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You may be surprised that a lot of small companies, particularly in the U.S., refuse to ship products to other countries, even if they share a border. Orders come in via their website or big E-commerce platforms like eBay, and the inbox is as far as they get.
We at WPG were surprised because we deal regularly with shipping issues and although there can at times be pain involved, we don't find the process intimidating. In fact, what surprised us more is how many business models have popped up recently offering to remove whatever shipping pain may threaten peace of mind and a chance to close sales.
Lack of Trust
Many overseas buyers are reluctant to purchase from small business websites that they find via web search engines. The reason seems to be trust. But not Korean consumers who are eager to make purchases from such sites if the price is right, the goods of interest.
Then when they come to the checkout page, they are told that this or that merchant does not ship outside the U.S. Is the consumer deflated? Angry?
Not at all. They've got friends in the form of a series of warehouses in the U.S. that appear to be owned by Korean interests. These warehouse operators provide their U.S. address to the Korean buyer. The buyer enters that address into the checkout page of the U.S. sellers’ website. Note that the seller may refuse to accept payment if the form of payment is not recognized--for example a non-U.S. credit card or a request for wire transfer. If either happens, the warehouse-with-local-address solution may not be a solution.
But these warehouses are thriving, so we can safely assume that the model works in many if not most cases, probably because the Korean consumers have secured a reliable form if international payment, such as PayPal.
One wrinkle is that the consumer must pay the state sales tax in which the purchase is made, because at this point it is a domestic purchase. That is, unless the goods are shipped to a warehouse/consolidating business in Delaware, which does not have a sales tax, saving the customer 5-8 percent.
The warehouse then repacks the item and consolidates to reduce international shipping costs, and negotiates bulk rates with shipping companies, which lower rates further. This activity addresses at least partially another cross border e-commerce pain point: the high cost of shipping.
For the Korean consumer, this business model addresses their biggest pain point of all: the high cost of purchasing goods in Korea. Domestic markups are so high, that Korean consumers can save 33 percent purchasing a Korean-made TV set from a dealer in the U.S. Never mind that the savings are despite the 12,000 miles traveled and the VAT imposed when the set arrives back to where it started.
Similar services are available to consumers in Latin America and elsewhere via companies such as Global Express with a warehouse conveniently located in Sarasota, Florida. Global Express says it ships to 223 countries, offering offshore customers a U.S. mailing address and related shipping services. You can buy from multiple U.S. vendors and have your stuff consolidated and shipped, taking advantage of reduced shipping costs.
Let’s help give foreign consumers the break they deserve
They recommend customers give the company’s mailing address to their banks, which helps avoid red flags when the seller goes to process the non-U.S. bank issued credit card. There’s also a personal shopper service where Global Express will make the purchase on behalf of the non-resident buyer. It will cost that buyer a 5 percent service charge in addition to other charges.
If you’re a seller who is reluctant to ship internationally, you can refer on your website to solutions that will. Doing so may be the difference between winning new business and losing it.
| Product Model | Inside Diameter | Outside Diameter | Thickness |
| BK2030ZWD NTN | 20 | 26 | 30 |
| HK2030ZWD NTN | 20 | 26 | 30 |