Chances are your normal method of shipping won’t work for your international shipments. For example, you can’t use Priority Mail to ship outside the United Statesnot even to Canada or Mexico. This means you’ll need to evaluate new shipping methods, and possibly new shipping services.

If you want to stick with the U.S. Postal Service, you can check out Global Priority Mail (reasonably fast and reasonably priced), Global Express Mail (fast but expensive), Airmail (almost as fast, not quite as expensive), or Surface/Parcel Post (slow but less expensive). In addition, UPS offers its Worldwide Express service, FedEx offers its FedEx Express service internationally, and DHL is always a good option for shipping outside the United States. Be sure to check out your options beforehand, and charge the buyer the actual costs incurred.

Given the increased chances of loss or damage when shipping great distances, you should purchase insurance for all items shipping outside North America.

You’ll also have to deal with a bit of paperwork while you’re preparing your shipment. All packages shipping outside U.S. borders must clear customs to enter the destination countryand require the completion of specific customs forms to make the trip. Depending on the type of item you’re shipping and the weight of your package, you’ll need either Form 2976 (green) or Form 2976-A (white). Both of these forms should be available at your local post office.

When you’re filling out these forms, describe the item in terms that ordinary people can understand. That means using simple, generic terms. A “greatest hits CD compilation” becomes “compact disc.” A “SimCity extension pack” becomes “video game.” And so on.

You should also be honest about what you’re shipping. Some buyers will try to talk you into describing the item as a gift so that they can save on duties or tax on their end. That’s lying, and you shouldn’t do it.

eBay offers several pages of advice for international trading at pages.ebay.com/internationaltrading/.

In addition, there are certain items you can’t ship to foreign countriesfirearms, live animals and animal products, and so on. (There are also some technology items you can’t ship, for security reasons.) You need to check the government’s list of import and export restrictions to see what items you’re prohibited from shipping outside U.S. borders. Check with your shipping service for more detailed information.

Finally, note that shipping across borders takes longer than shipping within the United States. This is especially true if an item is held up at customs. Make sure your international buyers know that shipping times will be longer than what you might state for domestic buyers.

The currency issue is simplified somewhat when you specify bidding and payment in U.S. funds only. This puts the onus of currency conversion on the buyer, which is a plus.

The payment process can be further simplified when the buyer pays by credit card or, even better, by PayPal. PayPal is now active in 45 countries (including the United States) and can handle all the payment, conversion, and deposit functions for you.

The pros of opening your auctions to non-U.S. bidders include the following:

• You might be able to attract additional bidders and thus sell more items at (presumably) higher prices.
• You can offset some of the seasonality of the U.S. market; when it’s winter here, you can still be selling swim suits to the summer market in Australia.
• You establish a reputation as a hard-working global trader.
• It’s fun (sometimes) to interact with people from different countries and cultures.

The cons of selling outside the Unites States include the following:

• You might run into difficulties communicating with bidders from outside the United States.
• You might have to deal with payment in non-U.S. funds, on non-U.S. banks.
• You’ll have to put extra effort into the packing of an item to be shipped over great distances.
• You probably won’t be able to use your standard shipping services which means investigating new shipping services and options.
• Shipping costs will be higher than what you’re used toand will need to be passed on to the buyer.
• You’ll need to deal with the appropriate paperwork for shipping outside the United States including those pesky customs forms.
• If there are any problems or disputes with the item shipped, you have an international-sized incident on your hands.

Just looking at this list, it may appear that the cons outweigh the pros. That might not always be the case, however especially if you’re a real “people person.” Many eBay sellers get great joy from interacting with people from different cultures, sometimes turning foreign buyers into lasting friends. I can vouch from my limited personal experience that most non-U.S. buyers I’ve dealt with are exceedingly polite and tolerant of the extra effort required to complete an international transaction.

If you decide to sell outside the United States, you’ll want to state this in your auctions, along with a line indicating that “shipping and handling outside the United States is higher,” “listed shipping charge is for United States only,” or something to that effect. If, on the other hand, you decide not to sell internationally, state that in your ad also with a “U.S. bidders only” type of notice.

