A Question for US Sellers...

[Former_Member]

I have come across many shops that only have US shipping listed below their products. As I live in Canada & like to buy from Etsy sellers too, I have been a bit bummed out about no shipping elsewhere. My question is does one only list to US because that is the only destination they do sell items to or is it possibly an oversite?
(Thanks in advance for your input!)

[Former_Member]

you could always contact the seller and ask about it.

Think part of it is a lot of sellers get nervous about the cost of over seas shipping, how long it takes, the horrible tracking stuff too.

[Former_Member]

*oversight*...terrible spelling :OP

[HullStreetStudio]

I think for some it's an oversight but I think Breanna is right, most have no idea how to figure out how to do any other shipping. It can't hurt to ask though!

[Former_Member]

I think a lot don't want to go to the trouble of looking for, and listing, a bunch of different shipping prices. It never hurts to ask!

[Former_Member]

I think you could definitely contact the seller.. I haven't put in international shipping bc I am unsure of how much it costs, but if I had an inquiry, I would find out for sure!

[CREATIONSbySabine]

I only list shipping within US because it's simply too time consuming to add shipping to different countries and I did not want to list "everywhere else" because shipping costs vary from country to country. But I add a note to every listing for international customers to contact me before submitting their order so that I can figure out shipping to their country and add it to the listing.
I hope customers from outside the US know by reading my note, that I'm happy to ship anywhere in the world.
I've had one buyer from Great Britain so far, and it actually worked out pretty well this way.

[sherischart]

Exgoatmilker <3 the name and your pinafores
Everyone pretty much summed up my explanation.
I've read and heard too much negativity about international shipments.
And I fortunately had an understanding Canadian client
with a sale that went extremely expensive in shipping + custom fees.
My paintings aren't one size fits all packaging and shipments. I've made friends with the US Post Office. You bring up a good question because I have had the most fortunate friendships formed by my Canadian shoppers.
Best to you and those precious pinafores!

[sherischart]

Hayley my oops...it's your posting. And my computer ...Hah. Lovely jewelry you have. I'm with Sabine on the listing "everywhere else" I'm still trying to figure that out the easy way. I'm like her and hope someone will take the time to convo me.

[TaniaCaveneciaTorres]

I agree, a lot of sellers I'm sure would have no problem shipping to Canada if you asked. I initially was worried about shipping internationally for fear I would have a lot of lost packages but I got over that. Happy to say that I have had many overseas customers and have had no problems. My only lost package has been in the US, to the East Coast : )

[Former_Member]

Meep. I'm definitely one of those sellers. For me, it was an actual decision not to do international shipping just yet, mostly because I'm a bit terrified. :) I really shouldn't be. I told myself I'd give me some time to get used to shipping in the US before shipping elsewhere. But in this case, if someone were to contact me about it, I'd certainly be willing to do it!

I really just need to suck it up and ship international, don't I? :)

[CREATIONSbySabine]

I just want to add that I also put a statement into my shipping policies that I'm happy to ship anywhere in the world and also that the buyer is responsible for all customs and duty fees - just to avoid any possible confusion later on.

[Former_Member]

I list shipping for canada and "everywhere else", but it's pricey because I only list prices for US flat rate priority mail (though, my prices are slightly lower than actually cost). Every time I *think* I have postage right for international shipping, that isn't flat rate boxes, I end up ripping myself off so badly I don't make any money. :-\

[Former_Member]

DOing the research for international really isn't that hard. "package" an item and weigh it and then plug the numbers in at www.usps.com

On average, shipping to Canada is only about a $1.50 more for first class than shipping in the states. To the UK, it's about the same, maybe $2.00, depending on the weight. Most places run about the same postage, so setting your postage for Everywhere Else at a reasonable (for you and the customer) rate will cover most countries. Australis isn't too bad, but packages going down there will vary wildly in arrival times - I've had stuff show up in ten days or take 6 - 7 weeks.

