eBay

gishena · ‎07-03-2021

Dear forum,

I have a couple of questions regarding the currencies in which items are listed (when you browse the website as a buyer that is).

I always visit ebay.com (unless I see specific results on other websites) and I was wondering the following:

1) Is ebay.com the US website?

2) Where are there so many Chinese sellers on eBay.com who post their products in AUD, instead of USD or CHY (I am living in the Netherlands)?

3) Is there a difference between the different eBay websites and if so, what is it - e.g., I just bought a website on eBay.com and when I logged on ebay.nl (I am living in the Netherlands) I could still see the same item I purchased 1 minute ago on ebay.com, only difference being its converted from USD to EUR? Are there any items which are listed only in a specific eBay website?

4) Are eBay sellers allowed to sell in ANY currency on ANY eBay website (e.g., AUD currency on the NL website)? I do not mind it that much, as my bank is offering me a reasonable currency rate (TIP: NEVER USE PAYPAL, they use 3% mark-up on actual rate, so no point in using them)?

Many thanks and cheers!

lacemaker3 · ‎07-05-2021

@gishena wrote:
Yup, thank you!

I agree with everything you said but one small item - when paying as a buyer with a card that is connected to PayPal, I always see two options - 1) pay in my currency (aka the currency which PayPal thinks is my currency based on my address) in which case PP charges a 3% mark up on mid rate OR 2) pay in the currency of the original listing, in which case my bank converts the payment (you are correct that they profit from the bid-ask spread but it is not 3% for non-exotic currencies, at least here in Europe, so I prefer that).
...

I have heard other people in Europe say they had a choice, to let PayPal do the conversion, or pay in the listing currency and let their bank/credit card do the conversion. In the USA, foreign transactions are pretty expensive, with about a $10 fee added on, but I get that may not be the case for you.

However, there may be a disadvantage if you have to return an item. If you let PayPal do the conversion, then you get the exact same amount back (in your currency) as you were charged, even if the conversion rate has changed since you bought the item.

If your bank does the conversion, then they will use the current conversion rate at the time the refund happens. This could be more or less than you originally paid. Sometimes it can work to your advantage, sometimes it won't. There have been people from Europe who complained about this, and didn't like when it was pointed out that they took their chances to save a bit of money when they purchased, and that put them at risk of losing money if they returned the item.

Just so you know what your risks are. I'm not trying to say you should change what you're doing, you should do what you feel comfortable with.

@gishena wrote:
...Back to my example, since I purchased an item sold by a Chinese seller in AUD on ebay.com which was shipped to me in the Netherlands (so I paid with my EUR denominated bank account to him in AUD, my bank doing the conversion), chances are he did list the phone protector on ebay.au originally and not on ebay.com, as otherwise he would not have been allowed to sell it in AUD on eBay.com?

Chees!

If the listing currency was in AU$ (Australian dollars) then the item was listed on eBay Australia, eBay.com.au. Anything that is listed on eBay USA ebay.com is listed in US$ (USA dollars). It's not that the seller "wasn't allowed", it isn't possible to use any other currency.

Sellers on eBay Canada ebay.ca used to have a choice between listing in CA$ or US$, but that was ended some years ago. I don't know of any other website that has ever had the option of more than one listing currency.

View Best Answer in original post

kare-bearb · ‎07-03-2021

1. ebay.com is the US$ site.

Domestic shipping is shipping anywhere to / within the US.

Shipping to all other countries is considered international shipping.

2. Listings seen while on eBay.com that are in currencies other than US$ were actually listed on another eBay site. They are just searchable / viewable on the .com site.

To reach the most potential buyers, Chinese sellers list on multiple eBay sites.

Their home site, ebay.cn, is for selling within China only.

3. The different eBay sites operate in a specific currency.

For example: eBay.com = US$, eBay.ca (Canada) = C$, eBay.com.au (Australia) = AU$, eBay.co.uk = GBP = £.

There are several eBay sites that operate in EURO's = €.

If you were to buy an item listed on eBay.co.uk, the listing would be in £. You would be required to pay the seller in £. You would probably incur a currency conversion fee to convert your € to £ when you pay.

When I view an item that was listed on a site other than eBay.com, I see 2 prices: The currency in which it was listed & the US$ estimated equivalent.

4. Are eBay sellers allowed to sell in ANY currency on ANY eBay website

eBay sellers have to sell in the currency of the particular eBay site (see # 3).

