Why don't items from Canada sell as well as items from the USA?

[joshandalex]

Just curious about something. I have been selling things on Ebay.ca for about 15 years now and I have noticed that items I list usually sell for far less than the identical item that is sold by a seller in the USA. Is it just me or has anyone else noticed this? I have 100 percent feedback and take pride in what I sell. Is there a reason for this? 

[reallynicestamps]

items I list usually sell for far less than the identical item that is sold by a seller in the USA.

I can't cross-reference my items, since they tend to be unique, but I wonder if you have tried looking at the final cost of the similar items?

If your item is $10 with $5 shipping and your US competitor is $11 with $2 shipping, that could be part of the problem.

Our market as Canadians is most likely to be the USA. They are the world's largest economy no matter what Trump tells them about what victims they are.

And for some of the reasons Trump was elected, they are quite xenophobic. Not all, obviously, but enough that they will be terrified by the idea of buying outside of their own country*.

Some of us can list on dotCOM and use Flat Rate Shipping, which means we can also list in US dollars which does make it easier.

But your bulky items (very cool, btw!) must go Calculated Rate, and makes listing on dotCA in loonies necessary.

Of course, you already know that in Search on dotCOM your listings show in US dollars, so there is that.

*"Outside" in this case includes Alaska, Hawai'i, and Puerto Rico. To say nothing of APO addresses. "Thank you for your service. No, I won't sell to you."

[tobyshitzu]

Is it really selling for more, at the gross price the buyer actually paid? looking at solds it often look like a high price...seeing what the shipping would have bene to you. But those items were really bought by Americans, often with free shipping to them. Especially on lower price items, the shipping has a huge effect, and it takes a bit of investigation to see the price that is really being paid

I find its actually the opposite, there is a premium on Canadian inventory. Being there is less competition here, and with the huge increase in US>Canada psotage rates much of their stuff, especially at lower price points, isnt worth sending here

[jt-libra]

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@joshandalexwrote:

Just curious about something. I have been selling things on Ebay.ca for about 15 years now and I have noticed that items I list usually sell for far less than the identical item that is sold by a seller in the USA. Is it just me or has anyone else noticed this? I have 100 percent feedback and take pride in what I sell. Is there a reason for this? 

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This has been evident to me since the first day I started selling on eBay.

The two main reasons are that Americans usually pay less for the items in their inventory and it's cheaper to ship with USPS than with Canada Post.  With cosmetic and skin care items, for example, the retail price for designer brands is about 20% less than the Canadian retail price.  That's why, in order to sell to Americans, my prices need to be about 40% less than Canadian retail in order to be attractive to them.

When I list an item, I always check to see what it's selling for on both .ca and .com.  I'm always competitive with other Canadian sellers but if I tried to match the prices of U.S. sellers, I would lose a lot of money.  Many U.S. sellers do not ship to Canada .... they can't be bothered/they have enough potential buyers in their own country.  In those cases, I can price more competitively because I know that the lowest priced identical items are not available to Canadians.

[jt-libra]

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@joshandalexwrote:

Just curious about something. I have been selling things on Ebay.ca for about 15 years now and I have noticed that items I list usually sell for far less than the identical item that is sold by a seller in the USA. Is it just me or has anyone else noticed this? I have 100 percent feedback and take pride in what I sell. Is there a reason for this? 

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I just had a look at your listings and recognizing that I know very little about action figures, your prices seem very reasonable.  It's the shipping cost that would put you at a little disadvantage with your U.S. competitors.   Although over the past couple of years, I've noticed that USPS rates to Canada have risen quite a bit; however, the types of items they list with free shipping within their own country just floors me sometimes.  My asking price is often close to the price of the U.S. seller but when it comes to heavier items, say 500g and up, they are shipping for free and the cheapest I could ship to the same U.S. buyer would be $15.00 and closer to $20 with tracking .... a huge disadvantage. 

