Selling "Only to US" vs Worldwide

[holycowsincanada2011]

Could sellers here share their experiences about how smooth the whole selling process is to different countries worldwide vs selling to just the US. 

If I ship 100 orders to the US and 100 to the rest of the world, and have issues with just a small additional percentage of worldwide orders over the US, then it can't be so bad, right? There must be certain countries that have a terrible record with delivering shipments from overseas- what might those countries be?

i have yet to list most of my items for worldwide shipping. before I do that, I just want to know of your experiences.

[richard1rst]

Probably about one third of my sales are international. I think your premise of 100 domestic and 100 international overstates the amount of international that you might get. Obviously different sellers will have different ratios, but 1 to 1 seems too high.

Most of my international sales go to a handful of counties for which I have had no real problems. Bear in mind the post office handles the proverbial gazillion packages a day so once in a while one does fall of the truck regardless of where it is going. In other words, the destination had nothing to do with the fact it got lost or misdirected. I sold a package to Canada and tracking shows that it turned up in New Zealand. I sold a package to Colombia and tracking shows it wen to Canada. Those errors had nothing to do with the destination country.   

I ship worldwide. I do not block any countries. I know that there are some who refuse to sell to certain countries. There are some who refuse to sell internationally at all. There are some products that are high on scammers want lists. I do not offer any of those. To me it seems unlikely that some scam artist is going to waste his time on a $10-$15 item. They are after the more expensive and, apparently, electronics are high on that list.

Yes. I have had a few problems with lost packages internationally, but then again I have also has a few problems with domestic packages being lost.

I think too many sellers focus on the one package that gets lost instead of the big picture.. Consider this - if you sell 100 packages and one gets lost, then ideally the profit you made on the other 99 offsets the loss. BUT If you refuse to sell internationally at all then you are giving up the profit that you could have made on the 99. You are familiar with the expression cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Hope this helps/

[holycowsincanada2011]

Thanks for your response. Much appreciated.

do you use the global shipping program or do you mostly ship by yourself.

I guess I am wary because I have no idea of any potential customs duties , taxes or brokerage fees involved with different countries. I could always say it's the buyer's responsibility, but would like to be able to tell the buyer - expect "x dollars" worth of these charges. BTW, >95% of products I sell are books.

[richard1rst]

I use the post office only. First Class or Priority depending on the size and weight of the package.

I have seen too many squaks about the global shipping program. Never considered it.

The BUYER is responsible for taxes and import fees. I stoingly suggest that you include wording warning the buyer that there may be additional customs fees and that they are collected by their local post office. You have no way of knowing how much, or if, is going to be collected. Every country is different. Suggest that they can get a quote from their local post office if they are concerned. Most coutries have a threshold below which no taxes are due. Varies from country to counttry.

[luckythewinner]

---

@holycowsincanada2011 wrote:

Could sellers here share their experiences about how smooth the whole selling process is to different countries worldwide vs selling to just the US. 

i have yet to list most of my items for worldwide shipping. before I do that, I just want to know of your experiences.

---

I sell music memorabilia, and historically I have had a lot of sales outside the USA. It has slowed in recent years - I assume it is because the cost of shipping has become so high. 

In the "good old days", I could send a vinyl LP record (generally 1.5 lbs)  by "Small Packet Air" for about $4. These days that same LP by First Class international has a sticker price of $22.50 (about $19.50 with ebay shipping discount). 

So not only does it cost the buyer $20 to get a record, but the seller is also putting $20 at risk in the event that the buyer files a SNAD - and that becomes $40 if the seller wants the record returned to him. 

So when selling overseas, make sure you consider the risk of losing shipping costs in your business plan. 

That being said, I still get a fair amount of international business and have not had many issues. But I still recognize the potential is there, and do what I can to mitigate it. 

[losangelesniceguy]

Selectivelly I ship internationally, certain items and only to a handfull of countries. One advantage is that certain things that are common on the US ebay listings might be rare internationally and if you are the only one that ships internationally - you have the advantage.

This is my criteria:

completely avoid Asia, Mexico, central and south america, africa, most of the soviet block, africa - and hand pick european countries. Australia seems to be a good country for me, lots of buyers who know the shipping costs and havent had any problems.

Be aware of the restrictions and of course that electronics/dvds etc will work in that  country. So dont ship alcohol, porn or stuff like that.

When i first started I used to ship worldwide but certain countries always seemed to have problems. Most problems came from africa and south america. 

I don't  use the Global Shipping program, they over charge the buyers on shipping postage by a lot. I prefer to do it myself and have choices to give the buyers.

Hope this helps

[sam9876]

" I could always say it's the buyer's responsibility, but would like to be able to tell the buyer - expect "x dollars" worth of these charges. "

You should never tell a buyer what the expected tax/duty will be.

[ted_200]

---

@holycowsincanada2011 wrote:

Could sellers here share their experiences about how smooth the whole selling process is to different countries worldwide vs selling to just the US. 

If I ship 100 orders to the US and 100 to the rest of the world, and have issues with just a small additional percentage of worldwide orders over the US, then it can't be so bad, right? There must be certain countries that have a terrible record with delivering shipments from overseas- what might those countries be?

i have yet to list most of my items for worldwide shipping. before I do that, I just want to know of your experiences.

---

Just like with selling to the U.S., your problem rate is going to depend on what you're selling.  Phones, the rate is high in the U.S.  It will be high with international.  It will be even higher if you ship them to Nigeria or Russian Federation. 

First Class International only gets tracking to some countries.  Shipping to those where there isn't tracking is going to make problems higher.  Priority Int'l weight based (Sm. & envelope Priority Flat Rate is usually treated as First Class Int'l. for tracking purposes) does get tracking, but tracking still isn't 100% reliable in all countries. 

I ship international, the problem rate is no higher than with U.S.   I ship at least half my stuff U.S. without tracking, and 100% int'l without tracking.  Problem rate is very low, primarily because I sell low-dollar items, and the items are not popular with the demographic of folks who are likely to cause problems either.  I don't sell high-dollar items, and items popular with the problem demographic, on eBay, period. 

What I'd sell international, and to which destinations, would depend on what it is, and how much it's worth, and whether I can get reliable tracking.  It also depends on what demand is for the item international - I sell auctions, getting more bids  means more money.  If it's not popular international, I'll get few bids from them, and accepting more risk for little or no more money isn't worth it.  I do it because I get a lot of international bids, and it helps prices realized.   Problem rate - to anywhere I ship - is less than 1 for 100 items.  It will be higher for phones, laptops, etc. 

Known problem countries include Nigeria (and most of Africa), Russian Federation, Italy, Brazil, and Mexico.  Countries with the lowest reported problem rates include Australia, Japan, Britain, and most of western Europe.  I have few problems with Canada, but others have claimed otherwise, and I suspect this too is mostly a function of what was sold. 

You'll want to pay attention to import restrictions, stuff that's prohibited going to countries that actually check incoming mail will usually not arrive.