If the Canadian dollar is so weak why don't we see a ton of Canadian sellers?

[romanheart]

That's great for housing that the rates are low but how do we get more people working and higher salaries. Is their only play to lower rates and hope for oil to come back?

[N/A]

I'll stick with my variable at well under 2%.

 

I've been on a variable mortgage (and dropping) since about 2000 after my 5 year locked came up on my first home purchase.

 

And it sounds like you'll be switching back.

[N/A]

That's great for housing that the rates are low but how do we get more people working and higher salaries. Is their only play to lower rates and hope for oil to come back?

 

Move away from bad employment. Encourage self employment. Ban foreign companies like Walmart and Target. I celebrate the collapse of the latter.

[lou_fine]

What we need is a better gov not so reliant on oil profits, a sinking dollar, lower interest, and a booming housing market as the only strategy to return to growth.

 

 

 

That's what I mean. They tank the interest to stoke the housing, but we don't grow. Instead we go in recession.

 

The problem is that the Canadian dollar has always been resource based, and in particular, a de facto Petro dollar more than anything else. Look at it today, the price for a barrel of oil goes up a couple of dollars and the Canadian loonie is up by well over half a cent.

 

They definitely didn't tank the interest rate to stoke the housing market as this market was already on fire and they have been trying to cool it back down for quite a few years now. Especially when houses are being sold for well above asking prices and after being listed for only less than a week in cities like Vancouver. The politicians are even giving out election promises now to cool down the price increases in an attempt to win voter support.

 

They tanked the interest rate in an attempt to stimulate business growth, and in particular, the manufacturing sector in Southern Ontario. Also to make their goods more attractive to foreign buyers and also discourage imports at the same time. Unfortunately, all national governments around the world seems to be employing this same technique as it is seen as a quick, simple, and lazy way to stimulate the domestic economy.

 

Not really that effective as it's now turned into more of a race to the bottom in terms of the currencies around the world as every country wants to have a lower currency.

[Captain Canuck]

What I think would also help stimulate business growth and spending is lowering the taxes on gas. Gas is far more expensive per litre than it is in the states and that is because of all the taxes applied to it at the pump. If gas was lower, then people would have more spending money, the cost of shipping or importing goods would also be decreased, but it is no guarantee that the savings would be transferred to the consumer. Another big problem is the whole notion that things are more expensive in Canada because Canadians are willing to spend more, therefore it is justified, which is not ok, e.g. Cell Phone plans. I feel with a more competitive dollar it would give consumers more choice and force retailers, manufactures, ... to be more competitive, which would help keep spending in Canada. Tax breaks need to be given to consumers and small and medium sized businesses to help stimulate spending and growth.

[lou_fine]

You got that right about the gasoline taxes or whatever it is that is keeping the price of gasoline so high.

 

Can you believe that even though the price for a barrel of oil has gone down by something like almost 60% in the past year or so, gasoline prices where I live have gone down by only around 10% during the same time period.

 

Somebody must be making a lot of money between the well head price and the pump price. They are always using refinery problems as the reason that prices are still high, but come on, it's over a year now and they are still having problems!

[Captain Canuck]

You got that right about the gasoline taxes or whatever it is that is keeping the price of gasoline so high.

 

Can you believe that even though the price for a barrel of oil has gone down by something like almost 60% in the past year or so, gasoline prices where I live have gone down by only around 10% during the same time period.

 

Somebody must be making a lot of money between the well head price and the pump price. They are always using refinery problems as the reason that prices are still high, but come on, it's over a year now and they are still having problems!

They tried to investigate price fixing, we all know it is happening, but have yet to prove it. Work on the taxes and it will help the economy through more consumer spending.

[Arkham]

Thanks for the shout out Dan!

 

My pleasure buddy! You provide, hands-down, the best comic buying experience possible. Pricing, packing, comms all A1.

 

Out of the boardies I've bought from, you, Revat, Ramses717, .Troy and NinjaSealed are the ones who come first-to-mind to recommend!

 

 

 

 

[Fantastic Thor]

The Canadian Dollar has really cut back my buying on auction.

after your upcharge at Heritage Plus your exchange plus shipping it almost makes it impossible to buy on auction..

 

However buying locally has been great . Buying at small shows has been wonderful while also being able to sell off afew books here and there in USD is perfect !

 

There are 3 shows coming up in alberta in the next few months. All will have some deals in Canadian dollars. Buying in a low dollar local environment has been very very good. For any Yanks interested shows like Edmonton will have some decent deals as will the smaller Calgary shows and lethbridge shows.

