Ebay

[Thaifever]

I'm looking into selling items from Asia on ebay. But, I'm looking at shipping from Asia. Does this make sense given the cost of shipping? Most businesses ship a container and distribute in their country. I'm really new to this but I'd like to find a niche in Asia as I don't want to live in the west. Please offer a suggestions if you have one, thanks in advance.

[Cuban]

Start with estimating your costs/products. Compare your business model with others already operating.

eBay is based on trust - you need to build a trust base as a seller to be able to sell things at a good profit, probably build trust as a buyer first?

From Thialand boxing stuff does well, mostly lightweight items - however there are a lot of people that already ship boxes of this stuff to the west, where they have a family member run an eBay shop etc.

Specialist Thai Food does well, small "to order" food parcels might work, however inport controls might be a hassle. Even more so if it looks like a business operation - a family "welfare" looking box might get through with more ease.

Then you come to the issue of working - WP4 etc. Having offices, staff, paying taxes. The Thai rat race.

[raro]

It comes down to the same old adage: Economy of scales.

The larger volumes you buy/ship the lower the costs per unit. Having someone to distribute your merchandise on the other side is for sure of great help, ask the freight forwarder of your trust whether they can do that for you or send me a PM...

[Thaifever]

Thanks for your replies, have started on the research...

[VocalNeal]

You need to be savvy about Ebay. "sellers" have ratings. Unscrupulous people buy something cheap from you and then post negative comments about your business. You then have to pay them off to remove the negative comment.

Happened to a friend of mine with gems in Chantaburi.

On the plus side Thai post office is very efficient. I am not sure if the shipper can prepay the customs duty in country of receipt. This would be a nice touch.

[mikethevigoman]

I'm looking into selling items from Asia on ebay. But, I'm looking at shipping from Asia. Does this make sense given the cost of shipping? Most businesses ship a container and distribute in their country. I'm really new to this but I'd like to find a niche in Asia as I don't want to live in the west. Please offer a suggestions if you have one, thanks in advance.

There are 4 obstacles to overcome, one is you need feedback to get people to buy confidently, and secondly most westerners assume if its from thailand its fake, and lastly they also are worried about customs/tax charges on imports, if you can overcome/explain these away you are in with a chance,.the last one is a worry for you, you will need to send registered, with normal post there is no tracking, EMS is much better and is tracked, getting people to pay for the upgrade to EMS is the problem, the normal ,signed for post is up for abuse, the customer only has to say they have not received the goods and paypal WILL claw the money back off you, Edited January 21, 2008 by mikethevigoman

[torrenova]

Agree with MTVM that it is the postage that kills the profitability on some items but you cannot use the normal service as there are too many thieves about.

[Donnyboy]

Agree with MTVM that it is the postage that kills the profitability on some items but you cannot use the normal service as there are too many thieves about.

Ive used the Thai Post to send items overseas in the past with no problems, have the stuff registered for a small cost.

I have sent items up to 5kgs to Australia,NZ, Ireland and England.

[Thaifever]

Thanks for your replies. Sounds like a bit of a headache. I'll put more effort into an original idea before I give it a try. I didn't know about paypal's policies, I have a couple things to sell, I'll be sure to send registered. Peace!

[raro]

Thanks for your replies. Sounds like a bit of a headache. I'll put more effort into an original idea before I give it a try. I didn't know about paypal's policies, I have a couple things to sell, I'll be sure to send registered. Peace!

check the fineprint at Paypal VERY well!

...and all other online payment schemes for that matter...

[bucklt]

Thanks for your replies. Sounds like a bit of a headache. I'll put more effort into an original idea before I give it a try. I didn't know about paypal's policies, I have a couple things to sell, I'll be sure to send registered. Peace!

check the fineprint at Paypal VERY well!

...and all other online payment schemes for that matter...

OK!

Assuming I don't want to use Paypal (have heard similar stories about them) can anyone suggest an alternate company to deal with on-line payments?

note: want all my payments to go into my UK bank account.

Any recommendations?

Tony

[raro]

2checkout.com

[taxin]

Thanks for your replies. Sounds like a bit of a headache. I'll put more effort into an original idea before I give it a try. I didn't know about paypal's policies, I have a couple things to sell, I'll be sure to send registered. Peace!

check the fineprint at Paypal VERY well!

...and all other online payment schemes for that matter...

OK!

Assuming I don't want to use Paypal (have heard similar stories about them) can anyone suggest an alternate company to deal with on-line payments?

note: want all my payments to go into my UK bank account.

Any recommendations?

