Canadian listings in US dollars with international shipping to Canada

[andremontevilla]

I don't get it. I search for listings located in Canada and a bunch of them are priced in US dollars with shipping to Canada in US$ identified as "international shipping". I don't want to pay in US$ for something that is located in Canada and shipped to me in Canada. I mean even the seller loses out too in that case, no? With the exchange rate fees? What am I missing?

[cumos55 · Accepted solution]

Seller is most likely listing on eBay.com and is selling in US dollars..

Seller can only list in US dollars.

on eBay.com ....Shipping to the US is domestic shipping

Shipping to Canada is international shipping

[andremontevilla · Accepted solution]

Thanks that was clear. Now I wish eBay.ca would allow me to filter these out. I have no interest in misguided Canadian sellers that take on this practice. Ebay.ca's own guidance on this is bang on:

https://pages.ebay.ca/sellerinformation/news/springupdate2015/list-in-cad.html

[clemowbooks]

The USA is the world's largest economy and it would be poor planning for a Canadian seller to ignore it.

Combine that with the difficulty many Americans have with concepts like "Not the USA", "Other countries have different currencies", and "No seriously, we are not interested in being Americans" and  it only makes sense for Canadians to expand our export market by selling on the dotCOM (US) site, which then demands that we list in US dollars and use Flat Rate shipping unless we can use the USPS services*.

Even if the listing is in US dollars, you will see an approximation** of the cost in loonies, if you are Searching on dotCA (eBay Canada) and your Paypal account will show the payment in loonies.

The Canadian seller will also be shipping by Canada Post and you will have no problems with unexpected import fees.

I mean even the seller loses out too in that case, no? With the exchange rate fees?

Nope.

The Canadian seller has adjusted her price to allow for currency exchange.

The USD price may be $9.99+ shipping, but the price in loonies will be $12.69ish.

And the Flat Rate shipping within Canada may be lower than her price for shipping to the USA.

*Which some Canadians can because we are smart, flexible, and understand how international commerce works.

** Because currency exchange rates fluctuate constantly.

[andremontevilla]

Spoken like a true seller. But as a buyer, when I search for listings in Canada, I expect to pay in CAD$. Plus we all know the conversion amount shown by eBay is the bank rate and is 3% higher at checkout.

[lady.stark]

You need to take into consideration that if the seller is listing at US$109.99, he would list at CAD$139.99 on ebay.ca. Most sellers would take conversion fees into consideration. What is more? US109.99 or CA139.99? They are essentially the same.

[andremontevilla]

RE: lady.stark Sorry, but I ain't buying it. I realize some Canadian sellers are pandering themselves to US buyers by listing on eBay.com in US$ in the mistaken belief that this offers them an advantage, but eBay.ca's own guidance proves that this is not true:

https://pages.ebay.ca/sellerinformation/news/springupdate2015/list-in-cad.html

Plus, shipping fees have to be set manually and are higher than Canada Post for comparable items listed in CAD$ just in case they get a US buyer. 

[pjcdn2005]

I really doubt that sellers take the conversion fee into account as that would mean that they would be charging everyone 3% extra. But in my experience, they do take into account the difference in currencies when they are setting the price for the item and shipping. Two different shipping costs are set up for Canadian and US buyers so there would be no reason to charge more than the actual shipping and handling cost for Canadians.

With that being said, I can understand why it you would be frustrated at having to pay the extra conversion rate when you are purchasing from Canada but you could always ask a seller if they would relist that item on .ca and what would they charge if they did so.

[clemowbooks]

when I search for listings in Canada, I expect to pay in CAD$.

[lady.stark]

RE: andremontevilla EBay's guidance changed a few years back not because it was more beneficial to sellers but more beneficial to eBay. They knew they were being forced to charge us Canadian taxes on our fees, so they made that change for their own benefit.

[clemowbooks]

RE: lady.stark Sorry, but I ain't buying it. I realize some Canadian sellers are pandering themselves to US buyers by listing on eBay.com in US$ in the mistaken belief that this offers them an advantage, but eBay.ca's own guidance proves that this is not true:

https://pages.ebay.ca/sellerinformation/news/springupdate2015/list-in-cad.html

Most eBay sellers understand that eBay is our landlord, not our friend.

And ignore most of the "suggestions" from them as propaganda.

Americans buy in US dollars and avoid buying and selling from terrifying Canadians.

We sell where there are customers, and adjust our pricing to be attractive.

Plus, shipping fees have to be set manually and are higher than Canada Post for comparable items listed in CAD$ just in case they get a US buyer. 

No.

We can set prices manually, that's called Flat Rate Shipping and is available for both dotCOM and dotCA sites.

But when we list on dotCA we can use Calculated Shipping, which gives the exact to the doorstep cost of shipping using Canada Post, when we enter the weight, dimensions and chosen service. The program compares these to the buyer's location and gives her the cost.

We can't do that on dotCOM, unless as previously mentioned we use a freight forwarder, so we set a Flat Rate.

