So many sellers come to me to learn how to ship to international FBA locations. When I drilled down to see why they were looking at FBA they would tell me how it was the only way they could meet the requirements for selling into international markets. These requirements included sending the order to the buyer without the buyer paying any duties and taxes upon receipt. In addition, many sellers were concerned about how they would handle returns, as they didn’t want their customers having to cover the cost of returning goods to the states.
We all know that the more frequently a customer buys from us, the more profitable they become, so it is critical to have a very positive purchasing experience.
FBA is not the only way to address these needs. It is now possible to ship from the US to your global buyer by sending the parcel as Delivery Duties Paid. What does this mean? It’s a way to clear the package when entering the destination country and paying all duties and taxes at time of clearance. This way you can be charged back for these costs by your shipping provider and your customer receives the package with no additional charges, just as if they bought it locally.
In addition, returns management services are available to allow your buyers to return to a local address. We have many customers that utilize this option in the UK, Canada and Australia, for example. This way as the seller you can provide that local presence and offer an ease of service to your buyers.
OK, so now you are convinced that you can overcome the obstacles these requirements represent, but what other advantages are there to shipping from the US?
Flexibility to sell anywhere
The world is always changing and new marketplaces are becoming attractive platforms for your selling. By consolidating your inventory in the states, you have the flexibility to sell on any platform to any destination. I recently met a seller who had misjudged the popularity of an item in the UK and had pallets of inventory sitting in a UK facility where it was costing him money every day. By bringing this back to his facility in the States, he would be able to market differently and sell off this inventory globally.
Take control of your pricing strategy
Price your products more aggressively or improve your profit by reducing your overall costs. I have sat with many sellers and helped them do an analysis of the different costs based on their current model and our recommended model. Much to their surprise doing merchant fulfilled would provide them with a more cost effective option.
Open additional revenue channels
Increase the types of products that you can sell. Some items have quantity restrictions for individual import. For example, nutritional supplements, that you had tried to send to a consolidation location in Canada was not approved based on the volume of the item. However, you can sell these direct to consumer from the US as long as the quantity does not exceed the guidelines, capturing additional revenue through this new found opportunity.
Global selling is changing and you want to position yourself to maximize your opportunities. We work with sellers to provide the solution to meet their budgetary and service requirements to help your business prosper.
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