Cross-Border Trade (CBT) Handbook

Chapter 2:
Listing and managing inventory for CBT effectively

The table below provides an overview of the most popular categories that eBay sellers use to successfully export their products from their locations to major European markets at competitive prices.

UK

Germany

France

Italy

Spain

Other EU countries

Computers/Tablets & Networking

Musical Instruments & DJ Equipment

Health & Beauty

Toys & Games

Vehicle Parts & Accessories

BE-FR, BE-NL, CH, NL Mobile Phones & Communication, esp.

Mobile Phones & Communication

Stamps

Jewelry & Watches

Jewelry & Watches

Computers/Tablets & Networking

AT, NL, PL Coins, esp.

Health & Beauty

Crafts

Computers/Tablets & Networking

Cameras & Photography

Cameras & Photography

AT, BE-FR Vehicle Parts & Accessories, esp.

Baby

Health & Beauty

Cameras & Photography

 

 

AT Musical Instruments & DJ Equipment

Books, Comics & Magazines

Cameras & Photography

 

 

 

IE Art, Antiques

Pet Supplies

 

 

 

 

IE Garden and Patio

The categories shown above are just a selection of popular categories. There are obviously many more opportunities to sell abroad. To improve your return on investment, we recommend that you research demand for your particular products in the international markets you’d like to target.

As an eBay seller, you can use eBay’s powerful “Terapeak product research” tool to help you find and evaluate the best export opportunities for your activity in international markets. Terapeak is available in Seller Hub.

Here’s a look at how you can use Terapeak.

  1. Type in the product you want to research
  2. Choose the eBay site where it’s sold
  3. Add filters to narrow down your search

The example below shows a search targeting:

  • "garden umbrella stand" (1, Keyword)
  • ebay.co.uk (2, eBay site)
  • Parasol bases (3, Category)
  • Fixed price format (4, Filter)

The tool now displays lots of useful information including:

  • total sales on the UK site (5)
  • top-selling items (6)
  • average sold price (7)
  • price ranges (8)

In the example below, for the period from 2 June to 2 July 2022, the following information is displayed:

  • A total of 5109 garden umbrella bases were sold on the UK site and generated £91,042 (5)
  • The average price was £17.82 (7), and the price ranged from £5.71 to £104.55 (8)
  • 99% of sales had free shipping
  • The top-selling item cost £11.23, offered free shipping, and 399 units were sold (6)

From the dropdown menu, you can now choose another eBay site to display sales for that particular market. The example below shows data for ebay.de in Germany (highlighted in red).

The example below displays statistics for “Sonnenschirmständer” (“umbrella bases”) sold on the German site ebay.de with the following search criteria:

  • Keyword: Sonnenschirmständer (1)
  • Site: ebay.de (2)
  • Category: Garten & Terasse (3)
  • Filter: Fixed price format (4)

For the period from 2 June to 2 July 2022:

  • 184 sellers sold 3,468 items on ebay.de which generated £86,387
  • Selling prices ranged from £2.62 to £1,024.31, and the average price was £24.91
  • The average shipping cost was £5.23, and 82% of sales had free shipping
  • The top-selling item cost £10, offered free shipping and 264 units were sold

In the example above for “umbrella bases”, you can see that total sales on the UK and German sites are similar, £91,042 for the UK compared to £86,387 for Germany. The average selling price in Germany, £24.91, was 40% higher than the average selling price in the UK, £17.82. So, there’s a potential opportunity to compete on price. Only 82% of items sold in Germany offered free shipping as opposed to 99% in the UK. So, there’s also a potential opportunity for your products if you offer free shipping. Finally, at a cost of £10, the top-selling item on the German site is more competitive than the top-selling item in the UK site which sold for £11.23. In conclusion, if you offer garden umbrella bases, you should consider Germany a high-demand market with relatively higher average prices.

eBay’s Terapeak product research tool is a great way to uncover opportunities for your products. Use Terapeak to conduct similar searches for your target markets, and always be sure you use the correct translation for your keywords!

