International Shipping

[kaityskorner]

I have a small business and our current fulfillment warehouse is VERY expensive for shipping International orders. I've tried to figure out on my own and with an eBay Support Agent if their International Shipping program would be a good option, but even the Agent couldn't give me an actual cost of fulfillment or estimated delivery timeline. 

The product is an outdoor game set called Sandy Pickle (similar in size to a volleyball, pickleball, badminton set). It weighs 20 lbs and the package dimensions are 40" x 9" x 5", shipping from zip code 84604. In this current specific case, I have a customer in Spain wishing to purchase a set and have it shipped to Girona, Spain. 

Is eBay International a viable substitute for my domestic fulfillment provider who is quoting over $100 shipping for a product that only costs $149? 

Link to the listing here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/125950814686 

I truly appreciate anyone who read this far and hope to find some answers through the eBay Community. Thank you!

[marnotom! · Accepted solution]

I'm in Canada.  That listing already shows shipping to me (and other non-US locations) through the eBay International Shipping program.  If you want to see what I see or what a buyer from Spain sees, change your shipping location in the "Shipping and Handling" section of the listing.  An accurate ZIP or postal code generally doesn't matter for an international shipment if all you're doing is checking shipping rates.

I see a shipping rate of US$56.23 for the outdoor game set.  This strikes me as a bit on the steep side, but changing my shipping location to the United States, ZIP code 60139--the ZIP code of the eIS shipping hub in Glendale Heights, Illinois--I see that US$29.33 of that charge would be your (or your fulfillment warehouse's) charge for shipping it USPS Ground Select to Illinois.  This makes eIS's charges US$26.90 to get the set from Illinois to Canada.

For what it's worth, I see a shipping charge of US$91.36 to ship the set to Spain.

My general sense of eIS so far is that the shipping rates are generally fairly reasonable provided the seller gives enough information on the item's shipping size/weight to calculate an accurate shipping estimate, but the addition of the seller's domestic shipping charge to the eIS charge can sometimes be a deal breaker.

[12345jamesstamps]

I would go through ebay Shipping International Program. Due to the high shipping cost. So if anything goes wrong you will be covered by eBay. What if buyer wants to return it or it gets there late? Don't try to save on shipping.

Personally, I wouldn't ship International for something like that.

Even though seller "does not take returns" buyer can do returns. I believe you are only safe under the eBay Shipping International Plan if anything goes wrong.

Its a cool game set and I bet you can sell it as well domestically in the summer.

[kaityskorner]

Thank you soooo much for takin the time to answer, and yes, already the EIS rate to Spain is better than my warehouse, so we're on the right track!

[kaityskorner]

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Its a cool game set and I bet you can sell it as well domestically in the summer.

Thanks for the positive words!!!

We have been getting interest from around the world and it's both exciting and frustrating at the same time.  Fingers crossed for a SharkTank invitation; I'll bet those sharks have shipping resources! 🙂

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