Do other Canadian ebay sellers feel at a disadvantage being rated only on US sales?

[natsirt]

Hi, Being Canadian, we are at a disadvantage with shipping charges being significantly higher than our cousins to the south.  When US buyers are asked to rate the transactions, many obviously complain, and rate low the cost of shipments.  That is up to Canada Post, not us.  Most sellers are not able to afford to ship free, so what suggestions are there, to make this more equitable.  We are rated only on our ratings from US buyers, not global.  This puts us at a serious disadvantage to the US Ebay sellers, who have the ability to ship for next to nothing.  I'm finding that my sales within Canada are going up, and my sales to the United States are falling.  But that isn't helping my performance standard ratings at all.  Very frustrating.  Would appreciate any other Canadian feedback on this topic. And does anyone at Ebay care about this? Thanks for listening, Natsirt

[bitcoinminers]

Add shipping into your price and ship for free.  It is better to have free shipping.

[antlermagic66]

I totally agree. Even though we ship the next day or 2 after a buyer buys they leave performance shipping time as not 5 stars. What is that??We ship right away and should get 5 stars for that instantly.. Not go by how long it takes to get to a U.S. Buyer because of the mail service..  It is posted on the shipping how long its expected to take when shipped. Also when we ship I send a message to the buyer that their item has been shipped and say thank you etc.. Well on communication that should be 10 stars but we seem to get under 5 stars for that also.. I just think most people are ignorant that way. The sellers are always the ones that get the bad rap for doing what they are sopposed to with top notch performance.. Makes me very angry. I've thought about it many times just to sell to Canadians just because of this. I think Ebay needs to take off the star system cause like I said buyers put false ratings for even the best of service.

[reallynicestamps]

It's something all eBay sellers have dealt with since Day One.

But we still manage.

First- be aware that not everything is meant for mail order. Even within Canada, for example, it costs about $12 to ship a paperback from Ottawa to Fort MacMurray if the book is over 2cm thick.

Second- do you need tracking and insurance? How often do you actually have a loss or damage claim? Have you ever had to claim on the insurance? Consider going to the cheapest Air Mail service and using self-insurance against the very occasional loss or damage claim.

Third- Free Shipping. Definitely. Again, you are adding the cost of shipping into your asking price, but buyers love" Free" Shipping. Other advantages, no further FVF on international shipping costs. When I offer this, I also offer US shipping as $0.00, but overseas still has a flat fee, adjusted from the postal rate because the asking price includes some of the cost of shipping within North America.

I've noticed US sales dropping over the past three years or so, from about 95% of sales to perhaps 80-85%.  However, this seems to be because my Canadian and overseas sales have increased. I've seen no real drop in income. YMMD.

[luminites]

The fact is that you can undercharge for postage and buyers can still give you low ratings. Even US sellers who have access to cheaper shipping aren't immune from low ratings.

The issue is that buyers have no idea what the cost of postage is.

I highly suggest broadening your market. Australia, Japan, and many countries in Europe (Sweden, Norway, UK, etc.) are some countries I, personally, have minimal to no issues shipping to. Low value items can be shipped using light or small packet.

[bitcoinminers]

Add shipping into your price and ship for free.  It is better to have free shipping.