Is it fair to charge American funds for a purchase from a Canadian seller to another Canadian buyer

[bella196913]

  Hello I would like to ask your opinion on my issue. I purchased a raccoon coat & a scale set from a seller who is selling her item's out of Nova Scotia, Canada. I made an offer on both items, she counter offered and I accepted the counter offer. She said she would combine the shipping and she came through on her promise. When I went to pay for my item's purchased through PayPal I noticed the invoice said "Non US funds". However when I paid for it, I was charged American funds and thought possibly this was a mistake, as she is selling out of Canada to a Canadian in Ontario and pointed out to her that the invoice also stated Non US funds, confirmed. She began by telling me that 90 percent of her customers are from the US and she chooses to sell in US funds due to Ebay didn't have an option to change that as of yet. I told her that wasn't true, as I sell out of Ebay as well and you get to choose what currency you would like to be paid in. I asked if I could get the exchange rate refunded, as I am in Canada. She refused, told me she charges everyone American funds even in Canada and  I am the first to complain. She didn't try to mediate or resolve the situation, instead got angry and cancelled the order stating I was unhappy with the items. I said I liked the items or I wouldn't have offered on them that I didn't like her style of selling as I have never run into this in my 12 yrs as a purchaser on Ebay. She refused to mediate, got offended and I told her she left me no choice but to tell others about my story. I asked her if she would be happy if I charged her in the English Pound when I sold my item out of Canada to a Canadian resident. I also asked her if she would ever pay for an item sold in Canada in US funds and she simply didn't answer. I think this is totally unacceptable, wrong and would like others opinions please and thank you.

[femmefan1946 · Accepted solution]

TL;DR

Most Canadian sellers list in US funds because most of our buyers are not in Canada. While a majority are in the USA (they have after all nearly 10 times our population) at least as many are overseas and are unaware of the exchange value on the loonie.

If you only saw the price in dollars, and not in both Canadian and US dollars, then you were shopping on the US site, where only the US dollar price will show.

If you had been shopping on the eBay CANADA site, the price would show in both currencies, with the Canadian price having a C in front of it.

Like this:

Price:

US $9.99

Approximately C $13.05

I don't know how to take a screenshot, but check yourself. Look at the listing on dotCOM and then on dotCA.

If you want to see prices in Canadian dollars, shop on eBayCANADA. No matter where the seller is, or what currency she lists in, eBay CANADA will show the price in Canadian dollars.

[afantiques]

Whatever the case, it was very kind of you to buy a coat for your raccoon, Canadian winters are harsh for them, and new scales for your fish will delight them too.

I am all for responsible pet ownership.

[ypdc_dennis · Accepted solution]

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@bella196913 wrote:

....I also asked her if she would ever pay for an item sold in Canada in US funds and she simply didn't answer. I think this is totally unacceptable, wrong and would like others opinions please and thank you.

---

You'll be happy to know that listings on eBay.ca will be required to be in Canadian funds starting this summer.

However if you buy items listed on any other eBay website (like .com) you will pay in the currency that site uses. NOT in the currency where the seller resides, even if they are in the same country as you.

-.-

As for your seller getting angry with you, when you asked to have the exchange rate refunded you were effectively asking for an additional 25% discount on the offer amount. An offer on a listing uses the currency that listing was posted in -- unless you add a note to make that a condition of the offer (changing currency would require the seller to send a PayPal invoice, rather than an invoice through eBay).

-.-

[vintagenorth]

If you ask the seller before you purchase the item then your seller may be willing to send you an invoice in Canadian dollars. This would  be the equivalent of the US price in Cdn as per the exchange rate at that time. I don't get asked very often but I do it for buyers upon request and I'm sure other sellers do too.

[sylviebee · Accepted solution]

When a seller escalates communications to the point of hostility the way your seller did, that (to me) is one of the biggest no-no's on eBay.

That type of thing never ends well.

That's one issue.

The second issue is your request that the seller send you an invoice in Canadian dollars.

I buy and sell from Canada, but when it comes to online transactions my thinking is in US$$$s only.  

