Ebay international shipping, does it work?

[midwestmerch17]

Does anyone use "ebay international shipping"? I have been automatically enrolled, and I don't no if that is good. I have intentionally limited my listings to us only to limit stress and to keep shipping as simple as possible. Does anyone with experience using this program have any suggestions? Is really as simple as they claim? Is the "international selling hub" good at being fast and careful with your package? Are there particular country's you still need to limit? PLEASE HELP!?!?!?!

[lovefindingtreasures2]

I love the International shipping program, easiest deal ever! You ship to a hub that then sends your package overseas. Once the hub has it and has shipped it forward, you are good to go. If the buyer has a problem, eBay takes care of it. It's great! I wish I got more International sales! No returns, no problems, it's a win in my book.

[wastingtime101]

eIS is great.

On your end it's essentially a domestic sale. You ship to eBay's hub in the US. Once the package is delivered to the hub, assuming it arrives undamaged and is the correct item, your job is done.

From there eBay takes over and handles international shipping, returns, claims, etc.

You get a ton of protections and it's less risky than shipping domestically. Look at it as an opportunity to increase your customer base without worrying about the international shipping process.

[cardxcraft]

It works, but eBay, over the last 3 years, has jacked the prices up so much that its a turn off for most buyers.  Yes, it gives sellers peace of mind, but we should be more concerned with giving buyers peace of mind

  The service is frustratingly slow, really slow.  If you have ebay International Shipping (EIS) mixed with other international shipping, eBay will only show EIS prices to buyers.  Also, if you turn on the option to "allow eBay to show your items to locations currently excluded', the systems prohibits sending invoices, regardless of EIS or not.

Save your buyers $10-$25 in shipping fees, insure @$1/$100 and use pirateship, they'll thank you later (repeat buyers).

[chevymontecarlo88]

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@lovefindingtreasures2 wrote:

I love the International shipping program, easiest deal ever! You ship to a hub that then sends your package overseas. Once the hub has it and has shipped it forward, you are good to go. If the buyer has a problem, eBay takes care of it. It's great! I wish I got more International sales! No returns, no problems, it's a win in my book.

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@midwestmerch17 Yes and Yes to the above post. Take advantage of it when you can. 

[buyselljack2016]

@midwestmerch17 

1st one I had many months ago was a slow, slow delivery process getting to the buyer after arriving at the hub. It may have been because of the particular country in South America that it was going to. A wait to get enough items for the shipment there.

Have had more since then and all have gone smoothly without a long delay. Not as fast as "direct" international shipping, but as others post, none of the worries of shipping directly. I do not sell with direct international shipping, so the eIS program has increased my sales.

[meme6253]

I don't know currently how well it is, I have used it in the past & for awhile it worked great, Then i starting having problems & then stopped using it, You should try it & see if it works out for you, & if not you can cancel it.

[bigoljim47]

I don't have many anymore International sales. In the beginning of Ebay offering this service, I got a sale from Indonesia for $200. Tracking number showed the package got to the Hub but never got a a "Delivered " scan to the buyer. Buyer opened a "not received " case. I did entered the Tracking into the case, but Ebay did nothing for me and I had to refund. So I was out of money and merchandise. 9 month later    I received a package from the Hub with my item in it. The packages looked like it went through hell, but the item was ok and I sold it again shortly after. 

[tobaccocardyahoo]

Works just as it claims to.

Downside is the complaints from Canadians who object to the price because the cost of the shipments to the EIS hub added to the export price is more than if we shipped directly to them. But without EIS we would not ship to Canada because Canada Post is too variable in its delivery times, and customs clearance charges on UPS are usurious.

Also because I prefer to be ignorant of HST/GST and any other taxation issues.

[midwestmerch17]

Thanks everyone!!! As I understand, it is only about as complicated as shipping domestically with the downside of speed and cost to the buyer, Is that correct?

[fbusoni]

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@cardxcraft wrote:

It works, but eBay, over the last 3 years, has jacked the prices up so much that its a turn off for most buyers.  Yes, it gives sellers peace of mind, but we should be more concerned with giving buyers peace of mind

  The service is frustratingly slow, really slow.  If you have ebay International Shipping (EIS) mixed with other international shipping, eBay will only show EIS prices to buyers.  Also, if you turn on the option to "allow eBay to show your items to locations currently excluded', the systems prohibits sending invoices, regardless of EIS or not.

Save your buyers $10-$25 in shipping fees, insure @$1/$100 and use pirateship, they'll thank you later (repeat buyers).

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Not sure what you are talking about (as usual).

I get international orders all the time.   Folks overseas (especially in Europe and Asia, in my experience) are a lot less afraid of spending money than American cheapskate buyers.

All my orders get delivered on time and the customers are thrilled.   The service is not slow at all.  

And the best part about it is that I am completely insulated from risk and negative feedback.

Why in heaven's name would anyone NOT use eIS if it's available to them?  

[inhawaii]

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@midwestmerch17 wrote:

Thanks everyone!!! As I understand, it is only about as complicated as shipping domestically with the downside of speed and cost to the buyer, Is that correct?

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You are correct HOWEVER,

I have never had a EIS customer complain about speed of shipping,

The cost is shown to the buyer at the time of purchase,  they know what the price is going in, there is no surprise.

[cardxcraft]

I'm transparent; and not switching back and forth between accounts.

Users can look at my eBay account right now, and look at my posting history here: I was once a proponent of EIS until: (see previous post above).  I can actually point out my EIS sales for the last 90 days and give reasons why the buyers were disappointed.  As I stated above, your peace of mind is secondary to buyers peace of mind.

We've had opposite experiences using EIS, the difference is I can substantiate my reasons why with proof, from both my posting history here and my transparent eBay selling account, whereas you can not.

[retrogames10000]

I like the EIS sales, from my perspective it is not any different than a normal sale.

I will add that there are sometimes more expensive taxes that are added to the sale depending on country like VAT, but it isnt really that much extra so it rounds out with the added protections for the sale

[simply-the-best-for-you]

I would say the only downside is to the buyer, as the cost is higher.  Speed is not an issue.  It was during the pandemic, but hasn't been for a long time.  Of course there is a bit of a delay, 1-2 days to get to the center, but they usually turn it around same or next day  & my pkgs are getting to the buyers very quickly.  

Love the program!  Only had 1 problem ever  & I've been enrolled since it was avl.  The problem I had was a lont time ago.  Some customs/taxes are charged in advance, which is why it can seem so expensive.  1 of my buyers was charged her VAT tax twice.  They fixed it though & I never would have known except the buyer wrote me about it.   As you can see on the boards, there are almost never issues with it.

P.S.  I like your avatar, it's my favorite US monument.   I used to go to STL all the time & loved the Arch so much!