Online shopping has made a big impact on the e-commerce industry, besides, cross-border online sales contribute a huge amount of orders in just a few years. But for some online retailers and buyers, this method of shipping a package internationally and understanding all the rules, regulations, and risk can be confusing.
According to some reports in e-commerce, tens of millions of online shoppers begin shopping from countries like China, Hong Kong, Brazil, and worldwide more than 3 billion users access the internet to shop around.
This huge amount of online shoppers internationally only signify an opportunity for online retailers, sellers, and business owners. Because of this, many online sellers are using this opportunity to sell different items and products on the internet globally. So as a shopper, you might need some things to consider before proceeding with the checking out process, especially if the seller is from another country.
Below are some useful tips you’ll need when placing an order internationally.
Useful Tip #1: Check the Shipping Cost
As a buyer, it’s your job to check carefully the shipping cost when bidding or buying internationally since some of these items can be extremely high for international shipments.
Please bear in mind, that you’ll be expected to pay them first after you proceed with the checkout. Always make sure to know what you are getting yourself into, some sellers will include shipping costs in the last page of the agreement or in the final price, so make sure to read them all before confirming your order. But if not, be sure that you are aware of how much it will cost you.
If you are residing in Hong Kong and want to shop internationally but worried about the shipping fee, you may visit https://www.egapgo.com/shopping/ for more detailed information.
Useful Tip #2: Check the Currency Conversion Rates
Always be aware of any transactions and currency conversion fees, every e-commerce platforms have different rates and may vary depending on the country. If you use PayPal, you’ll encounter with an exchange rate premium for currency conversions in addition with payment fees for international sellers.
If you’re a credit card user, some credit cards do automatic currency conversions and you might want to check if it has a better deal from your credit card provider especially if the seller will accept direct payment instead of using PayPal. But of course, you must be vigilant about exchanging credit card information online, always make sure that the sellers or the providers offer payment encryption if something unfortunate events may happen.
For international shipping and costs, you may visit https://www.egapgo.com/pricing/ for more detailed information about the pricing.
Useful Tip #3: Customs
For international sellers, retailers, and business owners, several shipment companies provide customs clearance services. For example, if the buyer is using UPS, then it’s good to go, but if the item fails to clear customs, it might be a cause for a possible delay in the shipment. When that happens, the seller is responsible for any return fees that may occur.
