posted on February 5, 2002 10:02:17 AM new
At the moment I basically have in my listings that I will only ship to the US. Do you think I am limiting myself? Is it a real PAIN to get actual international rates? How many of you power sellers really get alot of bids from outside the US?
posted on February 5, 2002 10:07:10 AM new
I'm sure you'll get some different opinions, but generally you can go to the shipping web sites and get pretty accurate shipping cost quotes, so that often isn't a problem.
I think the problems arise more in currency and timing issues.
My advice is to try it and see how it works for you. If it proves too much of a pain, drop it, but unless you had some known fears in advance (like the items you sell are generally not allowed to ship overseas), I might be tempted to err onthe side of more bids rather than less.
One nice thing about allowing international bids is that they can often push up the final bid, so you end up with the best of both worlds - a local shipment, but a selling price that is bumped up by international bids.
posted on February 5, 2002 10:08:58 AM new
It really all depends on what you are selling.
Have you ever been approached from someone requesting that they be allowed to bid that was from a foreign country? Some items sell well internationally, others don't. Yes it costs more to ship internationally, but most international buyers know that. For those pricing reasons a lot of low ticketed items might not sell well internationally, there is just too high of a transaction cost associated with them.
posted on February 5, 2002 10:15:11 AM new
My strong preference is to limit the international countries that I ship to. Many eastern European, Asian, and Latin American countries have high rates of fraud. My credit card processor can only recommend Canada as the only safe international country to ship to.
Be cautious when any of these criterias are met:
1. Bid goes much higher than expected,
2. Buyer wants express shipping, or
3. Buyer ID was recently created.
posted on February 5, 2002 10:17:16 AM new
I'm mostly a bookseller and list for US only. I will accept international bidders if they ask. Best bets for bookselling is Canada--it's usually worth the effort.
My take is that most international bidders are better than their US counterparts overall, but you often wait longer for payment if their mail service is poor. The only other downside is that you really need to weigh and estimate your shipping costs accurately because international shipping is expensive enough.
I generally don't like selling items under $5.00 overseas. Too much effort for too little return. A sale is a sale though. It doesn't help to turn away potential buyers.
posted on February 5, 2002 10:17:25 AM new
I have only been asked by some bidders in Canada and I've always said yes. I sell what ever I can get my hands on but its usually Childrens clothing and Video tapes.
posted on February 5, 2002 10:27:26 AM new
I think it depends on what you're selling and what the demand for that particular item is overseas. I offer worldwide shipping, and maybe 10% to 15% of my auctions go to bidders outside the USA. Some of the collectibles I sell are so common in the US that you can't give them away here, but collectors in other countries are looking for them. Some go for ridiculously high prices to collectors outside the US, especially to Japan in my case.
Calculating the postage is easy. The USPS has postage calculators, both foreign and domestic, so you just plug in the destination and weight, then choose a shipping method - I usually offer a choice of Air Mail or Surface Mail. The only additional paperwork required is a little customs slip that takes about a minute to fill out. All of my foreign buyers have been good about sending payment in U.S. currency, either drawn from a U.S. bank, money order, or with a credit card. I've never had a foreign non-paying bidder.
If I were selling new electronics or high-end consumer products, I'd be more selective as to what countries I deal with. A number of countries like Indonesia and Romania are filled with scam artists using stolen credit cards, always looking for next ebay seller willing to ship them something that they can sell in their own black markets.
posted on February 5, 2002 02:04:44 PM new
Here's my take. I recently expanded to shipping internationally and have since shipped to Scotland, Canada, Australia, England, Germany, and Latvia (yes, Latvia).
I think that some international sellers will ask if you can ship to them, but many will just avoid the auction (or never see it), if you limit your audience. I sell mostly old games, so these may have never reached gamers in other countries -- so they bid quite a bit.
One word of warning. I just noticed the other day that PayPal has a list of approved countries. Shipping to any not on this list (I suppose when payment came through Paypal) can result in your account being cancelled.
The approved countries are:
Argentina
Australia
Anguilla
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Canada
China
Costa Rica
Denmark
Dominican Republic
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hong Kong
Iceland
India
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Luxembourg
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Portugal
Singapore
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
posted on February 5, 2002 02:15:12 PM new
So Latvia isnt on the approved list? LOL..I actually do know where that is..my hubby's family is Latvian. Did you know that many of them are unusually tall people? : )
posted on February 5, 2002 03:19:39 PM new
Nope, Latvia not on the list. I didn't see this until after. I wrote PayPal and confessed, asking for clarification.
