Affiliate since: 10/01/2013, Power Rank: 598 | Read Aina's 157 other Ask SC answers

Pro and cons for both.
1) To expand your business you need international buyers for your ECA store.
2) By limiting to your region, you are limiting your target audience and sales potentials, and
3) Domestic success of your products doesn't ultimately mean global success.

If you are considering international market, You might want to consider this;
1) Packaging optimisation in regards to your shipment - this is to minimize the shipping cost and safety of your products.
2) Packaging, quality & price - give due consideration too, to customer needs and demands. Example, if you are selling juices, 1L bottle will be better choice for international market as compare to 2L bottle. It will save you your shipping costs. Minimize 'spoiled' items due to mishandling during loading/unloading.

Summarizing it, I would think you should do both, your region and internationally. Take advantage of the Internet. There are numerous free online trade boards, import-export directories, etc. Spend some time and post online offers on these sites. Not only it will increase your chances of being found by potential buyers but also will add value to your web site's Search Engine ranking.
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Pro and cons for both.
1) To expand your business you need international buyers for your ECA store.
2) By limiting to your region, you are limiting your target audience and sales potentials, and
3) Domestic success of your products doesn't ultimately mean global success.

If you are considering international market, You might want to consider this;
1) Packaging optimisation in regards to your shipment - this is to minimize the shipping cost and safety of your products.
2)
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Affiliate since: 12/31/1969, Power Rank: 99999999

That's a tough one. Your objective as a business owner is to give yourself the best possible opportunity to be successful. On one hand staying local/regional helps you to build your business in that region BUT it may also limit your growth especially if you have international inquiries and have to constantly tell them "No."
On the other going international when you are not ready can ruin your reputation all over and make it that much harder.

For me, I'm going international from the start on certain products where I can because I want to expand my reach and experience. I am both an Ebay Seller and am using Amazon Fulfillment and those programs help me to reach a global audience when and where I can. For here, I use the Amazon Fulfillment option because they do the "heavy lifting" for me for a fee. You can ship locally and internationally provided you research the costs associated with shipping to certain countries. This is where Ebay comes in. You can use their built-in shipping estimator to help you research how much it costs to ship to certain countries with certain providers.

With those estimators you may find that it's more advantageous to ship to certain countries in Europe, for example, than others. You can even send messages to sellers to get their feedback on shipping to a certain country, taxes, duties, delivery times all of that. Not all will respond but those who do can provide insight that estimator apps won't.

Going international is a lot of work and it's a learning curve BUT if you're able to dip your toe in the water with one or two countries, you'll start developing the skills and experience to expand to other countries. So there's no reason you can't stay local and wade into international shipping one country at a time, slowly building up your reputation, business and experience.

Hope this helps

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That's a tough one. Your objective as a business owner is to give yourself the best possible opportunity to be successful. On one hand staying local/regional helps you to build your business in that region BUT it may also limit your growth especially if you have international inquiries and have to constantly tell them "No."
On the other going international when you are not ready can ruin your reputation all over and make it that much harder.

For me, I'm going international
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Affiliate since: 02/24/2014, Power Rank: 99999999 | Read Derek's 210 other Ask SC answers

This will depend on several factors.

First the size and weight of the package may make it uneconomical to send to other countries.

Second If the country it is being sent to has the item as a taxable item this may make it uneconomical.

There are many things to take into consideration when sending items to other countries. You may even be thinking of sending items that cannot be sent to some countries.

If you look at some of the items on TripleClicks you will see they cannot be sent to some countries.

While you need your customer base to be as broad as possible it is pointless advertising goods that cannot be sent to some countries without noting the facts in the advertising on your page.

These things may or may not apply to the items you are selling but you need to check out what you can and cannot sell in certain countries.

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This will depend on several factors.

First the size and weight of the package may make it uneconomical to send to other countries.

Second If the country it is being sent to has the item as a taxable item this may make it uneconomical.

There are many things to take into consideration when sending items to other countries. You may even be thinking of sending items that cannot be sent to some countries.

