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Right now I was checking eBay UK because I was going to cancel my subscription to Vendio in favor of using eBay's Selling Manager Pro auction management system and I was greeted with the big fat image above.  It would appear that eBay wants to remind its UK buyers that they can get goods for a fairly steep discount by importing from other countries because of the conversion rate between British Pounds (GBP) and Euros, and US Dollars (USD).  Right now, the exchange rate of dollars to pounds is 1:1.975 according to XE.  That means that the pound is worth nearly twice the dollar.

What does this mean for eBay sellers?  For both sellers that sell as a hobby and those who sell for a living, it means that they could be missing out on a significant source of revenue.  It's very common on eBay to see a seller's auction description with the following: "NO INTERNATIONAL BIDDERS!"  But if you stop to think about it, that US-centric mindset could be costing you money. 

Here are some reasons that many sellers are reluctant to sell internationally:

• Increased cost of shipping
• Increase risk of lost shipments due to lack of tracking tools
• Fear of negative feedback due to lost shipments
• Having to fill out customs forms is intimidating
• Credit card fraud in certain countries is rampant

Fortunately each of these has a solution. Read More »