More Questions About International Selling

[digital*ghost]

Now that order has been somewhat restored to my store, I wanted to see what the general opinion on selling overseas is as it's something I haven't done before unless by specific request. 

I have been hesitant to open my listings internationally, in part, due to the frequent horror stories, usually relating to customers not realising the item was located on the other side of the world, or being charged customs fees - basically, things that aren't the seller's fault or responsibility, but get blamed for anyway. I wondered if, when put into context of overall international sales, these problems are an acceptable risk for most sellers. I am a small volume seller, with an average of 65 sales a month within AU, so one or two problematic buyers leaving negs or low DSRs has the potential to affect my account quite a bit. 

I mainly am curious because I know there would be more interest (in general) in my non-clothing items overseas than there is here, and they would go at large letter rates so, if I sent them that way, I would not be eligible for Seller Protection but I would remain competitive price-wise. (Currently these items range in price from around $10-$50, though some would have to go as parcels, for which I would use Pack and Track). I'm wondering if others frequently send large letter items OS, and what kind of percentage results in items not being received. 

Thanks in advance for any opinions / advice. 

[digital*ghost]

 Aslong as you register them to be eligable for SP, all should be good. If anything, it may mean an Aussie buyer wins at a higher cost because they got into a bidding war with a buyer from overseas.

That is one of the main issues - I can send them for around $6 without seller protection, and keep myself somewhat price-competitive, or I can send them for $20-$25 and qualify for seller protection, if the items are delivered, but be a considerably more unattractive option.

I honestly don't have a problem refunding for lost parcels, but there are some things I do have a problem with and they seem to occur with higher frequency on eBay. 

Coincidentally, I have just recently received an inquiry from a buyer in the US - y do u not send to the us for - as the sole content of that inquiry, it doesn't exactly fill me with confidence. :8}

[zenremix777]

That is one of the main issues - I can send them for around $6 without seller protection, and keep myself somewhat price-competitive, or I can send them for $20-$25 and qualify for seller protection, if the items are delivered, but be a considerably more unattractive option.

I honestly don't have a problem refunding for lost parcels, but there are some things I do have a problem with and they seem to occur with higher frequency on eBay. 

Coincidentally, I have just recently received an inquiry from a buyer in the US - y do u not send to the us for - as the sole content of that inquiry, it doesn't exactly fill me with confidence. :8}

Postage stars are another issue, as an overseas buyer paying upto $25 for something under 500g may mark you down for that. If you don't mind about the occasional postage markdown, I would add the option for overseas. At the least, test it on one or two listings. Put something in the description to address any possible concerns and only sell to countries that you feel comfortable with. Of course, for high-priced clothing items, you can also test out adding $10 onto the cost and taking it off the overseas postage cost, as an incentive.

[elephant_walker]

Hi, you make a very good point. The usa in my EBay experience, have "NEVER" paid for anything that we or our friends have sent.  The only way to solve this inherint usa behaviour, is to BLOCK, ALL usa anything.

Rather sickning when this magnificent EBay Website is so potentially "PERFECT!!!!"

[wehavethatau]

All my items are listed worldwide with an international postage charge.

I ship 10-20 items overseas daily.

In the past year I think I have only had 1 item go missing. If you open your listings to be sold anywhere, you might be surprised with where you have a new buying market.

Why restrict your audience to 20 million people when it can be billions?

[ajarnjenny]

Have you thought of opening an Etsy shop for your jewellery? In general, Etsy shoppers are more willing to pay postage than Ebay buyers.

Most of my Etsy sales are to the US, but I think that I have sold to almost every other country on earth, too.

My items are different to yours, though, but there are lots of Aus sellers on Etsy, who seem to do ok.

[digital*ghost]

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@ajarnjenny wrote:

Have you thought of opening an Etsy shop for your jewellery? In general, Etsy shoppers are more willing to pay postage than Ebay buyers.

Most of my Etsy sales are to the US, but I think that I have sold to almost every other country on earth, too.

My items are different to yours, though, but there are lots of Aus sellers on Etsy, who seem to do ok.

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Yes - thought about it, I mean, haven't quite reached the "just do it, you chicken" stage. 😄 I opened an account there a while back, and I think it would probably be the best environment to test the international market. 

[ajarnjenny]

It is a bit gentler than Ebay, although it doesn't have the same traffic, I do well there (relatively speaking) average about 3 sales a day, but different items of course. 

You only pay the 20 cents listing fee up front and if they don't sell, that is all you are out.

Have a go at it, you have nothing to lose except 20cents per listing. You do have to have attractive photos and learn the Etsy search engine tag thing, but it is not difficult.

If you can sell jewellery making supplies and be competitive, you could make a ton.

Jewellery making supplies are the biggest and best sellers on Etsy.

[digital*ghost]

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@ajarnjenny wrote:

Jewellery making supplies are the biggest and best sellers on Etsy.

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Interesting, that's all I've ever bought there myself, and since I posted this thread, I've actually stopped selling clothing all together and branched out into the kind of jewellery supplies that I often searched for myself, but could rarely find anywhere (the benfits were two-fold - I bought wholesale in bulk, so had a ready supply for my own needs, then listed the excess. Most of the items I've chosen so far have been doing quite well, thankfully. 

Photos aren't my strongest suit - at least, I can get nice clear shots with a lot of detail, but I suck at taking photos of my items with anything other than a plain (usually white) background. Photos with attractive props, backdrops and all that like I see on etsy just look like an amateur mess when I try the same thing - I bought this hand thing for bracelets n' stuff, and I seriously don't understand how other people can use them as a prop and get nice looking photos.   

[ajarnjenny · Accepted solution]

No DG, Etsy loves, loves, loves white backgrounds. Look at their front page! Nothing without a white background is ever featured there. No props, no busyness, just white backgrounds.

I think that you would not lose much by giving it a go. If you do, send me your shop link and I will do some faving (that counts on Etsy, although I am not sure how much it gets you up in search, but it does seem to matter a bit)

Good luck!

[digital*ghost]

Thank you 🙂 Now I just need to decide which stock to list.