This video presents more information on Terapeak

When you list your items on eBay, you can choose certain settings or services that will make your domestic listings visible to an international audience. There are two ways to get your listings ready for CBT, Basic (passive) and Advanced (active).

  1. Basic listing (passive)
    If you add international shipping options to a listing when you’re setting it up, that listing will automatically be visible to buyers in international markets. Your local listings may appear on eBay’s country-specific sites just as they appear on your local site. Using the passive, basic listing option makes it quick and easy to get international visibility for your listings.
  2. Advanced listing (active)
    If you prefer to tailor your listings to a particular international market, you can use your regular eBay account information to log in on any of eBay’s country-specific sites. You can then list your items directly in the local language with the local currency. Using the active, advanced listing option enables you to generate new, fully-localized listings for the markets you want to target.

Choosing the right international listing option for you, Basic (passive) or Advanced (active), will depend on how much growth you’d like to achieve by selling internationally and how much effort you’d like to devote to that activity. To help you decide, here’s an overview of the Basic and Advanced international listing options:

Overview of International Listing Options

 

Basic

eBay intermediated shipping Ex. Global Shipping Program

Self-generated shipping settings

Advanced

Webinterpret

eBaymag

Self-generated content

Effort

Minimal

Low

Low

Low-medium

High

Ease of managing many listings

High

Medium

High

Medium-High

Medium

Usage

You want to manage international selling like domestic selling

You have competitive international shipping offers from carriers and you don’t want to expend a lot of time and effort

You want to quickly increase your exports and you don’t want to expend a lot of time and effort

You want to quickly increase your exports and you want more control over your listings

You see exporting as a great opportunity and you want to maximize your potential

If you want to expend minimal effort on selling internationally, using a shipping intermediary, like eBay’s Global Shipping Program (GSP) or eBay’s International Shipping program (EIS), can make exporting very easy because these programs automatically generate passive listings for you. Please note, however, that GSP is only available to sellers in the UK and the US. We provide more information in the shipping section below.

If a shipping intermediary is not available in your region, please check the shipping section.

Basic international shipping refers to one of the ways sellers can list items on different, country-specific eBay sites simply by adding international shipping options to their domestic listings. You can add international shipping to listings using shipping rate tables. You can learn more about them, and how to create your own, here.

With basic international selling, your listing may appear on eBay’s international sites, and eBay may localize the content for buyers in that market. For example, if UK based sellers offer shipping to Germany on certain listings, we may translate the titles and descriptions of those items into German. In addition to translating listing titles and descriptions for foreign markets, eBay will also display item prices in the local currency to give international buyers an idea of how much the item will cost and help them with their purchase decision. In some cases, at no cost to the seller, eBay will offer buyers the option to pay in their local currency.

eBay currently translates listing titles and descriptions for supported languages and sites. eBay’s continuously expanding the number of countries where we provide translated and localized versions of your listings.

If you want to create fully-localized listings for your items and be sure that they’ll be visible, you should consider advanced international selling. Advanced international selling is the professional way to sell your items on eBay’s 15 biggest sites directly in the local language. Advanced international selling refers to one of the ways sellers can list items on different, country-specific eBay sites by creating new listings on the international sites. Here are some of the benefits that Advanced international selling offers:

  • Selectively choose the eBay sites where you’d like to create your listings
  • Tailor your pricing to suit each market
  • Improve visibility for your listings so they rank as well in search results on international sites as they do on local sites
  • Appeal to more buyers with item descriptions displayed in the local language
  • Pay the selling fees that apply to the country where the sale is made

If you think Advanced international selling best suits your activity, there are three ways you can implement it. We’ll explain each one in detail in a minute. For now, to help you decide which one’s right for you, here’s a quick overview of each one:

Advanced international listing methods

Easy to manage many listings

Customizability

Effort

European Sales Booster (ESB) with Webinterpret

High

Low

Minimal

eBaymag

Med

Low

Low

Seller-generated content

Low

High

High

1. European Sales Booster (ESB), powered by Webinterpret:

This is a 1-click, hassle-free program that fully localizes up to 50% (depending on your store subscription, learn more in the links below) of your inventory for free. The maximum number of listings depends on your eBay shop or store subscription. Using a proprietary algorithm, the program determines which of your items have the best chance of selling internationally and selects 50% of them for localization. Your items are localized, optimized and listed on the American .com, Australian .com.au, British .co.uk, French .fr, German .de, Italian .it, and Spanish .es sites provided you ship to these countries.