When sellers were using Paypal to receive payments, they could hold balances in multiple currencies. For example: I could sell on eBay.com.au & I would be paid in AU$. I could choose to hold an AU$ balance or have Paypal automatically convert it to US$. With eBay's new Managed Payments, the AU$ would automatically be converted to US$ before being sent to my bank account.

(e.g., AUD currency on the NL website)?

If you are using the NL site, & my AU listing shipped to the Netherlands, you could view it on the NL site & buy it. Your € would be converted to AU$ when you paid me.

I hope this makes sense.

gishena · ‎07-04-2021

Thank you mate and much appreciated your help!

3 small follow-ups:

1) Is it possible that an item is listed only on a certain website (e.g., Chinese or Austrilian one which would not be visible if I search on .com or .nl)?

2) Can I change the language of a website without going to another one (e.g., can I view the .com in German or .nl in English)?

3) After your message I did purchase a certain item on ebay.com (the US website) from a Chinese seller. However, the selling price was in AUD, which according to your post means probably the seller originally listed it in ebay.au and made it searchable on other websites? For complteness purposes, pls note that depending on which website you view the purchase, you see a different currency approximation (e.g., on ebay.com I see the converted item in USD, while on ebay.nl I see it in EUR). However, when I made the purchase on ebay.com, I paid in AUD (account connected to the card I paid with was EUR, so my bank converted AUD to EUR).

lacemaker3 · ‎07-04-2021

@gishena wrote:
Thank you mate and much appreciated your help!

3 small follow-ups:

1) Is it possible that an item is listed only on a certain website (e.g., Chinese or Austrilian one which would not be visible if I search on .com or .nl)?

2) Can I change the language of a website without going to another one (e.g., can I view the .com in German or .nl in English)?

3) After your message I did purchase a certain item on ebay.com (the US website) from a Chinese seller. However, the selling price was in AUD, which according to your post means probably the seller originally listed it in ebay.au and made it searchable on other websites? For complteness purposes, pls note that depending on which website you view the purchase, you see a different currency approximation (e.g., on ebay.com I see the converted item in USD, while on ebay.nl I see it in EUR). However, when I made the purchase on ebay.com, I paid in AUD (account connected to the card I paid with was EUR, so my bank converted AUD to EUR).

Yes. eBay search is only supposed to show you items that can be shipped to your shipping location, as long as you are logged in. If you're not logged in, the website assumes you are in the country where the website is based. Even so, you can change the shipping location while you're viewing a search or a listing, and then it will show you items that can be shipped to the new shipping location.
No. Each eBay website is in the official language used in the country where the website is based. There are a few exceptions to this:
- For some countries that have more than one official language, the eBay website based there may offer a choice of languages at the top. For example, eBay Canada has English and Frenchy, but eBay Belgium doesn't offer a choice.
- eBay USA may automatically translate the eBay content (including titles) into some other languages (eg Spanish, Portuguese, Russian) based on the user's IP address (which should reflect where the user is actually located). It doesn't translate the descriptions, though.
The currency for a transaction always matches the currency on the listing. This is determined by which eBay website the seller used to make the listing. So the item is sold in the seller's currency, and they receive payment in their currency based on the website they used. A buyer's payment is converted into their native currency by the payment processor, either PayPal or Managed Payments. I PayPal may offer a way to pay for the item in the listing currency, in which case your credit card or bank does the currency conversion, and in many cases charges a fee in addition. I don't think Managed Payments offers this.
- The estimated cost in a converted currency on eBay is always an estimate. In my experience, the actual cost is always a bit higher, because eBay uses an average or default conversion rate, but the payment processor always uses the rate for "purchasing currency" which is higher than the rate for "selling" currency. That's how banks make money on currency conversions.

gishena · ‎07-05-2021

Yup, thank you!

I agree with everything you said but one small item - when paying as a buyer with a card that is connected to PayPal, I always see two options - 1) pay in my currency (aka the currency which PayPal thinks is my currency based on my address) in which case PP charges a 3% mark up on mid rate OR 2) pay in the currency of the original listing, in which case my bank converts the payment (you are correct that they profit from the bid-ask spread but it is not 3% for non-exotic currencies, at least here in Europe, so I prefer that).

Back to my example, since I purchased an item sold by a Chinese seller in AUD on ebay.com which was shipped to me in the Netherlands (so I paid with my EUR denominated bank account to him in AUD, my bank doing the conversion), chances are he did list the phone protector on ebay.au originally and not on ebay.com, as otherwise he would not have been allowed to sell it in AUD on eBay.com?

Chees!

lacemaker3 · ‎07-05-2021