
Consider
the story of a Canadian woman who purchased a
product on-line from a well-known catalog
company. On its site she was told that
$25.00 is added to every order from Canada
and that all duties and taxes are the
customers responsibility. Now most
people would be deterred by such a comment
and simply not order at all. This
however was my wife and she was
determined. She ordered the goods
and was whacked with a terrible exchange rate
to Canadian dollars. She had to pay an
extra C$13.27 for duties and to top it off
had to hand the UPS driver an extra $8.50 for
taxes. Thank heavens it fit and she
didn't have to return it.
Expand
your market.
Most non-US customers are deterred by
this nightmare. This scenario locks
most US based internet sellers into the
US market and they forgo the potential of
a 10% increase simply by making their
fulfillment Canada friendly, let alone
friendly for the rest of the world.
Customers do not want to deal with
customs and they do not want to worry
about returns. They want to
purchase in their own currency within the
custom boundaries of their country.
Your
products cost less!
Product shipped in bulk are dutiable at
wholesaler's purchase cost, rather than
customer's full retail value. Why make
the courier companies rich, courier costs
in local countries are cheaper than
international rates. Pass these
savings onto the customer, bulk shipments
add nominal costs to the individual
items.
Your
customers are happier!
; They know you and trust you. They are
paying in Canadian dollars, they don't
have to worry about customs, they know
they are being sent from within Canada
and the know the have someone in Canada
to deal with.
Your
customers buy more!