The program translates your titles, categories, item specifics and descriptions. When one of your items sells in any of the above-mentioned markets, the program automatically synchronizes stock quantities across all sites to avoid overselling. You don’t need to do anything else. All your international orders are visible in your domestic store.

To take advantage of this program, just log in to your account and then sign up on this page. Sellers located in the following countries can access the information in their own languages:

France

Germany

Italy

Spain

Program representatives can provide further information on how to increase visibility for more of your active listings.

What Webinterpret offers:

Free Version
  • Translates and lists up to 50% of active listings on 6 eBay sites (max. number of listings depends on subscription plan)
  • Fully synchronizes stock quantities of items across all sites
  • No insertion fees on international listings created by Webinterpret
  • Translates listing titles, descriptions and item specifics
  • Localizes prices, shoe sizes and other types of information
  • Transforms passive listings into active ones
  • Option to deduct VAT from listings for sales outside the EU
  • Useful dashboard for managing international listings:
    • Overview of items: Listed, In Translation, No Shipping, Blocked
    • Overview of orders
    • Customizable conversion tables - Sellers can use default tables or create their own
    • Additional tools for customized translation and item selection:
      • Use keywords to blacklist and block items from being listed in selected countries
      • Block individual items from being listed abroad
      • Create a custom glossary for your particular translations
      • Set and apply a percentage for price adjustments by country (by listing isn’t offered)
      • Manage shipping costs by country
Paid Version
  • Translates and lists 100% of active listings on 12 eBay sites
  • No insertion fees on international listings created by Webinterpret
  • Access to Promoted Listings service on international and domestic sites
    • Promoted Listings fees included in Webinterpret subscription
    • Centralized dashboard for campaign management across all sites with reports
  • Access to Shipping and Return services
  • Webinterpret Customer Service (Chat & Phone)
  • Choice of two plans: Starter or Business

Note: When you update your original listings, the program automatically applies the changes to your listings on the other sites. You don’t need to update them individually. The program increases the number of listings you’ll see in Seller Hub. To keep working on your domestic listings, you can use the listing site filter to switch back and forth.

2. eBaymag

eBaymag is a free eBay platform that helps you create and manage your listings on international eBay sites. With eBaymag, you don’t have to spend time creating listings from scratch. eBaymag imports your existing listings and uses mainstream tools like Google Translate to translate them. eBaymag then lists these international versions of your listings. You can select the listings you’d like to localize and the sites you’d like to list them on. When your items sell in any market, eBaymag automatically adjusts stock levels for those items to avoid overselling.

eBaymag offers more control over your listings. You can edit your listings and choose the markets where you’d like each one to be listed.

Note: When you update your original listings, the program automatically applies the changes to your listings on the other sites. You don’t need to update them individually. The program increases the number of listings you’ll see in Seller Hub. To keep working on your domestic listings, you can use the listing site filter to switch back and forth.

3. Seller-generated content

You can use your own existing eBay seller account to log in to eBay’s country-specific websites and create your listings directly on each one. This lets you fully localize your listings so they display in the local language with the local currency. Tailoring your listings to your target market using your own specifically prepared information, as opposed to automatically generated translations and currency conversion estimates, is a great way to make your listings more appealing to international buyers.

You can use eBay’s seller marketing tools, like Promoted Listings, to further increase your chances of making a sale. Regardless of whether you choose to use basic or advanced international selling, you can increase the visibility of your listings by using eBay’s Promoted Listings marketing tool. For example, when you list a new item for a new target market, you could create a Promoted Listings campaign to promote it on that country-specific site. If you choose to use eBay tools for advanced international selling, contact eBay or Webinterpret to enable Promoted Listings.