 

My strategy has been ..

Buy some decent books in Canadian funds then sell off half of them in USD and pay for the entire load of books.. (But keep the nice ones for me )

 

links for Calgary -->

http://www.comicandtoy.ca/

 

Hope to see you both at the Red and White. Dinner and drinks?

 

For sure ! Maybe Edmonton as well ?

[Gunnz]

I am selling, but again, like others have said I like my collection. and I have bought at a premium but they are books i've been after forever and i couldnt pass up the opportunity.

 

 

[Wall-Crawler]

Kind of sorta related to the topic at hand and I didn't want to start a new thread...Any other Canadian eBay sellers get this message today?

 

We recently conducted a significant and in-depth analysis of Fixed-price sell-through rates and auction conversion rates for Canadian inventory listed on eBay.ca and eBay.com. What we found may surprise you!

 

As illustrated in the table below, our analysis found that Canadian business sellers’ aggregate Fixed Price sell-through rates(1) and Auction conversion rates(2) perform better when their listings are in CAD on eBay.ca.

 

eBay has historically suggested that Canadian sellers should list in U.S. dollars to maximize sales. However, as a result of our analysis, we find that listing in U.S. dollars is no longer the best practice for most Canadian business sellers. We are confident that listing in CAD on eBay.ca is the right strategy to improve overall selling success for most Canadian sellers (3) Some exceptions apply.

 

They also included a table with some examples, but this is what they listed for collectibles:

 

Summary of findings by vertical (except P&A) for Canadian business sellers

Vertical Comparison of Fixed Price Sell-through Rates(1) Comparison of Auction Listing Conversion Rates(2)

 

Collectibles Comparison of Fixed Price Sell-through Rates(1) - More than 10% better for CAD listings Comparison of Auction Listing Conversion Rates(2) - More than 5% better for CAD listings

 

The e-commerce landscape has changed and we want to make sure we’re giving you the most up to date tips to help you and your eBay business.

 

Get more detailed information and guidance here.

 

Sincerely,

Andrea Stairs

Managing Director, eBay Canada

 

So, fellow Canadian eBay sellers, thoughts?

[Fan Boy]

Good answers. Very enlightening. As for me, I don't have much I want to sell and I don't really have time to sell it anyway. When I do sell, I usually reinvest the money in more comics so there is no cnet gain.

 

This is what I am doing this year, I usually sell some of my comics in local con shows and whatever sales I made are reinvested in more comics. Right now, I am eyeing a few keys I wanna get. I may have to look to let go some of my bigger keys to sell (of course, to U.S. For 30% rate over our loonie).

[Fan Boy]

Kind of sorta related to the topic at hand and I didn't want to start a new thread...Any other Canadian eBay sellers get this message today?

 

We recently conducted a significant and in-depth analysis of Fixed-price sell-through rates and auction conversion rates for Canadian inventory listed on eBay.ca and eBay.com. What we found may surprise you!

 

As illustrated in the table below, our analysis found that Canadian business sellers’ aggregate Fixed Price sell-through rates(1) and Auction conversion rates(2) perform better when their listings are in CAD on eBay.ca.

 

eBay has historically suggested that Canadian sellers should list in U.S. dollars to maximize sales. However, as a result of our analysis, we find that listing in U.S. dollars is no longer the best practice for most Canadian business sellers. We are confident that listing in CAD on eBay.ca is the right strategy to improve overall selling success for most Canadian sellers (3) Some exceptions apply.

 

They also included a table with some examples, but this is what they listed for collectibles:

 

Summary of findings by vertical (except P&A) for Canadian business sellers

Vertical Comparison of Fixed Price Sell-through Rates(1) Comparison of Auction Listing Conversion Rates(2)

 

Collectibles Comparison of Fixed Price Sell-through Rates(1) - More than 10% better for CAD listings Comparison of Auction Listing Conversion Rates(2) - More than 5% better for CAD listings

 

The e-commerce landscape has changed and we want to make sure we’re giving you the most up to date tips to help you and your eBay business.

 

Get more detailed information and guidance here.

 

Sincerely,

Andrea Stairs

Managing Director, eBay Canada

 

So, fellow Canadian eBay sellers, thoughts?

 

I get the same email from eBay above ... My thoughts? If I do try post an auction with Canadian dollars, will it get more U.S. buyers to see it on their screen online? I find that if I do an auction with U.S. dollar - I get more notices than I do with Canadian dollar here.

