Selling Internationally

Ask Me Anything Q&A Sell Internationally
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  1. Why is the Shopify ↔ Google Merchant Center API not properly pulling our international shipping rates and configurations? What’s the root cause, and what’s the fix?
  2. Are there known limitations with how Shopify syncs international shipping zones to Google Merchant Center, specifically for paid duties and taxes at checkout?
  3. What’s the recommended workflow to ensure Google Shopping ads display accurate international shipping costs to customers?
  4. Why are our products being repeatedly flagged in Google Merchant Center as “alcohol” or “clothing” when they fall into neither category? What triggers these incorrect classifications?
  5. Currently, the only carrier supporting prepaid duties to Canada via Shopify is DHL. Are there plans to expand DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) functionality to other carriers like UPS, FedEx, or Canada Post?
  6. Are international tax/duty calculations at checkout pulling accurate real-time data, or are they estimates that may cause customer disputes at delivery?
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  1. Make sure you have chosen Automatically import shipping information as your configuration for Shipping information in the Google & YouTube app, and also make sure you’ve enabled automatic sync of countries & languages.

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    Note that only shipping rates in your General profile will be imported, and carrier-calculated rates can only be imported if Google supports the carrier you’ve chosen. Also, only some countries are supported for shipping rate synchronization.

    If you’re still seeing problems then I must advise you to contact Google, since they provide support for the Google & YouTube app.

  2. I don’t think Google knows how to detect and display that your store will be shipping duty prepaid (DDP).

  3. Sync automatically if it’s supported by Google. Otherwise, but also in general, I recommend flat rates that are easy to copy into Google and advertise elsewhere. Think about shipping prices as a part of your overall pricing strategy. Rather than trying to accurately pass the whole cost of international shipping on to customers as a shipping line in their checkout, price it into your products a little and pick a compelling flat rate to show in checkout. £5 to £10 for standard delivery is a price you can advertise and it will drive sales.

    But you can still recover that cost by altering your product prices internationally. Go to Markets and create a catalog for your important international markets, and you can increase product prices by a percentage in order to cover the increased cost of shipping. Work this adjustment value out based on your average order value, and the difference between your flat rate and your true cost of shipping labels: check out the Average Profit Margin by Market report in your Shopify admin.

    Customers are more likely to buy a £100 product with £6 shipping than they are a £80 product with £26 shipping costs.

  4. Make sure the product category (under description) on the product page in your Shopify admin is set correctly. Shopify’s taxonomy maps clearly to the Google taxonomy, so that should be the input used to classify products in Google Merchant Center. If you’re having problems despite correctly selecting your product category, contact Google.

  5. I can’t speak in detail to our future plans on that front, but we are always trying to improve. I will note that if you choose to use Managed Markets, then DDP shipping is supported via DHL, FedEx, and UPS from the US to Canada and globally.

  6. Whether or not you’re using Managed Markets, duty calculations displayed at checkout are based on accurate real-time data and are automatically updated as laws change around the world. However the calculations do depend on you accurately describing your products so that they can be correctly classified. If you are not using Managed Markets, and customs officials judge your shipment to owe more or less duties than were collected, then you will be charged (or credited) an adjustment to cover the difference. This will not cause problems for your customers, however: DDP shipment means you as the shipper remain liable for these adjustments, and your customer will receive the shipment free and clear. Managed Markets guarantees the calculated duty amounts, no matter what customs officials determine is owed.