Planning On Moving from .com to .ca amidsts tariffs. I have some questions!

[rdemaree]

As most of you likely already know the incompetent buffoon- a known bankrupt  felon, conman, traitor and vile pile of garbage is planning on putting a blanket 25% tariff on Canada next week. (whether or not this actually goes into effect or not is anyones guess).

Either way, I am strategizing on ways to gain more Canadian and International buyers going forward and increasing my domestic pride. 

As it stands my sales are like 65% American, 20% Canadian, 15% international.

I would like to boost Canadian to 30% and international to 25% and am seeking ways to do this. One of the things on my mind to aid in this would be to start selling in CAD and switch to the .CA website basically rounding my prices down by a hair in favor of a Canadian dollar price point. EXAMPLE: an avg product I sell is $25 USD and I would start selling it at $35 CAD instead. (rounding down from the converted $36.11 CAD to prefer the Canadian buyer)

Has anyone else on here done this and did it negatively impact your sales?

One of my worries is when I offer sale events or bulk discounts on listings that American buyers will no longer be able to access them since they might find my product while surfing .com instead of .ca. Currently I have noticed this issue with Canadian and International customers who arent able to get the bulk discounts or sales sometimes and I have no idea why. I can only suspect it is because they use .ca or a foreign ebay variant while im using .com currently. 

Why doesnt ebay allow your sales/ discounts to traverse global reach no matter what ebay browser they are using? am I missing something here? Please assist me in this. I really want to make the transition. 

I will make the jump to .ca in a heartbeat if I can clear up this issue.

[recped]

I switched from .com to .ca a very long time ago, I did it because of the Shipping Caps in the Media Categories on .com. I was still listing in US Dollars on .ca as eBay allowed that until 2016.

I did not really notice any difference in sales or where the buyers were located. Canadian sales did rise but I don't think that was because of the switch but rather because Canadians didn't really start buying on eBay until the late 00's. In the early days my Canadian buyers were only 2 - 3% of orders, by 2010 this was more like 15%  and continued to rise to the current level of 48%.

Hard to say if the switch to CA$ in 2016 had an impact, it did save buyers from paying the exchange rate of 2.5 - 3% but that isn't really enough to make much difference with an average order value of around $27.

[rdemaree]

Thanks for the feedback. I look forward to hearing from as many voices as possible on this matter. 

I am a bit reluctant to switch to CAD just yet as I do not know where that CAD will land vs the USD so I need to give that transition some time before I make that switch.

btw- are you familiar with what I am talking about regarding bulk disounts and sale events? it seems like they only apply to the region you list on. To test it I had my wife add some products to her cart on .ca on a listing that allows for variations of the item but offers bulk discount for more items regardless of the variation and it only worked for her when she used .com. Bulk disounts DO work when a foreign buyer buys multiples of the same item tho but it doesnt work for variation item bulk for people outside of .com for some reason.

Sometimes I have this issue for combined shipping as well where it will charge foreign buyers shipping fee multiple times for some reason. 

[msau4301]

I have only sold on the .ca site and have been here since about 2013. When I started I didn't even realize there was both .com and .ca, back then even selling in Canada the amount was always in US dollars, I think it was about 2016/17 that they changed it that anyone selling on .ca had to sell in Canadian funds or else do their listings on .com. While it was great selling in US dollars and receiving the higher amount (done through PayPal back then) I decided to stay on .ca since I liked using calculated shipping and it couldn't be done on .com.

I would say my buyers are about 75% US, 25% Canadian (I stopped international about 5 years ago except for the odd exception.)

I can tell you the US buyers definitely see my listings, and in fact many times I have received messages for people confused on checkout that the amount looks higher in Canadian and I always hear the "Oh, I didn't realize you were in Canada". I also have many international buyers reach out and ask if I would ship to (whatever country) and I occassionally will make an exception. This shows me my listings are being seen by them even though I'm not selling to their country.

I've suspended selling for a bit until things calm down at the border, while most buyers are patient there are still those that wonder why their package is taking so long. I sell as a hobby and mostly to thin out my own collectibles, so waiting is okay for me, but I do feel for those that are doing this as their business.