Seems to me that they should keep people from unapproved countries from getting an account and we shouldn't be doing their work.
And doesn't Latvia usually have a good Olympic basketball team? Seriously.
posted on February 5, 2002 03:27:22 PM new
I accept international buyers. Based on where it is going (usually Asia or South America) I will require that they pay for insurance, registered mail, etc. OR I will not be responsible for misdirected packages. I have had a few problems in the past, but not enough to make me stop accepting those sales. I just had a package go astray to the Netherlands, so you never know when you will have problems (I did have that one insured fortunately, did you know it takes 75 days to file an international claim! Ouch!!)
posted on February 5, 2002 04:50:55 PM new
Overseas bidders are Great!I've Never had a Deadbeat,and Most Send Cash!heres how I rate them spending:
Japan=$$$$$(hard to read their handwriting somtimes!)
England & UK=$$$$
Germany=$$$1/2
Canada=$$1/2 (complain about shipping cost alot!)
All others=$ to $$
word of warning alot will forget to tell you they are from overseas and only send US postal rate pay....if this happens send surface mail;>
posted on February 5, 2002 10:27:11 PM new
Could someone clarify this for me? EXACTLY how do you ask them to pay if you don't accept credit cards (I don't)?
Is there an international money order that they pay for and I get it in US dollars? (I know I'm sounding dumb, but I've just begun selling internationally at the request of some buyers and I just don't know the jargon or the ways and means.
posted on February 5, 2002 10:36:38 PM new
Bidpay.com is pretty easy. Buyer pays $5.00 fee to have an international western union money order sent to you. You can use it for non auction transactions as long you enter a "valid" auction number in their form. Never a problem.
Post offices in some countries (like Japan) can cut international money orders which can be cashed at the USA post office for free. It always brings a smile to my face when I leave the post office with more money than I came in with!
posted on February 6, 2002 07:01:05 AM new
Several ways for international bidders to pay are: international money order, check drawn on a US bank, international PayPal, BidPay, and cash.
posted on February 6, 2002 09:45:50 PM new
Sun818 I have to disagree with you on this one:
2. Buyer wants express shipping
I have returning Int'l buyer that always
Wants (and I didnt question it the first time) express shipping.
I went to USPS website to see their estimates, and
Shipping that took 4-6 weeks
Was $11.00, shipping that was 4-7 days
Was $36.00 and gobal express mail
Was $25.00 and he had it in 3 days.....
Sometimes is just cheaper and faster
(each country has different rates..)
I love all my Asian customers,
They love designer clothing
And my prices are still lower then the best sale they could find, and they pay
Faster then most domestic buyers
posted on February 6, 2002 10:17:52 PM new
LAIOCHKA, I agree. Blame the post office for having non-sensical rates. I have not had any problems shipping to Japan either.
posted on February 7, 2002 09:59:55 AM new
problem with international sales is that many of them after the sale say they want you to write off customs receipt as a gift-I won't do that which sometimes makes their custom payments too high and they hollar-also I will not ship anything without insurance- not all countries have it and if they do it is expensive-
posted on February 19, 2002 01:44:57 PM new
GO FOR IT! I'm an international seller (I live in Ireland) and most of my sales are to the US and North America. For me, international bidders are the best and fastest payers. It's so easy for me to give both international and European rates. I accept both cash and Bidpay so no problems with payments. It's always a pleasure to deal with international bidders who tend to pay very quickly. The trick is to include the postage rates in your item description so no guessing after the auction ends. Usually always perfect transactions!
posted on February 19, 2002 01:52:40 PM new
I LOVE my international customers! They pay quickly and respond quickly...have only had one dead-beat in several years. All have been delightful correspondents...in fact, there's a cast iron tea kettle named after me sitting in a garden somewhere in Taiwan! One word of caution...I ONLY accept BidPay payments from international customers. This avoids any bank hassles here...it's quick and, generally less expensive for the customer. Now that PayPal is also international, I accept those payments as well. Good luck and have fun...you won't be sorry.
