Getting Orders Across Borders: Why delivery is just the starting point

[mandy]

The Internet may have made it easier for retailers in the United States to generate traffic and sales from consumers in other countries, but fulfillment remains a tremendous challenge. Logistically, retailers need to be on top of a wide range of issues that include daily fluctuations in currency conversion when billing a customer, duty fees levied by each country to which they ship, and whether the courier used to ship the package can reach remote locations.

Factor in the marketing dollars needed to drive consumers to a site and generate enough sales to make it worthwhile to ship internationally and it is easy to understand why the resources required of Internet retailers to coordinate cross border fulfillment on their own are often greater than the resources available.

full article:  http://www.internetretailer.com/article.asp?id=17158

[Nat]

Logistically, retailers need to be on top of a wide range of issues that include daily fluctuations in currency conversion when billing a customer, duty fees levied by each country to which they ship, and whether the courier used to ship the package can reach remote locations.

"fluctuations in currency conversion when billing a customer" - why convert it to the customer's currency?  Before eBay whenever I bought stuff from the USA or from England, I always paid in the currency of where the store/seller was located.  Currency conversion was my problem (which wasn't a problem) - not the seller's so that's not issue here.  And now with eBay you buy from another country you pay in their currency.

"duty fees levied by each country to which they ship" - this is also the buyer's responsibility - the seller doesn't pay the duty fees, the buyer is charged the duty fees and any applicable taxes when the package is either delivered or they pick it up - so this also an issue for the seller.

"whether the courier used to ship the package can reach remote locations." - this is the only one of the 3 points that article made above that will affect the seller.

That articles makes is sound scary and difficult selling international - it isn't.  Most of my buyers are in the USA and several out in Europe and they all pay me in US funds as that is what I have all my items listed in and the only extra thing I need to do is slap a customs sticker on it (oooh, how scary and difficult...not!).  Now yes, I admit if I was sending a high priced valuable item then that would mean another form but that's only one other form, no big deal.  And the buyer pays any customs fees so that article is a tad off.

[bargainbloodhound]

I think Internet Retailer's definition of an online retailer is Amazon    I'd imagine the fulfillment problems and other points in the article are valid for a store that large, but for the rest of us the article is fairly useless and doesn't really reflect reality (for smaller sellers). 

That articles makes is sound scary and difficult selling international - it isn't.

For the average seller it shouldn't be difficult or scary, but many sellers can't be convinced of that.  The extra time involved in filling out customs forms, etc. is (very) minimal. I've never understood why sellers are so afraid to ship internationally and are willing to bypass such a large amount of potential sales..

why convert it to the customer's currency?

If I opened up a web site that was specifically for one country (like amazon.ca) then I would obviously use C$ instead of US$, but if you have a web site that isn't country specific (like my web sites) there is no need to convert the currency.  Thanks to credit cards (and PayPal, Moneybookers, etc) it really isn't any more difficult to sell (or buy) to someone who is paying in a different currency.

[Nat]

[quote author=bargainbloodhound link=topic=2045.msg7148#msg7148 date=1136518129]
I've never understood why sellers are so afraid to ship internationally and are willing to bypass such a large amount of potential sales..[/quote]

Fear of the unknown.