Microsoft Word - internationalSellingToolkit

How To Sell

Internationall

Selling Toolkit

Reach Bu

ers Around The Globe

As the world’s premier online marketplace, eBay helps you

to quickly and efficiently expand your business globally.

eBay has over 114 million users in more than 150

countries. No other marketplace can get your products in

front of such a global audience as quickly and easily as

eBay. Additionally, selling internationally on eBay is not only

good for business, but also fun. Community members often

say how great it is to meet fellow eBay community members

from across the globe, learn about different cultures and

provide goods that are not readily available in foreign

markets. There are currently millions of eBay members who

sell internationally who have gone through similar learning

processes. We have developed this toolkit using their

experiences and success stories. This toolkit is a resource to

help you reach and sell your items to an international

audience in 4 easy steps. So get ready, because there is a

whole world out there to connect with, explore and sell to . . .

STEP 1 1

Preparing To Sell Internationally

• eBay Prohibited Items

• Internationally Prohibited Items

STEP 2 2

Listing Your Items

• Selecting Shipping Regions

• International Shipping Calculator

• Language Differences

• Setting Expectations

STEP 3 3

Payments

• Currency Conversion

• Receiving Payment

STEP 4 4

Shipping

• Choosing a Carrier & Product

• Canada Post Products

• United Parcel Service (UPS) Products

• Additional Third Party Carriers

• Brokerage Fees

• Filling Out Customs Forms

• Canada Post Customs Forms

• United Parcel Service (UPS) Customs Forms

• Item Value Declaration

• Invoice Inclusion

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 7

Contents

Ste

PREPARING TO SELL INTERNATIONALLY

The first step to being a successful seller is picking the products you will be

selling and choosing what regions you will sell them to. In order to help

you decide what products are best suited for international selling, it is best

to first understand what products can be sold on eBay and what products

can be shipped internationally. Whether you’re targeting international

customers or trying to decide what regions you will ship your product to, it

is crucial to better understand the eBay Global Marketplace. At eBay, we

have seen US buyers and sellers increasingly trade with users from

countries where English is widely spoken such as the UK, Canada and

Australia, Hong Kong & Germany.

• eBay Prohibited Items – eBay has a list of prohibited items that

cannot be traded on the site. Be aware of these before you list an item

on the site. The list of prohibited items for eBay.ca can be found at:

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/sell/item_allowed.html

• Internationally Prohibited Items – in addition to eBay’s prohibited

items list, each country has a specific list of items that are prohibited

from entry. Make sure that your items can be legally sent to the

countries you are targeting by going to the Canada Post link below and

select “Go to Section H”:

http://www.canadapost.ca/tools/pg/manual/d06-e.asp#c003

• Hot Tip – items which have a high dollar value relative to their weight

are those most likely to be sold internationally. A small sampling of

items that fit these criteria include collectables (i.e. – coins and stamps),

jewellery, electronics (i.e. – such as PDA’s & MP3 players), auto parts

and sporting goods.

Ste

LISTING YOUR ITEMS

Once you have familiarized yourself with eBay’s thriving Global Marketplace

and you are ready to start selling your products, it’s time to list your items. One

of the key steps to successful selling is knowing where and how to list your

items:

• Selecting Shipping Regions – be sure to make your item available to

international buyers. When listing your item, look in the “Ship-to locations”

section and select the “Will ship worldwide” radio button; or if you would

like to choose specific regions, use the appropriate checkboxes to indicate

which regions that you are willing to ship to.

• International Shipping Services – to attract more international buyers, add

international shipping services and prices to your listing. By providing rates

for domestic, US and overseas shipping up front, your international and

cross-border buyers will be more confident in placing a bid.

• Hot Tip – avoid using colloquialisms or abbreviations as these may not be

understood by international buyers to whom English is not their native

language.

• Language Differences – if you are targeting a specific audience be aware of

the language(s) spoken in that country or region. If there is a need to

translate a description, go to the international boards where eBay users have

volunteered to provide free translation services.

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/forum.jsp?forum=31

• Utilize a free online translation tool; these tools cover translations across

multiple languages.

http://babelfish.altavista.com/

http://www.google.com/language_tools

• Setting Expectations – set clear expectations in the item description. Be

sure to include an estimate or separate cost for international shipping and be

clear about delivery time. You may also want to advise potential buyers to

resea

ch customs fees

rior to

lacin

a bid.

PAYMENT

Once you have found international buyers for your products, you will want

to get your payment quickly and securely. To help facilitate international

transactions, PayPal has been aggressively expanding its global reach and

the currencies in which users can transact.

• Currency Conversion – eBay automatically converts the cost of a

product to the default currency of the site it is being viewed on. If a

Canadian buyer is viewing an item listed on the UK site, they will see

the cost in Canadian dollars and UK pounds. If you would like

additional information on what your product will cost in local currency

please visit the currency converter link:

http://pages.ebay.ca/services/buyandsell/currencyconverter.html

• Receiving Payment – not being able to accept the local currency is

often cited as an obstacle to selling internationally. PayPal helps sellers

accept payments in multiple currencies and withdraw funds in Canadian

dollars. Below is a link to the countries in which PayPal is available:

http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_display-approved-

signup-countries-outside

• Hot Tip – accept PayPal and reduce the time spent waiting for

payments (e.g. – money orders) by up to 10 days! Register now:

http://www.paypal.com

Ste

SHIPPING

Once you have received your payment it is time to ship the product. Below are the

services that have worked best for eBay sellers to facilitate this process.