I remember when the VAT taxes became mandatory and charged by eBay, I thought no one internationally would still buy with that hefty amount automatically added, but they still did. I do also recall what a nightmare the transition was for delivery times. I had a buyer in Italy that's package took almost three months to get to her (it was within the first few weeks after the VAT automatically added). She was a long time regular buyer so I was lucky.

I come to the forum here to try and see where things are at, hoping to read all is hunky-dory (yea right). But the people here are a wealth of knowledge and experience that's for sure, so it gives me some idea what to expect when I jump back in. 

[mrdutch1001]

As a casual seller, I have been alternating my listings on both.COM &.CA for many many years and plan to continue to do so, as I get both Canadian and USA buyers from both sites. I won't bow to fascism, I won't bow to dictators and I won't bow to bullying tactics. I will not punish my potential USA customers by denying them the ability to purchase from me if they so choose. I shall leave the buying decisions to them. I do not offer sales /discounts...my prices are what they are but are comparable in either USD or CDN.I discontinued selling outside North America several years back and will retain not selling outside of Canada/USA as there are just too many factors and risks involved. Aside of the currency factor, I find little difference in sales whether I list on.COM or.CA.

Having said this, I do believe all sellers whether Canadian,USA,Mexico, Europe> countries that will be highly impacted by any tariffs going forward, must make their own decision on to whom they are going to offer their goods or to whom they are going to restrict their goods; whatever they feel is in their own best interests.

[reallynicestamps]

I sell on both because more people, including Canadians, look at dotCOM than at dotCA.

Anything on dotCOM that shows shipping to Canada, appears on dotCA.

The only difference I make is that bulky or heavy items that will require parcel rates are listed on dotCA where I can access Calculated Shipping, something that cannot be used by a Canadian listing on dotCOM.

[brle_5065]

I started doing it about three ago. Yes, it will affect sales until you get used to it.  The first thing I did was compare the item with the same item on the .CA site- to make sure I was competitive.    The US market is big- I can't deny it- but the next part is up to you- here, we are just days away from the tariffs, and eBay has yet to announce their policy.  Remember- some Americans believe because the orange one says so- that the exporting country pays the tariffs- not the receiver- forget international trade norms- he's making it up as he goes along.   EBay has to send something out so everyone is on the same page- because I'm not paying a 25% tariff- So far- we don't even know if items under Section 321 (an exemption for less expensive items) will be allowed- he hinted a month ago that the tariff would apply on everything. 

Depending on what you are selling- look at expanding your market- for example although the US is the number one user of eBay- if you include the UK, EU, and parts of Asia (JP, AI, NZ) and throw in Mexico and of course Canada into the mix- you've suddenly increased your beyond what you are losing in selling to the US/Canada alone.  The issue is shipping cost-  Shop around- and see what prices you can get based on volume.

If you plan on continuing to sell to the US, be careful. Until eBay issues a policy statement, the seller could get stuck with it, even though eBay clearly states that the buyer is responsible for duties—and tariffs are a form of duty.  If you sell anything to someone in the US, I would make sure the buyer realizes they are responsible for any/all duties- including tariffs in an email- so you have written proof of their acceptance of the terms, If they respond that they understand, then you should be good to go.   I am told, but can't seem to find it - that Canada Post is offering a DDU service (Duty Delivery Unpaid); if that's the case- that's what I will be using- using this method means if tariffs are implemented- then taxes/duties will be collected upon delivery.  If tariffs are NOT implemented, then there is no problem- the same thing if they allow Section 321 to stay in place. 

Again- the problem may not exsist if eBay does something simple like send out a policy statement to buyers/sellers.  There are some on here that say that eBay doesn't give a **bleep** about Canada because we represent around 1% of their business- that may be true- but now that threats of tariffs for the EU- eBay has to take it seriously if they want to stay in business as a global entity.  

[sin-n-dex]

@rdemaree 

I can't help directly since I'm in the same boat (on the dot com site, no sales on dot ca right now). I'm also having around 80% sales to the US, 15% Canada and 5% international. I too would like to boost Canadian sales.

