Selling on eBay.com

[tu-ee]

I live in Ontario Canada and used to sell on eBay.com not sure how I did that then -- I have been selling on eBay since 1992, I'm getting old (in my 70's now) and cannot really understand why I   cannot sell on eBay.com any more -- Can someone explain it to me simply?

My sales have gone down drastically I do not think there is much worldwide interest in eBay.ca --

I have sold to UK, Australia, Holland, Germany, Poland and even Russia I had a lot more sales then I'm not doing well at the moment have been ill for a couple of months and trying to get back on my feet. It's disheartening not  getting any interest in my sales.

Help please

Thanks tu-ee

[femmefan1946 · Accepted solution]

You can.

Just go to dotCOM and start listing.

There are some new twists.

You MUST list in US dollars (no change there)-- but if you are listing on dotCA you MUST list in loonies (this is since 2016).

You MUST use Flat Rate Shipping from an International location*. Again no change.

If your products are bulky (more than 500 grams and/or 2cm thick) you will find it easier to use dotCA and Calculated Shipping.

This does mean that your MUST list in Canadian dollars.

BUT

Your US customer sees your price in Search in US dollars. Your German customer sees it in Euros. Your Swedish customer sees it in kroner.

Once the customer goes to the listing, he see the price in both currencies. A firm price in loonies and an estimated price in his own currency.

So my dotCOM listings are (mostly) $9.99 USD.

And my dot CA listings are (mostly $12.99USD which my American customers see as $10.39 (approx) as well as the price in Cdn dollars.

The change away from dotCA listings in USD cause a lot of angst and aggravation, but I found that while my US sales dropped, my overseas sales rose.

Personally, I blame a mixture of the GSP and Donald Trump.

YMMV

You may, because you have been away for a bit, find you are restricted in the number and value of your new listings.

This is a Buyer Protection policy -- against hacked accounts mostly.

But it is also a Seller Protection policy-- while the seller adjusts to the inevitable and often pointless changes.

However, there is no reason why you would be unable to list on dotCOM.

*Unless you are able to use a forwarding service like chitchatexpress. Search the name, it gets talked about a lot. There are several that posters use and like.

[tu-ee · Accepted solution]

I said I would get my husband to help me so I closed the page and behind it there was another and another and another which I closed in turn and would you beleave there you where, :O) I do not understand how these pages keep pilling up behind the the current one I'm on :O( of course my husband will remind me when he gets home :O) I am so very grateful for your reply it is extremely helpful = re cutting out the colours and all my heavyweight descriptions 🐵 takes me such a lot of time these days to do that - I have printed out your reply and my husband will in help me set up my new / Old eBay.com Pages -I was originally on ebay in 1992 as Whimsical Wades then changed the name to tu-ee when my very much loved 14yr old Burmese Cat 'tu-ee' died we still miss him Thanks so much again I will also print out your 2nd post which of course I saw behind this one :O)

[femmefan1946 · Accepted solution]

For boilerplate you want to add to all your listngs-- make a text document including all your HTML coding and keep it on your desktop. I have one for my Terms of Sale for each of my IDs, one for my Not Yet Listed items, and one for HTML codes. Then I can cut and paste in anything I believe will be useful. Command C/ command V.

[femmefan1946 · Accepted solution]

" I do not understand how these pages keep pilling up behind the the current one I'm on"

My iMac does that from time to time. It seems to decide that I should have a New Window instead of a New Tab.

We're opposites on spousal correction of computers. DH is hopeless and I'm basically a technodolt, but I don't lose my temper and scream at the machine either. He decided yesterday that his computer was too slow and now he can't open anything at all. It ate his passwords and he didn't have them written down.

Taking the machine to the Apple store tomorrow. Sigh.

[femmefan1946]

I strongly agree about auctions.

And also about "free" shipping.

I use Fixed Price almost exclusively and include the cost of shipping in my asking  price.

But.

Most of my items can be shipped LetterPost. You, like momcqueen, must use the more expensive parcel rates.

As a longtime seller, you know buyers hate to pay shipping, even when the fee is completely valid.

And having a shipping fee higher than the asking price has buyers screaming 'ripoff', again even though the prices are completely valid.

