Are Canadian sellers dropping of the map or am I just losing it

[brandeentertainment]

It just seems like every few months their are less and less Canadian sellers is it just me or are their number somewhere backing this up ...

[mommandadd]

I think you're right.

I'm probably calling it quite next month. As a seller I have no protections at all. And e-Bay policies just seem to be lip service. They put it on paper because it looks good but they don't actually do anything.

[brandeentertainment]

I agree with all of that I also think if it wasn't for users like Pocco,puck,femme and a few others I am not forgetting you just not writing everyone's name I am sure alot of peope would have called it quits alot sooner...

Shout out to everyone who has helped me  and the ones the PM me I really appreciate your help..

It is a shame that Canadians are always on the back burner on ebay hopefully ebay start seeing what is killing us Canadian sellers... I personally will be around for hopefully most if not all of 2013 but you never know

[pierrelebel]

"Are Canadian sellers dropping of the map...?"

Not from my observations.

For ten years, I regularly check the number of listings for items located in Canada.  It has been growing slowly, year after year.

Now, like many others you may have noticed a substantial drop in the number of "regular" posters on these boards. This has nothing to do with the number of Canadian sellers using eBay to sell their wares.  For a variety of reasons many folks have stopped posting here and moved to other venues to communicate.

I suggest a small experiment requiring a few seconds of your time every month. Use the "advanced search" (link near the top of every page on eBay.ca) on the same day every month. Select the category or sub-category of your choice and "located in Canada" only. Leave everything else blank if you wish.

If you want to gather a bit more information, make two identical searches at the same time: one for "auction" and one for "buy-it-now" (fixed price).

Keep track of those numbers, on the same day every month,  and compare them a year or two years from now.

I am confident you will find a small increase.

[foliums]

I am sure that the number of listings is growing butI would bet that even with a small increase in Canadian listings the percentage of ALL LISTINGS ON EBAY  that are in Canada are declining. Also I think a larger portion of the listings are listed by fewer sellers.

[tobyshitzu]

You'll never get numbers other then listing counts for searches.

Im quite certain the number of Canadians selling is down and falling.  But listings aren't down as people selling "their own  stuff" or small time garage sale, craft making etc sellers left over the increasing costs they have been replaced with more listings from larger volume sellers

Turnover also quite high.  two of the big 4 canadian game listers at the start of the year appear to be permanently  gone, but others have arrived. 

[femmefan1946]

And it would not surprise me if that "but others have arrived" is an important part of the equation.

Compared to many other venues, eBay is quite easy to start on. The Sell Your Item form is easy to find. The newbie's listings are easy to see and editing is very easy to access. (Compare with Bonanza- a site that is generally considered very user friendly but which makes it difficult to edit and delete listings as well as to see what sales have been made. I usually stick with Paypal when I find the occasional sale there.)

What is hard on eBay is keeping a good reputation and happy customers. PP and eBay put much more emphasis on happy buyers than on happy sellers. Which may lead to sketchey buyer habits, but which also keeps buyers coming back.

The basement and attic sellers may have moved to Kijiji and Craigslist , where those are available, but small sellers, including both professional and hobby sellers, will find eBay is a comfortable home.

It would be nice if the eBay bigwigs would try to understand why they are popular with collectors and hobbyists, instead of mooning over big box retailers who are perfectly capable of running their own successful websites if the price is right.

[mommandadd]

e-Bay just doesn't think.

They charge a fee on postage now (as I'm sure you all know). And every time postage goes up they just take a bigger bite of the little bit of pie that's left. In Canada postage goes up again on Jan 14th, 2013.

As well there is the exchange issue - you sell in US dollars but they bill you in Canadian dollars. And they gouge by about 3% on the exchange. Another bite.

 - Listing fees

 - FMV fees

 - Paypal fees

 - exchange gouging

all in an increasingly precarious economy.

[pierrelebel]

"you sell in US dollars but they bill you in Canadian dollars"

It is your choice.

If you sell in US dollars, you may ask eBay to bill you in US$.  You can change the billing currency once a year.  There is no spread (fee) charged by eBay when converting fees from one currency to another (only PayPal charge a 2.5% conversion fee, competitive with the conversion fee charged by most credit cards and banks).

For more information, please take a look at:

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/sell/billing-currency.html 

Pesonally, eBay has been billing me in US$ for over fourteen years.  I pay my monthly bill with a Bank of Montreal US dollar denominated MasterCard (earning AirMiles in the process!). No conversion fee is involved.

[inuk_the_polar_bear]

I dislike the word gouge as it usually used by those unaware of how things work. Everyone, everywhere charges a spread on exchange. I collect in US dollars, I am billed in US dollars, I pay in US dollars. 1 = 1 = 1. How is that gouging?

FVF on shipping came in when they rolled back, decreased, cut, limited, gave back FVF on the selling price of the widget. How is that a problem?

Listing fee have gone down dramatically over the years.

eBay is like anywhere else, people come and go. Everyone here still has the first job they ever had? Oh, really? Quit a few along the way did you?

There are people that seem to never have sunshine in their world. I have lots. Would some of you like to borrow some? My glass is always full. I am willing to share.

