Hi there,
I really want to start selling my handmade stuffs to some ecomerce websites like Etsy, … However, It seems that the shipping is very complicated part. Have anyone tried selling on Etsy from Taiwan before???
Love to hear from you!
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yes why use dhl or fedex
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Thank you. So for example when new order comes, we just need to print the shipping ticket and stick to the package then send via Fedex or dhl right?
Btw. Is it possible to ask if the shipping fee cost a lot, for example from Taiwan to US 
Pinkoi looks good!
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Thank you guys. Pinkoi is great. But I also wanna learn to sell internationally to earn more experience. 
I stopped etsy because they started “advertising” us without asking and sending a bill. Which seems sketchy as shit, so we stopped with that company.
Shipping unfortunately, on foreign platforms, is tricky. Seems none are good, because of so many variables. We “fixed” this by having websites where people can buy direct (check ecpay if paypal has fucked you here), otherwise they get charged extra and the difference is refunded. which goes against the flow of the modern culture of ultra entitled customer needs we exist in today.
They work, but there seems to be no seamless method outside your own website, which is more expensive than an etsy fee if scale isnt very big.
edit. Haven’t checked in a while. But pinkoi fees I remember being higher. But ok platform for local sales around east asia. Their layout is way better than most east asia styled platforms in my opinion. from a consumer perspective. less confusing than Taiwanese type online shopping sites.
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great sharing. After going around with e-commerce websites, I also think of building my own website rather than relying on e-commerce. Like Amazon, etsy or Ebay, feel like more more odd fees added in but totally it costs a lot.
To add onto that. there are 2 advantages to using 3rd party platforms. Etsy, Ebay, amazon, shoppee and so on have the advantage of traffic. They are essentially a digital shopping mall. So although I personally feel every single business should have their own website, this doesnt mean dont use those other platforms as well. Even if for no other reason than to advertise your brand. Even if you pay them more percent, it is still far less than paying a brick and mortar their cut. Often digital spaces take 3~25% off the retail price (payment processing is also often 3~10%). Retail stores (shopping malls, supermarkets, 711 etc) usually take 20~70% off retail plus may have additional shelving fees, marketing fees, promotions and so on. They really do drag the manufacturers to hell and back.
Depends on the product and everything, but in my opinion most products destined for retail market as is should have their own website. even if one cannot buy direct and it only serves as a marketing/product info hub. Many big companies that only wholesale through distributors still have a fully functional website that gives the end user the full run down on products without a price. that way any reseller, distributor etc can use it to market the products for you.
if you do sell direct, be very aware about the massive problems with digital currency and the liabilities with them. Hacking, fraud, theft etc. For these reasons, payment processors are the go to (eg. paypal). they get their percent because they hold all the risk. basically that simple. If the business is small it is cheaper to pay them rather than setup through the bank here as well as code a VERY secure payment system on your own website. The liability and website cost alone probably isnt worth it unless scale is large.
that said, paypal is notoriously shitty. And somehow became even shittier in Taiwan. It is just one notch above useless here. ECpay is a good one in Taiwan, but unfortunately I dont think there is english available on their server side. only if you do your own carts. I may be wrong. But they work well, no bullshit like with paypal. So far I am unaware of a good credit card processing platform that works globally. PayPal is the most user friendly on the customer side, but a fucking nightmare on the supplier side. Especially in Taiwan.
Some websites in Taiwan just simply have their “add to cart” go to a shopee or similar website they have setup. it all works, but looks incredibly unprofessional.
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I should go back and see their terms and such now. When they were starting in Taiwan and looking for companies we read their pitch but they were WAY more expensive than other platforms so we declined. I wonder if their pricing has normalized a bit now?
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