Choosing a Carrier & Product

• Canada Post Products – Canada Post offers competitive international

shipping options. The service options most widely used by eBay sellers are:

Service Shipping Method Speed of Delivery Restrictions

Small Packets -

International

Ground & Airmail Airmail can take up to 10

days to deliver to most

countries; ground can take

up to 6 weeks

For packages under 2 kg

International

Surface Parcel

Ground & Airmail There are no published

delivery standards for

Surface Parcel service;

however there is a service

expectation of 4-6 weeks to

most international

destinations.

Weight limit of 30kg (66

pounds) ;Length plus girth

cannot exceed 3 m (118 1/8")

(length + (height x 2) +

(width x 2)

A surcharge applies if any one

dimension exceeds 1 m (39

3/8").

International

Air Parcel

Airmail There are no published

delivery standards for

International Air Parcel

service; however, there is a

service expectation of 6-10

business days to most

international destinations.

Length plus girth cannot

exceed 3m (118 1/8") (length

+ (height x 2) + (width x 2)

A surcharge applies if any one

dimension exceeds 1 m (39

3/8").

For more information on all international products from Canada Post please

follow the link below:

http://www.canadapost.ca/personal/prodserv/sp/int/default-e.asp

• United Parcel Service (UPS) Products – UPS is one of the most widely

utilized third party carriers in Canada. It is important to note that for

international shipments, UPS does not specialize in slower shipments and is

therefore better suited for time sensitive shipments. Please go the link below

for more information on their service options:

https://wwwapps.ups.com/tradeability?loc=en_CA

• Additional Third Party Carriers – there are a host of additional carriers

such as Federal Express, Purolator Courier, and DHL that service Canada.

These carriers may not be widely used by eBay sellers for international

shipments due to their higher fees and limited products.

• Brokerage Fees – when using third party providers be mindful of brokerage

fees that are incurred when a package is handed off to other shippers if the

carrier cannot deliver the package all the way to its final destination.

• Hot Tip – Canada Post offers many options for small business owners to

save time through specialized programs. Among the time saving tools is the

ability to print labels and order supplies online. To find out more about these

and other programs go to the Canada Post site below:

http://www.canadapost.ca/business/intsol/sb/default-e.asp

Filling Out Customs Forms:

duties and tariffs may be charged on certain

items. Customs forms help both Canada and the import country understand the

package’s contents, value and purpose. These forms are affixed on the outside of

the package so that they can be easily examined by customs officials.

• Canada Post Customs Forms – there are two main forms that Canada Post

requires for international items— form CN22 & form CP72. Below is a brief

description of when each of these forms is applicable.

Service Shipping Method CN22 (43-074-076) CP72

Letter Post

(small mail)

Ground & Airmail Less than $500 value Value is $500 or

more plus CN22

Small Packets

Ground & Airmail All packages N/A

International

Parcels Air or

Surface

Ground & Airmail N/A All packages

For more information on filling out each form, follow the link below:

http://www.canadapost.ca/tools/pg/manual/b06-e.asp#c005

• Hot Tip – Save instantly on your shipping by joining the Venture One

Preferred Small Business Client program

http://www.canadapost.ca/business/intsol/sb/ventureone/default-

e.asp?source=web

• UPS Customs Forms – UPS suggests shippers use the following forms and

provides online help for completing the forms:

Invoice Information Form

US Certificate of Origin Form

US Shippers Export Declaration

NAFTA Certificate of Origin Form (when shipping within NAFTA countries)

https://wwwapps.ups.com/tradeability/forms?loc=en_CA

• Item Value Declaration – when declaring the value of the item on the

customs form, use the auction closing price for your item, not including

shipping & handling costs, so that the buyer does not overpay in duties and

taxes.

• Hot Tip – Under normal circumstances, you should not qualify the package’s

contents as a gift. Buyers may ask the seller to declare an item as a gift. It is

against the law to misrepresent an item in order to avoid customs fees. As a

general rule, do not intentionally misrepresent either the value or the contents

of the package in order to circumvent customs duties and/or taxes. Please

review our Tax Policy for further information:

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/policies/seller-tax.html

• Invoice Inclusion – include an invoice or printout of the closed listing in your

package so that there is evidence of how much the buyer paid should customs

officials open the package.

• Hot Tip – be sure that your packaging is sturdy, well cushioned and sealed.

Shipping internationally can mean more wear and tear on your packages, so

make sure your items arrive safely.

You now have the tools and information to target and sell to eBay users around the

world. You are on your way to exploring a whole world of trading opportunities. At

eBay, we constantly strive to facilitate trade between our users and we hope this

seller toolkit meets your international trading needs. We heavily rely upon and

highly value input from our community. As you trade internationally, we would

love to hear about your experiences and any tips or problems that you run into. For

this purpose we have set up a dedicated email address: goglobal@ebay.com

Additional Information

Once your volume of international sales starts to increase there are

additional services and resources that are available to help with the logistics

and defray some of the costs of shipping abroad.

• Payment Processors – these providers facilitate the payment process

by offering currency exchange or consignment services. Providers in

this category offer international money orders and broker a transaction

until each party has received their respective goods or fees.

• Customs Brokers – these providers help shepherd items through

customs or provide logistics and consultative services. These providers

tend to be more expensive and are typically used by high volume

shippers.

• Aggregators and Drop-Off Locations – these providers help small

volume shippers allay the hassles involved in logistics and the costs of

shipping internationally. They use their expertise to aggregate shipments

from smaller shippers to get discounts on shipping and increase

reliability and security.

eBay Resources

• International Selling Help on eBay

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/sell/ia/selling_internationally.html

• Community Boards

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/forum.jsp?forum=31

• Payments, Customs & Shipping Chat Board

http://chatboards.ebay.ca/chat.jsp?forum=1&thread=2

• Third Party Software and Services Solutions

http://solutions.ebay.ca