Selling to overseas markets... best practices?

[Johncan]

I have some vintage tube gear that I am going to list on Ebay in the next few weeks. The gear I have will have some strong interest from the Asian markets. I would like to include them in the auctions. Generally, I have restricted my Ebay sales to the US.

What is the best way to accept payment from Asia and Europe?

What carrier is the best way to ship to the same markets?

I want to protect myself from scams, charge backs, and lost gear. I also want package tracking.

Thanks!

John

[Tom Bavis]

PayPal

U.S. Mail (max weight limit varies with country)

Express mail offers tracking.

[Andyman]

Also, there usually is a size limit for overseas cartons, which can make it tough to pack and pad properly. i've had to bend/construct some custom sized cartons to meet the requirements. 79" is quite common with some countries allowing 108"

[Vitopanch]

PayPal

U.S. Mail (max weight limit varies with country)

Express mail offers tracking.


About a third of my business is overseas. I agree with Tom.

Vito

[Redboy]

I just made my first overseas sale recently. Paypal was great. USPS offered the best rate, but promptly sent my package to the wrong country. After wondering for a week if a package to Australia was supposed to go through Canada, I finally called...

"Oh... it's in Canada? We'll investigate that. You should hear back from us within 31 days. Sorry for the inconvenience."

Once the thing got out of Canadian customs, everything else went smoothly. Buyer was very happy.

[Negotiableterms]

Good thread!

Moved to $&S, which is where how-to buying/selling questions normally attract attention.

[barrynsue]

It is really size and weight dependent. I use USPS Express Mail when the size limitations are OK but use FedEx for all others as I get a fairly substantial discount. I believe you can also get a favorable discount via UPS if you use Paypal shipping option. You must also consider the price as you cannot get full insurance on all shipping options. USPS limits Priority Mail to a max of $650.00 I believe so higher $$ items will need to go Express.

Paypal is good but you will find that many buyers in the Asian marketplace will agree to pay via M.O. or cash in some cases. The only problem with Paypal is they charge an additional 1% for transactions outside of North America so factor that in also. For higher cost items, I do NOT autimatically allow Paypal and negotiate the fee if it is a must. I do put notice that Paypal MAY be an option and have the potential buyer email me for details.

My experiences with shipping outside the US have not been a problem. Most of the forms can be printed directly (and automatically) when using either USPS, FedEx or UPS. One caution however is when the item exceeds $ 2,500.00 as you need additional docs form a service called AES as well as your SS#, buyers ID and direct contact info, as well as navigation of the form. Not really a big deal but takes some time on the first try.

I can certainly recommend opening options up to the world if your goal is highest return on investment. The dollar is way down and foriegn currencies at present have tremendous buying power.

Good luck and let me know if I may be of any assistance.

Barry

[Vitopanch]

John,
Also consider including Germany, Belguim, France and Italy. Germany has always been great for selling gear, as they are ravenous for it and have deep pockets. However, recently, for me at least Belguim, France and Italy have opened up a lot.

I have been getting great action on their sites. The language is tricky at times, but well worth it.

Vito

[Andyman]

I've been selling off some LPs lately and many of them are going abroad. In the last month I've shipped to Thailand, South Korea, Germany, France, Norway, Finland and Russia. I'm pretty sure the weak dollar has something to do with it.
The biggest issue is that I require insurance in most cases, which means the more expensive Priority Mail, as First Class is not insurable. That means $24.00 shipping on a 2 pound package for a $12.99 LP. I did in two occasions add a freebie LP to a couple of singles as PM goes in full pound increments and the extra LP shipped for free. I figured that may ease the pain for my buyers a bit and they did appreciate it.

[hammr7]

Just a slight word of warning - Paypal can be a problem out of the US. The reason is simple. Paypal's normal seller protection only works in countries where buyers have confirmed accounts/addresses. The problem is that Paypal only confirms accounts in a handful of countries.

Paypal knows this is a problem. They have started rolling out an enhanced seller protection program, but it is presently only for power sellers. Unless you are a power seller you are taking a risk that your customer is inherently honest. If they aren't, you can have all sorts of problems, the least being having your money frozen for three or four months. I have had Paypal representatives tell me in the last week that they would not ship anywhere that didn't have confirmed members.

Being confirmed is different than being verified. A verified account simply means that Paypal has determined that your bank account information (name, address, etc,) matches your home address information. Paypal is able to verify accounts in most countries where they do business.

Confirmed means that Paypal has access to your credit card info on a continuous basis, and that info matches up with everything else. They apparently can also match up any other credit cards that might be used by your account. If you add a credit card they can tell if it's personal info matches their profile of you.

