Is the eBay International Visibility Upgrade right for you?
As a U.S. seller on eBay.com, are you trying to decide whether the new eBay International Visibility Upgrade is for you?
My suggestion is that you first visit the U.K. eBay site to find out if your particular type of product is selling and what you could expect if your eBay.com items were to appear on the U.K. eBay site:
Remember that the U.K. eBayers will see your items offered in their currency and because the currency rate fluctuates, the price for U.S. sellers’ items may change daily on the U.K. ebay website but the price you receive is in dollars and remains unchanged. This is in contrast to what you could expect if you listed directly on the U.K. site as you would be required to state your price in pounds and the dollar amount you would ultimately receive would fluctuate based on the currency conversion rate and would be decided on the day of the sale.
After doing a search on the U.K. site, you will have a better idea of whether the international visibility upgrade is even necessary for you. For example, some of the items we sell are so unique that they appear on the U.K. site without the upgrade. Also, if you see that the product you sell doesn’t sell for as much in the U.K. then the upgrade might not produce the results you are looking for. Lastly, if the U.K. site already has some dominant sellers in your category, you might have a hard time competing, even with the visibility listing upgrade.
If you decide to try the visibility listing upgrade, you will want to make sure that your auctions clearly state that the item is shipping from the U.S. and that international buyers are responsible for customs duties and taxes. Not only will this make for a more informed buyer but the posted information in your auction description will allow you to report a bidder who leaves you negative feedback because they had to pay customs fees.
If you think that the international visibility upgrade is for you, just be sure that your listing meets the following requirements (info below taken directly from the eBay.com website):
Item requirements
- * You need to select either the Online Auction or Fixed Price (Buy It Now) selling format.
- * You won’t be able to use international site visibility for listings on eBay Stores, eBay Express, or from the websites of any other eBay companies such as Half.com or Shopping.com.
-
* The category you select must be eligible for international site visibility.
- For example, you can’t select international site visibility for items that are sold in the digital download format, which is available within certain categories.
- If the category isn’t eligible, you won’t see international site visibility as a choice in Listing Upgrades.
- On eBay Motors, only items listed in the Parts & Accessories category are eligible.
- * You’ll need to specify international shipping in your listing.
- * You’ll have to specify PayPal as a payment method.
[...] Site Visibility Upgrade: eBay’s new International Site Visibility now available Is the eBay International Visibility Upgrade right for you? Keeping an Eye on the (International) Competition? [...]
eBay Listing Special on International Visibility Site “Upgrade” « TheBrewsNews
July 1, 2008