Tony

With regards to alternatives this is very dangerous grounds, ebay practically force you to offer Paypal and if you dont they have been known to get nasty. Such as accusing you of not being a legitimate seller or a scam, when they know full well that your not. They can close you down if they wanted to. Remember Paypal & ebay are the same company.

Also by not having the option at all of offering Paypal to your buyers you are limiting yourself in terms of how many people will buy from you. As much as they are the biggest crooks on the planet they are still used by the majority of ebayers.

When selling on ebay just make sure you allow an additional 15-20% on top of your profit margin, this is so you can cover both eBay's and Paypals extortionate costs. Ebay have the cost of listing which about 2% of the starting price, AND the cut of the final sale which ranges around 5%.

Then you have to account for Paypals cut which is another 4 or 5%. If you wish to withdraw to a different currency other than your Paypal currency (i.e. withdraw USD into Thailand bank account) you can wipe off another 10% !

If you are concerned that applying such a mark up on your profit margin is not sensible, then you need to reconsider if its worth going ahead.

[stevemiddie]

Hi.

I,ve been ebaying since I came to Thailand, 3 years ago.

I gave up on Paypal. The cost of currency conversion at 10% was ridiculous.

I have used moneybookers for the last year on Ebay with no problems whatsoever. They are a company approved by Ebay to be used on their site ( they would obviously prefer paypal but have to be aware of the Monopolies Acts ) If any client has a problem with the goods or start screaming fraud, they can refer back to the credit card company for compensation.

Ebay and Paypal are NOT the same company but they are owned by the same parent. There is a diffference.

I have used the Thai Post Office on many occasions ( signed for ) and never had any problems. Howevere, be aware that even the Thai registered system is not approved by Paypal due to its ( non trackable journey ) in the UK and Europe. If a customers says it never arrived, chances are Paypal are going to refund them and you are out of pocket. It does register though through the USA UPS system once it arrives in the States ( go figure ).

For more expensive items........ALWAYS use EMS or FEdex or such like.

Good luck.

[taxin]

Hi.

I,ve been ebaying since I came to Thailand, 3 years ago.

I gave up on Paypal. The cost of currency conversion at 10% was ridiculous.

I have used moneybookers for the last year on Ebay with no problems whatsoever. They are a company approved by Ebay to be used on their site ( they would obviously prefer paypal but have to be aware of the Monopolies Acts ) If any client has a problem with the goods or start screaming fraud, they can refer back to the credit card company for compensation.

Ebay and Paypal are NOT the same company but they are owned by the same parent. There is a diffference.

I have used the Thai Post Office on many occasions ( signed for ) and never had any problems. Howevere, be aware that even the Thai registered system is not approved by Paypal due to its ( non trackable journey ) in the UK and Europe. If a customers says it never arrived, chances are Paypal are going to refund them and you are out of pocket. It does register though through the USA UPS system once it arrives in the States ( go figure ).

For more expensive items........ALWAYS use EMS or FEdex or such like.

Good luck.

Steve, do you still offer Paypal as an option, or do you insist on moneybookers only ?

[freitag1]

Hi.

I,ve been ebaying since I came to Thailand, 3 years ago.

I gave up on Paypal. The cost of currency conversion at 10% was ridiculous.

I have used moneybookers for the last year on Ebay with no problems whatsoever. They are a company approved by Ebay to be used on their site ( they would obviously prefer paypal but have to be aware of the Monopolies Acts ) If any client has a problem with the goods or start screaming fraud, they can refer back to the credit card company for compensation.

Ebay and Paypal are NOT the same company but they are owned by the same parent. There is a diffference.

I have used the Thai Post Office on many occasions ( signed for ) and never had any problems. Howevere, be aware that even the Thai registered system is not approved by Paypal due to its ( non trackable journey ) in the UK and Europe. If a customers says it never arrived, chances are Paypal are going to refund them and you are out of pocket. It does register though through the USA UPS system once it arrives in the States ( go figure ).

For more expensive items........ALWAYS use EMS or FEdex or such like.

Good luck.

Hi Steve, thanks for the detailed info. Two more questions:

1. Does this mean if I ship via UPS to the US, I have something to show to paypal? Did you ever had this kind of case and won a paypal dispute?

2. What do you consider more expensive items? We are going to sell items for around 150$ each.

It would be great if you could talk a bit more about customs problems you had in the past and how you solved them.

[hoops71]

Hi.

I,ve been ebaying since I came to Thailand, 3 years ago.

I gave up on Paypal. The cost of currency conversion at 10% was ridiculous.

