In our previous post, WooCommerce NZ Setup Steps, we showed the steps to setup a WooCommerce installation to take orders from NZ based customers only.
Most of our start up Ecommerce clients are looking for this option.
We do have a large number of clients that sell internationally and these are some of the tips they have shared with us.
If you want to sell to other countries, or worldwide, here are some additional points to consider.
Note: During setup, you can set “Allowed Countries” to allow users from any country to order if you like – this is used more often for online stores selling digital products or specialty NZ made items.
Selling online globally from NZ
Digital vs physical products
For digital products, there is no shipping cost applied, so global customers will pay the same price as a local customer. Global customers may not pay higher shipping costs to buy from NZ, unless the item is something unique in a niche area, or a NZ made specialty product.
Risks of fraudulent purchases
A downside to selling globally is that you are far more likely to encounter fraudulent transactions made from outside of New Zealand. Clients have reported large orders from customers based overseas that turned out to be fraudulent, only after the goods were shipped – it is almost impossible to track down or recover the goods once they are sent overseas. Also, credit card companies will require that you repay the purchase costs so they can be returned to the purchaser’s account if the transaction is recorded as fraudulent.
This means that you as the business owner can lose out doubly – you have to repay the customer AND you’ve already sent the goods.
Please take care with international orders – particularly with large ones or with names/addresses/emails that don’t seem to add up. We are yet to hear about similarly fraudulent orders originating in NZ, but I am sure they do happen.