You're really shooting yourself in the foot by not just offering international shipping. Most international buyers will not convo you for shipping - they'll just go somewhere else that has the shipping in place already. I do about a quarter of my business to Canada.

The only really "hard" thing about international shipping is filling out the customs form. I've done so many now, I can do them asleep. Don't be afraid of it - Etsy is an international site. There is no cooler feeling than sending that package off to Finland or Spain.

[Untwistedsister]

I think some sellers avoid selling internationally because you have to either have to charge an arm and 2 legs to protect yourself or take your chances and ship First Class international from the USA which doesn't allow for insurance or tracking.

[Former_Member]

To those that say that they hope the buyer will just ask, I will say that often when I come across shops that don't list any other country I just keep going on to the next shop - especially if I can find something similar in another shop.

It's worth it to take a few minutes here and there and do the research if you are open to international shipping, IMHO. You are probably missing out on more sales than you realize.

[Former_Member]

I agree, you should contact the seller. I know that I have forgotten to add Canada to my shipping before...like once or twice ;)

[heartsabustin]

If you set up a shipping profile, and use that when you're listing your products, you don't have to remember each country every time you ship. One click, and you're done!

[Former_Member]

I had shipping to U.S. only for the first week or two that I was open. My shop shows that I opened in Sept. 2011 but I didn't start listing until the end of January of this year. The only reason I had U.S. only was because I thought shipping outside the U.S. would be a hassle. After reading several threads here I bit the bullet and figured out the costs for Canada, Austalia and UK (I figured those are the three most popular). I put a note in my announcement to convo me if a buyer wants it shipped elsewhere.

Hayley, feel free to visit my shop - I'll ship to you! :)

[Former_Member]

Thanks for asking this question, you just got me to update my descriptions. I agree with pps that adding all the different shipping locations is time consuming. I just added that international shoppers could convo me about shipping prices.

[Former_Member]

It took me awhile to figure out international shipping. When I was first starting out I didn't know anything about it. Without experience it is hard to know how much to charge and what to do exactly. The post office isn't exactly super helpful either.

[Former_Member]

I'm pretty new to Etsy and only listed US shipping because I don't know what it costs to ship elsewhere....guess I should make a note of it for buyers that if they want I can check for them...thanks!

[Former_Member]

Hayley, you raise a valid concern of many international Etsians.

Unfortunately many in the USA either don't know how to use the USPS web site to determine postage to another country or just don't want to bother with shipping outside of the USA.

Many feel that a buyer will convo them for rates, but they don't realize that if shipping isn't already set up to ship to those countries and the buyer is looking only at items that will ship to their own country, that those who don't have shipping set up won't even be seen.

Its really not that difficult to ship outside the USA. Sellers already need to know the weight of the package to determine the domestic postage. To determine the rate to another country, all that involves is changing the destination country to Canada and reading the rate off the table.

For shipping to all other countries, its a matter of selecting a few different countries to determine the rates. Most countries (other than Canada and Mexico) all have the same rate.

Packages that are under 4 lbs in weight can be shipped via USPS 1st class international mail. Above that they must go USPS Priority International.

The only drawback with international shipping is that there isn't any tracking available on either 1st class or Priority mail once the package leaves the USA. So if its a valuable item, the seller needs to decide whether or not to add insurance or not.

Personally, I've had more packages go astray in the USA than I've ever had for International packages.

Here's a really helpful thread from fellow Etsy seller GoTo that discusses US sellers shipping Internationally.
http://www.etsy.com/teams/7722/business-topics/discuss/6382394/page/1

[Former_Member]

Many thanks for all of the tips & comments, it's nice to hear everyone's thoughts & it's great that this thread is helpful for others too!

[Former_Member]

Thanks for all the great input everybody, and thanks to crochetgal and Erin for the info! And finally, thanks Hayley for bringing this up. It's inspired me to just take the leap and add international shipping. :)