New seller looking for advice re: shipping worldwide & excluded locations. Which ones?

[punkybird_indiebee]

Probably a stupid question but bear with me please!

I haven't sold on ebay in a good few years. I used to sell quite a lot mid-late '00's then deactivated my account.

I'll be selling the same stuff as before, simply clearing out the huge backlog of clothing and toys from four kids and a mum who collects vintage, plus the usual bits and bobs I want to get rid of. So very much low volume and nothing of interest to the usual suspects like iPhones, electronics, high end designer stuff etc.

I prefer to offer international shipping (even with the headaches of it!) as a lot of my vintage stuff has always sold to overseas buyers, and checking out what sells now shows a lot of what I have does attract O/S buyers.

It used to be easy - I'd just tick Europe, NZ and North America and mt items would appear in searches there.

Now, it looks totally different. You can pick a whole country or you can do individual regions. It's too messy trying to add in individual rates for shipping so I'm simply stating that buyers message me for a quote.

So questions are -

Is there any particular regions I should exclude? Anywhere that's best avoided for any reason, even it's just because it's a total nightmare getting and dealing with shipping?

And how do I get my items to appear in searches for that item in that region?

I used to use Auctiva but now am simply using the standard ebay listing tools, and am using the advanced one as the basic one is missing a fair amount of the specifics I use. For now I'm fine using that, I'm starting out slow.

Any advice is hugely appreciated, and if you have suggestions on how to offer specific costs for shipping that's simple, I'd love to hear them!

TIA, Cas

[horizon1907]

a-a,  It's not a stupid idea either. I wish you well. Yes, ebay has changed dramatically over the last few months. Some say for the better, others say for the worse. IMO, if I were you, I would study all the new policies in great detail. Then, do it again. The New $$ guarantee may be a killer. It depends on you.  I wish you all the best in the future. 🙂

[colic2bullsgirlore]

Some links for you or you can find them in the seller centre link under the "sell' tab at the top of page.

Near bottom right of page is the site map and then click on Help A to Z for other topics

You will have to agree to the international selling agreement before you can list on other sites.

Have a gnader at the DSR system for seller ratings while you are at it

It is just about to impossible to find a copy of it in the help pages but should come up automatically when you first try to

list internationally.It appeared a sticking point for some sellers however acceptance the MBG policy almost negates the

need rto sign it as it pretty well emulates the policy but with a local flavour.

I think you need to specify US and GB postage to become vivible on their respective sites

Make sure you read and understand the ebay money back gaurantee policy especially the international implications

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/international-trading.html

http://pages.ebay.com.au/internationaltrading/shipintl.html

http://sellercentre.ebay.com.au/Array_1192

http://sellercentre.ebay.com.au/news/money-back

[putney32]

.. also worth noting ebay now charge full final value fees on Invoice, not just Item

so an international parcel with, lets say international $38. postage willcost you at least another $3.80 in fees !

[punkybird_indiebee]

Thank you SO much to both of you!

 ETA - and you putney, I missed you there! And yep, I'm just in shock about that....it seems doing the big bulk listings of clothes may not be so wise with the post fvf on top!

Links are brilliant, it seems everytime I go looking for something now I end up back where I started none the wiser...when on earth did ebay become so damn complicated?! Yikes!

I can very much see why prices seemed to have dropped so dramatically, it seems that it's becoming more like a big department store rather than the little sellers clearing stuff out or doing it as a hobby. 

I have to admit the DSR system concerns me a bit, and I'm astounded about fvf being charged on post! Now seeing the thread in regards to Paypal freezing funds fro new sellers, even when the items have been recieved and feedback left is making me wonder if it's all worth it.

It's the postage time I'm worried I'll get dinged for as I live in Tas - the speed of our post can be hit and miss. Even though I'm stating that in bold and asking buyers to be aware of it, I know people tend to scroll past the fine print. 

Thanks so much for the wonderful advice, I might lurk on the boards a bit more before listing and debate if I'm ready to dive back in again yet or not!

[i-love-my-sheep]

In regards to postage time, sadly, so many buyers look at the estimate in the listing and take it as gospel. When their item hasn't arrived by the earliest date, they get their knickers in a knot and panic. To try and avoid that, I have a handling time of 5 days, but still post the same or next day. By doing that, it fattens out the estimate in the listing and gives you a few extra days breathing space.

For interstate buyers, when I send an invoice, I give them MY estimate on how long it could take. I make a point of telling them that it may well be longer than the estimate in the listing. I have never had an issue, even when it's taken 4 weeks to get to WA. For buyers that pay before getting an invoice, I send a message after I've posted, pretty much telling them the same thing.

[cherry*135]

If you haven't already noticed, since May 2014, eBay charge FVF on the postage amount received. That can add up to quite a bit on international postage...e.g. postage costs $45.... buyer pays $45... ebay take their fee up to 9.9%  $4.45 off that.

edit: missed the post already mentioning this... anyway better to be aware of it.

Another thing some sellers have had a problem with international sales is if there  is a dispute for item not as described and the buyer gets a full refund (incl postage costs), the seller has to pay the return postage if they want their item returned. That's under the new eBay money back guarantee (I think).

Aust post rates for international postage has  gone up a lot over the last few years also. Items sent overseas should really be sent with tracking and that costs more on top of the postage costs.

[cherry*135]

If you sell an item to someone in another country, and there is a dispute it is dealt with by eBay in the buyers country.

[black*poppy]

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@a-a3663 wrote:

It's the postage time I'm worried I'll get dinged for as I live in Tas - the speed of our post can be hit and miss. Even though I'm stating that in bold and asking buyers to be aware of it, I know people tend to scroll past the fine print. 

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If you set your handling time to three days or more, but actually send the same/next day, you get that 3 day (or whatever you choose) headstart before buyer can start an item not received query, nice buffer especially to WA and FNQ.

With the worldwide postage, you need to set the drop-down box to "Calculated", then select "registered post international parcel" and then the Exclusions for the countries you don't ship to (if you want).  Just for information, Pack and Track is a great service and costs the same as registered, but it's not in the drop down menu.  If the country you're sending to isn't part of the pack and track network you have to use registered anyway.

Ebay will calculate the rest depending on the dimensions and weight you put in.   Make sure you get your weight spot-on in the packaging details.  At the PO I was 15g over what I'd calculated once (ie was 515g) - cost an extra $16-odd dollars, more than the sale price of the item.  I was livid, my scales were shortly in very little pieces.

Add a few extra dollars to cover FVF, there's a link where you can put in a Handling cost.