Another way to increase your chances of attracting buyers is to offer free shipping. To meet buyer expectations, regardless of how you choose to ship, delivery must always be fast, reliable, tracked, and, whenever possible, free. If your profit margin doesn’t allow you to offer free international shipping to your buyers, you should always try to keep your shipping costs as low as possible for them. eBay can help you find suitable shipping partners for your international deliveries. There are several possibilities depending on where you’re base and how you’d like to manage shipments. Have a look at the table below to see what’s available in your country.

We have several options for selling internationally depending on where you are based. Firstly, to meet buyer expectations in shipping, the delivery should ideally be fast, reliable, tracked and free - even if free international service would not suit your cost and margin, shipping cost towards buyer should be kept as affordable as possible.

There are a range of shipping options available to you depending on which country you are shipping from and how you want to manage your shipments, summarized below:

Item Location

Fully intermediated

Carrier services

Fulfilment Options

UK

Global Shipping Programme: simplest way to access over 100 countries , including whole of EU, hassle-free. This programme is simple to enroll because eBay takes care of all tax & duties and international shipping. You just send it to our UK location where we deal with the rest. For more details use this link

If you make your listings available for selling internationally via .co.uk you can use the following carrier options to ship internationally:

Own carrier agreement (listed below)

Packlink with negotiated rates via eBay

Purchase Royal Mail International Labels on eBay

UK eBay Fulfilment all eligible items will be made available for domestic and international via GSP

Coming soon:

Negotiated Royal Mail/ParcelForce DDP Rates (Live Q3)

Parcel2Go International Label Portal (Available starting in September 2022)

If you make your listings available for selling internationally by listing them directly on the country website. For example on .de. Here are the carrier options to ship internationally

DE eBay Fulfilment – forward deploy items to our German fulfillment center

Packlink in country for forward deployed items

Germany

 

If you make your listings available for selling internationally via .de you can use the following carrier options to ship internationally:

Own carrier agreement

Packlink with negotiated rates via eBay

For larger sellers who are sending 30 or more parcels per week they can use eBay Fulfilment provided by our partner, Orange Connex, for domestic and International. For more information use this link

Austria,
Belgium,
France,
Ireland,
Italy,
Netherlands,
Poland,
Spain,
Switzerland

 

Sellers can either sell internationally “in the passive way” by expanding their shipping corridors and using standard shipping options available on their local sites, or sell “actively” by listing on the corridors they want to target, as well as create shipping policies there

Sellers can use their own carriers. Please find recommended carriers by country below under “other useful carriers”

Packlink with negotiated rates via eBay for the following countries:

France:

https://support-ebay.packlink.com/hc/fr-fr/articles/209156905-Combien-co%C3%BBte-un-envoi-avec-la-plateforme-d-exp%C3%A9ditions-eBay + https://expeditions.ebay.fr/private/shipments/ready-to-purchase/

Italy:

https://www.ebay.it/spaziovenditori/spedizione/spedizione-rapida-sicura-gratuita/gestore-spedizioni + https://support-ebay.packlink.com/hc/it/articles/209156905-Quanto-costa-una-spedizione-con-il-Gestore-eBay-

Belgium, Netherlands & Austria: coming soon

For larger sellers who are sending 30 or more parcels per week they can forward deploy items to Germany using eBay Fulfilment provided by our partner, Orange Connex, for domestic and International. For more information use this link

VAT and Delivery Duties Paid (DDP): Important Information for UK-to-EU delivery services

VAT requirements vary depending on the consignment value of the UK-to-EU shipment. To offer their buyers an excellent experience, sellers can choose a carrier which offers Delivery Duties Paid (DDP) services. In this case, the carrier collects any import tax and duty due and remits it to the local customs authorities on behalf of the buyer.

Consignment Value

eBay Process

Carrier

Under £135

eBay collects VAT from buyers at checkout

Any International service

Over £135

Buyers pay the carrier any import VAT and customs duty due

Buyers may not appreciate having to pay additional taxes to the carrier. To avoid an unpleasant experience for buyers, we recommend using a Delivery Duties Paid (DDP) service so that the carrier pays on behalf of the buyer.