I have used moneybookers for the last year on Ebay with no problems whatsoever. They are a company approved by Ebay to be used on their site ( they would obviously prefer paypal but have to be aware of the Monopolies Acts ) If any client has a problem with the goods or start screaming fraud, they can refer back to the credit card company for compensation.

Ebay and Paypal are NOT the same company but they are owned by the same parent. There is a diffference.

I have used the Thai Post Office on many occasions ( signed for ) and never had any problems. Howevere, be aware that even the Thai registered system is not approved by Paypal due to its ( non trackable journey ) in the UK and Europe. If a customers says it never arrived, chances are Paypal are going to refund them and you are out of pocket. It does register though through the USA UPS system once it arrives in the States ( go figure ).

For more expensive items........ALWAYS use EMS or FEdex or such like.

Good luck.

[hoops71]

Hi.

I,ve been ebaying since I came to Thailand, 3 years ago.

I gave up on Paypal. The cost of currency conversion at 10% was ridiculous.

I have used moneybookers for the last year on Ebay with no problems whatsoever. They are a company approved by Ebay to be used on their site ( they would obviously prefer paypal but have to be aware of the Monopolies Acts ) If any client has a problem with the goods or start screaming fraud, they can refer back to the credit card company for compensation.

Ebay and Paypal are NOT the same company but they are owned by the same parent. There is a diffference.

I have used the Thai Post Office on many occasions ( signed for ) and never had any problems. Howevere, be aware that even the Thai registered system is not approved by Paypal due to its ( non trackable journey ) in the UK and Europe. If a customers says it never arrived, chances are Paypal are going to refund them and you are out of pocket. It does register though through the USA UPS system once it arrives in the States ( go figure ).

For more expensive items........ALWAYS use EMS or FEdex or such like.

Good luck.

Hi,

From your experience Steve, what have been the best items to export from thailand? I am looking to set up there too, but it does seem like it really narrows your choices with all these additional costs. If moneybookers are relaiable and cheaper then that looks like it helps with that problem.

Are you making a good living from it?

Thanks!

[ThaiPauly]

I'm afraid Hoops that if I were Steve I would keep that info close to my chest.

You have to find your own market place

[hoops71]

I'm afraid Hoops that if I were Steve I would keep that info close to my chest.

You have to find your own market place

Yes, fully understand. Its more of a query to see if its feasible to make a living like this in Thailand. Is there any talk of Ebay opening a full working site out there at any time?

[Lucifer]

I think Fleabay now insist PayPal must be an option. Soon, PayPal will be the only method of payment.

Fleabay is a private company, and can sell however they want.

[antsnest]

I'm looking into selling items from Asia on ebay. But, I'm looking at shipping from Asia. Does this make sense given the cost of shipping? Most businesses ship a container and distribute in their country. I'm really new to this but I'd like to find a niche in Asia as I don't want to live in the west. Please offer a suggestions if you have one, thanks in advance.

why not work with some one in the west to do your distributing on their end?

im currently looking for fashion items from asia to sell in australia. if your interested in looking for a partner contact me at

i have long standing business knowlidge in fashion as i have been running a fushion label in australia for 3 years.

i have only recienlty started to look over seas to add new brands you cant find on our shores and am very keen for items.

[ConfusedFarang]

ebay is over with. you cant make a profit on there. Find a different venue or sell on your own website.

-former powerseller who has been affected by the changes just like most.

[barrella]

ebay is over with. you cant make a profit on there. Find a different venue or sell on your own website.

-former powerseller who has been affected by the changes just like most.

There are ways of making money on ebay the same as selling things on your own web site.

The days of many years ago when some of my mates would just put ads on for the crap they found in the nearest market to their apartment, wait for it to sell then buy it and send it have long gone.

If you want to make money on eBay remember you are not only up against the dregs of the business world and his dog but you are also up against the smart guys.

If you make a business plan, the same as you should for any new business, find your niche and your margin break point and work hard on it, it will work. It is the same as opening a shop on a high street. If you are professional with retail flare or even a strait retailer it is not a problem.

eBay to me is a way of getting in extra cash to go on holidays etc. I do not recommend anyone using eBay as a full time career unless you are already in it up to your neck.

Also eBay, paypal and similar companies are there own animals and you have to learn the idiosyncrasies to make it work.

My work is marketing and brand development both real life and online (full project cycle) and I can tell you there are interesting ways of using eBay to help a brand. I have been using this for a while with mid term marketing programs (clients) and I can see others using eBay as a tool now and not as a selling point of course this means that the smaller guys get squeezed out.

