is it worth shipping internationally?

[savethe80s]

Thanks everyone for the responses. Now I'm off to research best ways to ship internationally as it sounds like an overwhelming YES to offering international shipping.

I've got a lot to learn and I appreciate everyone's input and help

Thanks again

[TiasTreasures]

We list a lot of very low-value postage stamps. Usually a buyer will order multiples, but occasionally (twice this month), we have sold single stamps. One customer in the U.S. and one in Scotland. They both paid more for the shipping and handling than the stamp itself.

[rokins_toys]

Hi all - I sell mostly small media type stuff, what I'm wondering is should I spend the time changing all my current listing (over 1000) to offer internationally shipping to the UK & Canada (from U.S.) - or would it be a waste of time due to the small costs of each item?

Basically international shipping would cost much more per itme than the actual items and it just doesn't seem rational to me that anyone would purchase and pay to receive the smalls to another country.

Anyone have any experience with shipping small or low cost items internationally on here?

Thanks in advance for any feedback on this as I'm really not sure which way to go

Royal mail are increasing prices year on year and the 2011 price increases effectively put an end to our international sales and the 2012 price increases were the final nail in the coffin - the sheer cost of airmail now is disgusting. However, we still offer international shipping as the situation can arise where we have something that cannot be got in any other country or it could be cheaper to buy and import from us in the UK to whichever country the customer is in as often, some items that we sell, some of our competitors are selling at a much far higher price (way, way above retail), even in America etc. so it can be cheaper to buy and import from elsewhere, so it is always a good idea to keep international shipping as an option as customers are not stupid, they know postage prices are beyond the control of sellers so they know to expect high postage costs when buying and importing. Obviously, shipping with insurance, requiring a signature etc. puts a massive increase on the postage costs internationally so we do not use Royal Mail's international signed for anymore as this costs £5.95 which would probably be about $12.00, but as most of our items fall under a certain price range we do not require international signed for and we can instead use a free Certificate of Posting which the post office will sign and stamp and this can be used for claims and to get money back for the item in the event of loss/damage, not sure if the USPS has a free option like this though.

[cambsmills]

I agree with Rokin's toys, but in our case it was the 2012 Royal Mail price increases that have put paid to our international sales - they're down about 80% on 2011. It's worth offering though as buyer's will still buy, if they want it.

On a personal note, I usually search for items in the U.K., mainly due to the cost of international shipping. I did buy something from France back in June (not on ebid), that has disappeared en route though.

[savethe80s]

Thanks again for the responses.

So far here's what I've decided --- all the music cassettes in my store I have added shipping to Canada (except I haven't gone back to the ones that were listed before this week). I was hoping to do the same with the paperbacks, but they vary so much in weight that I can't do it yet. I am also looking into adding Canada to the vhs tapes too, but maybe after I get caught up on listing the music cassettes.

I am still looking into adding other countries too, especially UK, but haven't done so yet. Thanks again and here's to many sales!

[mjs1859]

Thanks appreciate all of the feedback. Will begin listing some of my items with international shipping options. As of now I only offered my items in the US, but very little activity happening for me from the US side.

Alley Cat Finds LLC
http://us.ebid.net/items/mjs1859

Antiques And Collectibles (Antiques)
http://alley-cat-finds-llc-antiques-...ibles.ebid.net

Collectible ArtWorks (Art)
http://alley-cat-finds-llc-collectib...works.ebid.net

Beauty And Elegance (Jewelry and Watches)
http://alley-cat-finds-llc-beauty-and-elegance.ebid.net

[rokins_toys]

