Selling to shoppers in other countries can double the market for your products, but every new country adds questions about prices, shipping and trust. These are the ones to settle first.
Start with a few countries
Pick the two or three countries where you already see interest: visitors in your statistics, messages from abroad, followers on social media. Learn how shipping, payments and returns work for them before you add more. It is easier to grow a list of countries than to apologise for orders you cannot deliver.
Show prices in the shopper's currency
Shoppers buy more readily when they see a price they understand without converting it in their head. Let them choose their currency, show every price in it, and, where your payment provider allows, charge in that currency too, so the amount on their statement is the one they saw.
Exchange rates move, so converted prices change slightly from day to day. If you prefer round prices in a market you sell to often, keep an eye on how they convert.
Shipping: zones, rates and timing
Group countries into zones that cost about the same to reach, and set a rate for each, or build shipping into your prices if your margins allow: "free shipping" is one of the strongest reasons to buy. Whatever you choose, say plainly how long delivery takes, and offer tracking: a parcel crossing borders can take weeks, and silence worries shoppers more than a long but honest estimate.
Duties and taxes
Many countries charge import duties or taxes on parcels above a certain value, and the rules change. Find out what applies to your main markets, decide whether the shopper or you pay them, and say so before checkout. A surprise fee at the door is a common cause of refused parcels. When in doubt, ask a customs broker or your courier.
Payments that cross borders
Cards and PayPal are the safest choice for shoppers abroad. Local methods that only work in your own country's currency, such as transfers to a local bank account, are best kept for orders in that currency. Our guide to accepting payments goes into more detail.
Language and trust
Write your store in the language of your main market, and keep it clear and simple: many shoppers read in a second language. Make sure a shopper abroad can see who you are and how to reach you, and that your returns rule says what happens to an international return: who pays to send it back, and how long the refund takes.
A checklist before your first order abroad
- Choose your first countries and check a courier's prices and delivery times to each.
- Set shipping zones and rates, or include shipping in your prices.
- Turn on the currencies of those countries and look at your prices in each.
- Make sure at least one payment method works for shoppers there.
- Write down how you handle duties and international returns, and put it on your shipping page.
Stores on our platform can show prices in their shoppers' currency, set rates by shipping zone, and run in English or Indonesian. Start your store.