I'm watching your thread to see if I can learn some things. I'm going on time away during the night tomorrow/Sunday.

C.

[mrdutch1001]

"eBay has to take it seriously if they want to stay in business as a global entity. " ...

Well just maybe eBay is like most of the other Marketplace Facillitators and is taking the wait and see approach. I sell on other sites where as yet NOTHING /NO policy/NO announcement has been made other than they are "monitoring" the situation. For myself, I refuse to jump on this panic wagon...Marketplace Facillitators have to know what is expected of them, have to know all there is to know BEFORE they can put wheels in motion...and if sellers don't have the patience to wait that out, then perhaps they should do "Time Away" for the next several weeks, months; whatever it takes for things to be fully implemented and all the glitches taken care of...

[flipistics]

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@sin-n-dex wrote:

@rdemaree 

I can't help directly since I'm in the same boat (on the dot com site, no sales on dot ca right now). I'm also having around 80% sales to the US, 15% Canada and 5% international. I too would like to boost Canadian sales.

I'm watching your thread to see if I can learn some things. I'm going on time away during the night tomorrow/Sunday.

C.

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I sell mostly on dot ca, and last year 35% of my sales were to the USA (65% to Canada) in terms of volume. In terms of value, USA sales were about 43%. This year is roughly 50% so far, but that comes with the caveat that my stores dealing with lettermail are mostly shut down right now due to the continued issues with CP.  I don't have access to a cross border shipper.

IMO the most important thing for Canada is to offer the best shipping rates you can. Shop around. There's a lot more options than there were a year or so ago.

For the future, I plan to open shipping up to a number of international destinations, at least for smaller, lighter items.

[regs43]

I used to list on .com until about 2016. I used to also pay my monthly store subscription on.com until I switched it over (.ca store fees ARE cheaper)

I only switched to .ca around 2016 when ebay was offering a 50,000 listing promotion to sell on the site (which was hugh at the time, as I was using the $300 store to get like 10K listings) The stores like $60 now and I get alot more listings, but back then store fees were a lot with little to no promos for free listings! Never looked back, but the .ca site LACKs some marketing deatures .com has and that sucks (bulk discounts, coupons etc)

I used to get like 65% American buyers but in the past couple years when Canada Post started rejecting my LetterPost to USA for merchandise and I switched to using tracked package to USA. This means less US buyers buy from me (35%), but I have more Canadians now because shipping from USA to Canada for the same items are not worth it, so they do tend to shop more local I think. (I sell sports cards so people paying $9 to mail a card is a hard sell sometimes and ebay doesnt really display additional iems are free to ship very well). Thats a recent change on the site and app for the WORST.

[sin-n-dex]

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@regs43 wrote:

I used to get like 65% American buyers but in the past couple years when Canada Post started rejecting my LetterPost to USA for merchandise and I switched to using tracked package to USA. This means less US buyers buy from me (35%), but I have more Canadians now because shipping from USA to Canada for the same items are not worth it, so they do tend to shop more local I think. (I sell sports cards so people paying $9 to mail a card is a hard sell sometimes and ebay doesnt really display additional iems are free to ship very well). Thats a recent change on the site and app for the WORST.

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Canada Post was rejecting your lettermail to the US? How did they do that? When you dropped it off, or did you send it out and it came back?

I had thought of using lettermail to mail postcards (haven't tried yet, just thinking this is possible to avoid having high shipping on postcards to the US), but they would need cardboard reinforcement. I'm thinking that's where things went wrong for you, you had reinforcements so they wouldn't accept the letter since it wasn't strictly loose paper.

I have used lettermail on occasion to mail an international first day cover (stamped envelope), and put a piece of chipboard (thin cardboard) to reinforce. So far those have all gotten through, but one postal clerk gave me a hard time because the envelope wasn't very "flexible" which she didn't think Canada Post would allow. She said lettermail is supposed to be for paper (even though a stamped envelope is paper), it's the cardboard that was the issue. She did end up accepting the letter and sent it out, and all went fine and it was received.