However, that Flat Rate can be different for Canada, USA, and for overseas. In fact, we can have several listed Flat Rates for different destinations and services.

And we can, on dotCA, mix Flat and Calculated rates allowing us to use Calculated Shipping for Canada but Flat Rates for overseas or the USA.

The cost of shipping within Canada can be higher than the cost of shipping to the USA.
I recently shipped four totes weighing about 50lbs each from BC to ON. Cost was about $45 each.

I also shipped a 10lb box to Nunavut-- for $83.00.

This is probably not the place for a discussion of Regional Pricing for postal delivery.

Shipping is the hardest part of selling by mail order.

[clemowbooks]

RE: lady.stark Sorry, but I ain't buying it. I realize some Canadian sellers are pandering themselves to US buyers by listing on eBay.com in US$ in the mistaken belief that this offers them an advantage, but eBay.ca's own guidance proves that this is not true:

https://pages.ebay.ca/sellerinformation/news/springupdate2015/list-in-cad.html

Most eBay sellers understand that eBay is our landlord, not our friend.

And ignore most of the "suggestions" from them as propaganda.

Americans buy in US dollars and avoid buying and selling from terrifying Canadians.

We sell where there are customers, and adjust our pricing to be attractive.

Plus, shipping fees have to be set manually and are higher than Canada Post for comparable items listed in CAD$ just in case they get a US buyer. 

No.

We can set prices manually, that's called Flat Rate Shipping and is available for both dotCOM and dotCA sites.

But when we list on dotCA we can use Calculated Shipping, which gives the exact to the doorstep cost of shipping using Canada Post, when we enter the weight, dimensions and chosen service. The program compares these to the buyer's location and gives her the cost.

We can't do that on dotCOM, unless as previously mentioned we use a freight forwarder, so we set a Flat Rate.

However, that Flat Rate can be different for Canada, USA, and for overseas. In fact, we can have several listed Flat Rates for different destinations and services.

And we can, on dotCA, mix Flat and Calculated rates allowing us to use Calculated Shipping for Canada but Flat Rates for overseas or the USA.

The cost of shipping within Canada can be higher than the cost of shipping to the USA.
I recently shipped four totes weighing about 50lbs each from BC to ON. Cost was about $45 each.

I also shipped a 10lb box to Nunavut-- for $83.00.

This is probably not the place for a discussion of Regional Pricing for postal delivery.

Shipping is the hardest part of selling by mail order.

[andremontevilla]

Apparently you appear to know what you're doing, but I would argue that you are the exception. If I see "international" shipping on a Canadian listing, and that is my only option, I can assume the seller does not know what they are doing. Or just does not care about Canadian buyers.  As for US buyers, you must think they're pretty dumb not to notice an item is shipping from Canada. This is what an eBay.com listed item by a Canadian seller looks like to them:

 

[clemowbooks]

Well. If you want to buy from Canadian sellers, and you want to pay in Canadian dollars, why are you even bothering to look at the US site? Were you just looking around to find something to be mad about?

[andremontevilla]

What are you doing in the buyer forums anyway? Were you just looking around to find something to be mad about?

[lady.stark]

RE andremontevilla The "International" shipping is just a term that we HAVE TO use because we list on dotCOM. Domestic shipping on dotCOM is in the USA: everywhere else is considered "International". And "clemowbooks" is not the exception (about knowing what they're doing). I would go as far as to say that most sellers listing on dotCOM *do* know what they are doing, because shipping is NOT an easy part on eBay. I respect the fact that you don't want to buy from a Canadian listing in US$. To a certain degree, I even agree with you. But if said seller list on dotCOM, there is a reason. I know I have many. But let's agree to disagree shall we?

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@andremontevilla wrote:

I don't get it. I search for listings located in Canada and a bunch of them are priced in US dollars with shipping to Canada in US$ identified as "international shipping". I don't want to pay in US$ for something that is located in Canada and shipped to me in Canada. I mean even the seller loses out too in that case, no? With the exchange rate fees? What am I missing?

---

@clemowbooks 

Another point to made is when a seller chooses to list on a different site they are not providing the buyer with the actual service they will be using. To my eye if I pay for a particular service  I would like to receive that service. Same goes for all these sellers using "International Priority Service"  or "Economy International Shipping". Basically  generic terms that can apply to whatever service they want it to be. Will you get it fast or slow? Who knows??? Calculated is honest way without all the smoke and mirrors.

This mentality of getting away from offering a variety of services(eBay HQ driven) makes no sense to me. As a buyer I should be allowed to make a choice that suits my needs and my budget instead of having to jump seller to seller to seller to find one that works for me. It's making eBay a less friendly place to even want to shop at.

-Lotz

[andremontevilla]

Agreed. Sellers are gaming eBay to their own perceived advantage and making it difficult for buyers to figure out why they are paying in a different currency and "international" shipping for an item located in their own country. All these "explanations" make sense to the seller, but no sense at all to the buyer.