I am the grey market

December 21, 2006 6:54 PM

Seeking advice about selling to the UK on eBay.

I have a nice piece of brand-new in-box kit (thank you Father Christmas) that I want to get rid of, and I see that it fetches a lot more money on ebay.co.uk (in pounds sterling) than it does on ebay.com (in dollars). We're talking a few hundred dollars' difference here.

The piece of kit in question is fairly heavy, about 40 pounds. Is shipping going to wipe out my profit?

I have decent feedback, but I'm not a very active eBayer (all positive, but it's only in the single digits). Will UK buyers be leery of a US seller? Should I price it to undercut the prevailing UK price to compensate? Also, will the buyer have to pay a lot of money at customs?

Are there any other complications that I haven't thought of? Should I just sell it on the US eBay and quit being greedy to exploit the cheap dollar?

posted by evariste to Shopping (13 answers total)

Tricky. I'm in the UK and have bought plenty of stuff from ebay.com that probably made the seller a great profit, yet I still got a reasonable deal. The fact a seller is based in the US rarely deters me if it's something I can't get too easily over here.

You'll have to accurately determine your shipping costs and terms before you can really work this one out. It's fairly likely the buyer will incur charges at customs (at least in my experience), so factor both of these points in to your price, and if you can come up with a good deal for both parties, then you're good to go.

As far as your feedback rating goes, I don't think that really has much of an influence over someone's decision to bid on on an item, even if they're based in the US. I take a clear and detailed item description (and plenty of photos) as an indication of a seller's worth instead.

Oh, and you may or may not find Parcel2Go useful.
posted by chrissyboy at 7:34 PM on December 21, 2006

And remember that ebay and paypal take a slice off your profit too.
posted by chrissyboy at 7:37 PM on December 21, 2006

chrissyboy-yeah, but they will take their cut if I sell on the US eBay too so I figure the fee factor is a wash either way.
posted by evariste at 7:42 PM on December 21, 2006

Fair enough. FWIW I've just noticed the title of your post, and if you're selling what I think you are, I'd take the gamble on listing it on ebay UK. Ebay don't seem too sharp on nipping those kind of things in the bud till after the event (unless you're selling in large quantities), but be aware you might get a slap on the wrist afterwards.
posted by chrissyboy at 8:33 PM on December 21, 2006

Also, will the buyer have to pay a lot of money at customs?

Yes. If they decide to charge, it's 17.5% plus a collection fee from Royal Mail, plus they send you a letter first and don't release the parcel until you've paid. It's not fun.
posted by cillit bang at 8:52 PM on December 21, 2006

cillit bang: argh. That's a lot.
posted by evariste at 11:06 PM on December 21, 2006

Indeed, that is a lot, but why are you worrying about things like shipping and customs? Those are things that the buyer has to worry about, not you. Just charge the actual shipping cost, and state that in your auction. Also state that the buyer may get caught with customs charges. Piece of cake. If people want what you're selling badly enough, they will pay for it.
posted by antifuse at 1:48 AM on December 22, 2006

There are, I suspect, a huge number of transactions like this that take place like this. Whilst both parties can profit under ideal circumstances UK-based purchasers face potentially punitive costs if the package gets intercepted by customs. Exactly how likely this will be depends on what you are sending, how you send it and how you describe or value the parcel. A number of sellers appear to be quite happy to describe something like an Ipod as something like a "Children's Toy" on a declaration form - and to further lie about its value. Whether you opt for a strictly honest or rather deceptive approach to describing and sending the goods I would say that it is wholly the buyers fault if they get landed with an inspection and extra fees.
posted by rongorongo at 3:39 AM on December 22, 2006

If the item is worth more than £40 and is brand new a custom fee will be levied. Even if it is marked as a gift. You can try and undercut the value I guess to avoid this but this hardly makes a difference and at times the custom charge is between 30% - 70% of the purchase price which erases the ebay bargain in the first place.

Also high postage fees can make the sale pointless for both parties as I would rather buy from the UK and pay a bit more but save on the postage and customs fees.

Saying that though I have no problem buying from an overseas seller and would actually rather buy from a small seller than a powerseller tbh as if there is a problem it is
easier to make contact and resolve the problem.
posted by mycapaciousbottega at 7:15 AM on December 22, 2006

Bear in mind that if the item is electrical and assumes a 110V input, it's a doorstop over here.
posted by genghis at 8:55 AM on December 22, 2006

Thanks everyone. I'm just going to sell it in the US, this sounds like too much trouble in general.
posted by evariste at 11:44 AM on December 22, 2006

If the item is worth more than £40 and is brand new a custom fee will be levied. Even if it is marked as a gift.

£40 is quite high, actually, but is that for general merchandise, or does "even if it is marked as a gift" mean that the threshold for general merchandise is lower? For shipments to Canada, the threshold is $20 CAD, or $60 CAD if it is a gift.

at times the custom charge is between 30% - 70% of the purchase price

This can happen for shipments to Canada as well, but it is a UPS issue only. Through Canada Post it is never more than 14% (Alberta should be lower) + $5 handling fee.

I mention the Canada stuff because I'm interested in learning the precise issues with shipping to the UK, and any other country. Anywhere likely to be buying consumer goods in general, actually, because..

sounds like too much trouble in general.

will kill your profit margin.
posted by Chuckles at 6:03 PM on December 22, 2006

The threshold is £18 for general goods and £36 if marked as a gift. And remember tax is payable on the total cost of the goods including shipping.
posted by cillit bang at 6:56 PM on December 22, 2006