However, over seas transactions are often completed in other currencies as you pointed out.

I would find your request to be invoiced in Canadian dollars an unwelcome time consuming burden.  However, even though I'm not sure that it can even be done as no one has ever requested that I invoice in $C, I would do my best to comply.

Your request wasn't necessarily unreasonable, but it's more complicated that you realize.

[vintagenorth]

Actually, not too complicated but it is time consuming for the seller and sometimes can't be managed immediately. I just go to the daily currency exchange and change from US$ to Cdn $ and resend an invoice to buyer in the new currency. They do need to pay right away though due to currency fluctuations. Also the seller must have PayPal set up to accept funds in both currencies and some sellers may not want to do that due to bookkeeping problems.

of course, they need to ask the seller first, before they buy. Once bought, the buyer is committed to sellers terms of sale as shown on listing.

[vintagenorth]

After reading my reply I just had a thought. Not sure if this is still possible to do now that eBay sometimes makes the buyer pay immediately even when IPR isn't actually on the listing. If you have to pay at checkout it wouldn't be possible to change the payment currency anyway. You would have to refund and then re-invoice (I think) and as a seller I would be worried about defects happening for refunding the original sale. Then spending hours on the phone with eBay to get defects removed! Maybe I'm wrong about this but maybe not.

Really, what is the difference in paying in US or Cdn? It's all about the same amount of money, just converted and called by a different name.

[femmefan1946]

I would find your request to be invoiced in Canadian dollars an unwelcome time consuming burden.  However, even though I'm not sure that it can even be done as no one has ever requested that I invoice in $C, I would do my best to comply.

It's easier just to go to Paypal and send a new invoice from there. Then when the new invoice is paid, manually mark the purchase as paid on eBay.

Really, what is the difference in paying in US or Cdn? It's all about the same amount of money, just converted and called by a different name.

Yep.

[pocomocomputing]

I believe the OP problem was they thought the price negotiated was in Can$ but was charged in US$. By this I mean they thought the price $100 Can but was billed $100 US and they were paying the equivalent of $130 Can (assuming a 30% exchange rate difference). They want the $30 back, not the2.5% exchange rate fee.

[sylviebee]

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@femmefan1946 wrote:

It's easier just to go to Paypal and send a new invoice from there. Then when the new invoice is paid, manually mark the purchase as paid on eBay.

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I hadn't thought of sending a PayPal invoice, and of course now that it's been pointed out that's exactly what I'd do. 

However, I've learned by using that method as a go-around for the GSP, that most sellers aren't aware it can be done and many believe that invoicing via Paypal is a method of fee avoidance and frowned upon by eBay.

I'd be happy with that method of payment, but buyers do lose eBay protection (i.e.paid returns for INADed).

On the other hand, if the original issue is a complaint about our low Canadian dollar, then that's another story.

antonella196913 ???

[lady.stark]

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@bella196913 wrote:

She refused, told me she charges everyone American funds even in Canada and  I am the first to complain. She didn't try to mediate or resolve the situation, instead got angry and cancelled the order stating I was unhappy with the items. I said I liked the items or I wouldn't have offered on them that I didn't like her style of selling as I have never run into this in my 12 yrs as a purchaser on Ebay.

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You have been a member here for 12 years and never had to pay an item from a Canadian seller in US funds? Or did I misunderstand what you wrote?

[pjcdn2005]

I'd be happy with that method of payment, but buyers do lose eBay protection (i.e.paid returns for INADed).

I'm not sure if that's true. The purchase was still made through ebay.

[pjcdn2005]

That's how I read it too. 

[sylviebee]

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@pjcdn2005 wrote:

I'd be happy with that method of payment, but buyers do lose eBay protection (i.e.paid returns for INADed).

I'm not sure if that's true. The purchase was still made through ebay.

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That's the way it works.

If a buyer pays for an eBay item via a Paypal invoice, the buyer loses eBay protection but gets Paypal protection instead.

Paypal protection doesn't include seller paid return shipping for INADed.

