Is ebay Canada simply not used much?

[dangerpins]

Hi everyone! 
I moved here about 3 months ago from the UK. I ran a successful eBay business back in the UK which made me a dependable $7000 ish a month.  I am top rated with 100% positive feedback.

after moving my account to the canadian eBay and getting set up again....  Virtually nothing. it's so weird. last month i made $84.

Is it that eBay in Canada is not widely used as much as in other countries? nothing led me to that conclusion from my research but hey, I might have been wrong. Spoke to ebay's support here who says my account standing is a glittering dream so it's not that.

Not moaning so much as just confused!
thanks!

[kawartha-ephemera]

The situation is very different here by virtue of the unique relationship over the years between ebay.ca and ebay.com.

The first thing I'd do is remove that Canadian flag from all product photos.

Here a very large portion of your buyers are going to be Americans, depending on what is being sold they are often times the primary buyers.

Canadian sellers need to blend in, ebay.ca and ebay.com share listings back and forth as if they were one market.

[kawartha-ephemera]

Are you using your store subscription to list on ebay.ccm as well as ebay.ca?

Canadian sellers are permitted to list an equal number of listings on ebay.com. For example, a Canadian seller with a basic store subscription may list:

on ebay.ca 250 listings and
on ebay.com 250 additional listings

There are no additional listing fees to list on both sites.

[ricarmic]

My suggestion (and what I do) is sell on the site of your primary buyers, put the stuff most likely to be purchased by Canadians on .CA and the stuff most likely to be purchased by Americans on .COM

[momcqueen]

Maybe your product line is better-suited to Brits? Are you selling the same wares as you were before?

[hyperrush]

Combine the two sites since each offer 50 free listnigs

[momcqueen]

(Although I do like what you carry.)

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

On another weird note, when I click on your listings and go to the category named sporting goods it says there should be 4 items but it only displays 3. Is 1 item pickup only?

-CM

[reallynicestamps]

Canada's population is 10% that of the USA. And 3/5 that of Britain.

Most Canadian sellers find the majority of their customers in the USA.

Since you are using Free Shipping/Flat Rate Shipping  you can list your items on dotCOM in US dollars.

I'd suggest using Free Shipping for both Canada and USA. Massage your price a little to allow for the cost of shipping. You will not be able to use tracking if you are using LetterPost.

Is the odd asking price planned? Or is it a direct exchange from your UK price?

I'm assuming you have your stock in Ottawa, because you are supposed to give the location of the goods not your own location.

[hlmacdon]

Pretty normal for .ca in my experience. Have better sell through rates listing through .com myself, but my sales skew towards US customers. Most sellers on .ca end up with a fair amount of international sales so as others suggest you may want to review Canadian heavy branding or weigh up if it makes more sense to list on .com depending on what you anticipate your customer mix to be. In general it is difficult to scale selling low ASP goods in Canada through ebay unless you have a truly unique offering or a very competitive offering in a mass market category. 

One thing you may wish to review is the estimated delivery dates for the shipping services you have specified. It has been a while since I have reviewed it, but specifying light packet or small packet (where appropriate for the size of your items) may display a shorter delivery estimate than using standard international shipping. The algorithms for best match are shifting towards weighing speed of delivery more heavily these days and that is entirely based on eBay's own specified delivery estimates for a given shipping class. You might also want to check your packaged items dimensions to see if they stay within lettermail's thickness restrictions.

Looking at your items you also have inconsistent ship to locations. I'm not sure if that is by design (ie dropshipping restrictions) or an oversight. You may also want to look into freight forwarding services that leverage cross boarder importation into the US to ship via USPS. If you are stocking inventory in Ottawa Chit Chats Express seems to be opening a branch there. The speed of delivery/ability to track shipments is a difference maker with US sales. When I switched, the growth in US sales was sufficient enough to that the uplift outweighed my Canadian sales.

[ca_cunn]

wow!  Blend in with the Americans?  Bet you approve of Trumps recent steel tariffs too! 

[mrdutch1001]

sorry no blending in for me either. I prefer to be distinctly Canadian....I prefer to list on .ca ... and list in CDN. I don't list much on .com anymore...basically a waste of time for me as I have only sold 5 items on dotCOM in the past year.

[dangerpins]

hello, yes all goods are in Ottawa on my shelves. I don't go near any of that dropshipping sillyness!

thanks for the suggestions

[dangerpins]

Thanks for all the suggestions folks, Canadians are so nice! and your country is beautiful. I'm sure I'll figure it all out 🙂

Milk in bags though?? haha

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

The milk in a bag is a perk of Eastern Canada. Don't believe I've seen anywhere out west. If you have a chance check out Algonquin Park. 3 hours  west but well worth the drive!!! You definitely won't regret it, I've been told. Enjoy and happy sales/trails!!

-CM

[kawartha-ephemera]

---

@ca_cunn wrote:

wow!  Blend in with the Americans?  Bet you approve of Trumps recent steel tariffs too! 

---

No, my comment re: blending in" was not a political comment, it was a commercial suggestion.

I think most Canadian sellers would agree that displaying a Canadian flag on ebay.com is akin to a foreign invasion in the eyes of a certain segment of the American population. Therefore, to avoid having American shoppers breeze on by Canadian listings I would not recommend "flying the flag".

Ebay.ca listings are traditionally shown right alongside our American friends listings on ebay.com, so as a practical matter it makes no difference if they were created on ebay.ca.

Canada is one of the finest countries in the world and I'm **bleep** proud to be Canadian, the USA holds absolutely no appeal for me, Donald Trump is beyond contemptible, if he were to be impeached tomorrow that wouldn't be soon enough. 

[reallynicestamps]

But you've got the special pitcher for the milk bags, eh? And the little cutter thingy?

You may enjoy the Producer's Market on Sundays at Lansdowne Park. And try the housemade sausages at The Butchery.  Also SusieQ Donuts on Somerset does a maple bacon donut that is unbelievable. 

And take the bus downtown on July 1 for the Canada Day celebrations (do NOT attempt to drive and park). Just you and 150,000 of your fellows having a good time in a two block radius.

[2756anderson]

Xenophobic Americans won't use it and outside N. America, Canada is a blip on the radar, unless they want to immigrate to it or ask for foreign aid.

[dangerpins]

With regards to the Canadian branding on my items, it's a valid point. but my approach has always been to be completely open and transparent with buyers, I want USA buyers to know the items are in Canada so there is no confusion with shipping times which then leads to frustrated buyers and bad reviews. Again, I do not dropship, all items are here in stock.

And again, thanks for all the local recommendations 🙂 

[momcqueen]

Technically speaking, adding a Canadian flag to your images is in contravention to ebay watermark policy. But I agree that you should celebrate shipping from Canada, as your Canadian customers, potential and otherwise, will want that reassurance. (Like me. I like what you have to offer and will no doubt be placing an order in the not-too-distant future. I need stickers and tights!) 

https://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/listing-and-marketing/photo-tips.html