[momcqueen]

The only way to truly discern this conclusion would be for a single seller to list one of each item with Item Location in the USA and one in Canada for the same price. Over time. Over multiple listings. In multiple categories. Comparing one seller’s performance against another’s and saying their relative success or failure was based on only one of a dozen possible factors draws a flawed conclusion. It’s anecdotal at best.

[makitkatwalsk-0]

Have you tried Listing in USD?  If your customers are mostly from the US it would probably help.

Auctions can be tough because you need 2 good bidders to get a top price.  

There are a lot of reasons why people prefer domestic purchases vs. International.  Shipping time, currency conversion, customs, trust issues, dealing with unknowns, return costs... etc.  If you miss out on 1 good bidder, then it can impact your final price.

[femmefan1946]

I sell in both currencies, and don't actually see on my spreadsheet* where USD sales are next to Cdn sales, any great difference in the number of sales. Or even in prices.

What does show a BIG difference is my shipping.

For US dollar sales I am constrained by the LetterPost 500gm/2cm maximum, because on dotCOM when we list in US dollars we must use Flat Rate from an International Location. (It's my choice to use Free Shipping for these, which is another discussion).

But the OP must use parcel rates which will vary according to destination.

And that means listing in loonies on dotCA to take advantage of Calculated Shipping by Canada Post.

However, I'm surprised that no one has as yet mentioned the several reshippers like chitchatexpress and redstallion, who make it possible for sellers close to the border to use USPS shipping. Jump in here guys!

*Well, a lined notebook really.

[femmefan1946]

 A passing thought, if you want to stick with Auctions (which are now down to less than 15% of eBay listings) have you considered massaging the starting bid and the shipping cost?

Which is cheaper?

A $10 item with $17 domestic shipping ?

A $15 item with $12 domestic shipping?

A $17 item with Free US Shipping and $10 domestic shipping?

What we're doing is dropping the US shipping cost (more or less) into the asking price.

Then for Canadian buyers reducing the domestic shipping by the US shipping which is folded in.

What do you think?

Are most of your competitors using auctions? Or have they moved to Fixed Price, which is more popular with the instant gratification wishes of phone based millennial bidders?

[hlmacdon]

In my experience US shoppers are not solely driven by price. Proximity and speed of delivery are also key factors. Shipping is a highly predictable experience within the US. International shipments not so much. My greatest increases in US sales came after switching exclusively to USPS shipments. Their domestic shipping costs and reliability can't be beat. There is a Chit Chats Express somewhat nearby where you are, that is an option you may want to look into as they process cross border shipments via USPS. I would also look at timing any auctions so they end on the weekend as that is peak ecommerce activity time in the US.

[ypdc_dennis]

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@femmefan1946wrote:
... What does show a BIG difference is my shipping.

For US dollar sales I am constrained by the LetterPost 500gm/2cm maximum, because on dotCOM when we list in US dollars we must use Flat Rate from an International Location.

But the OP must use parcel rates which will vary according to destination.

And that means listing in loonies on dotCA to take advantage of Calculated Shipping by Canada Post.

However, I'm surprised that no one has as yet mentioned the several reshippers like chitchatexpress and redstallion, who make it possible for sellers close to the border to use USPS shipping. Jump in here guys!

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ChitChatsExpress -Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Halifax

StallionExpress - Toronto

RunninRed - Winnipeg

DYKpost - Calgary, Edmonton

All will take shipments (under $800 in value) across the border for a small fee and allow you to use the much cheaper USPS domestic USA rates.

The first two also have discounted flat rate tracked parcel shipping for much of Canada.

...

As for flat rate shipping to the USA, if you exclude Canada as a sale destination, then Small Packet USA and Tracked Packet USA for up to 1.0kg become practical choices when determining a rate for eBay.COM use. Tracked varies a little bit month to month since it does have a fuel surcharge but is otherwise the same for all the USA and their territories.

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[cumos55]

It was a decision in about 2008 to sell everything Canada and Canadian.

For books it was Canadian History followed by birds, animals, agriculture and then Canadian art.. and then it was a few other unique categories.

Although not sold now, there was a time Canadian made pottery, art glass  and artwork was also sold.

