Lets find out why the International market is so hot Q & A right here

[The Bar Keep]

I know a little something about the International market and have been very successfull in International sales both on my own website and on eBay. Over 50% of my website sales are to International buyers and a large portion of my ebay sales are also to International buyers.


Some of the largest markets I cater to are the UK, Australia and Canada. This thread will be a Q & A to help you address your business needs in how to market and adapt your business to the International market.


Ask away & ask anything about the International market. I am here to help address your business needs.


Joe

[Julie]

Great topic.

  I feel that the US sellers would do very well indeed to sell internationally.

   Would I be correct in saying the exchange rate for the US dollar to the Euro and GBP is excellent at the moment?

   Therefore this would result in the European market benifiting greatly from cheaper prices for the same goods?

    And almost 100% of the time the buyer is willing to pay shipping costs?

[QUILT]

Great post!!!!   I too have done well selling to the International Markets.  Their really is no difference when it comes to packaging.  The key thing is know is your shipping costs and filling out the customs form.

[ABeautifulSecret]

I have only shipped items to Canada, I've always been a little skeered to ship anywhere else.

How easy is it to ship to say Europe? How many forms ect? I'd like to get a feel for it before offering it. When I started on eBay I only shipped within the US. When I went to WP, I offered shipping to Canada because there were a lot of sellers there at that time who lived in Canada.

Any insight would greatly be appreciated. Maybe I'll start shipping all over!!!!

~Patti~

[Julie]

Patti,

I can only comment on forms here in the UK.

When I was selling, i sold to everywhere, and all i did on the custom forms was tick the box for gift and paid the shipping costs.

This cut out all the headache questions and is easier and faster for both the seller and the buyer.

So my advice would be to get a shipping quote and simply fill in the forms as you would for a gift.

[QUILT]

Careful with the custom forms here in the states.  The United States Postal Service takes their forms real serious.   In the event of a loss package or dispute the first thing that will be addressed is what was on that form.  It is your proof and you wouldn't want the information to not be accurate.

Their are generally 2 forms to choose from at the post office:

One is a user friendly brief  Customs Declaration CN 22 Form
Simple to fill out and has a number on it that you can give the customer for verification of sending.

The other form is carbon copy thick and not my favorite.  It requires more information and this form is used depending on what you are sending.

All information on Global shipping is available at USPS.COM

Another perk about global shipping is that the United States Post Office offers flat rate priority mail envelopes and boxes. 

Check it out....one more reason to LOVE the post office

[Julie]

Careful with the custom forms here in the states.  The United States Postal Service takes their forms real serious.   In the event of a loss package or dispute the first thing that will be addressed is what was on that form.  It is your proof and you wouldn't want the information to not be accurate.

Agreed Quilt. And yes you do need to tell the Post Office what it is your sending. I was merely stating you should mark it as a gift. As there can and will be more forms/questions to fill in/answer.

  Just reading back what I said, maybe I should have waited till now to answer.  :gmorn   

[The Tavern Wench]

I was merely stating you should mark it as a gift. As there can and will be more forms/questions to fill in/answer.

I have to disagree with you on this statement Julie.  Unless it is truly a gift, it shouldn't be marked as a gift.  The USPS isn't stupid and if they see numerous packages being shipped from one person and all marked as a gift, they will know what's going on.  Your name/business will be flagged and you can get into serious trouble for falsifying the forms.

Additionally if you mark it as a gift, you can't enclose an invoice since there is always the risk of Customs opening the package. 

This is one of the major reasons a large majority of US based sellers don't want to ship internationally.  They don't like and usually refuse to falsify the customs form. 

In my honest opinion, you shouldn't be encouraging them to do so. 

[toyfads]

Great Topic!

Patti,

International sales are about 40% of my business.  It is not that hard to do.  If you ship to Canada you can ship just about anywhere.  The forms are not that bad.  One thing I do want to make clear is Quilt is right about the US taking their forms real serious.  Marking an item as a gift is illegal and I personally never do it.  You may get away with it but if you ship a lot like I do and everything is marked as gifts they will get suspicious.  Why take the chance?  Sorry for stepping on your toes a bit Julie.  The other thing I would like to mention is I do not suggest printing international labels on line.  The post office recycles the numbers and I had a problem with tracking 2 of my orders because of this.  Always take the packages in to the post office when shipping international packages until, if ever they fix their system.