For international mail now I use untracked services with Stallion Express to send stuff like that. For the UK I find there's only pennies difference between tracked and not-tracked letters. The shipping to the UK is similar to the cost of a 100 gram letter now (cheaper probably, I think I paid 7.38 to ship the last first day cover to the UK). 100 gram letter with CP is 8.59 if I recall correctly (haven't been keeping up on postage rate changes unless I use that service).

C.

[wes666]

I have been on ebay since 1999. I don't think it matters, as stated above, UD buyers will still find it as long as you have the shipping turned onto international. Also you wouldn't need to change your price to please us Canadians. If they want it, they will buy it. It's usually the shipping Canada Post charges that's the killer. I can ship to US cheaper then to a town 20km away here in Canada.

[regs43]

There has been MULTIPLE threads on the Letter Post issue in Feb 2023 and Onwards.

Letermail is Canadian domestic shipments and Letter-Post is for All other destinations. Both have different specifications. In Canada you can send whateever as long as its less then 2cm, but to other destinations its for Paper only. I stopped wanting to play Russian Roulette with it and switched to tracking only (and also the INR's that went along with it, which were increasing from dishonest/Impatient buyers).

My post office knows I sell stuff, so they wouldnt even mail it, even if I tossed it in the outside box, it would show up in my box the next day, and some I dropped off elsewhere made it to I assume the border or a sorting plant and were rejected with a (needs a customs form slapped in it).

I tried both with Bubble mailers, and just plain Catelog envelopes, tried with thin cardboard vs thicker stuff etc. Just wasnt worth the hassel anymore.

[cottagewoman]

I'm in the same boat as many .com sellers wanting to move to .ca. I've started another topic where we can start to get ideas together for how to get eBay to help us out as Canadian sellers - the status quo sucks. Please chime in on that thread - if we can get like a top 10 list together, and start spreading the word across the Canadian reseller community (Facebook, Blue Sky, wherever), perhaps we can get them to listen?

[sin-n-dex]

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@regs43 wrote:

There has been MULTIPLE threads on the Letter Post issue in Feb 2023 and Onwards.

Letermail is Canadian domestic shipments and Letter-Post is for All other destinations. Both have different specifications. In Canada you can send whateever as long as its less then 2cm, but to other destinations its for Paper only. I stopped wanting to play Russian Roulette with it and switched to tracking only (and also the INR's that went along with it, which were increasing from dishonest/Impatient buyers).

My post office knows I sell stuff, so they wouldnt even mail it, even if I tossed it in the outside box, it would show up in my box the next day, and some I dropped off elsewhere made it to I assume the border or a sorting plant and were rejected with a (needs a customs form slapped in it).

I tried both with Bubble mailers, and just plain Catelog envelopes, tried with thin cardboard vs thicker stuff etc. Just wasnt worth the hassel anymore.

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Thanks for the explanation. I'm not sure if my post office knows what I do, I go to three of them, they are run by drug stores, I'm getting the impression most of them don't really care and don't think it's their problem if it gets returned.

I joined this forum when the Canada Post strike happened (it's possible the account goes back further, but the strike is what brought me here every day), so I missed the threads from Feb 2023 but I'll see if I can find some to read what people are saying.

Aside from wanting to ship postcards, one or two things that can go as letters (and probably not be detected as there's no reinforcement) is stamps on little cards, if it's just a few, and banknotes that are just one or two in a sleeve. But since you cannot stop a buyer from getting a whole bunch (which you can't ship as a letter without it being detected that it's not papers), it's probably not wise to operate as if this is even an option.

C.

[brle_5065]

Mr. Dutch- the one that thinks Canada doesn't matter because we represent less than 1% of the market (by the way- you are off on that number- that 1% represents the .ca site as Canadian sellers- NOT what the total of goods that are sold or bought by Canadians on the .com or any other eBay sites for that matter)   Do you consider eBay to be just a "Marketplace Facillitators"?  No- they aren't Facebook Marketplace, Kijiji or Craigslist.  They are the number  TWO 'marketplace facilitator' in the world- number one being Amazon- and YES- they have a policy for their sellers.  EBay has over 1210 MILLION visits worldwide monthly.   It's a matter of being prepared as a seller and buyer.  We need to know what to expect- that doesn't mean anyone is 'jumping on the panic wagon.'   We can hope for the best- but attempt to prepare for the opposite- that makes sense.  If we stick our heads in the sand until it's too late- what happens then?  No, the world won't end, and most of us will survive- but we will be better off to have a plan in place.

