International Checkout through 3dcart?

[GlowExpress]

I have looked at the International Checkout option for quite a while now and would like to see if anybody has any input or experience with this checkout type. Thanks in advance!

Here is the link if you haven't seen it:
http://www.3dcart.com/ecommerce-apps...ping-cart.html

[Go Live]

Bongo International works fairly good on 3dcart.

I like that they charge separately. Our biggest concern was lossing the $45.00 shipping cost on returned orders. Using a broker was a good choice for us.

You wont get rich shipping International. Just another small stream (Marketing Chanel) that makes for a MIGHTY river. (without all the hassle and risk)

Best of luck!

[cbsteven]

We have been shipping internationally for years. We don't do anything special. We just print out the international shipping forms using Stamps.com (some prefer Endicia). We don't use a broker or anything like that. It's about 10% of our business. It's not nearly as hard as you might think.

[piaf]

Glow, I have also been looking at the International Checkout 3rd party service. It really seems to reduce the risk involved in accepting international orders. We USED to accept international orders when we first started our business, but after getting burned a couple of times for several hundred dollars a pop from countries we thought would be safe to do business with, we completely shut down all international sales.

But now, with this International Checkout company, we are really reconsidering and thinking about giving it another try. But like you, I'd like to hear from people who are using this particular SERVICE offered by International Checkout (the company) before deciding to take the plunge once again.

[Go Live]

Yes we have been burned many times when we did it through endicia. Now if we sent first class that would be fine but the cost to sent a 10lb+ box is alot to lose.

I'm sure next you'll be checking out the company reviews as well. From what I've seen the bad reviews come mostly from clients that choose not to complete there obligation with the International company. And your money is yours regardless as you have proof of delivery.

Best of luck

[tmilone103]

How exactly does this work? Are these essentially a freight forwarding company? We send the product to them and they forward it overseas? How exactly does this help our risk if the package they forward does not make it there?

If a customer charges back a purchase wouldn't we automatically loose since we did not ship it to their billing address?

[piaf]

tmilone, here's what it says on that link GlowExpress posted:

How it works

* International customers shop and place items in the shopping cart directly on your site
* Your customers click on the International Checkout button and are transferred to International Checkout's site where they complete their purchase
* The International Checkout purchasing team places the order on behalf of the international customer on your site; using its US shipping address and credit card
* International Checkout receives and inspects the merchandise at its depot, prepares all required documentation, and ships to the international customer's doorstep

Based on that information, the customer doesn't pay your business. They pay International Checkout, so any chargebacks would be between them and International Checkout. International Checkout places the order on our site, pays for it with their corporate credit card, and essentially, they can't transfer the chargeback back to us because we will have proof of delivery (if we are smart and get delivery confirmation) of the package to their premises.

[piaf]

Here's the link to International Checkout's web site:

http://www.internationalcheckoutsolutions.com/

[tmilone103]

Seems very reasonable and I do quite of international shipping. My question then is how much do they mark up our items in their fee's to the customer. If our customers are going to pay 5% to 10% more it might actually hurt our business.

Has anyone used these guys? How is the customer response?

[piaf]

We sent an inquiry to them and they sent us a PDF file in response to our inquiry with additional details about their service. Here's what the PDF file says about their fees:

International Checkout does not charge for integration and there is no service fee charged to the merchant partner. IC will provide integration guides and technical support for free to assist merchant partners with integration of the IC solution.

IC operates on a percentage of the cost of merchandise equivalent to 20%. At a base level, IC passes the 20% fee on to the international customer, bundled in the Shipping and Handling Fee.

As a matter of best practice, IC strongly recommends that the merchant offsets some or all of the cost to the customer by offering IC a discount on its merchandise. The discount provided will be passed along to the international customer in its entirety via a reduced International Shipping and Handling fee.

