Home > Guides to grow your business > Guides for online sellers

How to sell internationally on eBay from Australia

Learn how to sell internationally on eBay to reach 132 million active buyers across 190+ regions worldwide.

Key takeaways

eBay connects sellers and buyers in 190+ regions worldwide
62% of eBay’s revenue comes from international sales
To sell globally, you need an eBay seller account, at least 10 feedback points, and one successful sale
Sellers must comply with the laws of their country and the country where they want to sell
A listing fee applies whether your item sells or not
WorldFirst allows businesses to accept payments from eBay customers in their local currencies

Introduction

eBay connects sellers and buyers in 190+ regions worldwide. It was the second most visited online marketplace in 2023, right after Amazon.

The marketplace has 18.3 million sellers and 132 million active buyers. About 62% of its revenue comes from international sales.

Whether targeting specific regions or customers worldwide, eBay can easily help you reach a broader customer base.

Even with your business based in Australia and product suppliers in China, you can sell to eBay customers in the US, UK, Europe, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

Let’s delve into the steps to sell internationally on eBay.

Step 1: Verify your eligibility to become a global seller

Before you can sell products globally on eBay, you will need the following:

An eBay seller account
At least 10 feedback points
At least one successful sale more than 90 days ago

Step 2: Verify product eligibility

You should verify that the products you plan to list can be legally sold in that country. As a global eBay seller, you must comply with the laws of your country and the country where you want to sell.

Ineligible categories: You can’t list some product categories internationally, including vehicles, auto parts, hunting knives, movies & TV, and video games.

eBay prohibited products: eBay has an extended list of prohibited items for each country. You should review the list before taking a product live. For instance, here’s the prohibited product list for eBay Australia and the UK. While eBay Australia bans autographed items, eBay UK allows them.

Internationally prohibited items: You should also look into the products that might be banned from entry in different countries.

Step 3: List your products

Go to Seller Hub listing and click the Create listing button to add new products.

Add title and product details

Title: You need a bold title that captures attention

Subtitle: The subtitle appears in the eBay search results when customers check products through a list view.

SKU: You can add your custom label to track information

Category: Select the category relevant to your store and the item you want to list

eBay recommends using digital identifiers like GTIN, EAN, and ISBN to easily find exact product matches in the eBay catalogue.

You can also use the bulk listing tool to add up to 2,000 active listings.

Note: A listing fee applies whether your item sells or not.

Add images and videos

Showcase your products and highlight their unique features by uploading high-quality photos and videos.

Here are the eBay guidelines for image uploads:

Only JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP, HEIC or TIFF formats
All images should be at least 500 px
Maximum of 24 images for each listing

Here are the eBay guidelines for videos

Only MP4 or MOV formats
Videos should be at most one minute long or 150MB in size

Add item condition

You can sell new, used, and refurbished products on eBay. But you do need to specify the product condition in the listing. If the product isn’t new, you can also give a more detailed description of the condition.

Add product variations

Mention details about product variations like type and colour.

Price the product

You can set a specific price or allow customers to send offers and bid for products. If you are taking bids, you must add a scheduled start time.

Step 4: Setup shipping and logistics

eBay recommends sellers offer free shipping as more than 80% of buyers look for products with this option. If there are shipping costs involved, you should at least offer one expedited shipping option at an extra cost.

You can ship products directly to customers, partner with a shipping company near your product supplier, or get a dropshipping agent on board.

You can also consider enrolling in the eBay International Shipping program, which is similar to Amazon’s FBA. The sellers are only responsible for shipping products to a domestic eBay International Shipping hub. From there, eBay manages the international shipping and customs p

To be eligible for this program, you need a US-based eBay account with products physically located in the US and listed on the ebay.com website.

→ Take a look at the complete guide to selling on Amazon

Step 5: Add payment methods

eBay directly converts the product pricing into the default currency of the customer’s region. For instance, a UK customer viewing an item originally listed on eBay Australia will see the cost in UK Pounds.

When the buyer pays in a different currency, the payment is converted into the seller’s base currency during payouts. The exchange rate during the time of sale is considered the final rate for the payouts. The same exchange rate applies to refunds.

You can link your eBay account to a traditional bank account or PayPal to collect payments, but you may not get a favourable exchange rate, affecting your business’s bottom line.

Instead, an alternative is WorldFirst, which allows online businesses to set up a multi-currency account and accept payments from eBay customers in their local currencies.

You can either hold the collected funds to make further payments or repatriate them to your bank account when the exchange rate is favourable.

→ Take a look at how to connect your eBay account to WorldFirst

With a World Account, you can

Open local currency accounts in 15+ currencies
Send and receive payments in 40+ currencies
Collect international payments from 100+ marketplaces and payment gateways including Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Stripe
Pay into China, USA, New Zealand, Europe, and 130+ countries and regions
Transfer instantly and for free to another World Account
Lock in the exchange rate for two years and protect your profit margins

What are the fees involved for selling internationally on eBay

Take a look at eBay store fees for Australia (As checked in May 2024):

Fee Type	Amount (incl. GST)
eBay Store Subscription Fees	Basic Store: $27.45 / month
	Featured Store: $82.45 / month
	Anchor Store: $604.95 / month
Insertion Fee	Varies by category (e.g., Services: $21.99, Real Estate: $54.99)
Optional Feature Fees	Subtitle: $2.20
	Scheduled listing: $0.44
	List in a second category: $0.06
	Buy It Now added to an auction: $0.55
Final Value Fee (Fixed Order)	$0.33 per order
Final Value Fee (Variable)	Varies by category and store package
Final Value Fee (NFTs)	5.5% of the total sale amount
Final Value Fee (Services)	$44.00
Dispute Fee	$24.20 per dispute
International Sales Fee	1.1% of total sale amount
Seller Currency Conversion Charge (applied and retained by eBay)	3% (excl. GST)

How WorldFirst can help take your eBay business global

WorldFirst allows businesses to send and receive payments in multiple currencies from the same account. You get local bank account details with sort codes to receive customer payments without international transfer fees.

Currency conversion is done at competitive exchange rates, and no hidden costs are involved.

WorldFirst constantly focuses on helping you save money by avoiding unnecessary costs so you can invest more in your growing international business.

Open a World Account for free

Open 10+ local currency accounts with local account details
Direct CNH payments to 1688.com
Pay suppliers, partners and staff in 40+ currencies and 130+ destinations
Collect secure payments from 100+ marketplaces and payment gateways, including Amazon, AliExpress, Paypal and Shopify
Lock in currency conversion rates for up to 24 months

Disclaimer: The information contained is general only and largely our views. Before acting on the information you should consider whether it is appropriate for you, in light of your objectives, financial situation or needs. Although information has been obtained from and is based upon multiple sources the author believes to be reliable, we do not guarantee its accuracy and it may be incomplete or condensed. All opinions, estimates, mentioned products/services and referenced material constitute the author’s own judgement as of the date of the briefing and are subject to change without notice. WorldFirst shall not be responsible for any losses or damages arising from your reliance of such information.

Written by Rick Hill, Head of Sales ANZ at WorldFirst

Rick Hill has worked in payments and financial services for the past nine years. He began his career at a large institutional bank and has since worked across startups and scaleups. Over the past four years, his experience with e-commerce retailers has led him to believe that WorldFirst will be crucial in helping brands expand globally by demystifying the complexities of entering new markets.