Curious, Canada Post went on strike on November 15th- and even though it wasn't a certainty, Canada Post was downplaying the possibility; eBay sent out eBay sellers of the potential strike action and how to handle it.  That was being a responsible 'partner' to those sellers, which meant so little to them.

[femmefan1946]

My post office knows I sell stuff, so they wouldnt even mail it, even if I tossed it in the outside box,

I guess you live in a small town, where there is only one PO or one postbox.

There are six boxes within 2k of my house (four are within one km) a postal outlet and a post office. (Oak Bay BC) so for me using even the post boxes outside the POs is not a problem.

Since it is against the rules to ship goods internationally by mail (even paper like stamps or postcards) we are gambling that the money we save on shipping will be greater than any losses, including time, to returns by the postal system.
In the same way, since letter rates are not tracked (and domestic Registration of letters is $13.75) we gamble using letter rates domestically too.

Risk management.

[intimewithmusic]

@rdemaree  @sin-n-dex 

Re: Your question about eBay Canada & eBay USA Pros & Cons

About once a year the pros and cons get kicked around. @lotzofuniquegoodies  did a great job last year! Here is what he had to say;

________________________________________________________________________________________

I think Some of you considering the switch might find it interesting.

"

Here is a partial quick list off the top of my head and/or pointed out by others = Mentioned repeatedly. If I have missed any please feel free to add. Only way we have a chance of getting the playing field leveled.

Shortcomings for eBay Canada:

1. No access to offering coupons
2. Unable to use proceeds for eBay purchases.
3. Watcher numbers do not display when using dot ca
4. No option with on ca to choose length of time for offers. COM is 24 or 48 hours from what has been shared.
5. Available Condition options/Categories routinely vary between the 2 sites. In theory they should mirror eachother. Re: Categories - Duplicates, different titles, empty folders, missing names...
6. Missing store size options
7. Shipping labels on CA is not as fully loaded when compared to dot com
8. Shipping labels was not released fully functioning. Known reported issues still apply
9. eBay seller postage calculator is still not fully functional for CP available services.
10. No user groups on ca. For many that would be a helpful addition. Different markets different rules. 
11. No side access to delivery options. Missing Deals and Savings feature on dot ca
12. Delivery estimates for CP services do not match as per CP. As a side CP no longer provides an estimate for small packet air services.  USA and Intl. both show up with a similar time frame as tracked. UK shows 7 to 15 days for small packet from Calgary. Same window to USA. 1 day less for Intl tracked. Actual timeframe would depend on where seller is located - where buyer is located and where item would get cleared for customs and time to process. 
13. Not the same options for payments. ((Missing Discover)

On USA side from quick testing was able to find 1 minor difference.

1. US buyers are unable to search by location. To choose from Canada as an example. We are able to choose Canada, North America & Worldwide

Note: Your personal requirements (wants or needs) and observations for missing features may vary. "

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NOTE: A few things have improved in the year.  For example since then eBay Canada added video to our listings. It's a feature not everyone needs but I love it. eBay labels have come a long way but will need tweaking pending any new customs requirements.

If you're interested in reviewing the thread it's at this link. It includes the complications  of selling to Germany and other things not in the OP's opening list. 

February 2024 Pros & Cons Thread 

[regs43]

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@femmefan1946 wrote:

My post office knows I sell stuff, so they wouldnt even mail it, even if I tossed it in the outside box,

I guess you live in a small town, where there is only one PO or one postbox.

There are six boxes within 2k of my house (four are within one km) a postal outlet and a post office. (Oak Bay BC) so for me using even the post boxes outside the POs is not a problem.

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Bingo! Closest other Red Box or Post office is like 10-15 mins away lol!