If you look at some of the items on TripleClicks you
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Affiliate since: 02/08/2020, Power Rank: 99999999 | Read Michael's 202 other Ask SC answers

Hi Tricia Bleavins!
I for one, I believe it is better for fairly new ECA to limit shipping to his/her region while the the business grows. Even SFI/TripleClicks started in US before going abroad. In life everything start small and grows as time goes on. In anything that you are doing, you must familiarize yourself with it first, then when you master it then you can take the next step. There are many things you must familiarize yourself with.
1. You must get use to be an ECA,
2. You must get use to work with TriplecLICKS,
3. You must get use to the process that TripleClick forward orders to you,
4. You must get use to packaging orders,
5. you must work hard to find out how are you gonna charge for shipping and which shipment you gonna use.
6. When shipping to other places, you must pay custom duty rates. etc
If you start at your own region, you are familiar about transportation. Even if you make a mistake on your deliveries as a new ECA, it won't cost you that much to fix the problem, unlike when the product was shipped abroad.
I hope this will help.
Thank you.
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Hi Tricia Bleavins!
I for one, I believe it is better for fairly new ECA to limit shipping to his/her region while the the business grows. Even SFI/TripleClicks started in US before going abroad. In life everything start small and grows as time goes on. In anything that you are doing, you must familiarize yourself with it first, then when you master it then you can take the next step. There are many things you must familiarize yourself with.
1. You must get use to be an ECA,
2. You
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Affiliate since: 04/06/2013, Power Rank: 99999999 | Read Ashok kumar 's 3 other Ask SC answers

Hi Tricia,
First let me congratulate you for becoming ECA.

As you know, every business needs a strong foundation, and as such, it is always the best to concentrate shipping to local areas.

As you build up momentum, you can slowly expand to the nearby regions, where you can easily analyse the increasing shipping charges and a solution for overcoming it.

As you know by now,one of the obstacles in affiliate marketing is the heavy shipping charges and you can have a practical awareness to solve the issue on becoming Global, with the handling of one or two attempts.

Slowly, you can master the business and become a well established Global ECA.

As elders say, Slow and steady wins the race, it is always good to plan,make a program of the procedure to be adopted,study well and proceed .

Best wishes.


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Hi Tricia,
First let me congratulate you for becoming ECA.

As you know, every business needs a strong foundation, and as such, it is always the best to concentrate shipping to local areas.

As you build up momentum, you can slowly expand to the nearby regions, where you can easily analyse the increasing shipping charges and a solution for overcoming it.

As you know by now,one of the obstacles in affiliate marketing is the heavy shipping charges and you can have
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Affiliate since: 04/13/2012, Power Rank: 99999999 | Read Andrew's 330 other Ask SC answers

Ship internationally.

How you start your business will train your customers. If you only sell locally only locals will connect with you and promote your store. Others will learn that you only sell locally and never be back to see you are now selling globally.

Learn shipping before you start.

Don't make the costly mistake of boxing yourself in to a bad situation that cost you time, money, and reputation. The information is available from all companies that provide shipping to know what it will actually cost to send goods around the world.

Don't be afraid to be too busy, you can slow down sales that come too fast by modifying price or limiting quantity. In most cases you will have the opposite problem and need to learn to not make as much off each sale in order to sell more and earn more money.

This all takes time and practice and is why SFI encourages recruitment of experienced online retailers over trying to become one from scratch with no knowledge of how to begin.
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Ship internationally.

How you start your business will train your customers. If you only sell locally only locals will connect with you and promote your store. Others will learn that you only sell locally and never be back to see you are now selling globally.

Learn shipping before you start.

Don't make the costly mistake of boxing yourself in to a bad situation that cost you time, money, and reputation. The information is available from all companies that provide
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Affiliate since: 07/05/2024, Power Rank: 99999999 | Read Sunildatt's 150 other Ask SC answers

Hello Tricia,

There is always first time. So somewhere you have to start. I advise you to start shipping internationally. And what if you do not have sufficient members of Tripleclicks in your country?

You may have to find out about the shipping costs and other aspects associated with international shipping such as drop shipping, who is the reliable courier, which countries have highest shipping costs etc. You will learn new terms such as e packet .

If you are having your own products that you manufacture , international business is the best way to grow fast.

You may also have to find out if there are certain certifications required by other countries for the products to comply .If you do not have such certifications just exclude those countries from list of countries where you will ship.

Your decision also depends on what type of products you are going to sell. If you have products only your country specific like some magazine subscriptions in your local language , shipping internationally is no use.( this is just an example) .

