Selling Internationally

[o_natha]

Hey guys,

I was trying to sell some used clothes to Japan, China, and Korea and was wondering what challenges I would face with selling used clothes there, whether it be customs, tariffs? I've read that international shipping through Ebay is not the best and sometimes expensive...

[agent006140]

shipping clothes is no different than shipping books or figurines ,it is probably easier to pack and ship in box or bag.

There are some sellers who sell clothese in bulk to Brazil,there is a huge backlog of imports going thru Brazil customs and delays are common,so buyer would file item not received and got his money back and 30 days later get his goods as well.

[slippinjimmy]

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@o_natha wrote:

Hey guys,

I was trying to sell some used clothes to Japan, China, and Korea and was wondering what challenges I would face with selling used clothes there, whether it be customs, tariffs? I've read that international shipping through Ebay is not the best and sometimes expensive...

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What kind of "used clothing"?  Unless it's something unusual, I think they have plenty of their own.

There is a market for high end brands that are NOT made in Asia.

If by "International shipping through eBay" you mean using eBay's Global Shipping Program then yes it can be expensive especially for light weight items of modest value. Drect shipping yourself via USPS is not all that cheap either.

The trade off with GSP is that you don't need to worry about delivery issues. Personally I don't have problems shipping to Asia but it can be slow to some countries. Customs delays and import duties can be an issue with high value iterms.

[o_natha]

Hey thanks for responding,
I am thinking high end/street fashion clothes that are limited in supply or out of stock in stores (e.g. Supreme). How do you deal with returns with the high shipping costs?

[lexismah]

If I recall correctly, mailing used clothing is prohibited in China. You can check individual country restrictions here:

https://pe.usps.com/text/imm/ab_toc.htm

.

[m60driver]

Japan is the best market for vintage clothing.  And it one of the few countries I am willing to ship to.  I have never had any problems.  I simply list used shirt/pants on the customs form with maybe a lower value than what the customer paid, nothing too crazy, usually the value here in the US.  I do not have the same confidence to sell to the PRC, although I will ship to ROC (Taiwan).

[o_natha]

thank you for the reply!

but how about korea? and do you let them return clothes?

[Anonymous]

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@o_natha wrote:
How do you deal with returns with the high shipping costs?

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That is a risk you take. An item may not fit and the buyer can lie and say the item is not as described by claiming there's a hole or the measurements were wrong and return shipping is on your dime. Test the market and if your return rates are too high to build the cost into your business model then you can change where you ship.

[rixstuff]

I was never successful at selling second hand clothing to those countries.  Japan and Korea are VERY fashion conscious and want only high end and are more than willing to pay designer prices. They would expect anything they buy to be PERFECT (not just good or with tons of life left PERFECT). They also tend to be smaller than plus size Americans so no takers there.  Vintage jewelery worked well but not clothing.  I have sold clothes to Thailand and Philipines and even a few to Indonesia.  China is just plain weird about anything coming into the country so it is difficult AND expensive to sell to China.  Contrary to the belief that there is a ton of money to be made from China, most Chinese citizens are rather poor so while there are plenty of potential buyers they probably couldnt pay what you would ask.

[rixstuff]

And yes - customs up the hoohaw.

[rixstuff]

Consider South America and Europe.  Both are big Ebay shoppers.  And Australians and Canadians are some of the nicest buyers you could ask for.

[emerald40]

OP, what ever countries you choose to sell to, first check their banned lists to see if it is allowed.

[belo_1885]

One thing to consider is your feedback. You have a Luffy that number which will make you a target for scammers. I would consider selling less high-end stuff and establishing a few hundred feedback before you start selling internationally.

Also I believe eBay has a requirement to have a certain number of feedback and be selling for a certain amount of time before you are allowed to sell internationally.

[rixstuff]

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@belo_1885 wrote:
One thing to consider is your feedback. You have a Luffy that number which will make you a target for scammers. I would consider selling less high-end stuff and establishing a few hundred feedback before you start selling internationally.

Also I believe eBay has a requirement to have a certain number of feedback and be selling for a certain amount of time before you are allowed to sell internationally.

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It has been a long time but I think you have to rack up a certain number of feedback before you can sell internationally anyway.

[emerald40]

How to sell internationally

Before you can sell internationally, you'll need to:

• Have an eBay account in good standing
• Have a PayPal account - opens in new window or tab and be PayPal Verified - opens in new window or tab
• Offer PayPal as a payment option
• Have earned at least 10 feedback points as a seller
• Have made your first successful sale more than 90 days ago
• Post in an eligible category. Ineligible categories for international sales include Video Games, DVDs & Movies, Hunting knives, Auto parts, and Vehicles
• Offering shipping to the UK, Europe, or worldwide. Specifying shipping service to these areas is highly recommended, since listings without specified shipping may be moved to the bottom of Best Match search results