Photos courtesy of eBay.com
A few weeks ago, my thrift store consignment client presented me with about 50 collectible Barbie dolls to sell on eBay. The Barbies were obviously donated by a collector because they were all still on the original boxes, wrapped in another layer of cellophane, and could be sold as NRFB (never removed from box). The dates on the dolls ranged from 1980 until 1995. This was a huge lot of vintage Barbie dolls.
I have never been into the collectible Barbie scene and didn’t realize how many different Barbies exist. Let’s face it, these types of collectibles are for adults, not children. I was shocked to see that some of these Barbies retailed for up to $200. One in particular, the Bob Mackie Goddess of the Sun Barbie, had the original price tag of $198 on the box.
I got busy listing, listing, listing. (After 2 full days sitting at my desk listing, I was ready for a visit from Chiropractic Barbie!) As always, I offered international shipping on every Barbie. I am a diehard believer that international shipping will increase your sales exponentially and someone, somewhere in the world is willing to pay top dollar for an item if you will just take the time to ship it to them. In my opinion, the rewards of international shipping far outweigh the risks.
When the Barbies started selling, I was pleasantly surprised to see how many of them went to international buyers. I found this very interesting. I wasn’t necessarily the lowest price seller for these dolls, but I did offer international shipping which many other sellers did not. Global shipping gave me the competitive edge. Here is a short list of the Barbies I sold and where they went:
Circus Star Barbie – Canada
Disney 101 Dalmatians Cruella DeVil Barbie – Germany
Disney Alice in Wonderland Doll - France
Disney Pocahontas Braided Beauty – Norway
Disney Pocahontas John Smith Doll –Spain
Elizabethan Queen Barbie – Canada
Happy Holidays 1993 Barbie – Canada
Happy Holidays Barbie 1990 – Canada
Happy Holidays Barbie 1996 – United Kingdom
Island Fun Barbie – Germany
Island Fun Barbie – Sweden
Peppermint Princess Barbie – Canada
Skating Star Barbie – Canada
Spring Bouquet Enchanted Seasons Barbie - Canada
Super Hair Barbie – 2 sold to 2 different buyers in France
Victorian Lady Barbie – Australia
If you are not offering international shipping, now is the time. We live in a global economy and people just don’t see distance as a barrier any more. Now with eBay offering First Class International shipping labels via your selling manager, there is no reason not to offer international shipping on items weighing under 4 lbs.
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5 comments:
In TOTAL agreement! My international buyers are a good portion of my business!
Suzanne how do you feel about shipping priority mail international with these new eBay fees coming out? You're looking at an extra $3.50 and up on the shipping alone (minus Canada) add that to the eBay fees. I think we're going to have to be more careful in our research on what the final value will be on heavier items or else it's just not worth it to ship international. An item closing at $9.99 over 4 lbs shipping overseas is just not an option anymore..
John Paul,
The new rule states, "When an international or 1-day shipping service is offered and selected by your buyer, your Final Value Fee is calculated on the least expensive of your options—your international/1-day option OR the first domestic service offered other than 1-day. If your buyer chooses international shipping and you specified free shipping as your first domestic option, you pay zero Final Value Fees on shipping."
In the Barbie example, most shipped for around $15 FCI. At 11%, that is only an additional $1.65 under the new fee structure. That is not very significant - not enough for me to worry and lose sleep over. I don't ship anything over 4 lbs anyway.
The USA is is a country of abundance and full of products that international customers want. I don't plan to miss out on that. If all eBay sellers are going to be affected by this change, the strategy is to stay competitive, stay in the game, and keep selling.
Funny you discuss this.
Today, I had a buyer finalize a claim through Paypal that they didn't get something I had shipped to them in Italy. I, of course, had all my documentation, but in the end Paypal sided with them.
I got on the phone with Paypal & luckily proved my side and got my money back as well (Paypal had to eat it).
While on the phone, the Paypal customer service person said that the one downside to shipping small items internationally is that it can become a he said, she said issue since there is no tracking method.
He did say that they do research on the background of buyers who make claims to make sure they don't take advantage of the system.
This is not the first time I've had problems with international shipments and have considered dropping it all together, but it is such a hard call.
I have quite a few international buyers and would hate to lose their business. I sure wish there was a better system in place to track their shipments.
Suzanne, thanks for the clarification on the calculations of FVF's for int'l shipping.
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