The Truths Behind the Option "Ship Worldwide"

eBay recently reported that listings with "worldwide shipping" specified will get decreased exposure on international eBay sites. For example, a listing on the US eBay site (www.ebay.com) will no longer necessarily appear on the UK eBay site (www.ebay.co.uk). Many sellers assume that listings with the “worldwide shipping” option selected will be displayed on all international eBay sites, though this is not the case. Instead, sellers who wish to have global exposure for their items must create separate eBay listings on foreign eBay sites. (Click Here to view the notice from eBay).

For sellers who rely on international sales, eBay's new policy comes as an unwelcomed action. Sellers must now navigate and maintain listings on more than 20 eBay sites to maintain a high level of listing exposure. As eBay listings worldwide continue to grow at an extraordinary rate, eBay has begun to limit exposure of foreign listings on domestic eBay sites. We expect these trends to continue beyond the US and UK sites and to eventually include all eBay sites.

Fortunately, MerchantRun offers a solution for sellers who wish to list items internationally, but cannot afford to manage listings on more than 20 eBay sites. MerchantRun GlobalLink is the only solution on the market which allows sellers to list items across 24 eBay sites using a single English interface.

While eBay's news was only recently made official, we believe sellers have for years misconceived the "worldwide shipping" option as the equivalent to listing their items on all eBay sites. In fact, listing an item on a single eBay site with "worldwide shipping" severely limits exposure to foreign buyers. Only a small fraction of foreign buyers choose to search for items outside of their domestic eBay site. Reasons for this include:

• When foreign buyers browse their localized eBay sites, the search results limited to domestic listings by default. In most cases, foreign buyers must use the advanced "worldwide" search option to display listings outside of their domestic eBay site.
• Even when foreign buyers choose to search for listings worldwide, domestic listings are given priority over foreign listings in search results.
• 85% of all searches are done with keywords. In many cases, keywords vary by eBay site. Sellers wishing to obtain the best sales results should tailor their listing keywords for each eBay site.

While listing to foreign eBay sites may require additional listing fees, sellers who list to multiple eBay sites are typically rewarded with a dramatic increase in buyer traffic and sales. MerchantRun's sellers often experience a two or three fold increase in sales by listing directly to foreign sites (Refer to Chart Above).

As a general rule, MerchantRun advises its sellers to capture the "low hanging fruits" by targeting eBay sites in markets where they already have a large number of customers. Sellers may also start by selecting larger eBay sites such as the UK, Germany, France, Australia, Spain, Italy and more.

Start making significant strides in your eBay business today – Go Global!