For spits and giggles, take a look at the USPS shipping rates.

https://postcalc.usps.com/?country=10440

Look at the cost for domestic shipping (I used 90210 and 10120 as zipcodes) and Priority Boxes, which our US competitors can get free from USPS.

That's the competition.

Mo and I have different approaches to make the difference less obvious.

Either one works. Although your items are more like Mo's than mine.

The other thing to keep in mind is tracking.

EBay is totally freaky about tracking.

Partly it's that Americans are paranoid (see D. Trump) and partly it's that USPS provides very very cheap tracking.

But.

We don't need it to gain our Global TRS badge and discounts.

So there's that, for future consideration.

And.

If your costs are low, you can afford to lose the occasional item to an Item Not Received Dispute. (Probably false, because USPS is very good at its job.)

But most people are honest.

If perhaps cheap and impatient.

But that's a talk about Cookie Jar Insurance we can have another time.

[tu-ee]

Thanks so much I am sorry that I have not been able to post a reply to your first answer it's daft I have even forgotten how to reply to people answers I am still trying to find your first reply -- I will keep trying :O) when mu husband who does all the shopping nowdays he will help me thanks again

[femmefan1946]

Hit Reply after your question. This kind of post actually hides Comments. Sometimes I end up posting the comment as part of a Reply because no one is going to see it otherwise.

[momcqueen]

I sell on ebay.ca so I cannot offer any insight in navigating dotcom, but I will say that most ebay sellers feel like we have to work a lot harder to sell less today than we did five years ago. Maybe there are more choices out there than there used to be, or maybe fewer shoppers, or maybe both.

I will also say that Auctions are generally fruitless unless you sell in very specific categories with free shipping and give it all away. Maybe try adding Best Offer to your Buy It Nows or offering 'free' shipping but adding about $16.25 CAD (my average to ship small items across Canada and the USA) to your listings and calling it 'free shipping'. 

Ebay never stops telling us that buyers love free shipping and it's true, despite being a multi-item order killer. As a shopper, I used to look for the sellers with the most items I wanted to acquire so that I could at least combine postage to maximize value but 'free shipping' combats that. 

Good luck. And don't forget about those iPhone shoppers. You've got to keep it simple for them. Lots of clear, bight pics and very little description. And no one cares about seller policies anymore, we all march to the beat of ebay's drum. 

[tu-ee]

Thanks so much I have considered the Free shipping idea, just never got around to it --I have had another answer re cutting out the colours and all my heavyweight decriptions 🐵 takes me such a lot of time these days. Thanks again most helpful. tu-ee

[femmefan1946]

You need to look at your shipping.

First off-- of course you can ship heavy items to the USA by AirMail. The services just are not called that any more.

https://www.canadapost.ca/cpotools/apps/far/business/findARate?execution=e1s2

Those chaps for example. I made some guesses about packaged weight and they could go BC to Florida:

Expedited  for $25.63

Expresspost for $39.90

or Priority Post for $61.35

All in CDN. And of course we get discounts from Canada Post (SnapShip) and from Shippo.

You need a Small Business Solutions card from Canada Post for both, btw, if you don't already have one. Your PO can give you a number at the counter.

All are tracked and Delivery Confirmed.

The cheapest overseas service that is tracked is "Tracked Packet" which would cost $74.29 to Australia.

So I looked at your description and crossed out all the parts which are unnecessary or negative or incorrect.

Approx Packed Weight =  625 grams 

Approximate USA shipping = $17.50

SORRY PACKED WEIGHT WILL BE OVER THE 1 KILO WEIGHT LIMIT FOR AIRMAIL TO U.S.A

All other countries please ask for shipping costs  

Note = Canada Post charge for weight and size of Box

If you would prefer Insured / Tracked Shipping please let me know I will get you the extra shipping cost

Buyers please note Canada post no longer offer insurance with small pkt shipping to the USA & the rest of the world - Do not worry I pack extremely well, please read my feedback -- Please ask if you would prefer Insured Shipping

I combine all the shipping costs - With small items the shipping cost for two miniature figurines in the same box may be the same as for one :O)

I will go to great lengths to cut the cost of the shipping down for you -- I cut boxes up & remove excess cardboard to lower the shipping weight.

The multicoloured print would be very hard to read on a mobile.

Over 50% of our customers are now shopping on their phones.

Take a look at your listings on a mobile and you may be shocked at what you (don't ) see.