10 Simple Ways to Improve Your International eCommerce Shipping
With so many problems to alleviate it is best to take a range of actions to tackle the big three issues of shipping time; duties and taxes and postage price. This way, you can offer the lowest costs to your customers, and potentially increase your turnover. The following are some tips that are easy to implement and useful for any type of eCommerce business when shipping overseas:
- Research all customs laws: There is no point offering delivery to a country that will return your products to you, or simply seize and destroy them. As an international merchant, it is your responsibility to look up all relevant laws, use correct commodity codes and pay relevant taxes and duties. Be thorough and never compromise!
- Use a good eCommerce platform: There is no reason why you should have to rely on monoliths such as Amazon or eBay. Using a good eCommerce platform can simplify things like invoices, labelling and even postage costs, which can all help to reduce the time and money spent on what are ultimately not the core values of your business.
- Avoid shipping heavy items a long way: You might want to ship antique cannon balls or kettlebells to Australia, but if you are a UK eCommerce business, this will eat into your margins. Try to set a weight limit on what you are willing to ship abroad. If you insist on shipping heavy items, try to partner with a local merchant in that country.
- Get eCommerce invoicing software: Commercial invoices are a pain at the best of times, so you can do yourself a favour by choosing a suitable invoicing tool. A few of the popular paid options for UK-based eCommerce businesses include QuickBooks and Freshbooks. A very good free option you can try out if you are unsure is Wave.
- Protect your merchandise: We will get to boxes and packaging shortly, but you can protect your goods in their parcels or packages with proper wrapping for protection on long haul trips, which are more likely to result in bumps and knocks than simple road transport. Always use warning labels such as ‘Fragile’ or ‘Please do not bend’.