So, I question that new info from Canada eBay dept.

[ComicConnoisseur]

What we need is a better gov not so reliant on oil profits, a sinking dollar, lower interest, and a booming housing market as the only strategy to return to growth.

 

And when the housing market corrects people will say just the opposite. It's all cyclical.

 

BTW, you can lock in a 5 year mortgage for well under 3% right now. How can interest get any lower??

What we need is a better gov not so reliant on oil profits, a sinking dollar, lower interest, and a booming housing market as the only strategy to return to growth.

 

And when the housing market corrects people will say just the opposite. It's all cyclical.

 

BTW, you can lock in a 5 year mortgage for well under 3% right now. How can interest get any lower??

 

I don't think the housing market is going to crash. There be a slight correction, but I think the prices we are seeing are here to stay. Just look at the rising condo prices in Toronto and the glut of them on the market or being built. It is a sellers market. In regards to comics, at this point I rather deal and stay in Canadian dollars, what is a good place for buyers to find OA and vintage back issues? I find a lot of the local shops in Toronto don't have much and at the cons, e.g. FanExpo there is not tons and what there is (OA and back issues) is inflated to help cover the cost of the tables.

One thing though to remember is China was buying a lot of Canada real estate during the China Miracle.This caused a bunch of Canadian real estate to become artificially inflated pricewise. Now with the China Miracle over we find Canadian real estate overpriced. Kind of overpriced like American real estate was in 2005-2007.

This could be a factor with the Canadian dollar going down.

Any thoughts on this?

[piper]

What we need is a better gov not so reliant on oil profits, a sinking dollar, lower interest, and a booming housing market as the only strategy to return to growth.

 

And when the housing market corrects people will say just the opposite. It's all cyclical.

 

BTW, you can lock in a 5 year mortgage for well under 3% right now. How can interest get any lower??

What we need is a better gov not so reliant on oil profits, a sinking dollar, lower interest, and a booming housing market as the only strategy to return to growth.

 

And when the housing market corrects people will say just the opposite. It's all cyclical.

 

BTW, you can lock in a 5 year mortgage for well under 3% right now. How can interest get any lower??

 

I don't think the housing market is going to crash. There be a slight correction, but I think the prices we are seeing are here to stay. Just look at the rising condo prices in Toronto and the glut of them on the market or being built. It is a sellers market. In regards to comics, at this point I rather deal and stay in Canadian dollars, what is a good place for buyers to find OA and vintage back issues? I find a lot of the local shops in Toronto don't have much and at the cons, e.g. FanExpo there is not tons and what there is (OA and back issues) is inflated to help cover the cost of the tables.

One thing though to remember is China was buying a lot of Canada real estate during the China Miracle.This caused a bunch of Canadian real estate to become artificially inflated pricewise. Now with the China Miracle over we find Canadian real estate overpriced. Kind of overpriced like American real estate was in 2005-2007.

This could be a factor with the Canadian dollar going down.

Any thoughts on this?

 

The lower exchange rate is entirely due to the price of Oil.

[kimik]

I see Roy has taken advantage of the exchange rate and posted some new books for sale. I think I am going to list some new stuff here on the weekend as well.

[piper]

I see Roy has taken advantage of the exchange rate and posted some new books for sale. I think I am going to list some new stuff here on the weekend as well.

 

[Darjis_]

I bet it's because...

 

The Canadian dollar is so low right now that it's a steal for American's to buy from us.

 

So if I list ASM 129 CGC 5.5 for $400 CAD...that's actually $300 USD which means I'm selling below fair market value. Pretty much a guaranteed sale.

 

I've seen a few listings recently like this for either rare variants or older, valuable comics.

[kimik]

I bet it's because...

 

The Canadian dollar is so low right now that it's a steal for American's to buy from us.

 

So if I list ASM 129 CGC 5.5 for $400 CAD...that's actually $300 USD which means I'm selling below fair market value. Pretty much a guaranteed sale.

 

I've seen a few listings recently like this for either rare variants or older, valuable comics.

 

Why list it for $400 CAD? Put it at market value and in $USD and collect the 25-30% exchange rate kicker yourself.

[kimik]

I see Roy has taken advantage of the exchange rate and posted some new books for sale. I think I am going to list some new stuff here on the weekend as well.

 

 

Nothing big yet. I am going to thin out my slab boxes a bit, though, and probably put a bunch of raws up here and on eBay.