Considering International Sales? help please!

[Former_Member]

In order to possibly bring in more sales I am considering adding international buyers. Is that process the same as mailing something in the U.S.? Or do I have to do something special? I'd really appreciate some advice(: My name is Mariah and I'm new to the team and etsy. And also are the advertisement things on etsy worth paying for?

Thanks(:

[Former_Member]

It is all pretty much the same. Be sure to know which countries are covered with seller protection, and which are not. We have not had any issues, but are strictly selling to the short list of countries covered.

As far as paying for ads, we tried, so no sales from it, and found it better to just keep listing more and keeping the shop full of fresh new merch....

Hello Mariah.....Welcome!

[Former_Member]

Okay, thanks(: I think I will check out the list and add those countries! That's what I see allot of people saying on here that the ads are kind of a waste. I haven't been adding like I was due to a busy week but today I think I should, but 2 sales ain't too shabby.

Cool stuff in your shop. (: I see you're doing very well!

[Former_Member]

Keep up the good work.

We work our shop pretty hard and try to be adding new items as well as relisting some everyday to keep activity. There is nothing easy or predictable about most of it, but with hard work, anyone can be successful.

[CLGifts]

International shipping is tricky, but worth it. We love our international customers and you will, too. Since the rates went up significantly in January, it has become even trickier for us. We have lost money here and there, to be honest, but we feel that is part of doing business due to trial and error. And we have figured out a lot about international shipping this way.

You said you are new, so my first advice is to get a scale so that you can do all of your shipping online - it will save you money each time. Let me know if you need advice on a scale and I can help (convo me) - ours was around $20 and still works great.

Then, I would start small and LIGHT. When we have made errors and not pre-calculated our international shipping properly, we have only lost a couple of dollars. If we started by shipping heavier, larger items, we would have been out a lot more money. We started by offering international only on our items that were under 13 ounces.

Hope this helps a little!

[RazzleDazzleMe]

Out of my 5 sales today, 3 were international. But, almost all of my items can go international for 2 ounces-3 oz. is the maximum. So, it is easy for me to have a set shipping cost. I have had almost no problems shipping internationally with no restrictions on countries. I have only had a few lost packages and hope someday the post office can track all packages.

Good luck on your new shop. I would start with your bracelets since you could easily figure out the shipping costs.

[Former_Member]

Thanks(: I expanded to Canada since I figure that will be an easy country for starters.....but will pick others as I go! I defiantly will get a scale when my business gets to be bigger.

What countries do you get the most sales from?

[Former_Member]

Welcome Mariah ! I'm glad you asked about international sales. We have been thinking about international sales in hopes of gaining more customers. Best of luck to you.

[Former_Member]

A word of advice. Check the USPS site before making that trip to the post office. U.S. Customs has different guide lines per country as to what can be shipped. I was surprised after making an international sale that I was prohibited from shipping jewelry to that country. I had to cancel the transaction. I can't keep track of every country, so I check before packing the box. I also have a note in my shop policies to that effect.

[Former_Member]

Huh wow I didn't know that! Thanks for the info(: I need to read up on the different countries. It's really something you can't read up on from what I see ya just kinda jump in and go with the flow! Either way I am enjoying my experience with etsy!

[KiltedWoman]

When you send internationally you have to fill out a customs form. If the value of the item is more than a certain amount (I believe it is about $60 for the UK) the buyer might be stuck with having to pay tax on it. Some sellers lie and say the item is a gift or that it is worth less than it is. I don't agree with doing this so I don't offer international shipping on expensive items just to prevent that hassle. Make sure your buyer understands the package could take a month to arrive if it gets hung up in customs. Usually shipping to Canada, the UK, or Australia has been taking my things two weeks to arrive or less.

[inRobinsWoods]

Kiltedwoman, that's what I love about DC and Etsy shipping labels; Endicia (Etsy's shipping service) fills out the customs form for you! It is editable to some degree, but it has completely eliminated, for me anyways, the problem of dealing with international buyers asking for packages to be labeled as gifts. If asked, I just tell them that the customs form is automatically filled out with the correct info at the time their shipping label is printed.

Now, the recently increased cost of international shipping via USPS is another entity...

[tadalyndesign]

Great discussions here. Thank you for the fabulous information!

[Frameyourstory]

What countries are covered by sellers protection? I didn' t know the seller was protected :) I amy add a few.
Best

[Former_Member]

I have also been hesitant to add on more countries (right now just shipping to US and Canada) but I know that there are a lot of shoppers in other countries! This advice so far has been great. I am curious about whether people feel more comfortable listing each country separately or if it is okay to choose the "everywhere else" option? Is there a huge difference in international shipping costs depending on the country?

[PaperCreationsbyDeb]

I've been selling internationally forever, or it just seems like forever.

Here are a few pointers that may help:

Germany: Make sure a customs form is on the outside of the package.

Brazil: Insure anything you don't want to cover yourself and be aware that the mail service there takes forever to deliver sometimes. I had one package take 3 months to arrive.

Australia: Sell to Australia now. They are the nicest people, don't blink twice at the outrageous postage rates and have a great postal system.

UK: Their Customs has been really cracking down on fees since the first of the year and they have a low threshold, around $20.00. Customers get hit with customs fees and a postage "hold" fee and together they can be pretty high. Most of my customers are aware of the fees they'll be paying, but, some aren't. I always convo my customer before shipping to make sure they are aware of the potential for fees and that they are responsible for them.
I've only had one person cancel an order after being made aware of the fees and they came back and ordered a larger quantity of items about a week later.

Gifts to any country:
It's not a gift, no matter what the customer says. It's a purchase of merchandise from you. If you put "gift" on the customs form for something someone bought from you, you can be fined thousands of dollars, face jail time and/or lose your business license. It simply isn't worth it.

These are just a few things off the top of my head. I hope they help. Don't be afraid to ship internationally. Most transactions go smoothly and it will definitely help your business grow.

[CarolBradley]

As far as the question about which countries do we get the most orders from, mine are:
United Kingdom
Canada
France
after that, most of the rest of them are in Europe with a few sales to Russia.