Do you ship everywhere in the world...

[FayeKilday]

or just to select countries?

Thought I'd finally tackle my shipping charges on Supadupa as I'd like to open my shop in January. But trying to work out shipping charges to places I've never even heard of before has left me feeling real confused! I keep thinking "is it safe to ship there? Do I want to ship there?"

I'm so tempted to just ship to countries I know. The sales I've got through Etsy have been from the USA so I'm guessing most of my sales will keep coming from there and from New Zealand.

Did you do shipping charges for all the countries listed on the shipping page at Supadupa?

[ArtbyJaneWalker]

Because I'll be selling finished products rather than supplies in my boutique, I'm going to limit my range to countries that can be covered by InsurePost and, additionally, not ship to countries such as China where my products might be replicated.

This week I will be slogging through the ship charge list and finishing choosing countries and listing my charges.

[Former_Member]

I didn't select them all, just the ones I've shipped to in the past.

It did take quite a while to fill in all the shipping details...especially as Royal Mail broke their own shipping price calculator a few weeks ago, and still haven't fixed it !
When they do get it fixed, I may add some more shipping destinations.

[SomersetMarket]

Same here...I only chose Countries that I've shipped to before and omitted some I had problems with. It was a chore to fill out, but now that it's done I hope it works properly!

[FayeKilday]

Well, glad to see I'm not the only one who's not happy shipping everywhere. Actually, I think a lot of people won't ship to New Zealand. But our customs are tough, so I guess I can understand that.

OK, off to pick and choose my countries to ship to (why do I feel mean saying that?)

@Jane - you have a good point about not shipping to countries where our products could be replicated. I hadn't thought of that, but yes, it is something to think about for sure.

[Former_Member]

I didn't do shipping everywhere either. And with my prices, I doubt people in Zimbabwe would want a $500 camera bag or even a $70 camera strap. Plus, I was getting frustrated with putting numbers in so I did North and South America and Europe for now.

By the way...what is the Supadupa role on google??

[Former_Member]

Has anyone actually experienced problems having a replication of their work made from a buyer in China? In my searches on Etsy I have noticed that a few people won't ship there.... and I couldn't figure out why until now. But is it really a tangible problem?

[Former_Member]

@Kira I don't thnik china is going replicate anything that isn't as big as Crocs..remember when they went big there were a millio Chinese replicas? I don't think they have the time or interest to replicate anything that is not selling in the millions atleast...

[Former_Member]

LOL! thx Sizzlestrapz.That's how I always felt but have been surprised to find this topic of concern come up in the forms and sites a few times.

[Former_Member]

lol!!

[FayeKilday]

There is a site call alibaba.com that's an online B2B marketplace. I know that sellers on Etsy have found copies of their work for sale there from Chinese wholesalers. I have seen threads about this in the Business Forum. I know that sellers of jewelry and crochet have been affected and I think I remember seeing a seller of birdhouses affected by them too. They have also used sellers' photos stolen directly from their Etsy shops!

Do a search for "alibaba" in the business forum here and you'll find heaps of (scary) info.

Here's one to get you started:
http://www.etsy.com/teams/7722/business-topics/discuss/9362903/

Although, by having a quick read of this thread it looks like they just study your photos to rip you off... they don't actually buy your product.

[SusiesBoxes]

I ship everywhere. I mean, what's the point of narrowing your customer base?