Any other Canadian Sellers out there feel their sales have dropped due to the Switch to CDN Currency

[3301wendy]

I'm having the worst November ever - usually rake in at least 2 to 3 Thousand Gross for this month - I've not even reached 1000.

Any thoughts ?

JamesJ

[momcqueen]

Can you do a screenshot of that blurb? It shouldn't still be there. 

[msmaggie060]

mj, it's not an eBay message, it's a message posted on my shipping confirmation from a large US retailer that I purchased a men's hoodie from. (Pardon my grammar).

[momcqueen]

Oh? You mean like off-eBay. Weird. You'd think a large retailer's shipping department would know better.

[cumos55]

From the Duplicate Policy page.

Separate listings may be created for the same item on different eBay sites, as long as the international shipping options don't result in the listings cluttering the search results of any individual site.

Can a seller list on eBay Canada in Canadian dollars ... with shipping to Canada only

Can this same seller list in US dollars on eBay.com... with shipping to the US  and elsewhere other than Canada.

This could work well if a seller has two of each item to sell.....  prevent buyers from buying the same item on each site at the same time.

US dollars are a universal currency

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Another option is to list half of one's inventory on eBay.com in US dollars....  ship world wide

and list the other half of the inventory in Canadian dollars on eBay Canada...ship world wide.

List for 30 days...  then switch... and switch listings between sites every 30 days....

Those that  were listed on eBay.com for 30 days are now listed on eBay Canada for 30 dqays

and then switch those that were on eBay Canada to eBay.com

Involves some editing of listings  and the preparation of two listings... one in US dollars  and a second in Canadian dollars.  

In this option all listings show on both sites... just be careful  that a listing for an item is not shown in both currencies at the same time and becomes a duplicate.....

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Your listings will be considered new every 30 days...

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I know of a book seller  who listed 10,000 books for 30 days.....  these ended...  and then 10,000 different books were listed for 30 days..

He kept rotating his inventory of  20,000 books, 10,000 books at a time, every 30 days...

[cumos55]

It was over the years before May 2016,  I worked to keep my Canadian dollars price relatively constant, by constantly adjusting  all US dollar listed prices.. in relation to the exchange rate.

US  buyers loved this  because the listed  US  price  kept going down.

Canadians bought less and less as the US dollar price was adjusted.  It was concluded that many Canadians had the perception that the Canadian price was going up with each change in the exchange rate US dollars relative to Canadian dollars...

Canadians were not aware that there was a constant effort on my part to keep the Canadian dollar price relatively constant.....over the past three years

That was before May 2016.

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Things were different  starting September 1.....  after two months of waiting for a postal strike.

Sales were steady until the middle of November.....  

Sales picked up dramatically after 10 weeks of selling... Sept 1 to November 15.....  One got the impression  that I had to prove myself for 10 weeks before the door to my store was opened very wide..

and as a consequence  November has been very.. very good...compared to September and October.

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My focus in listings is books about Canada,  and most everything Canadian and about Canada

So... when my US price was very low before May 15....  as many as 40 to 50 % of sales were to US Buyers.....

Today  almost all of what I sell  has a Canadian focus.........  Initially it was a lot of what I listed as new inventory after May 15..... that sold quickly....and remains  a primary emphasis....  New inventory stimulates sales.

My Canadian buyers do well with prices in Canadian dollars..... while one gets the impression that US buyers are hesitant with dealing with the Canadian dollar in all of my listings.

One must conclude that the constant addition of new inventory has a significant effect on sales.

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A lot of what has happened for me is perception of price... US dollars versus Canadian dollars.

Canadian buyers  know how to deal with listings in US dollars...... while US buyers may be hesitant with dealing with listings in Canadian dollars.

[cumos55]

If a seller lists items of very high value in Canadian dollars.....  on eBay Canada

One can indicate in such a listing  that a US buyer can be invoiced in US dollars through Paypal,  based on US prices as presented in a listing on eBay.com.

or alternatively these items should be listed in US dollars on eBay.com

[femmefan1946]

cumos55-- I noticed recently that the maximum shipping rate for books on dotCOM is now $11USD.

Does this affect any other categories? I'm assuming it is a Media Mail rate change, but I'm too lazy to do any research.

