Auction Not Showing in US Currency

[vintage-car-magazines]

I'm bidding on an item that's in Australia and listed on .com. It shows the AU$ bid and the US$ conversion under it. When I go to bid, it's asking me to enter my bid in AU$ which will then give me the US$ conversion.

How silly.

I'm in the US searching on the .com site and KNOW how many US$ I want to bid. Why not have me (the bidder in the US) enter my bid in US$ and convert THAT the AU$?

I feel like that used to be the case. Is this another poorly thought out change?

[lacemaker3]

@vintage-car-magazines,

If the main currency on the listing is AU$, then it was listed on eBay Australia not eBay USA. Listings on eBay USA are always in US$, and only listings on eBay USA are listed in US$ as well. Listings on each eBay website are always in the currency used for that website.

Bids are always placed in the currency that item was listed in and is being sold in. It has always been that way. If it's a fixed price listing, then you can see the estimated equivalent price in local currency when you buy it, but that has never been the case when you are bidding on an auction. 

Also, when you pay for an international listing, the checkout page and the order details page afterwards, will show the financial details in the listing currency, not in your local currency.

You can't bid in your local currency because the conversion rate that eBay uses is just an estimate, and they always underestimate the converted price a little bid because eBay uses a default rate that is probably the average of the buying and selling rate. When you pay for the purchase, the actual rate that is charged is the buying rate at the time you make the payment.

[kare-bearb · Accepted solution]

You are bidding on an item that was listed in AU$ on the AU eBay site, www.ebay.com.au

Whether you are bidding while signed in to the  .com  site or the  .com.au  site,

you have to bid in the currency of the listing.

The AU$ (listing currency) value is fixed.  

AU$10 is AU$10

The US$ esitimated equivalent varies as currency exchange rates fluctuate.

You also will have to pay in the currency of the listing, AU$.

Checkout will handle the currency conversion.

[dogchow747]

I am am not sure of the technical reason for it, but I have bought items from Canada under the same scenario.

Some of it I think has to to with credit card processing. I have had no issues and no currency exchange costs.

You might check with your CC company. You end up paying in AU$ rather than US$

[vintage-car-magazines]

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@kare-bearb wrote:

You are bidding on an item that was listed in AU$ on the AU eBay site, www.ebay.com.au

Whether you are bidding while signed in to the  .com  site or the  .com.au  site,

you have to bid in the currency of the listing.

The AU$ (listing currency) value is fixed.  

AU$10 is AU$10

The US$ esitimated equivalent varies as currency exchange rates fluctuate.

You also will have to pay in the currency of the listing, AU$.

Checkout will handle the currency conversion.

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The currency conversion makes sense.

Thanks for talking me down, lol.

[sin-n-dex]

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@vintage-car-magazines wrote:

I'm bidding on an item that's in Australia and listed on .com. It shows the AU$ bid and the US$ conversion under it. When I go to bid, it's asking me to enter my bid in AU$ which will then give me the US$ conversion.

How silly.

I'm in the US searching on the .com site and KNOW how many US$ I want to bid. Why not have me (the bidder in the US) enter my bid in US$ and convert THAT the AU$?

I feel like that used to be the case. Is this another poorly thought out change?

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You bid in the currency on the site they listed it on. It matters how much you are paying in their currency. eBay doesn't care what currency you use.

C.