Live Broadcast & Chat, May 16th from 12:30 PDT - How to Start Selling and Shipping Internationally

[alan@ebay]

Join us here from 12:30 PDT tomorrow for a live video broadcast and a chat hour all about selling & shipping internationally. 

First up from 12:30, Bassil Eid (@bassileid5) will be in our studio to chat with Audrey Tracy about "How to Start Selling and Shipping Internationally."

Bassil will then join the Community team from 1-2 pm PDT to answer your questions. He can cover topics like:

• The difference between using GSP and shipping direct
• Do I use USPS or a commercial carrier like FedEx or DHL?
• How do my listings appear worldwide when I sell through eBay?
• How important are tracking and insurance?
• How can a seller mitigate for returns?
• How much do I need to know about customs? 
• How are international cases handled and what about keeping up with standards?

Chat with you then! 

*Keep in mind the Community’s Rules of Engagement when you post. Non-constructive, off-topic & disrespectful posts will be removed by our moderation team so that the thread can focus on a productive discussion. 

[bassileid5]

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@carlmarxx wrote:

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@bassileid5 wrote:

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@mam98031 wrote:

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@bassileid5 wrote:

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@vrykalak wrote:

If a package just disappears on its way to another country, 
1. does the seller get a defect for late delivery?

2. does the seller get another defect when the buyer files a SNAD or INR?

3. does the seller lose out by having to refund both the item price and the original shipping cost?

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Hi Vryklak, 

Thanks for your question. 

The seller would only get 1 defect counted against them. They can however coordinate with our CS org to get it removed and advise that they did everything they could to ship the item but through reasons out of their control there was an issue. If the item did not get to the seller and it gets lost, then the seller would need to refund the buyer. If the item arrived to the buyer and it was a buyer's remorse case, meaning buyer made a mistake at purchase, the buyer would pay return shipping if the seller had clearly listed this in their international returns policy. 

Let me know if that clarifies and if you have a follow up question. Many thanks 

Bassil

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Just for clarification.  That would be a defect against the Global stats for a seller, NOT the US stats, yes / no??

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Hi Mam, 

Yes correct, this would count towards your global standards and would not impact domestic. 

Hope that clarifies. Thanks again, 

Bassil

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Bassil  the international  sellers depending on their countries postal services  have  more parcel  shipping options with tracking  and verse rates  low and high . That put's the U.S. Shipper at a disadvantage  on the online market  and getting buyers .  Chinese sellers  have it good  .

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Hi Carl, 

You nailed it. Chinese seller do have it great. China post have signed a lucrative agreement with USPS to handling inbound packages from China. They saw the boom coming on that specific tradelane and moved quickly to capitilize. 

Great knowledge sharing. Thanks again, 

Bassil

[bassileid5]

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@vrykalak wrote:

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@carlmarxx wrote:

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...Chinese sellers  have it good  .

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How do Chinese sellers offer electronic gear for<$1 price and free shipping? 
If someone in China is selling an item, no one is going to buy it from a US seller, because shipping even 1 oz costs over $3.

Any ideas for convincing buyers our domestic product it better?

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Hi Vrykalak, 

Chinese seller are quite agressive with their shipping costs. You are right that China shipping outbound is cheaper but we are also seeing Chinese sellers take losses just to attract buyers to their stores in hopes it is a spillover to purchase additional items. 

U.S has more unique inventory and the brands are highly valued. A U.S item has a certain image to it that projects quality for which buyers are willing to pay more for. It would not be right to compare items from China and U.S as they are not apples to apples. 

Important to be as descriptive as possible in your listings and highlight the main value in your items. This will help set you apart and instill a greater willing from the buyer to pay. 

Great point on China and the challenges there. Thanks again, 

Bassil

[bassileid5]

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@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:
Thanks Bassil, but doesn't the new TRS Plus requirement for 30 day returns go into effect June 1st? Are you saying the date will not coincide with that date, but will be a month or two later?

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Hi My-cottage-books-antiques, 

Yeah you're right. The TRS requirement is set for June 1st. Will need to gather more details on the exact date of the launch but we know it is coming June/July. This is something I can flag internally. 

