Part of being a successful eBay seller is to keep tabs on the competition. Right now, it looks like US sellers offering goods on the eBay UK site are giving up and heading for the hills. Just this week, 3 sellers that I follow have closed their stores. One is no longer a registered user – POOF – just disappeared. One seller even added a note to all of her store pages explaining that she won’t be offering her products on eBay UK, or worldwide, due to a weak conversion rate.

It doesn’t have to be this way! Granted, the USD / GBP exchange rate is at an all time low right now (1.45%), you don’t have to lose money or go out of business. Simply change your GBP prices to reflect the lower rate. For example, if you are currently offering a product at £10 and your profit is $8 based on a 1.9% exchange rate, just change the price to £12.75. Problem solved. (Be sure to change your shipping fees to reflect the higher rate.)

So why aren’t more sellers just adjusting their pricing? My guess, they are too lazy! Many have hundreds of listings and when they set up their stores, they never considered that the exchange rates would fluctuate. So now they are stuck with 500 – 1,000 listings based on a 1.9% exchange rate. These sellers are either making extremely low profit, or they are operating at a loss. Even worse, some don’t even know that they aren’t making any money as they never track inventory costs, fees, profits, or any other financial information.

This is another example of the attitude, “eBay is easy money.” Many sellers who open UK stores think that they can set up their stores, add hundreds of products, and watch the money roll in without ever having to make adjustments, check on their competitors, or fine-tune their stores. I see this happen all the time. Newsflash: NOTHING ON EBAY IS EASY. eBay is work just like any other business. The market, demand, and consumer buying habits will continue to fluctuate and to continue to make a profit, you have to make adustments.

You can go in one of two directions now.

Proverbs 12:24: “Work hard, become a leader. Be lazy, never succeed.”

As Bill Gates said, “I believe that if you show people the problems and you show them the solutions they will be moved to act.” In other words, don’t give up, just spend some time adusting your pricing. For more detailed information on eBay UK selling, check out my eBook, “How to Maximize Profits on eBay UK.”

[Image Source: Flickr, eBay Coach Photos]

Post from: EveryJoe

US eBay UK Sellers Dropping Like Flies

This question was posted on my Stay at Home Mom’s Selling on eBay Facebook Group:

“I wanted to start selling internationally too. I was wondering if you open a store on eBay.com and then list worldwide for shipping or if you go to another site, like the UK ebay and then list there. What is the best way to get the most exposure for your items. ”

Both strategies have advantages and disadvantges. Selling directly on another eBay site can be more advantageous as you have more factors in your favor through the Best Match algorithm as a direct seller. The users of that site will see the products in their currency, which they like. But, there are several more steps involved when selling on an eBay international site.

First, you will need to convert all of your pricing to the foreign currency. (eBay doesn’t do this for you.) The customers will pay you in that foreign currency, and you will need to convert the funds to USD once in your Paypal account. Any refunds will need to be made in the foreign currency. You need to understand the exchange rates (which change several times a day), to understand your profits and costs.

Secondly, the fees are different. Each eBay international site has a different fee structure for listing fees, final value fees, auctions vs fixed price, gallery photo, etc. You will need to study the fee structure to understand how you will be charged for selling your items there.

Third, the regulations and prohibited items are different for each site based on laws in that particular country. Verify that the item is allowed before listing it. (Don’t assume other sellers have done their homework on this one.) If you list and item that is not allowed, your listing will be ended. Too many of these, and your account will be closed.

You will need to understand what items are not allowed to be shipped into other countries. If you ship an item out, and the foreign country’s customs finds an item that is not allowed, it is not delivered to the customer and you won’t get the package back. You will be out the money (if you refund the customer) and you will be out the product. The rules for prohibited items change frequently and the laws in other countries are very different than ours in the USA. Click here for the USPS official list of prohibited items by country.

Also, educate yourself on customs fees. Understand the value that is exempt from customs fees for any country you ship to. As a general rule, the customers don’t know. If the value of an item is over a certain threshold, the customer will be charged a duties fee (sometimes more than the product cost to start with) – and they will probably leave negative feedback and think it is the seller’s fault for not understanding their system. So just educate yourself on the fees that your customers may incur.

Selling directly on the international site allows you to target your customers directly. For example, if you want to sell toys to the UK this year for Christmas, you would be better served to list your items directly on eBay UK. You are putting yourself in front of your audience, working with them in their currency, and basically selling to them on their turf instead of expecting them to find you on eBay USA.

If you sell on the USA site and offer international shipping, that works, too. Plenty of interntional customers come to eBay USA to make their purchases. You don’t have to worry about converting any currency.

[Image Source: Flickr]

Post from: EveryJoe

Selling on eBay International Sites

If you are selling internationally, you may want to take some time to research the import fees and limits for the countries you ship to. Many eBay buyers don’t know what the limits and fees are in their own countries. Here is a scenario of what can happen if the seller is not informed:

1) Customer orders eBay item(s) from you.
2) Package arrives in customer’s country.
3) Customer is charged a hefty fee because the value of the shipment.
4) Customer refuses package due to the additional fees, or customer pays the fees to obtain his product.
5) If the customer refuses the package, it probably won’t make it back to the seller; and the customer will probably file a Paypal claim to have his money refunded.
6) If customer pays the fee, he will probably leave negative feedback for the seller.

Granted, it is not really the seller’s responsibility to understand all of the customs rules in other countries. Sellers who go the extra mile to stay informed can avoid situations like these. The following links will help:

Shipping to Canada

Shipping to The United Kingdom

Shipping to Australia

[Image Source: Flickr]

Post from: EveryJoe

Customs Fees When Shipping to International Addresses

Have you ever received an email from eBay stating, “We appreciate that you chose eBay to list your eBay Stores listing(s). However, we have removed your (s) because it breaches our (fill in the blank) policy. We notified members who placed bids on the item that the listing has been canceled.”

I noticed that quite a few other sellers have the same item up for sale. So I replied to eBay with this question,”Hello, my listing XYZ was removed as it is not allowed. I see that quite a few other sellers are offering the exact same product, and their listings have not been removed. Why is this?”

eBay’s response,”Please note that our prohibited items policies cover tens of thousands of products. Further, auctions are listed continuously. By the time we remove a prohibited item, a new prohibited item is listed. Therefore, at any given time, you will see prohibited items listed on eBay, but it does not mean they are allowed. We try our best to proactively monitor the site, but we know that is not nearly enough. Therefore, we encourage members to report prohibited items when they see them. The reporting process is very simple; all you have to do is choose the category and enter the item numbers. If you come across a listing that seems questionable, we ask that you report it to us. Lastly, it’s important that you do not treat the action taken on your listings personally, but rather as an informational alert to make you aware of our policies. Your account is still in good standing with us at eBay. Thank you for your patience and understanding.”

So, there you have it. Just because you see an item listed on eBay doesn’t mean it is technically allowed. If you are selling on an international eBay site, the rules are tricky and confusing, so be careful. Following the herd isn’t always a good idea.

Post from: EveryJoe

Ever Wonder Why an eBay Listing is Removed?