"My interpretation is you ONLY have a 24 hour window to enroll back in. After the 24 hours the option to opt back in MUST come as another invite. So a very limited time offer. Optimum setting would be a toggle vs a having to request or wait around for another invite. You would get an error message if for some reason you no longer qualify as per eBay requirements. My best guess for anyone that was to opt out they had their reason or at the time it just didn't match their needs either where they sell to internationally or the type of products they list. Situations can change. eIS Canada will never work perfectly for everyone until the country list expands along with the allowable category list. (Examples: Stamps, Coins & Currency) "
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Hi Lotz. Thank you for your input
As you point out EIS with one eastern hub 4000km from Vancouver and a ridiculous 4000km from California combined with Canada Post rates versus USPS is complicated and messy. Rehashing reasons or wishing for some de minimis return is a complete waste of time. For Christmas I asked for $150 de minimis and got coal.
I'm aware of the restrictions you illustrate above. I opted out months ago. Here is what I see in my account today (see screenshot below). When EIS provides a positive (it's not) , happy (it's not), closer to USPS competitive rate (it's not) and a reasonably efficient service (it's very not) for international eBay buyers to purchase from Western Canadian sellers I'll jump at the chance to opt back in! Under the current border rules all Canadians need EIS. In it's current form it's an opportunity for Ontario based sellers and a curse for Westerners.
Nothing in life stays the same. Depending on what you sell, who you sell to, and where you sell it may be time to re-tool. Trying to circumvent a zero de minimis/tarif climate leads to the US household market that is currently experiencing a diminishing discretionary fund. I'm looking for a lower stress "greenish" pasture. I may take a run down to Osoyoos and speak with a freight forwarder to see if my customers could benefit.
Kudos to those still selling low value items to the US of A and making a very generous hourly wage doing it! Please write a Marsha Collier style book for the rest of us!
@tarnvik wrote:Thanks for the heads up. I do have corresponding info. sent to my primary email linked to potential Ebay communication. Nothing incoming that I should miss (at least I believe:)
The magic of eIS and access to traffic.
No eIS sales as of yet. According to further testing with eIS turned on you have access to approx 37 countries. The eBay help page only lists 30. The other 7 are most likely not high traffic options but they are there just in case. (Guam, Virgin Islands, American Samoa...). In 20 years of selling on eBay only sold to Guam once. (US Naval base)
EIS Canada: Results Will Vary because it depends what you sell, where you ship from and the type of buyer you have. Before you stress over it you might want to look at the pros and cons of selling radios from your location thru EIS.
It will probably go Exp Prcl by land through varies stops and scans to Mississauga for processing. When it finally leaves the GTA it will get forwarded to the buyer in "Anywhere USA". This is different than sending it directly from you to the buyer.
- More handling
- Longer delivery time
- Higher delivery cost to the buyer. Your label fee may actually be cheaper than sending it direct. That said, if you break even on your freight expense it doesn't make a difference to your bottom line.
These 3 potential negatives are what a buyer searching for a radio on dot com will see in your listing if viewed alongside the domestic US listings. The advantage you have over other sellers is your items are rare. Some collectors are willing to wait longer and pay more to get a collectible.
This is something I would take into consideration when setting the BIN price.
I have a GE C415 Musaphonic radio to list. It weighs 2.7kg unpacked say about 4kg packed. Normally, to ship it from Kelowna to Orlando (without export charges) it would cost about $50 for freight, insurance and a small packaging charge.
I couldn't find a similar example for sale in Canada so as an example there is a seller in Toronto with a 1967 Westinghouse Table Radio Model 917T5. No idea what it weighs. Their BIN price is $29.00. They offer 4 shipping options Exp Pcl, UPS, Fedex & EIS. Three of them are DDU. Buyer pays import chrgs. Thru EIS the import charge is $11.18 on the $29 Canadian made radio. No idea why there is an import charge on a Canada made radio to the US but there is. Maybe it's border charges or admin fees.
This is based on $29. Costs would be different on a $295 radio. The buyer in America sees the freight to ship it to Bakersfield from Toronto as $41.90 plus $11.18 = $53.08. Not bad. That's about what is used to cost if the radio weighs 4kg packed although I think this is a much lighter radio.
Not trying to persuade you in either direction @rosscd57 . I think the value of EIS in it's current form depends on what you sell, where you ship it from and the type of buyer you have. In your case it just might be a good thing as your items are of a higher value and EIS offers better seller protections. If I was you I would give it a go when the door opens keeping an eye on your tracking, damage/theft in transit, feedback scores etc as these can change quickly.
For the folks, here a screen shot of that $29 Westinghouse radio example:
PS: I love your penguin playing the guitar logo!