[cumos55]

Here is a link to what was found as maximum shipping cost ... by category...on eBay.com

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/maximum_shipping.html#maximum

I was totally unaware that this was the ... (new?) ... situation on eBay.com.

These costs only apply if one lists on eBay.com, and for media only....  

Books ... DVDs & Movies ... Music ...   Video Games.

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USPS does have a low cost media mail  option....

I do suspect that there will come a day when that will change  to a much higher cost.

It should also be noted that other book selling site(s) are changing  how they calculate selling fees, and how much that fee actual will be

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Much of what is happening means that the "dollar sellers" of books just might lose their "selling edge"

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I have noticed that the sellers that list hundreds of thousands of book on eBay are changing.....  some sellers no longer have listings on eBay, while others are making adjustments  in how they list ....  I do suspect that eBay is asking (telling) these sellers to make adjustments... and follow many aspects of eBay policy as they apply to these sellers of books.

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The next few months could bring a major change to a buyer's view of the books category on eBay...There are some indicators of a beginning... Now it will be wait and see what actually happens

[rose-dee]

---

@reallynicestamps wrote:

I agree with the Trump Factor. Those who support Trump think the US is in the commode. Those who don't support Trump are burying gold coins in the back yard and stocking up on water and canned beans.

---

This isn't as much of a joke as we might think.  

We live in an area where a U.S. licence plate gets noticed and where few residents drive luxury cars.  This summer we saw more American plates, especially of the Benz and Beemer set, on the roads around town than in the 5 years we've been here.  It was like being back at Bear Mountain in Victoria again.  The influx continued well into October, which was extremely unusual (normally tourists disappear completely come the end of September).  

Realtors in town have been saying they've had more inquiries from Americans about purchasing property than ever.  Even grocery store clerks were getting asked about the "best places to live" around here.  

It was reported the morning after the U.S. election that Immigration Canada's website was flooded with dozens of times the normal number of U.S. visitors, until the site crashed completely from the strain.  Something like panic is going on in the minds of a lot of Americans, and it would make sense that could be affecting their usual consumption habits.  Only time will tell, i.e. after the end of January, when you-know-who is finally you-know-what.  

[reallynicestamps]

My 'tell' on tourism is pocket change.

When our store was open in Ottawa, one block from Parliament Hill, we really saw the drop off in US tourism when their government started demanding a passport for re-entry.

From three or four dollars a day in US coins to less than that per week.

(Yes I know it's a silly metric).

It didn't affect the big spenders, who flew in, but the families who were driving up, and buying postcards and souvenir packs of Canadian stamps, just disappeared.

This summer, I've been getting US coins fairly often in change. (No store, so it's much more random.) Whether this is the Trump Factor or whether it's the low loonie, my piggy bank is getting heavier.

[pjcdn2005]

I suspect it has much more to do with tthe low loonie.  

[arkh_angel]

Since .ca switched to CAD, sales have dropped at least 25% and never recovered, this despite almost doubling available items. I started to convert my listing at the beginning of April for those wondering.The most interesting fact is: when my listings were in USD, there was a steady 90% purchases from USA and 10% from Canada. Almost immediately after the switch to CAD, this changed to 80% from Canada and 20% from USA. And this is still the case.

Thing is, Canadians will buy inexpensive parts. That means I still sell the same number of item, but for a smaller total amount.

Trump? He was doing its show way before sales went down.

Loonie going down? Americans loves that.

Canada Post strike? This only accounted for a small percentage IMHO, mostly on consumer goods.

Elections are over, loonie is getting lower, Canada Post strike is way behind us, but still, sales haven't recovered. November was worse than the other months so there seems to be a global trend.

That's only because I lacked the time to do so, because otherwise my listings would already be converted to USD.

I still pest against eBay's decision to force the use of CAD on .ca and will always be. This despite their attempt to shove that decision in our throats as the best thing that could happens to us sellers, ever.

[cooltoycars]

I was among those yelling when we were forced to list in Cdn dollars but since the change my sales have taken off. I'm selling more now than ever before. US sales are down but increased Canadian and International sales have more than made up for it! November was an amazing month for me.