My personal opinions on international sales are sure to invite argument. No offense to non-U.S. users, but I don’t ship internationally, period. I’ve done it in the past, and the hassle factor simply isn’t worth it. Even if the transaction goes smoothly (and it often doesn’t, all things considered), the big issue is that the procedures involved are just too different from what I have set up for my normal day-to-day auction activities. In other words, international auctions are unusual transactions that mess up my normal domestic auction production line. My apologies to buyers outside the United Statesmost of whom I’ve found to be wonderful people to deal withbut I can’t let my normal activity be jeopardized by these high-maintenance shipments. (I do, however, make the occasional exceptionprimarily with small items shipping into Canada that can be handled without much additional paperwork or hassle.)

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Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do if you receive negative feedback; under normal conditions, feedback comments cannot be retracted. (There have been some exceptions, when the feedback has been obscene or slanderous in nature.) What you can do is offer a response to the feedback, which you do by going to your My eBay Feedback page and clicking the Review and Respond to Feedback About Me link. When the feedback comments list appears, click the Respond link next to a particular comment and then enter your response. Your new comment is listed below the original feedback comment on the Feedback Profile page. Just try not to get defensive; the best response is one that is calm, clear, and well-reasoned.

As you can see, there’s a proper feedback and response for every situation. Just be sure to think twice before leaving any feedback (particularly negative feedback). After you submit your feedback, you can’t retract it.

Don’t get too upset if you receive the occasional negative feedback; it happens to the best of usespecially those that run a lot of auctions. You can’t please everyone all the time, and sometimes you make mistakes that justify a negative feedback response. Just try to work out as many issues with other users as you can, and don’t let the occasional negative feedback get to you.

You can leave feedback from any item listing page; just click the Leave Feedback link. When you see the Leave Feedback page, you can choose to leave Positive, Negative, or Neutral feedback, along with a brief comment (80 characters maximum).

Make sure your feedback is accurate before you click the Leave Feedback button; you can’t change your comments after they’ve been registered.

Next to every buyer and seller’s name on eBay are a number and (more often than not) a colored star. (shows my personal star and feedback number.) This number and star represent that user’s feedback rating. The larger the number, the better the feedback (and the more transactions that user has participated in).

How are feedback ratings calculated?

First, every new user starts with 0 points. (A clean slate!) For every positive feedback received, eBay adds 1 point to your feedback rating. For every negative feedback received, eBay subtracts 1 point. Neutral comments add 0 points to your rating.

Let’s say you’re a new user, starting with a 0 rating. On the first two items you buy, the sellers like the fact that you paid quickly and give you positive feedback. On the third transaction, however, you forgot to mail the check for a few weeks, and the seller left you negative feedback. After these three transactions, your feedback rating would be 1. (That’s 0 + 1 + 1 1 = 1.)

If you build up a lot of positive feedback, you qualify for a star next to your name. Different colored stars represent different levels of positive feedback, as noted in Table below.

Obviously, heavy users can build up positive feedback faster than occasional users. If you’re dealing with a shooting-star user (of any color), you know you’re dealing with a trustworthy and extremely busy!eBay pro.

The great thing about the About Me page is that it’s a page with an unchanging URL that always lists your current auctions. When you want to direct other users to your eBay auctions, it’s easier to direct them to your About Me page than it is to enter the individual URLs for all your item listing pages.

The address for your About Me page is shown in the address box of your web browser. The address is typically in the form of members.ebay.com/aboutme/userid/; just replace userid with your own user ID and you should have the URL.

The About Me page is also a good way for other eBay users to get to know you especially those who are bidding in your auctions, or hosting auctions in which you’re bidding. Be sure to include text that positions you as a reputable eBay citizen and not some goofball flake who’s likely to cause trouble.

You can then insert this URL into your personal web page, your email signature, or any other item you can think of. It’s a great way to publicize your ongoing eBay activity!