I have helped a few small concerns use eBay for selling over the last 2 years and as a freebee to the guys on here (TV) I will add, think of eBay as a short timeline easy access search engine. Thus you do not have to wait 3-6month for Page Rank and you can start fast with many free tools to help you along the way. As you can tell this brings us back to the start of this post, on eBay you are up against the dregs of the business world sometimes.

I will not give anyone free consultation but drop me a PM if anyone has any little questions and I do not mind helping where I can.

Edited July 5, 2008 by barrella

[mikethevigoman]

I think Fleabay now insist PayPal must be an option. Soon, PayPal will be the only method of payment.

Fleabay is a private company, and can sell however they want.

if you want to be suspended off ebay in seconds just offer google checkout as an option !

[Foggy Bottom]

Although the cautions of above posters contain truth, I detect a lot of "I've been burned there so I'm gonna trash them mentality"

I may be one of the earliest adopters of eBay, as an expat in Thailand, that is still using it as a significant channel. This does not make me an eBay-sycophant, in fact I've been banned for life from their forums for being too incisively critical of their policies and for undisputedly proving their moderation staff lie to their paying customers. However, on the trading side it does still work for me after five and a half years, and as long as it generates profits, I'll continue to use it.

PayPal have also verified I am their longest serving user in Thailand (I was using it before I used it on eBay) and I have a second account which was their first ever registration to originate in Thailand. Again, I am not their rose tinted advocate, I take no prisoners when they muck me about, but in over 12,000 transactions in the last five years, I have only had four chargeback claims go against me - two were escalated to the FBI IC3 internet crime unit, one I held my hands up to being a mistake, and the other is pending a UK court date with the buyer and PayPal as co-defendants for commiting and facilitating internet fraud.

eBay and PayPal are channels of convenience. They have the user bases which facilitate a rapid entry to ecommerce, but they should only be regarded as one egg in your eBasket.

Other sites are just as useful, though slower generators of sales, but with far lower ongoing costs. Sites such as eCrater, eBid.net, iOffer, etsy, Oztion (if you have an Aussie address), and even Amazon if you can get past their requirement to live in UK, US, or Germany.

Online payment systems I've used include AlertPay, iKobo, MoneyBookers (recommended), NoChex, ppPay all operate in similar ways to PayPal without geographic restrictions, and all of those have modules to interface with an osCommerce webstore if you build your own ecommerce site (I currently have 3 of those). Offline I use UK & Thai banks with internet banking, and once a customer has bought from you a few times, most are happy to pay by that route, recognising that it saves you costs (especially if you offer a discount for doing so).

eBay and PayPal have been rolling tsunami waves of policy and rule changes in 2008, as well as major changes in site infrastructures and operational functions. It's impossible to explain them all here, but one site that does a good job of it is BuildaSkill.com - both in their blog and forums, which unlike eBay forums are not censored to hel_l and back of anything critical of their group of companies.

--

I've been thinking its about time that eBayers in Thailand began getting together and sharing experience and tips, as well as having social gatherings from time to time - anyone up for it?

Gaz

[johnson36]

When I am in Thailand this Xmas I would like post some parcels to a friend in the UK for him to try and sell online (he has an established website and also uses Ebay). No fake or copy items. What is the cost of normal Thai post and signed for post for small parcels, between 1Kg and 5Kg. Price per Kilo would be a great help.

Cheers

[Foggy Bottom]

When I am in Thailand this Xmas I would like post some parcels to a friend in the UK for him to try and sell online (he has an established website and also uses Ebay). No fake or copy items. What is the cost of normal Thai post and signed for post for small parcels, between 1Kg and 5Kg. Price per Kilo would be a great help.

Cheers

http://www.postoffice.co.th

Small Package rate stops at 2Kg - 1 gram over and you're at full rate standard parcels rate (doubles the cost on the 2Kg price for the weight band 2.001Kg to approx 3.5Kg) so think carefully about splitting shipments

Basic International Registered Delivery is 55 Baht not the UK's GBP 3.30 so worth getting

Economy Airmail is a 3-7 week service roughly 40% cheaper than regular Airmail (7-21 days) between 1Kg and 2Kg

Seamail averages 3 months and is not that much cheaper than Economy Airmail

Gaz

[johnson36]

Thanks for that Gaz.

What would be the cost for 2 Kg regular airmail signed for (7-21 days)

[Foggy Bottom]

www.thailandpost.co.th

top right of screen - postal rates / services (whatever they're calling it this week)