Selling overseas

[oddsandendsoz]

Hi community,

I never sell overseas due to the risks associated that I have read a number of times on thse boards over the years. However I have a couple of items that I want to list that have a much wider market overseas than here in Australia and would imagine the diffierence in anticipated sales price to be possibly 200-300% more overseas. Now obviously I would not be opening up selling to all Countries but perhaps parts of Europe and the US. 

I am wondering if anyone has any do's and don'ts when selling overseas? I know it is important to be able to track the items and am aware that some Countries Postal Services do not have a fully trackable system from Australia. Any tips appreciated.

Thanks

[chameleon54]

I sell collectable stuff and automabilia that interests blokes in sheds. I dont have any restrictions on which countries I sell to and I only use tracking on more expensive stuff. ( 70% of international mail sent untracked ) Around 30% of my items go to overseas buyers and I send a number of parcels each week OS. I dont really have a lot of trouble and dont find it much more stressful than selling in Australia. It is worth noting though that mature aged blokes are a pretty honest bunch who dont give much trouble anyway. If you are selling electronics or tech stuff, you run the risk of attracting scammers and problem buyers.

With the Ozie dollar fairly low compared to the U.S dollar, our stuff is reasonably cheap for many international clients at the moment, meaning they are currently happy to buy up and pay up big. 

As far as which countries are riskier...... The Russian states can have a slow mail system, Canada is a big risk due to slow processing through customs and some South American countries can be a bit dodgy, as mail can get stolen easily. Europe, NZ, Japan and the U.S. are usually pretty safe and I have found China to be pretty reliable. The Chinese are big on collecting and not afraid to pay VERY high prices for the right stuff.

And lets not forget the Netherlands. Ebay seem to have Australian items tagged to the Netherlands market and sellers report a larger % of sales to the Netherlands than would be expected.

Definately worth a try if you have stuff OS buyers may be interested in.

[kopenhagen5]

If your items allow you to have $20-30 on postage then sending Registered is a good option.

But I would still eliminate certain countries/regions as I do.

I don't post to Central and South America, Africa, Italy, Turkey, Spain.

Maybe just try listing a few items on the USA ebay site first before tackling Europe.

[purplemon18]

As chameleon54 says, I don't have much trouble with my international orders either. I also usually send without tracking. The exception I make is that most of the places he mentioned as being more problematic, I only offer tracked shipping too. Russia is blocked because I want to give them only a tracked option, but they get lumped into the EU shipping options.

Shipping overseas is really not that different to locally, except and unless you are selling items that are often targeted by scammers, such as iphones, laptops and SLRs (high end cameras).

My advice?

• Lots of photos to ensure you are covered against item not as described cases
• tracking to cover you against item not received cases
• a note in your description about how long international orders take
• a note in your description reminding buyers that they are responsible for finding out if any import duties/customs/taxes may be involved, and that they have to pay them.

Some items may not be legally exported from Australia, or imported to other countries (such as food stuffs). Some situations could even see you facing legal procedings (such as copyright, exclusivity, or counterfit issues). ebay has some info here but it basically amounts to do your research and consider consulting an expert. There are some links to govt sites though.

[brerrabbit585]

Make sure you say in the listing that any customs charges and/or taxes are the responsibility of the buyer.

Oops, I missed that bit in the previous post.  

[purplemon18]

Meh. It's something that is worth repeating.

Frankly, ebay should state it in this box:

but ebay's competance only goes so far.

Since they don't, it's up to us to cover our own behinds.