For example, when a seller sends a paypal invoice as a go-around for the GSP, seller paid returns are no longer part of the bargain.

I don't know for sure how it works for other methods of payment because I've never encountered those situations, , but I'm guessing that buyers lose all protection when they pay via money order etc.?  

[marnotom!]

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@sylviebee wrote:

I don't know for sure how it works for other methods of payment because I've never encountered those situations, , but I'm guessing that buyers lose all protection when they pay via money order etc.?  

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What other methods of payment?  😉

[femmefan1946]

As I recall, with cash, money order , or personal cheque payments, eBay and Paypal does not  and cannot refund money they never handled.

With electronically visible payments (usually Paypal) the 'handler' (again usually PP) is making the refund if the seller does not, and then goes after the seller for their money.

Which is one reason eBay started pushing Bidpay and later Paypal payments.

So if a seller does not refund a buyer his cash/MO/cheque payment, there is nothing eBay* can do, financially.

The seller may still get other fallout, negative feedback, defects, etc.

Of course, eBay would still have to accept that the item was in fact paid for. And how does the buyer prove that, short of electronically viewable payments?

There might be the odd 'courtesy refund' of course. Buyers should never count on those.

*or Paypal which was never involved in any way.

[dmil8030]

Hello 'antonella...', 

<< I purchased . . .item's out of Nova Scotia, Canada. . . .When I went to pay . . . the invoice said "Non US funds". However

when I paid for it, I was charged American funds >>

How much non-US funds was shown on the invoice?  I am assuming your paypal account or credit card is always in 

Canadian funds.  As such, when you were asked to pay you may have seen the converted amount you will be charged.

The listings, however, are very clearly in US dollars, so that would certainly explain why you saw that at the checkout.

<< she is selling out of Canada to a Canadian in Ontario>>

That makes no difference.  Sellers list on a particular site with a particular currency.  Your seller has all her listings in 

US dollars.  A lot of sellers do that because most of their items are sold to Americans, who simply prefer to shop and buy 

in their own currency.  You do, don't you?

<< she chooses to sell in US funds due to Ebay didn't have an option to change that as of yet. >>

Once an item has been purchased a seller cannot then alter the currency.  She would have to take down and relist the 

item in Cdn dollars for you, or else send you a paypal invoice.  And in so doing you would have been billed about, say,  

$88 Cdn for the coat instead of $65 US, and  $28 Cdn for the scales instead of $20 US.  

The seller 'could have' done all that but the costs to you would have been the same because she wants an American 

dollar amount or the equivalent.  

The mistake was in your seeing the listed amount and erroneously thinking it was in Canadian funds.  Perhaps you 

were shopping from a phone or had ended up on the American ebay?  When you are shopping and spending your 

money, if you possibly can find a real computer and be sure the little Canadian flag icon is on the top of the page.

<< she charges everyone American funds even in Canada . . . and cancelled the order stating I was unhappy with the items.>>

Troublesome as it is to you, she is basically right.  I do not know how you overlooked the very clearly stated US dollar 

amount in the listing, but that is where the problem originates.  

I have trouble believing that after allegedly using ebay for 12 years you have never before encountered a Canadian 

seller listing in US dollars.  

<< I think this is totally unacceptable, wrong and would like others opinions >>

Well then, you shall have them. 

In my opinion you have nothing to complain about.  It seems to be a simple matter of miscommunication and 

misunderstanding, -- and perhaps the fault of a hand-held device if that is what you used to buy.  The seller did nothing 

wrong and sadly due to this misplaced indignation you must go without your items.

In future always thoroughly and closely read the listing from top to bottom, and if you do not have a real computer

place items in your Watch List until you can get to a public library, or even at work, where you can see exactly what it is 

your are considering buying.  

[bella196913]

Hello

I was shopping on the Canadian site and the seller lives in Nova Scotia and when I asked her she got upset and cancelled my order. She claims she cant change the currency, but I know she can as I sell on here too. She didn't find anything wrong with it.. My view is why not charge me the English Pound then if you live in Canada and selling to a Canadian as she justifys it???

[bella196913]

Good one~ lol