Unfortunately Paypal's background scanning of credit card info runs afoul of privacy laws in many countries, in part because they need to share financial data. In these countries Paypal is not allowed access to credit card info, yet credit cards are often used as the source of Paypal funding for purchases. And local laws are either lax or stacked against you in some countries. So you can end up getting a Paypal payment, shipping your item, have it received and even get positive feedback from the buyer, and still lose your money when a credit card chargeback shows up months later.

So if, for example, you get a chargeback on a payment 3 months after the auction ended (with a claim of fraudulent use of a credit card) and the product was received by the buyer, Paypal will not automatically cover the charge. I know, because I am dealing with this situation to the tune of $400.

Another thing, assuming you are optimistic that you could win such a challenge - if you want to stand a chance of winning any claim against you - Look carefully at what Paypal requires for support documentation. You'll see that you need on-line tracking for all shipments, and on-line signature confirmation for items over $250. This means that you need something like Express Mail International from the Postal Service, or something similar. These can be somewhat pricey, although they aren't that bad for heavy items compared to alternatives.

And there are some other weird conditions. If you don't ship within 7 days after payment Paypal probably won't even consider fighting on your behalf. And if you have to fight, Paypal won't release specifics until you get a court order forcing them to. Its not that they are pains, but there are privacy laws they are bound by.

[elgato8905]

Just a slight word of warning - Paypal can be a problem out of the US. The reason is simple. Paypal's normal seller protection only works in countries where buyers have confirmed accounts/addresses. The problem is that Paypal only confirms accounts in a handful of countries.

Paypal knows this is a problem. They have started rolling out an enhanced seller protection program, but it is presently only for power sellers. Unless you are a power seller you are taking a risk that your customer is inherently honest. If they aren't, you can have all sorts of problems, the least being having your money frozen for three or four months. I have had Paypal representatives tell me in the last week that they would not ship anywhere that didn't have confirmed members.

Being confirmed is different than being verified. A verified account simply means that Paypal has determined that your bank account information (name, address, etc,) matches your home address information. Paypal is able to verify accounts in most countries where they do business.

Confirmed means that Paypal has access to your credit card info on a continuous basis, and that info matches up with everything else. They apparently can also match up any other credit cards that might be used by your account. If you add a credit card they can tell if it's personal info matches their profile of you.

Unfortunately Paypal's background scanning of credit card info runs afoul of privacy laws in many countries, in part because they need to share financial data. In these countries Paypal is not allowed access to credit card info, yet credit cards are often used as the source of Paypal funding for purchases. And local laws are either lax or stacked against you in some countries. So you can end up getting a Paypal payment, shipping your item, have it received and even get positive feedback from the buyer, and still lose your money when a credit card chargeback shows up months later.

So if, for example, you get a chargeback on a payment 3 months after the auction ended (with a claim of fraudulent use of a credit card) and the product was received by the buyer, Paypal will not automatically cover the charge. I know, because I am dealing with this situation to the tune of $400.

Another thing, assuming you are optimistic that you could win such a challenge - if you want to stand a chance of winning any claim against you - Look carefully at what Paypal requires for support documentation. You'll see that you need on-line tracking for all shipments, and on-line signature confirmation for items over $250. This means that you need something like Express Mail International from the Postal Service, or something similar. These can be somewhat pricey, although they aren't that bad for heavy items compared to alternatives.

And there are some other weird conditions. If you don't ship within 7 days after payment Paypal probably won't even consider fighting on your behalf. And if you have to fight, Paypal won't release specifics until you get a court order forcing them to. Its not that they are pains, but there are privacy laws they are bound by.


Wow... That's good to know. Thanks Hammr

[Johncan]

What do you do when a potential buyer asks you to declare on the customs form that the item they are buying is worth far less than they paid for it? My first impression is to say no and not sell them the item to that person.

John

[nosirrah]

Trying to avoid duties is an illegal act, judge for yourself.
Casey

[Fisherdude]

What do you do when a potential buyer asks you to declare on the customs form that the item they are buying is worth far less than they paid for it? My first impression is to say no and not sell them the item to that person.

John

When a potential buyer asks you to commit a criminal act, you say "No", and then add them to your blocked bidder list.

[Johncan]

Thanks guys! I told the seller "no" before I posted here. Just needed the reassurance I did the right thing.

I do want to check on one more thing... when insuring the package and filling out the customs forms, the two amounts should match, correct?

John

[barrynsue]

Yep!

Otherwise, if something happens, YOU are responsible for the contents and FULL refund regardless if they paid for insurance or not.

Barry