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Hello everyone!

I am planning on selling stuff worldwide (CDs, t-shirts etc..) and came to a question that really bothers me:
If you sell stuff online, you probably have customers from around the world. I am, for example, from Germany. That means if someone from the US orders something from me, the costs for the shipment (or airfreight) are just as high as the actual price of the product or higher!
How do you handle this? Are people willing to pay twice the costs for a t-shirt to get it shipped? Or is it more exspectable that they won't buy it if they are located too far away from me?

Thanks in advance,

Tobi

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Last edited by BlakePalmer (Mar 20, 2018 10:50 pm)

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Thanks for your quick reply!
Alright, I'm relieved to hear that! And thanks for the tips like bigcartel. I was thinking about selling it like this: people send me a message with what they want, i ship it, they pay. But i guess a service like big cartel is very nice! I'll take a look at it.

Tobi

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Last edited by BlakePalmer (Mar 20, 2018 10:50 pm)

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different packaging materials will make a difference too.  check and see if your post offers flat-rate package sizes, usually these are limited only by weight and you pay a flat price regardless within that weight range.  unless you add insurance or things.

buy your shipping materials in bulk, you'll save a lot on this overhead that way.  plastic bubble mailers would probably serve your shirt purposes well, don't weigh much at all, and are relatively cheap. 

offer a range of shipping methods.  let the customer pick whichever they want, if they're willing to wait a longer time for a better price, as long as the packagind is alright it shouldn't matter.  tbh, the post will stomp a box if they want to no matter how you ship it.

take advantage of DHL service too.  i just mention them since you're in germany, but if der post doesn't have a basic shipping rate (something like First Class/Standard rate) that suits you, the price may be comparable.

but.....  the international postal union (or whatever its called) establishes equivalencies for international mailings.  (its the oldest international trade union, afaik)  there should be a similar shipping equivalent in most countries, these standards are paid for in local currency but this is converted into a common postal measuring system that allows easy transactions of international mail between customs offices (the name of that slips my mind).  check out whatever the roughly 1-3 week international basic rate is.  here its called First Class International, whatever that equivalent is there shouldn't cost too much.  it's what 75% of your customer base will go with... 

yeah, bigcartel works pretty well for most purposes.  you can set the currency to whatever you'd like as well (as a whole, not as individual product unless you modify a bit of code)

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I'd like to make a suggestion that isn't shipping based but might help with repeat business...  From 1998-2004 I had an internet based music store back home in South Africa.  I sold mainly CD's, records, and t-shirts of African and Caribbean artists.  After about 2 years of business I started sticking simple things like stickers, buttons, and demo CD's that local artists would drop off into the packages and on occasion a gift certificate.  Business doubled and I started seeing repeat customers quite often.  So I suggest doing little things like that.  In bulk, stickers and buttons are really cheap.  You can even take it to the next level.  The amazing artist Goddamn Electric Bill sends stickers, buttons, posters, and hand written thank you notes in every purchase.  I literally purchase everything he sells just because of that.

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Wow, these are all very great tips!
Haha kitsch, i was thinking about you while thinking about my problem, and tried to figure how you do it, for i didn't pay a lot for my flash cartridge and so on!
I guess for the services and flat-prices, I'll check my local dhl and post office and let them advice me:)

Thanks again to all of you!