Here’s a list of links to help you find more information on international shipping for your country.

Summary of international services and tools
Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, UK
  • Packlink is an online shipping intermediary. The Packlink platform offers shipping labels from several carriers across Europe. eBay sellers can take advantage of great rates that eBay has negotiated with Packlink for their domestic and international deliveries. Here are the steps sellers should follow when they sell an item
Germany
  • eBay Fulfilment is a service for sellers who use eBay’s global eBay Fulfilment by Orange Connex program, which makes shipping to more international locations possible. Learn more about eBay Fulfilment here We plan to launch the eBay Fulfilment UK export programme by the end of 2022. Learn more here
Germany and UK only
  • Delivery labels on eBay are available to sellers who use passive or active listing methods. When an item sells, sellers can select “Print Postage Label” and choose their international shipping partner from a variety of carriers, including DHL, Hermes, DPD for Germany, and Royal Mail or UPS via Packlink for the UK.
UK
  • eBay’s Global Shipping Programme (GSP) is the simplest way for sellers in the UK and the US to make their listings available in over 100 countries. Without changing a thing, sellers can make their listings visible in the countries or regions of their choice, or worldwide, by simply ticking a box. eBay calculates customs duty, taxes, international shipping and any other associated costs, including the UK shipping cost that sellers would normally charge to UK buyers, and then displays the total cost to overseas buyers. When buyers make a purchase, we inform sellers and provide them with the delivery address in the UK along with a special code added to the address so that eBay can identify the final buyer. The seller then ships the item to our processing center in the UK. We relabel it and check to make sure it’s ready for delivery. We then deliver the package to the buyer, fully tracked and insured, so the buyer has a great shopping experience, and the seller is free to stay focused on selling. Learn more about eBay’s Global Shipping Programme here
  • Parcel2Go is a new shipping portal currently in development at eBay. It will enable sellers to take advantage of negotiated rates for DDP and DDU with Evri, DPD, FedEx, ParcelForce and UPS. We plan to launch Parcel 2 Go in August 2022.

Additional carriers listed by country with links to their sites:

We may occasionally run promotions that apply specifically to cross-border transactions, such as a promotion for sellers registered in Germany on ebay.de who list and sell on other eBay sites. In these instances, the promotions apply to fees on the destination site.

Based on the site where you’ve listed your items, eBay charges various fees, including final value fees, fees for optional listing upgrades, and promotions. For example, if you’re a German seller registered on ebay.de, and you also list on ebay.co.uk, you’ll pay the fees outlined in the UK Seller Fees page for your listings on ebay.co.uk. In this example, if the UK site is running a promotion that you are eligible for, that promotion will apply to your UK listings.

For cross-border transactions where the seller’s registered address is different from the buyer’s shipping address, we also charge an international fee and, if applicable, a seller currency conversion charge. These fees will be charged in accordance with the fees outlined on the seller’s country site. For example, if you’re a seller in France listing on the UK site and selling to a UK buyer, you’ll pay an international fee on this transaction of 1.05%.

To ensure you always have accurate fee information for your target markets, we recommend checking the sites where you list:

Austria: Gebühren für gewerbliche Verkäufer (ebay.at)
Belgium: Kosten voor zakelijke verkopers (ebay.be); Frais pour les vendeurs particuliers (ebay.be)
France: https://www.ebay.it/spaziovenditori/vendere-su-ebay/tariffe-venditori-professionali
Germany: https://www.ebay.de/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/shop-selling-fees?id=4809
Ireland: https://www.ebay.ie/help/selling/selling-fees/store-fees?id=4809
Italy: https://www.ebay.it/spaziovenditori/vendere-su-ebay/tariffe-venditori-professionali
Netherlands: Kosten voor zakelijke verkopers (ebay.nl)
Poland: Opłaty dla sprzedawców-firm (ebay.pl)
Spain: https://www.ebay.es/help/selling/selling/empezar-vender-en-ebay?id=4809
Switzerland: Gebühren für gewerbliche Verkäufer (ebay.ch)
UK: https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/fees-business-sellers?id=4809#section9