Cross Border Trade: your international online business ideas
29% of the top 1,000 eBay sellers from around the world are located in the UK. A large number of these merchants are increasingly trading internationally, finding new ways to earn money online. Interestingly, the days in which the eCommerce world was dominated by the US and UK markets are long gone. For instance, 149 million active eBay sellers come from 208 countries and Amazon retailers are now selling in over 100 countries.
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Today the global digital landscape is changing fast. In fact, more and more users from a continuously increasing number of countries are entering the global marketplace. Cross Border Trade seems to be in full swing.
What is Cross-Border Trade?
In general terms, Cross Border Trade (CBT) is buying and selling across international borders. In other words, any item sold in one country and bought in another is an example of CBT.
Big marketplaces such as eBay or Amazon facilitate the flow of goods and services across international borders.
The potential of cross border eCommerce is enormous. The widespread use of the Internet has created borderless opportunities for international online transactions.
In the US and China alone, half a billion online buyers browse the web every day for the best deals.
According to research carried out by Oban Digital, 67% of CEOs claim that internationalisation is a key part of their business growth strategy.
Why would you buy & sell your items internationally?
The increasing use of mobile devices and social media enables consumers to browse online shops and compare prices at any time of the day and from anywhere in the world. This accessibility may help the buyer to discover more cost-effective options located abroad. This creates opportunities for online sellers who want their products to be spotted by buyers from around the world.
There are various items you can sell on foreign markets and as a starting point you should do some research.
According to ecommerce.bytes, cameras are one type of merchandise that is popular with foreign buyers.
An example may be a vintage Kodak model that proved quite popular for one of eBay’s sellers. Another American online trader was successful in selling vintage clothes and jewellery to overseas buyers.
There are various reasons why Cross Border Trade is thriving:
- two countries may share a common language or a border, which facilitates and motivates international transactions
- special offers available abroad
- products not easily available on the buyer’s domestic market: this is the gap that creates the biggest opportunities for sellers who can profit from offering their items on the markets with this gap.
You may have goods which are not easily available yet in high demand on other markets and you might not be aware of the sales potential this creates for you. So do some research now!
In a nutshell…
There are many gaps that can be exploited and Cross Border Trade encourages sellers to find and profit from them. Thus, large numbers of online sellers are going for global expansion of their businesses. Market research, planning and testing your international sales potential are a good starting point to check whether Cross Border Trading will also work for your business and the product you offer.
Want to read more about Cross Border Trade? Check 7 factors that can make or break your international sales deal.
Other sources
Selling Internationally on eBay: Features and Benefits for Retailers
http://ebay.about.com/od/glossaryofebayterms/g/gl_cbt.htm
http://www.ecommercebytes.com/cab/abu/y212/m04/abu0308/s03
http://www.cmo.com/articles/2015/5/27/opening-the-digital-world-global-ecommerce-opportunities.html
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