[prarie_nerd]

My Xmas sales last year started at the end of October and didn't slow down until early January. In early-mid December I was averaging $500 a day.
This year I was throttled due to no sales for almost 3 months thanks to Canada Post and thier strike/lock out. Spent October on page 6-7 or even worse on search results so I basically started giving stuff away. This got my back up in results by the end of November but it was still brutal.
The other thing I know hurt my sales was not being able to provide a proper shipping time. I state in my description 10-14 days but we all know no one reads descriptions. Instead they were seeing 11-23 days.
Nope the dollar didn't have anything to with my my sales:(

[cumos55]

All of OP's prices are "high"

My view is that the lower priced items pay the bills and the higher priced items create the profit.

OP should find new inventory,  both in their primarily category of selling... and in categories  that are similar  or categories that complement  their primary category of inventory

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I was totally shut down for July and August in relation to the possibility of a strike......  with this following 30 days required to shut down while  listings were converted from US to Canadian dollars.

The store was opened on September 1....It took a while for my listings to be close to the top of a Best Match search... I list very heavy in History > Canada.... about 75 % of 4,000 listings on eBay 

Sales were quite "OK"  for 10 weeks,  and then sales took off  and were super good after the middle of November.

Today  I list in Canadian dollars with a primary focus on Canadian history books......  and that includes military history... social history,  all aspects of transportation,,, books which other sellers will list in categories other than Canadian history.

The fact I list so heavily in one category  means that sales with stimulate further sales.... and I am very high in a search report.

I also list  Canadian art.... Birds in Canada.....  Canadian wildlife.

add in books about Mennonite history....  about Ukraine.... followed by my finding a few valuable books ... that sell well.... in other categories as well

I am constantly on the search for new  inventory... and if a book sells... in many instances  I am very ready to relist  a duplicate of  that very same book....

Another key to good sales is my constantly adding new inventory... It is the newer inventory added over the last 6 months that has been  a primary seller...

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It was in the fall of 2008  when It was decided to focus  on things Canadian  and everything relating to Canada.  This focus  has  made it very easy to sell in Canadian dollars.....

US buyers have been selective with respect to what they buy....

My key to good sales  is my primary category... with several supportive categories.....  constantly listing new listings in all of my categories....    If Canada History does not sell... a listing in a complementary category does sell

I work my listings  and never  leave them go stale.  Starting at about April I will end a full day of listings  and relist.   This stops a listing from going "stale".  Watchers are notified of the relist.  Best Match  does not promote "old" listings.....  specifically the closer to 16 month... the less likely they will show at the top of a Best Match search report.

My listings are spread equally across all 30 days of a listing cycle....  and that includes categories with a low number of listings.

Always adding new listings... sometimes daily....  atleast 5 listings on a daily basis sometimes...  new listings  and relists.

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Something I will also do is "pretend"  to do a revision on all of my listings....

That is revise my postal code.....  This type of revision may stimulate my position in Best Match.....  What it does do is show that I do not leave my listings sit  and wait for sales....

I just recently looked at my collection of Canadian art... and made sure  my listings  all had the designation... Art Canada.... and then  I made a reference to Canada in all of my books relating to the Natural History aspects relating to Canada.... Birds, wildlife  and so forth...

[cumos55]

How well one does  is dependent on many things.

What one sells is a primary factor

Some sellers will list on eBay.com is US dollars.

Some sellers list on both eBay.com and eBay.ca

It may also help to list inventory  on both sites  and switch from site to site... Canada to US and then back every 30 days... Two sets of listings will be required  for each.... one in Canadian dollars  and the second in US dollars...

New listings are promoted in Best Match

A new listing... even after 30 days absence on a site should also get promoted in Best Match (perhaps  is my guess)

Lots of work... but ... the potential is lots of sales...... mainly because of the position of a listing in Best Match

[123nun*]

Yes I have noticed the views on my items are very low. Is there a fix to this currency issue

[lucitabby]

ZOMBIE THREAD

[femmefan1946]

@123nun*

You can list on dotCOM in US dollars.

Most of my listings are there.

The only drawback is that it defaults to USPS shipping, so unless you can ship from the USA, you have to use Flat Rate Shipping.

@happy_pigeon

Another Zombie Thread from 2016.

[happy_pigeon]

Thanks @femmefan1946!