I feel it is important that when offering international shipping, do not use estimates of what it might cost. You could end up over-charging or under-charging and with the cost of airmail these days, under-charging can hit you in the pocket hard depending on what it is you're selling and it's overall weight with packaging materials. Royal Mail have a program called Smartstamp (to print stamps and has section for customer address, logo, return address where space allows depending on the label) which we use and as we have our own scales, we can weigh everything and get the exact price plus the cost of packaging materials on top so we charge what is necessary to cover the actual costs of shipping whether it be within the UK or international so we never over-charge and we never under-charge, our postage prices are the actual cost of shipping stamp/packaging materials. Royal Mail also have wall charts you can get and if you have your own scales, you'll have acurate postage costs. Our scales can weigh up to 5kg I think the limit is which is fine for 99% of our items. I do not know if the USPS service has similar stamp printing software for customers, but I am sure they have wall charts you can get from them (or print off from online) and you can buy salces cheap enough. There is nothing worse than "estimating" a price/weight for shipping, especially where airmail is concerned as buyers do not want to have to pay additional on top of the advertised shipping price if you have underestimated the weight/price of stamp. So it is always best to just get the wallchart from the postal service or software if they offer it and get your own scales.

When selling and sending small items like cassettes, jewellery etc, your typical kitchen scales are fine. You might also want to look for a manufacturer of packaging materials like we use, they make all the boxes etc and buy direct from them and they also supply jiffy bags (the bubble lined/padded envelopes) and we buy them by the box and are getting them for wholesale cost rather than retail so you can still be reasonably priced on airmail as one size jiffy we use would probably cost 35p each retail where as we pay 17p each and we charge the customer the 17p for that particluar size jiffy. You do not have to be a big business to buy from packaging material manufacturers, but it is an upfront cost and depending on your volume of sales, can take a while to recoup that cost.

Last night we had our first interntional sale in a least a year and a half lol which is great and even though it is within the EU the weight is not much under1,200g, so it is costly to ship, but obviously, the customer cannot get this item in their country or it is cheaper to buy and import from us than buy in their own country. Plus, being part of the EU, there are no import fees/tax/duty for the customer to pay on their end. So as we offer international shipping, it is then up to the buyer if they want to pay the shipping to get the item they want if it is not available where they are or it just works out cheaper to buy from us (cheaper including shipping) than buying from a shop online in their own country especially if they are asking double or triple the retail price for a particular item.

So, offer international shipping and let the customer decide on how much they want the item to pay the shipping. You can always help reduce the import/tax etc side of things by marking the item on the customs form as a gift or "sample" so it does not qualify for import fees etc.

[mjs1859]

Thanks. We are taking your advice now that we are expanding to include international shipping. We appreciate your sharing and help.


http://us.ebid.net/items/mjs1859

Antiques And Collectibles (Antiques)
http://alley-cat-finds-llc-antiques-...ibles.ebid.net

Collectible ArtWorks (Art)
http://alley-cat-finds-llc-collectib...works.ebid.net

Beauty And Elegance (Jewelry and Watches)
http://alley-cat-finds-llc-beauty-and-elegance.ebid.net

[JimmyCee]

I hate to burst bubbles about overseas shipping.
Here's a story that should be heard.
I use plastic eyes in my fishing lures, no one makes the quality that Suzusi Sogo of Taito-Ku Tokyo do.
We have been purchasing from them for 20+ years. A few years ago I placed an order for $5,000.00
worth of eyes which were sent "sea shipping" as they called it.
This was the most reasonable shipping offered to me at that time, takes 5-6 weeks to arrive.
Time wasn't a problem for I allowed for it.
Package arrived in good condition without any type of apparent damage or mishandling.
When I opened the package I thought there was a problem because there was a lot of open space and this co has always packaged tightly forming the box to the order.
After checking with them and finding what the shipping weight was, it was decided some one opened package, removed 1/2 of the order
$2,500, then nicely repackaged and sent it on the way.
No I didn't have it insured, I took the loss and learned a lesson, however it was an expensive one.
Keep this in mind, although it could happen locally also, but much easier to trace.

[booksforsale]

I always used to offer overseas options, and it was always a Signed For option to cover everyone's back, however Royal Mail have killed that with price increases especially the VAT to Europe.

It is a huge waste of time for me to go through all my listings every year getting the postage rises right, so for the amount of sales I did have overseas, it is no longer worth it for me