International shipping will give you chance to study the international market and to look for product in demand and products that can contribute more profit.

If your country's currency is inexpensive than USD , shipping internationally is more worth . You will earn more $$$$$

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Hello Tricia,

There is always first time. So somewhere you have to start. I advise you to start shipping internationally. And what if you do not have sufficient members of Tripleclicks in your country?

You may have to find out about the shipping costs and other aspects associated with international shipping such as drop shipping, who is the reliable courier, which countries have highest shipping costs etc. You will learn new terms such as e packet .

If you are
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Affiliate since: 01/30/2014, Power Rank: 99999999 | Read Sheron's 117 other Ask SC answers

It is better for a fairly new ECA to eliminate shipping and do local pick up or delivery to their region while business grows reason being the fact they are new and might not be able to afford the shipping fees from one country to the next.So this will enable you to give better prices and become known in your region.Also you are new and might not be familiar about shipping items over seas or to other countries like what is requires pertaining VAT (Value Added TAX) + other duties. Also you will need to have an influx of stock to consider other regions for you do not want to create a reputation of not being able to cover orders or fulfill orders.

The more experience you get then you can venture out to online shopping in other areas across the globe!!So all the while you are making cash in your region you should be checking out global growth.

While an ECA who is already in business should go for shipping to other regions for exposure which bring more perspective buyers , more sales ending results ,more money from sales for you,due to the fact that you now have a larger market.
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It is better for a fairly new ECA to eliminate shipping and do local pick up or delivery to their region while business grows reason being the fact they are new and might not be able to afford the shipping fees from one country to the next.So this will enable you to give better prices and become known in your region.Also you are new and might not be familiar about shipping items over seas or to other countries like what is requires pertaining VAT (Value Added TAX) + other duties. Also you will need
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Affiliate since: 12/31/1969, Power Rank: 99999999

SFI business module as such remains a step by step growth for all of us - From Affiliate to Leaders of different levels - every month!!

Through LaunchPad Lessons 1 to 30 - a step by step process, we are being trained on all aspects and we are ready to take off by the time we finish them.

When the foundation remains strong the structure too remains strong!!

Same way, when one becomes an ECA of SFI, it's better to concentrate on local regions initially.

By doing this, not just the business grows but the confidence level too!!

Once a firm foot is established on domestic market it is then advisable to look for international market.

There are many aspects to be studied in depth, before embarking on international market. Shipping Cost, delivery time, Replacement offer, warranty and guarantee are all some of the major factors to be clearly defined and understood.

When everything is studied and understood, I think that is the time to go ahead with international orders!!

Please do remember, slow and steady win the race albeit business!!!


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SFI business module as such remains a step by step growth for all of us - From Affiliate to Leaders of different levels - every month!!

Through LaunchPad Lessons 1 to 30 - a step by step process, we are being trained on all aspects and we are ready to take off by the time we finish them.

When the foundation remains strong the structure too remains strong!!

Same way, when one becomes an ECA of SFI, it's better to concentrate on local regions initially.

By
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Affiliate since: 03/28/2011, Power Rank: 99999999 | Read Shamsina's 138 other Ask SC answers

It would depend on which customer you are targeting.

For example, say you are selling instant food like noodles or cooking paste and stuff like that. If you're selling locally, sure, you will get customers. But imagine if you could perhaps target your countrymen who are out there in other countries missing local food.

That's just one idea.

If you are selling small sized items, you could start selling internationally from the start. Because small packets are usually not expensive to ship overseas. You could perhaps announce that if anyone order more than 1 item from your store they would get the shipping fees returned (or maybe 50% returned - up to you)

My personal experience: I started with only local deliveries, but unfortunately business was slow, almost nonexistent. But when I started offering overseas delivery, I got 2 orders on the same day! Of course I had to figure out the shipping fees but I learned as I go.

I know that profit is our target, but perhaps we should concentrate on getting loyal customers who later would not mind paying the high shipping fees because of our excellent customer service.

The decision is yours.
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It would depend on which customer you are targeting.

For example, say you are selling instant food like noodles or cooking paste and stuff like that. If you're selling locally, sure, you will get customers. But imagine if you could perhaps target your countrymen who are out there in other countries missing local food.

That's just one idea.

If you are selling small sized items, you could start selling internationally from the start. Because small packets are usually
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