LABEL PRINTING STRAIGHT FROM OUR PAY PAL ACCOUNTS, this would be SO MUCH more helpful then things are now.

I'd appreciate your input!

Thanks so much, and Happy Holidays! 🙂
YogaGirlVancouver

[grade_a-stuff]

I actually haven't had anyone complain about expedited parcel service to the US. When I used to deal only with laptops I wouldn't send it without a tracking number for my own protection. Now that I have expanded to other areas I will use small packets at the buyer's risk, and I mean at the buyer's risk.

[yogagirlvancouver]

Hey grade_a-stuff,
That great that Expedited Parcel was ok for you. For me its really a nightmare. For example: RIGHT NOW, I'm tracking a parcel I sent OVER A WEEK AGO from Canada to Washington, D.C. and ALL it is showing on the Canada Post Tracking Service, is that it was just received into the system. That's it! No, leaving Canada YET, no entry into the US yet. My customer in Washinton D.C. is following the tracking at www.canadapost.ca too, and she is close to blowing a gasket as she really needs her parcel, and the shipment is PAINFULLY SLOW.
I sent her's with the tracking number, as it was a very expensive shipment, and I wanted to make sure I could track it, but now I am REGRETTING IT, as its WAY TOO SLOW 😞

[grade_a-stuff]

Yes tracking is strange. It sometimes won't show anything until the route that will mail it the same day picks it up, but at least you can prove it was sent.

[tobyshitzu]

Yes the expedited "tracking" can be brutal. I actaully like that within Canada, when nothing updates I file for missed delivery gaurantee and get postage refunded. One I sent a month ago still shows nothing but the "electronically submitted" when I printed the postage. One to USA I'm getting complaints over now shows nothing but when I paid at the post office.

[zarzuella]

Expedited parcel to the US provides delivery confirmation. It does not provide tracking. There is a difference.

[yogagirlvancouver]

Hi zarzuella, Yes, that is a good distinction. All I'm trying to do is to provide really good customer service, so that my customers can get their parcels quickly, but so that I've covered with the PROPER kind of documentation for Pay Pal incase there are any problems.

tobyshitzu, I understand what you're saying (and thanks for the tip! 🙂 My only CONCERN is that I'd rather have happy customers who actually GET their parcels in a reasonable time, than refunded postage.

Do you know what I mean?

I'm wondering is I should leave CP, and switch to FedEx or UPS? Any thoughts?

Thanks, and Merry (almost) Christmas! 🙂

[whoscloset]

Delays with Expedited are exactly why I moved to UPS. Not only is the service very slow but 1/3 of my packages were being held up by customs for an additional week.

[eserafini]

Hi Vaughan,

Welcome kit—New PowerSellers receive a welcome package featuring an official certificate of achievement from Meg Whitman

Special offers-eBay works with many companies who only make certain promotions available to PowerSellers. What we get from Canada Post is ridiculous compared to what our American friends get.

Unique PowerSeller logo merchandise to wear and use or give to customers

Quarterly printed PowerUp! newsletter in the mail

* eBay Keyword Ads - FREE banner ads up to $200/quarter
* Health insurance solutions for PowerSellers and their employees
* Special invitations to participate in eBay events (what events have we had in Quebec so far?)
* Additional special values from eBay service providers

US PS get nice gifts from .com that we never get. Elaine
TimelessClassicElegance

[vaughan@ebay.com]

Hi bad_manors/yogagirlvancouver,

Hope you both are taking some time off over the holidays! Apologies for not posting, but I took a little bit of time-off myself 😄

I hear your frustrations regarding PayPal and shipping solutions. We are looking to see what we can do to improve the situation.

Happy New Year!
Vaughan

[vaughan@ebay.com]

Hi Elaine,

Hope you enjoyed (or are still enjoying) the holidays. Thanks for compiling the list. One question I still have is: do you know which companies offer promotions to PowerSellers in the US? Through my research, I haven't heard of any promotions except SquareTrade. Please let me know if there are others that I have overlooked.