For books, in my categories  it is about 70 % of sales to Canadian buyers and 30 % to US buyers.  I sell only to Canada and the US....  Stopped selling elsewhere because of tracking mistakes made by Canada Post

[cumos55]

The main difference between selling to Canadian buyers compared to US buyers is the cost of shipping…. low USPS postage costs/rates.

USPS has a book rate for shipping to the US destinations,  and a special agreement with companies that sell lots of books......     The book rate is about $4 to $5  US, before any adjustment

This may change  when there is a complete analysis of why USPS  requires government subsidies to function .

A change could occur.....  The US president is currently complaining about the relationship between USPS and Amazon....  and the cost of shipping.   With a complete analysis of cost, in relation to government subsidies.....  there could be a change..

The biggest change could be that book rate... media rate.  If there is a change  then the difference between Canada Post and USPS for media rate/book rate could change dramatically.

If USPS Is made self sufficient, like Canada Post... then the change to USPS Rates could be very dramatic.....

[joshandalex]

Thanks for the good advice all. Appreciate it! I will amend things and see what happens.

[jt-libra]

I was wondering if anyone in Winnipeg, or Manitoba, has used Runnin' Red.  It would be convenient for those living in the south-end of the city but from where I live on Henderson Hwy. north, it's  about 40 km return.  I don't know if they're still doing a 3-day a week run or daily, but it's not a trip I would make daily.  It wouldn't be cost effective and very time consuming.  And making the trip only a couple of times a week would affect delivery times to U.S. customers.

I would be interested, however, in hearing if anyone has used them.

[momcqueen]

I have not. It’s not even far from me, but I’ll let you know if and when I do.

[reallynicestamps]

There is a Chit Chats Express somewhat nearby where you are,

I'm in Victoria and while I can see the USA from my back porch (well, the Olympic Mountains from Willows Beach a short walk away), the ChitChat you mention is in Vancouver.

That's a half hour drive to the ferry and an hour and a half to the Vancouver ferry terminal, then an adventure into the wilds of Vancouver. (One of my husband's hobbies is getting lost in Vancouver. Every. Single. Time.)

I'd love to be able to use them and I do promote them (and other re-shippers) as much as possible. Then I go and cry into my latte.

[jt-libra]

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@momcqueenwrote:
I have not. It’s not even far from me, but I’ll let you know if and when I do.

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Thanks.

[juhech-0]

I know some sellers on the island who still take advantage of Chit Chats. This depends on volume so understandably if you only have an odd shipment here and there it wouldn't be viable. However,  my friend averages 5-10 orders a week and she'll consolidate her packages once a week and mail them into the Chit Chats in Vancouver. I asked her if it still made sense to do this and she broke down the costs and it still only added an average of $1 to her orders which were still significantly cheaper because the shipping cost was drastically cheaper than Canada Post. 

This way she was still able to include tracking with her orders and the delivery time was still faster than Canada Post even with the additional mail in time. Just wanted to throw it out there. She also told me that Chit Chats is working hard to offer more drop spot locations over the next few months!  Hopefully they get something on the island.  

[rose-dee]

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@cumos55 wrote:

If USPS Is made self sufficient, like Canada Post... then the change to USPS Rates could be very dramatic.....

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This is a very good point, given the bull-in-a-china-shop way Trump has been non-governing the USA.  Whatever percolates up in his mind as the next target could well undergo drastic changes.  

Americans have become accustomed to fast and inexpensive tracked shipping.  My U.S. buyers are often surprised that a parcel sent by Canada Post Small Packet Air doesn't have tracking, and even more shocked when I tell them what upgrading to a tracked service would cost.  Yet they never actually see the true cost, as I have "subsidized" my U.S. buyers' shipping for many years.   So, as a Canadian seller, I've been doing for them what their government is currently doing on the domestic side by supporting USPS financially.   

However, it's still not enough.  With ever rising Canada Post rates it's become very difficult to compete selling items of relatively modest value into the U.S.   It might be less of a problem if sales were brisk, but unfortunately eBay policies over the past 3 or 4 years haven't helped Canadian sellers.