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I know eBay is the main thing in the states for resell. But how do you guys sell in Canada? eBay? Do you sell to the states? How do you or your customers handle duties/taxes when the transaction is a cross-border one? Or you limit the shipping to Canada only? Do we have a big enough market on Canada at all?
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Here are some forum posts from our friends in Canada:
By the way, I’m going to be in Toronto for this coming long weekend. My daughter had committed to a college here in the US, but is having second thoughts. We will be looking at the University of Toronto where she has been accepted, but never visited.
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@ironman – I’ll answer some of your questions that I may not have answered in the past:
I sell on eBay and Kijiji – basically anything large on Kijiji that I don’t want to ship, and everything shippable through Canada Post on eBay. I know others that use Facebook, and I’m investigating Etsy (still haven’t sold anything there, but have bought on Etsy with no issues).
Outside of Canada, I sell mostly to the U.S. but have sold to Europe, Australia, and Japan occasionally. Most of my sales are in Canada and the trend of Canadian sales is increasing (it was about 47.5% each Canada/U.S. for years now it is about 65% Canadian). See my other posts on how to maximize free listings on eBay between eBay.com and eBay.ca.
Duties/Taxes are handled by the buyer – if any. Most countries, like the U.S. have huge duty-free limits compared to Canada – unless you are selling items over $800 US, you will never have any issues with duties/customs with a buyer. Just make sure what you are sending is legal and the customs forms are filled out correctly.
The market in Canada is huge – being a Canadian seller, the huge benefits are no duty, and cheap shipping to Canada. For example, once you have an established Canada Post account, I can send anything in my area (basically Ontario and Quebec) for under $10 – anything huge and heavy may be up to $15. You also have little or no competition within the country. You can also charge more for you item if you are the only one in Canada as people don’t like risking duty, converting currency, and the hassle of cross-border returns if there is an issue.
Kijiji has also been HUGE for us the last month as we are moving and trying to get rid of large items. All cash, a bit of hassle with the odd buyer, but has been easy for us to unload unshippable items.
I’m also working with the BDC to develop a program for small online businesses using platforms such as eBay – if you have any questions, let me know.
@Sharyn – U of T is great! Many friends went there and have good careers all over the world. It’s very expensive though (compared to most Canadian schools – but some U.S. schools sound very expensive as well). Enjoy your trip – the campus is great, and the school and city is very liberal compared to most of the U.S. -
@Inglewood – I’ve heard great things about U of T. I just hope my daughter stops with all the drama about what college to go to. Things like this are never black and white, and there isn’t a “best” choice.
US colleges are, in general, very expensive. Some are ridiculously pricey. My daughter was accepted to a special program at Boston University with a $75,000 per year cost. She decided against that one quickly.
To me, U of T appears to be cheap for Canadian residents, but comes in mid-range for the US. It will be more expensive than the option she initially chose, but really not that bad.
I haven’t been to Toronto since I was a kid. We did visit Montreal and Quebec City about 3 or 4 years ago. In general, Canadian cities are just cleaner than the US cities, and Toronto is supposed to be a happening sort of place.
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Welcome.
>I know eBay is the main thing in the states for resell. But how do you guys sell in Canada? eBay? Do you sell to the states?
Yep, I sell on eBay mainly, some on kijiji and a tiny amount on amazon. Be crazy not to sell to the states, they’re right there and the population 10x bigger. I find about 50% of my sales are stateside, most of the rest domestic.
Canada Post parcel rates are expensive relative to what Americans are used to paying – especially rates on light, small stuff (on bigger heavier things CP is more competitive). This means if you are selling small cheap items (say, a $15 shirt with $20 shipping), you can’t really compete with American sellers (who are selling the same shirt for say $15 plus $5 shipping) unless you use a cross-border shipper like Chit Chats.
My solution is, get away from low-dollar sales, so shipping is not a big part of the equation anymore.
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I’ve recently quit my full time career to sell on eBay and Amazon. If interested, I try to document some of the process on fb and Instagram (@TheCanuckReseller).
eBay, amazon, FB Marketplace and kijiji are all VERY viable options in Canada. Most of the other questions you’ve asked have already been addressed
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