For example, given a 10% discount on merchandise extended to IC and an order with a $100 USD merchandise value, the fees would be distributed as follows:

Total Merchandise Value $ 100.00

10% Discount to IC $ (10.00)

IC COST of Merchandise $ 90.00

20% of IC COST of Merchandise ($90) $ 18.00

IC Collects due to Discount Provided $ (10.00)

Collected From Customer at Checkout $ 8.00 + Shipping Fee

In the above scenario, the fee charged to the customers will be 8%. ($100 X 8% = $8.00)

Discount on merchandise is a recommendation only and is to be determined at the discretion of the merchant.

The reduced risk is probably worth a 10% discount on our part, and a change in our international acceptance policy might be worth the additional fee on the customer's part. Since we don't accept ANY international orders right now, this would be a huge benefit for those wishing to place orders at our store.

[Go Live]

Yes it is true that shipping cost can hurt the sale.
After being burned many times the choice for us was No International shipping or let a 3rd party work for those in need of our product that have money.

1st class orders fly pretty good if you have very small items. (no customs paperwork)

Here are some real life experiences.

Very nice lady in Canada thrilled to find her favorite baby wash for sensitive skin. Very nice on the phone. So we decided to make an exception and help her out with a $300 order that cost us $75 dollars to send. She refused to pay the customs fees of $80 on delivery and refused the product. We lost $75.

Nail polish to Canada can only go ground. So we use UPS to get it there. Returned by customs with a note: We can not allow flammables in our facility.
Once again we are out the shipping.

Now I have friend that still ships Internationally and complains often then grins and says we charge 20% shipping markup to cover the bad shipments. This same man is greedy and will lose $10 on the sale just to make the sale.

This same man taught me a new meaning of the word Greed. (To sell for so cheap to not allow others to make a sale) and all this time I thought I was greedy holding out for top dollar and not spinning my wheels.

So maybe the 20% markup is the answer that you are looking for and should you move forward here is a list of prohibited item for each country http://bongous.com/country-information-list.php

[piaf]

... should you move forward here is a list of prohibited item for each country http://bongous.com/country-information-list.php

Now that brings up a good point... are WE responsible for telling the customer if a product they're interested in is prohibited from import into their country? Or is it the customer's responsibility to research that prior to placing their order at an online store?

[Go Live]

You are ALWAYS responsible to provide a disclaimer, that is the honest and ethical thing to do.

We make a special product page for items we know are a no no. Stating these items may not be available for International shipping and that you should check with your local Customs agency before purchasing. You should also state this on your International shipping page and your terms and conditions.

We use to have a agree to terms check box in the cart but have done away with it. Merchant accounts require and want to know your policy page but do not respect them and side with the customer anyway so we did away with the check box. Now if we sold xxx items or had other leagal concerns then you would indeed want a agree to be at least 18 years of age and agree to your terms and conditions.

Back to International shipping
Now we know that nobody reads these policies and or will sneak and beg so we also state that any disallowed items will be refunded and the rest of the order will be shipped.

Bottom line you can refund and send what you are able to send.

[GlowExpress]

I have worked with our product base (Glow and Novelty Items) for quite a few years and through our other companies we went completely NO international and very rarely will we process orders to standard Freight Forwarding companies because of a ridiculous 32% fraud rate calculated over the course of 3 years.

Also being in Southern Cal it wouldn't be much of an issue to discount shipping to IC's shipping center. But I would still like to hear from a firsthand user. I would be happy to have the international shipping option considering all of the outside US requests we get for products.

I am not too concerned about IC's additional fees to the customer because majority of the Legit customers believe or not understand that it will cost them a bit more to get the items they want from the US. They may not like it, but most do understand this fact.

[Go Live]

Also being in Southern Cal it wouldn't be much of an issue to discount shipping to IC's shipping center.

If you feel compelled to take the power suggestion play by IC. (keep in mind they win 100% of the time at your expense and don't care about your could be losses)

I've always said "Do it for You" since that's all that really matters. (remember eBay would love for you to ship for free and have you hide shipping cost in the product price so they can get a bigger commission. You won't have that option in your store)

So if it makes sense fine, otherwise I always say "Do it for You"