I think we've made considerable progress on closing the gap between the two programs:
1. Canadians are now receiving the quarterly PowerUP! newsletter - you should have received one in September and one in October;
2. eBay Keyword Ads is available to Canadian PowerSellers for banner ads on eBay.com;
3. Canadians receive invitations to eBay events such as eBay Live and Open House. You are correct in noting that we haven't had many events in Quebec, which is something that we are looking into. We would love to run more opportunities to interact directly with the community.

With respect to the PowerSeller merchandise and gifts, I am working on both of these issues. Hopefully, I will have a resolution shortly and be able to share it with the boards.



Happy New Year!
Vaughan

[youreinthebook]

1. Canadians are now receiving the quarterly PowerUP! newsletter - you should have received one in September and one in October;

Anybody else here receive these? I haven't, and, all my eBay Notifications are checked except for Telemarketing.

3. Canadians receive invitations to eBay events such as eBay Live and Open House.

I didn't receive any invitations, either, and I know there was an Open House near here a few months ago that other PS received invites to.

Ernie.

[jakeeangel]

Nope, no newsletter. I found out about eBay Live by going to the link myself. I don't recall getting an email and I know I never got an invite to an open house.

---

[vesivus]

Hello Vaughn.

Thanks for writing. I personally don't care one little bit about 'free merchandise' or 'listing discount days'. I don't modify my business practices to take advantage of these (small ticket) items.

I'm concerned about my *bottom line* as a business. This means anything that affects the following:
1) Shipping costs
2) eBay Fees
3) PayPal Fees
4) Customer Service

We in Canada have been hit with a very hard last 2 years. The raising CND dollar has reduced our profit margins. eBay has raised its fees substantially. PayPal has increased the Merchant discount qualifying total to an absurd amount ($100,000 USD). PayPal has increased cross-border percentage fees off the top. PayPal charges horrible exchange rates to take out our money. Canada Post has raised shipping costs for Small Packets by 20% last year, and will be doing again shortly.

In other words, businesses enjoying a 40% margin at the beginning of last year are now squeaking by. It's hurt most of us pretty hard -- especially for the smaller ticket items (such as what we deal with -- relatively small orders).

Personally, our largest expense in 2005 was SHIPPING. The 2nd Largest expense was EBAY FEES, and the third largest expense was PAYPAL FEES. Add to this the poor treatment from PayPal to Canadians (no toll-free number, and the 'policy' of claims mentioned by others above).

Here's a suggestion how to address each:

1) Shipping: eBay Powersellers amount to a HUGE income for Canada Post. The only way to lobby for a proper decrease from them is through eBay -- united -- with all of our numbers showing THEM how much we've spent. My business has spent almost $20,00 CND in S&H this year -- and I'm just one business. This is not significant for Canada Post to even look at me (we have to do about $1,000,000 or more to get any more of a discount with small packets).

2) eBay Fees: Self Explanatory. For $10 and under items, the eBay fees are ridiculous! -- It's shaving off over 10% of our cost in fees -- and this is BEFORE our PayPal payments. If we're making a margin of 20%, we've given half (or more) of our profit to eBay.

3) PayPal Fees: Extortion. That's all this is. Of course, we all acknowledge that PayPal is a monopoly with no real competitor -- but its getting extreme with the amount we have to pay to use the service. I don't have any real solution for this other than give us better service (toll free phone #, change of policy for claims) and reduce fees.

Well, I hope this made some contribution. Thanks for reading. 😉

John

[iburk]

Thanks for writing. I personally don't care one little bit about 'free merchandise' or 'listing discount days'. I don't modify my business practices to take advantage of these (small ticket) items.

I'm concerned about my *bottom line* as a business. This means anything that affects the following:
1) Shipping costs
2) eBay Fees
3) PayPal Fees
4) Customer Service

Although you have an interesting perspective John - it's completely unrealistic.

If I look at all my suppliers the two worst are eBay and PayPal (if I used CP ... I suppose I would have 3). I do modify my business decisions (practices to some extent) based on my suppliers.

My aim is to make eBay a supplier to my customer list ... and they are now.

PayPal ... well they haven't really screwed me except in the international payments ... I'm always looking.

I don't expect any company to change their business practices because of me ... I will change mine because of theirs.

If you think Vaughn can actually do anything (I mean DO), you are living on something that any business can't afford to do - hope.