As an online auto parts seller, you have the opportunity to increase sales when you target global audiences and sell internationally – allowing you to reach markets in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Puerto Rico, the Caicos Islands, and beyond. When people need parts and can’t find them locally, they look to international sellers. International customers will be willing to pay for shipping costs and wait, especially if they need the part badly enough.
However, international shipping can be both complex and risky. There are things to consider, like taxes, custom duties, and parcel tracking. That’s why online marketplaces like eBay and Amazon developed programs that would help their sellers succeed in the global marketplace.
The eBay Global Shipping Program (GSP)
When it comes to shipping car parts internationally, eBay’s Global Shipping Program (GSP) helps sellers expand to new markets and access international customers. Instead of shipping items directly to the international customers, you can sell parts on eBay and ship the order to eBay’s hub in Kentucky. eBay then handles all the logistics of car parts shipping, international paperwork included. The GSP works the same in other countries. You just ship the product to the eBay warehouse in your country, and eBay will take care of getting your item to its international customers. They even have a customer support team to handle questions on shipping auto parts internationally and tracking.
As a seller under the GSP, you don’t have to worry yourself with the math and research involved in calculating shipping costs, taxes, etc. Your listings will be shown to eBay buyers across the world, and eBay calculates the international shipping cost, duties, and taxes for you. It estimates delivery times upfront and adds them to the listing.
The Amazon Global Selling (AGS) Program
The Amazon Global Selling program allows sellers to list and sell their products to Amazon’s global market, allowing you to reach a wider range of customers. Amazon helps simplify the process of shipping internationally.
Amazon has over 175 fulfillment centers across more than 180 countries around the world, ensuring your auto part ships to Germany, the Virgin Islands, Dominican Republic, the Cayman Islands or wherever your customer is. When your customers see your listings and make a purchase, you will receive a notification to ship the product. Deliver the product to the customer and confirm shipment to let Amazon fulfill the order for you through Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). With FBA, you can list your FBA products on Amazon, and they will export your order to your international customers. Amazon will pick, pack, and ship the product. They will even handle customer service on your behalf.
To start using FBA, add FBA to your Amazon selling account. Prepare your products by ensuring you follow Amazon’s packaging and labeling requirements. Send your shipments to Amazon fulfillment centers. If you have an existing inventory, you can convert it to FBA.
Tips for Selling Auto Parts Internationally
If you’re planning to sell to an international market via your own website, you need to have a strategy in place. Here are some areas in your planning that you should focus on:
Choose a reputable payment provider – PayPal is the top-ranking payment method for international purchases. It’s secure and gives you access to local funding methods, allowing you to accept payments in 25 currencies. However, it’s still important to research the preferred payment methods of the buyers in your target international marketplace.
Pay attention to country-specific rules and regulations – Once you’ve determined your market, ensure you understand any rules that may apply to your products. This includes understanding duties and taxes, customs, free-trade agreements, and so on.
Give accurate delivery times or estimates – The shipping charge will not only cost more but delivery times will take longer. However, what they’re looking for is to be kept in the loop. While it’s ideal to provide tracking, this varies depending on the shipping method. Therefore, it’s crucial to set their expectations by being clear about delivery times.
Understand how to control shipping costs – Shipping auto parts internationally means rates will vary. International customers understand that they can’t expect to pay the same price as domestic shipping. To overcome the challenges of international post, use a parcel consolidator for your auto parts delivery.
Establish a clear return policy – To avoid any confusion and dispute, put together a return policy that outlines all your rules on returns, such as a time limit for when returns are acceptable.
Optimize your website – Once you determine your readiness to expand to international markets, consider optimizing your website so that visitors will know you cater to an international market. This involves listing your products in local currencies. You may also consider upgrading your website so that it’s multilingual.
Understand the importance of fitment information – When it comes to selling auto parts, whether locally or internationally, one of the most important aspects of online selling is providing clear and accurate fitment information. Skipping fitment would be a mistake and could cost you. It’s also a way to lower the risk of shopping cart abandonment and enhance the customer experience as it doesn’t leave the customer questioning whether the auto part is compatible with their car.
Without fitment data or information on year/make/model, international customers wouldn’t know if the part you sell is compatible with their vehicle. And when it comes to the international market, you have to be careful how you list your products.
How to Build an Inventory Database for International Markets
The process of building an inventory database takes time and effort, but when you’re done, an inventory database complete with fitment data becomes one of your biggest business assets.
Because fitment details change constantly, building and maintaining an inventory database can come with technical challenges. And it becomes even more complex when you have to consider international models and fitments. Manually figuring out which vehicles each part fits can be a long, time-consuming process. Fortunately, there are third-party tools that will help you build a complete inventory database. Third-party fitment providers like myFitment will help you not only get the information you need, but in the format required by the platform you are selling on, such as eBay, Amazon, or both.
On eBay Motors, you can list your auto parts online and specify fitment information by using the platform’s standard listing interface. However, that’s easier said than done, especially if you have a large inventory. The whole process may involve clicking your way through lists of hundreds of vehicles. But what if to achieve it, you need thousands of SKUs (Stock Keeping Unit) to list.
Amazon, on the other hand, does not have a user interface for specifying compatibility. Instead, it has a Parts Compatibility tool in the Amazon catalog. However, if you sell under your own brand name or the parts you sell aren’t in their catalog, you can use third-party software like myFitment that will generate ACES (Aftermarket Catalog Exchange Standard) for your parts.
Whether you sell auto parts on eBay, run an Amazon business, or offer international shopping from your own online store, you need updated fitment information to maximize your sales. At myFitment, we remove the price and technology barriers that come with fitment data for online sellers to be ready to sell internationally. myFitment will help ensure your fitment information is not outdated as new vehicles are added, and errors are removed every month.
To learn more, reach out to our support team by emailing dataservices@myfitment.com or give us a call at +1-855-4FITMENT (+1-855-434-8636).