This is a great point. Thanks, 

Bassil

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[bassileid5]

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@echo_and_zip wrote:

Hi, Bassill,

The only Fed Ex that is (sometimes) more economical is 'Smart Post', (to USA or TO Erlanger GSP) ,which, luckily, an eBay Seller buying thru eBay labels can GET. Otherwise, the FedEx Contract doesn't offer it for 'low volume'. An It'l  USPS PM flat rate envelope or box will almost always be cheaper for heavy vs. Fed Ex. BUT... still... the Chinese 'eat our lunch' due to their subsidies, and make us look like 'gougers'... plus... Buyers don't KNOW the Chinese Sellers get a huge BREAK on postage... Can eBay consider a 'negotiation' w/ Fed Ex, (like Smart Post), for Int'l (like the old Surface Mail), for Sellers willing to risk losses & selfd insure ?

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Hi Echo and Zip, 

Fully agree that it can be difficult to compete with chinese sellers as their postage is subsidize. eBay is constantly invesitigating what it can do to help sellers from an international postage stand point as we have not done much in this area to support for quite some time. 

This kind of chat and demand is great to highlight internally and push for our teams to create solutions that will benefit sellers and buyers. Please keep pressing us and we can hopefully use it as leverage to push our way forward. 

Many thanks, 

Bassil

[bassileid5]

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@go-bad-chicken wrote:

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@bassileid5 wrote:

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@vrykalak wrote:

There are only a few countries where 1st Class parcels can be tracked.
Is there any chance eBay will implement a switch, where sellers can say: I only want to sell to countries that allow tracking of 1st Class packages?

I haven't sold internationally for years, because of this problem, but the last time I looked, in order to check only those (17 or so) countries, a seller had to:
- search the USPS site to find out when countries currently allow 1st Class tracking
- go to shipping options, and click on all 200+ countries to say NO SELLING
- go back and manually uncheck the trackable countries

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Hi Vrykalak, 

Thanks for your comment. 

This is a great idea about USPS first class. I totally get it that tracking can be bad to countries when shipping first class. I would advise to pay the extra costs and ship USPS priority as this will ensure you won't get into trouble when any cases get opened against you. You can transfer that extra cost to the buyer and they would usual be happy to pay to be able to track the package ensuring it gets to them. 

Great idea tough and will certainly give it some thought. Thanks Vrykalak, 

Bassil

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Bassil

I ship internationally quite a bit, and am well versed with all of the international shipping options and carrier services that are available to me as a USA based seller.

While I understand that there is no easy answer to the OP's original question, and that sellers who wish to sell their wares to buyers outside of the USA will constantly have to make adjustments to their business models if they wish to remain competitive within the various international markets, the advice such that you provided the OP can be very detrimental to a seller's potential success  selling to various internationally destinations, here on eBay or any other online marketplace for that matter.

"I would advise to pay the extra costs and ship USPS priority as this will ensure you won't get into trouble when any cases get opened against you. You can transfer that extra cost to the buyer and they would usual be happy to pay to be able to track the package ensuring it gets to them."

I just shipped a 2 lbs. item 20 minutes ago to the U.K. via USPS 1st Class International Package Service. While I realize that 1st Class International has tracking available to the U.K., the difference in cost between the two services (USPS 1st Class  International - $20.10 vs. USPS Priority Mail International - $44.37) would have been  $24.27 more at the 2 lbs rate.

This example that I have provided in the difference in costs ($24.37) between the two services  is relatively on par for most other international destinations. So charging potential buyers $24.00 plus extra just so they can receive a service that includes tracking will price many USA based eBay sellers out of the market.

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Hi Go-bad-Chicken, 

This is a great example. Thanks for sharing. 

We've seen many sellers go with first class on items that are slighly lower values and into developed countries like U.K, Canada, Australia etc and it has worked quite well. However if you are shipping higher valued items into emerging markets like Mexico, Russia and others going a first class shipping option can be quite risky even though it may be preferred from a cost stand point. 

Each case is quite unique and a seller needs to assess it carefully depending on item and country. This approach works for you and I would encourage others to test it out as well but be weary of that if it works with 1 item into 1 country then it may not work into all. 

Thanks again for sharing. 

Bassil