[brandeentertainment]

I don't know I have no numbers to back me but I just feel like the amount of Canadian Listing have increased but the amount of sellers not so much ...

I am fine with everything on ebay but it would be nice to see a little more Canadian Friendly things happen ..

[tobyshitzu]

"
FVF on shipping came in when they rolled back, decreased, cut, limited, gave back FVF on the selling price of the widget. How is that a problem?"

Because they didn't roll back the fvf for non stores, and then made changes to boot more American listings from the TRS discount.  With all the "revenue neutral" 'most sellers won't pay more" changes ebay has made, they've always increased their take rate, despite an increasing number of listings from diamonds with much lower fees.

[urbanwholesaleparadise]

Well for me sad to say,  all my overseas suppliers whom I purchased and have done trusted business with in hopes of making sales. have now become my competitors.

[sa_calla]

Hopefully! I'm leaving & misery loves company! I don't think most Canadian sellers have figured out what's happened to their sales. Go to the Ebay.com site & look at your items. You'll find them hidden at 201st on the list! Ebay has now established a "Top Rated Plus" rating for Ebay US sellers. Since Ebay.ca sellers can't normally send with tracking we don't get any standing on the Ebay.com site. Our listings which were in 10th spot on a search in November are now way, way down the list & without any "Top Rated Seller" icon. The icons still show on Ebay.ca. HOWEVER, the good news is the US sellers still get their standing on Ebay.ca because they only have to ship with tracking on 90% of their sales! Nice system eh? (just had to add that!) 

[westernstargifts]

Hopefully! I'm leaving & misery loves company! I don't think most Canadian sellers have figured out what's happened to their sales. Go to the Ebay.com site & look at your items. You'll find them hidden at 201st on the list! Ebay has now established a "Top Rated Plus" rating for Ebay US sellers. Since Ebay.ca sellers can't normally send with tracking we don't get any standing on the Ebay.com site. Our listings which were in 10th spot on a search in November are now way, way down the list & without any "Top Rated Seller" icon. The icons still show on Ebay.ca. HOWEVER, the good news is the US sellers still get their standing on Ebay.ca because they only have to ship with tracking on 90% of their sales! Nice system eh? (just had to add that!) 

Bingo.

[cumos55]

Sellers come and go....

However, if you want to be a long time seller....

Adjustments have to be made.... and will continue.

Look at the long time sellers... and you will find  sellers that have adjusted.

They may be small... However  each has established a big presence on eBay....

It is the long-time sellers that continue to add listings to eBay... and will continue to build a presence on ebay, with each seller filling a niche...

Less sellers... maybe more specifically It is those that sell  a limited amount of inventory and then leave... They come and go...

In order to be successful on eBay  a Canadian seller has to be innovative...  and agressive  in dealing with eBay.  And Canadian sellers have to work harder at staying on eBay  than the smaller US seller....Mainly because  we have to sell to the US....  or sell something that the US buyer cannot find locally.

[kevenay]

It is hard to sell as a Canadian seller because our shipping rates are so much higher than USPS shipping rates and this probably deters many buyers.

For a US seller to ship a pair of shoes to Canada it costs $12. For me to send the same pair of shoes to the USA it costs $20. Our shipping rates to send within our own country are also outrageous. 

[reallynicestamps]

Kevenay

Sort of.

The shipping method that costs a US seller $12 would be First Class International? That is a "letter" rate and does not include either insurance or Delivery Confirmation. Depending on the value of the item, a US seller may go for self-insurance or may prefer the Global Priority option with Delivery Confirmation at $25 or up.

The Canadian shipping method that costs $20 may be Small Packet, which includes up to $100 insurance or Expedited, which is both insured and Delivery Confirmed (and has a 20-25% discount from PO counter prices when purchased through Paypal) .

I don't often ship anything as bulky as shoes, so I can't speak confidently on which service you mean.

Whether DC and insurance are really a benefit for the seller is the seller's decision, but let us compare oranges and grapefruit not oranges and apples.

[cumos55]

The upcoming postal changes  as of January 14, 2013  will blow many a seller away....

Where there is a will there is a way.

I personally have been doing a lot of thinking  and am ready for most anything...

including eBay's making changes to TRS on eBay.ca..... 

It may come... it might not...

Many sellers will look at the changes  and walk away... others will replace them..

Many sellers will adjust  to the new postal options and rates.... and so will buyers...

Many sellers have left... Many have come... some stay,  some leave.

But the reality of eBay is that the number of listings  keeps going up...

Why?  Because eBay works with the right inventory...  and an innovative approach to selling as someone who lives in Canada....

Sell Canada and everything Canadian.

[lady.stark]

Go to the Ebay.com site & look at your items. You'll find them hidden at 201st on the list! Ebay has now established a "Top Rated Plus" rating for Ebay US sellers.

This is EXACTLY what happened to my items! They used to be on the first page when I had the badge on .com. Now that I lost it because I mostly ship Lettermail, a newbie from the US with 10 feedbacks gets more exposure than me!!

In December, I sold some items, but to ONE returning customer. Nothing more. I'll try going back to US dollars as the currency, but if that doesn't work, I really don't know what I'll do. Sales have dropped down consistently since I lost the badge on .com 😞