Selling Internationally (Tips & Advice)

[ckaz]

I assume I am posting in the right place as this matter is for the marketplace. If not, admins, please move it to the appropriate place.

Tips and advice on how to sell safely. I have some items that I have up for sale, but I'm getting more people interested from overseas. I'm considering doing just that however, needs some tips and advice from those of you that have completed transactions internationally.

I have Paypal and I would assume that I need to use USPS. What are my options and other considerations. Please let me know how to do it the right way.

Thanks in advance.

ck

[Peter Zack]

I have done this and I make a couple of suggestions.
1) if you aren't familiar with the buyer or they are a "newbie". Make sure the address is confirmed in Paypal. Unconfirmed addresses get dienied.
2) only use Paypal
3) Insist on insurance and if no insurance is taken, send the buyer an email asking them to acknowledge in writing that they assume full responsiblity for loss, damage etc.

You are ttaking very little risk as long as the funds clear and you cover your butt on the insurance issue. That way if a claim is made for lost or damage, you can send Paypal the email they sent you prior to shipping assuming no laiblity on your part. You don't want to be out the gear and the money.

All that being said, I've had very good luck in over 400 transactions here and on Ebay with the notable exception of Germany where 2 packages at seperate time disappeared and have never been traced. I would never ship there again.

[rparmar]

When I lived in Canada I did many hundreds of postal transactions within Canada and also to USA, Europe, Australasia, etc. etc. though few would have been for much over $100. Now that I am in Ireland I regularly buy from overseas but have not sold yet.

I think there are very few considerations and the USPS website makes it all very easy.

1. Shipping will be more expensive. If you do lots of similar transactions you will get a feel for how much, but in general should not estimate ahead of time. Instead be sure the buyer pays actual shipping. Cost depends on size and weight in complex ways, but there is an online calculator. Weigh using kitchen scales and look it up.

2. Insurance is at discretion of buyer but if they choose not to get it they have no recourse. Be sure they agree to this explicitly. Insurance is good because if the package goes missing you have, in theory, a way of getting money back. However the reality is this can take an inordinate amount of time and paperwork to claim... maybe not even worth it depending on value. I have never once had a package go missing so I have no personal experience with this. I think insurance is just a way for the post office to make free money for nothing.

3. Accept whatever payments can be guaranteed and wait for such to clear before shipping. Please note that outside N.America and UK there is no such thing as a confirmed Paypal address, so if you demand such you are basically closing yourself off to most international commerce. There is no reason to demand this anyway. My Paypal address is not confirmed but my account is. Seller is in control here, since the money will be in seller's account before the product is shipped.

4. Pack securely and with lots of padding. I once had a fairly expensive computer card arrive with a few pieces of newspaper in a box 10 times too large... so it had been tossed around in the box for the entire time. It is perfectly reasonable to charge a packing and handling fee on top of shipping for this.

5. If the buyer wishes you to undervalue the product to reduce their duty hit then they will only be able to get insurance in that amount. Be sure all buyers understand that duty and local taxation is their responsibility. I know it is obvious but newbies complain about this all the time.

Hope this helps. Should be a FAQ?

[rparmar]

Oh yes, some specific country issues.

1. Be aware of which nations are disliked by the state in which you live. There may be restrictions on selling to them. (Eg. Cuba, Afghanistan, Sudan, Iran)

2. Postage in Italy does not work. You need to use a courier or forget about it.

3. Strangely Germany is getting a bad rap too, with some eBay sellers refusing to ship there. I have no idea how this could have happened but Peter above will attest to it.

[Edvinas]

Originally Posted by rparmar

Please note that outside N.America and UK there is no such thing as a confirmed Paypal address, so if you demand such you are basically closing yourself off to most international commerce.

Hmm, are you sure?
I think that when you verify your account with your credit card, billing address of that credit card becomes verified shipping address.
In USA you also can verify address different from your credit card billing address by requiring Paypal to send mail with some code to that address...

[Mike.P®]

Originally Posted by Edvinas

Hmm, are you sure?
I think that when you verify your account with your credit card, billing address of that credit card becomes verified shipping address.
In USA you also can verify address different from your credit card billing address by requiring Paypal to send mail with some code to that address...

He is correct, you cannot have a confirmed address outside of USA, canada and UK.

[bdery]

If you sell from the US to an international destination, I would suggest using USPS. UPS, Fedex, etc all work, but their service sucks. They charge (or try to charge) the receiver ludicrous brokerage fees (even when, as is often the case in Canada, there is no customs fee to be paid). And they are not rigorous in their methods. I have had two packages (including a K20D) left in front of my door all day long, with no protection (good thing it didn't rain).

USPS will deliver things to your mail box, often almost as fast, cheaper, and more reliably. When I purchase stuff through eBay or another marketplace, I ask for USPS.

[Matjazz]

I can confirm that USPS worked good for me so far. They deliver the item to our customs and after they check the package our postal service does the delivery. If nobody's home they leave a note to pick up the package at local post office. And they always require signature when they give the package.

[Ash]

Couple of things:

I have bought several items from forum members, companies and eBay sellers in the US, all without a hitch. USPS First class and Priority mail were the methods used. Both were fine - 1st class is usually faster than domestic mail for us in Australia! They're also cost effective for us in Aus. One 1kg lens in bubble wrap and box shipped to me usually costs around $35-40. Couldn't give USPS any higher praises for their service to Australia. Canada postage to Australia is on the other hand much more costly - I've been quoted $90 for a <1.5kg lens.

On PayPal accounts, I have a verified account being in Australia with a confirmed Australian address linked to a confirmed bank account. This should give any seller the confidence to accept funds knowing there is PayPal protection for both parties should anything go awry.

While I understand there are countries to avoid posting to for various reasons, the majority of us are in countries which have good track records for shipping to and from the US.

[Dr Windmill]

These tips are really helpful. I learned an expensive lesson in shipping an item to Canada, so the suggestion of charging the actual shipping costs rather than estimating is on target. Am not criticizing the buyer, just didn't do my homework. I think for my very few transactions, I'll stay with CONUS, or, if I do risk it again, I'll follow the guidelines above very carefully..

[rparmar]

Originally Posted by bdery

If you sell from the US to an international destination, I would suggest using USPS. UPS, Fedex, etc all work, but their service sucks. They charge (or try to charge) the receiver ludicrous brokerage fees (even when, as is often the case in Canada, there is no customs fee to be paid). And they are not rigorous in their methods.

I agree with this completely and cannot believe I forgot to mention it. Regular postal services, not couriers, are the way to go. (Though it is getting harder to tell them apart.)

[ckaz]

Thanks to all who have responded. I will have to reconsider selling my stuff internationally.

CK

[Ash]

ckaz and other sellers,

If you ever have any problems with shipping overseas, please let us know on forum so we can be on the look out for each otherfor potential issues with international postage.

Cheers.

[cpopham]

Originally Posted by bdery

If you sell from the US to an international destination, I would suggest using USPS. UPS, Fedex, etc all work, but their service sucks.

Yes, definitely. Also be aware that since UPS and Fedex have a presense in many countries they insist on doing the deliveries themselves, but tend to have vastly inferior courier service compared to local companies.

Your buyers will appreciate USPS!

Also, from the point of view of someone who has considered buying goods on the marketplace before, but lives outside the US, please note that while there aren't as many of us, the current weakness of the US dollar makes some items very attractive indeed...

[Edvinas]

Yes, USPS Express Mail International is the way to go.

Delivery is within a week, and shipping price is very reasonable, for typical photo equipment (lenses, cameras) it is up to $40.

And most important they don't charge ridiculously large brokerage fees as UPS and other courier services do.