In international trade, one of the biggest challenges facing companies is that of shipping products. French e-commerce companies are not exempt from this problem. The main issues lie in how difficult it is for sellers to account for the differences in customs regulations between France and foreign countries. Another issue is how difficult it is to deliver the products in increasingly shorter times, to consumers increasingly more demanding.
When the shipment concerns products that are made in France and intended to be sold internationally, there are duties and taxes to be taken into account. However, in some countries, these customs duties are vague and sometimes difficult to anticipate. The induced price variation cannot, in any case, be imposed on the buyer. Some sellers solve this by estimating the possible cost of duties and taxes on the items shipped and including this cost in the final sale price. Thus, the seller protects himself against any risk of freezing goods because of unpaid taxes. This practice has the disadvantage of increasing the cost of items sold abroad, sometimes to the detriment of the customer who finds himself paying more than he owes.
Another very common problem is that consumers have become more and more demanding regarding delivery times. With Amazon's Amazon Prime service, for example, consumers have become accustomed to being delivered in less than 48 hours. But delivering small quantities, within very short deadlines and to customers located several kilometers away, is a big challenge for SMEs and E-Commerce startups. To solve this problem, companies have found an ingenious way, the cost-sharing. It consists of inciting the customer to order several articles at the same time, by promising him the exemption of the delivery costs from a certain minimum amount. In reality, the delivery costs are already included in the sale price displayed on the website. When the customer buys several items, he also pays for the delivery without knowing it. Then, thanks to independent delivery services and postal services, companies can subscribe to premium offers by paying the difference between the delivery price and the amount already paid by the customer when purchasing the product.
Keep in mind these problems while you are selling internationally in France, and you should have smooth sailing.
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