Christine

Sniped by Crabby....LOL

[Julie]

i think i have to clear this up and explain myself properly.

  My advice to mark them as gifts, was simply in my experience from when i was selling. And i was not selling internationally very often. Plus since i stopped selling, airport and customs security has been increased an extreme amont.

  So deb i aggree and appologise but i just want to clear what i was trying to say.

 

[CrankyCanuck]

I was merely stating you should mark it as a gift. As there can and will be more forms/questions to fill in/answer.

I have to disagree with you on this statement Julie.  Unless it is truly a gift, it shouldn't be marked as a gift. 

I tend to agree with Crabby on that - you don't want to get in the habit of marking too many things as a gift.  I ship all over the world too (from Canada) and I haven't had any trouble at all with my international customers.  I don't really consider the US as international anymore!  Customs does get touchy about too many parcels marked as gifts, and they can start opening & flagging them.  I do the occasional gift one on request, but I will usually put a gift card of some sort with it, and no promotional material or invoices from my store. 

Some countries (like Canada, grrrgh!) have a very low $$ amount you can bring it without paying taxes/duty etc. The U.S. is great, I think their cap is like $200.  Sometimes, for countries like France where their limit is about $25, I'll mark it as a gift or lower the amount showing on the customs form, with the understanding that should there ever be an insurance claim, they'll only get the lower amount.

Patti - you shouldn't be afraid to go for the international sales, they're so much easier than they used to be, and it opens you up to so many new potential customers!

Shelley   *clam*

[CrankyCanuck]

i think i have to clear this up and explain myself properly.
  So deb i aggree and appologise but i just want to clear what i was trying to say.

Oops, you must have posted at the same time Julie, so what I just said was a bit redundant!
 *clam*

[The Bar Keep]

I have only shipped items to Canada, I've always been a little skeered to ship anywhere else.

How easy is it to ship to say Europe? How many forms ect? I'd like to get a feel for it before offering it. When I started on eBay I only shipped within the US. When I went to WP, I offered shipping to Canada because there were a lot of sellers there at that time who lived in Canada.

Any insight would greatly be appreciated. Maybe I'll start shipping all over!!!!

~Patti~

Hi Patti,

Very good question Patti and let me take a stab at it so everyone can better understand the way i do it. Please note the way I do it may not be the best way for you but it does work.


I reccomend to use USPS for all your International orders. If you register an account with the USPS you will be able to have all your info preloaded for every order. The best way to ship is through the click n ship option. See link below to register.

http://www.usps.com/

When shipping overseas I also recommend to ship via USPS Express Mail International rather then Priority Mail International. However I can understand that the costs do play a role in this matter but Express mail provides a tracking for International shipments whille Priority mail does not for International shipping. This may play a big role if the item was purchassed via paypal if you have ever been through the dispute process.


Another pitfall you may incounter will be the customs form but through Click n Ship the form is simple and easy to fill out. In fact you won't even have to sign your name anymore as it has become a digital signature since the new fee rate. ***Please note if your item is being purchased from you it is not a Gift so don't check gift in the customs form.*** I know that has been discused before in this thread but if you are serious about the International market then you need to be serious about handeling your business.


I hope that helps a little Patti and I will be expanding on this thread in the near future.



Joe

[QUILT]

Great post Joe!  I generally ship my orders the other way because the size of my items are so small and flat.  Works perfect for me.


In the future when my zen cart is up and running I plan to ship items as you have stated above.

This is a great post, because sellers really should see the advantages to shipping overseas.  It is a great service to offer as a business.

[toyfads]

I guess it depends what you sell.  My customers would not pay for express shipping.  You can track the package to some degree with the Label #.  Like DC is for US packages.  I stopped printing any international labels on line after bad experience during last Christmas season.  A buyer said when they looked up their label # on line it was showing up as shipped in August from IL when I am in NY and it was December!  After many phone calls and personal appearances to the PO.  Someone finally told me that they recycle the international shipping label numbers and I had no way to track down the package!  This happened to 2 of my Christmas orders, one made it to the buyer and one I had to refund and it showed up 2 months later at my door.  I know its a hassle to write the forms out and take them but, I would hate to see the same thing happen to anyone else.