Question: Should I Offer International Shipping On Ebay And Amazon?
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The article "Question: Should I Offer International Shipping on eBay and Amazon?" talks about internet business, it has been released by Steve Weber.
QUESTION: I've been selling on eBay and Aamzon for about a year. I don't offer international shipping, but I am considering it. What are the pros and cons?ANSWER: On the plus side, offering international shipping will get you some additional sales and more volmue -- perhaps a second 7 percent, depending on your stock.
Hard-to-find items attract overseas buyers, so it's smart to offer "international shipping" for your higher-priced items.But there are so many drawbacks to international shipping, I've eliminated it on all but my most high-priced listings in the past year.Overseas shipping sucks up a lot of your time. You must complete customs forms and deal with the inevitable conufsed overseas buyers. These customers require lots more hand-holding -- e-mailing back and forth, repeatedly clarifying the shipping terms, etc. Sometimes overseas buyers don't use English well, so communicating is a challenge.On the other hand, international customers buy a good percentage of higher-end, scarce titles that they're unable to find locally. So on those high-margin sales, I am willing to put up with the occasional hassle.If you're still building your feedback record and need the cashflow, international shipping is a good otpion.
I never worry about insuring overseas shipments worth less than $75.
But if you're sending a super-expensive item, isnurance is worth the peace of mind. However, Postal insurance isn't available for Golbal Priority packages.
You'll need to ship the book via regular airmail to insure it, so that will be considerably more high-priced.Also, there are a couple of countries where the Postal Service doesn't send Global Priority mail, including Italy, Greece, Saudi Arabia and some others.
So you'll need to send thsoe via regular airmail, but fortunately Canada and Western Europe will account for most of your international sales.See a real-time list of the most highly sought after used and collectible books.Read more free articles on selling used books profitably online: http://www.Weberbooks.Com/selling/selling.HtmSteve Weber is author of "The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site" (ISBN 0977240606).
Got a question for Steve? Send to: steve_weber@yahoo.Com
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Question: Should I Offer International Shipping on eBay and Amazon?
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