Correct Settings for International Shipping

[mangorunner]

I would like to sell internationally for just one item to give it a try.  My default setting is no international shipping to any country.  My item is small and I wish to ship on my own, to just a few select countries, using USPS First Class Package International Service and I will not be using eBay's Global Shipping Program.  So I set up a new shipping policy for that item. 

So here's my question:  When I set up that new shipping policy, if I select the countries I want to allow in Box 1, do I also have to edit my exclusions in Box 2 to allow those countries?  Or does Box 1 override Box 2?  Or does Box 2 override Box 1?

Thanks very much for the help! 

[berserkerplanet · Accepted solution]

Box 1 does not override box 2.

Box 1 only provides shipping options to places you have not excluded, and doesn't have to explicitly cover all the non-excluded places in order for buyers to see and possibly purchase your items.

For example, if you did NOT exclude Africa in your exclusions (which says you ship there), but did not check it off and provide a specific shipping method in box 1, buyers in Africa could still see your items in search, but they would get a "May not ship to Zimbabwe - Read item description or contact seller for shipping options" message on the listing page.

(I do not know if they can purchase the items under those circumstances, but it gets messy anyway with confused buyers that can see a listing but see that error message)

So, you need to punch holes in your exclusions for the places you plan to sell and ship to, and preferably make sure that you specify some sort of international shipping option in box 1 (or the "additional ship to locations" section below it) for all the places you do not exclude.

[mangorunner]

@berserkerplanet 

You always give me the most thorough, complete responses and I really appreciate your time and expertise.

I also love your phraseology - "punch holes in your exclusions" - what a perfect visual for the Box 2 process. 

Thank you very much for the help!  I'm good to go.

Carol

[berserkerplanet]

You are most welcome.

I do tend to ramble on, always adding yet another "if this, then that, else the other" as I compose my responses - guess I think like a programmer even though I urn't one by trade or training.

That may also be why my responses may at times seem disjointed - almost always popping off testing or verifying things as I write, going back and forth correcting or adding things, moving paragraphs around to convey the information AND a certain tone sometimes - and the end result can sometimes read as if written by a bad AI or, an ESL speaker. Usually at that point I'm too deep in the forest to effectively proofread the final result.

I use "punch holes in your exclusions" because that is what it is in my mind's eye. The exclusion list IS armor, and allowing certain locations is exactly analogous to opening up ports in a firewall to allow certain services like a web server to function, or designing gun slits in a fortification to allow shooting back at the enemy.

All of those reduce the effectiveness of the armor by increasing the attack surface, and are a tradeoff of risk/reward.

For exclusions, reward is a sale/risk is more complexity and amplified troubles/costs when things go wrong
For firewalls, reward is being able to run a web server and accept connections from outside/risk is attacker ability to probe and leverage any flaw in the web server software
For a fortification, reward is ability to shoot at enemies, risk is enemies can also shoot back 🙂

(that sounds like military strategist thinking - another thing I urn't although have skimmed but not carefully studied Sun Tzu's Art of War and read lots of Sci Fi* and mainstream military fiction 🙂

*not directly related to the attack surface concept, but one of my favorite late Golden Age (1951) shorts:
http://www.mayofamily.com/RLM/txt_Clarke_Superiority.html


In general, think of the Excluded locations list as your shield. Open carefully selected holes in it, and then use the international shipping options (box 1 and 1a below it) as handlers for those potential events you have allowed.