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jasontayonline Blog

Chapter 10: Tips For Online Sellers

5/6/2015

13 Comments

 
Here are some tips based on the questions people often ask.

1. Non-US Credit Card Payment Problem & Solutions

A common problem often faced by non-US based sellers sourcing in the US is that payments by non-US credit cards and Paypal accounts are not accepted. I get asked for help about this so often that I think it warrants an answer here.

The problem can stem from 3 main issues. One is that the billing address only has options for US states and zipcodes. The second is that it actually verifies the address. The third is less common but happens if the merchant site actually looks up your IP address as outside the US and blocks you as ineligible to purchase. These are some possible workarounds I have used or have worked for others.

1. Use a Payoneer card but key in a US address as your billing address even though that is not what's registered with Payoneer. I have found that to work in many instances even though my Payoneer billing address is in Singapore. You can get a free US address from numerous consumer shipment consolidation and forwarding services such as Viabox.com, Borderlinx, Comgateway, etc.

2. Try Paypal. I use Paypal for purchases from Walmart.

3. Contact your credit card issuing bank to ask for a secondary billing address or change of address to one in the US. I got Standard Chartered Bank to change my billing address to my Comgateway address in Oregon by speaking to the staff at a branch and telling her I want to change my address as I will be doing business in America. She said that's so cool! Shopping is great there!

4. www.usunlocked.com has a US card service. I've not had a need to use this, but have heard others use it, especially those from countries that are not on the list approved to sell on Amazon.com.

5. For problem 3, you can use a VPN service. See point 2 below.

One of those should work!

2. Accessing online Resources that Are Restricted to Users in the USA

Can't find or install the Amazon Seller App? There are many free and paid VPN services available. Here's a brief explanation If you don't know what a VPN is or does. Each time you connect to the internet, you are assigned an Internet Protocol (IP) address. Some sites use this to find out your location. This is how the iTunes or Google Play app stores restrict some downloads to certain regions. A simple workaround is to use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to assign yourself an IP address in the country that has access to the resource you want to connect to. One of the simplest to use is TunnelBear. I use the free version  to install the Amazon Seller App (and other US only apps) and buy/download Kindle books.

3. Category Approvals

You can go to sellercentral.amazon.com/hz/myqdashboard to view the list of restricted categories that you have been approved for. Pretty cool! You might want to bookmark this link cos there is nowhere on seller central to find it that I know of. There's also a button on the page to submit a new application. You can apply for category approvals yourself or hire a category approval specialist to do it. 

I apply for for easily approved categories on my own, but if it requires more than 15 minutes of work engage Karen Locker who has gotten me approved in all the more complex categories. You'll know what's easy and what requires a lot of work once you click on the submit application link as Amazon will show you the different approval requirements for each category. You can find out more about Karen's many useful tools and services at www.solutions4ecommerce.com.

Note: You must have a professional seller account to apply for restricted category approvals.

4. Image Background Removal

Amazon has several requirements for images. The main product image must be a minimum of 500 x 500 pixels (recommended 1000 x 1000 to be zoomable) and must have a pure white background. I personally use a lightbox and then Fotofuze to get a pure white background. I have tried many other free tools such as Remove the Background but find Fotofuze the easiest, fastest and most effective.

I started off without a lightbox but have found it to be really helpful after using it for the last 3 months. Mine is 16 x 16 x 16 inches, but I often wish I had bought a larger one. I don't use a lighting kit as we have year long sunshine here in the tropics. However if you work at night or have low-light seasons, a photo tent with lighting kit is a better option.

5. Logo Creation

Need a logo? Shopfy has put together a list of useful online tools for logo creation. Some are free. http://www.shopify.com/blog/17016964-5-easy-to-use-online-logo-makers-to-design-your-brand

13 Comments
Steve
30/6/2015 05:11:07 pm

Hi Jason,
Thank you for your valuable information. I have 1 question to ask regarding to paypal. I'm a non US resident. My question is Do I need to change my paypal's address to US address?
Steve

Reply
chris link
4/9/2015 06:33:16 am

Hi Jason,
I heard that Amazom now accepts Singapore bank act,so is it still better to get a worldbank acct ? This is because i heard amazon exchange rate is not that great

Thanks alot
Chris

Reply
Jason Tay link
19/2/2016 04:31:25 pm

I continue to use WorldFirst and Payoneer. I explain why here: http://www.jasontayonline.com/getting-paid-payoneer-vs-worldfirst.html

Reply
RJ
19/9/2015 10:57:32 am

Hi Jason,

I tried to pay online using paypal but for some reason, the charges are getting declined (decline reason is that my local paypal account can't process charges for US transactions) and the US unlocked card still isnt' available. Any other suggestions?


Thanks.

Reply
Clar
11/12/2015 10:07:55 pm

Hi, I noticed from randomly looking thru Amazon's best sellers, and realised to my horror, that the cheapest listing for the products usually belongs to Amazon.

Amazon appears to be undercutting their sellers, by alot.

How are you still making this work?

Reply
Jason Tay
12/12/2015 01:26:06 pm

There are millions of things you can sell. I typically stay away from the top 100 bestsellers. In fact I don't even bother with those. Most of my products have a bestseller rank ranging from the low thousands up to slightly above 100,000 in some categories. This still places them in the top 1% of of their category.

Courses that teach people to look at the top 100 bestsellers are probably selling trashy snake oil.

Reply
SK
17/12/2015 09:18:12 pm



Appreciate very much your webpage and all the info provided. Im trying to get started with Online Arbitrage but being a non-US citizen it becomes difficult. Ive read about the Payoneer vs Worldfirst cards but they seem to only assist in receiving payments initially before being able to use particularly Payoneer for purchasing inventory online. From what I understand, you cannot load funds from your bank account in your country of origin(non-US) to Payoneer in order to make funds available to purchase inventory. My question is then how do I begin online sourcing if my credit card from my country is not accepted and nor can I use Payoneer due to no funds on card...im stuck....please can you or anyone advise...Much appreciated.

Reply
Jason Tay link
19/2/2016 04:29:29 pm

I would try options 2, 3 and 4 as explained in tip 1 in this blog post. Sometimes nothing will work. In that case move on to other stores, there are thousands of others...

Reply
Rob link
24/2/2016 07:55:21 am

Whenever we have set up US Amazon accounts we use Payoneer to receive payment and it works perfectly. It also means that we can pay US based suppliers directly too.

Reply
millers
23/6/2016 07:09:22 am

Any idea is the US Unlocked card still works for seller central registration after the recent crackdown on prepaid credit cards?

Reply
Jason Tay link
29/6/2016 12:37:19 pm

Hi Millers,

I'm not sure, but probably doesn't work anymore. My Payoneer Card is not accepted anymore either. Anyway I just use my Singapore issued credit card.

Reply
Global Shopaholics link
27/7/2020 05:44:24 pm

Global Shopaholics is an international package forwarding company. We make your experience of package forwarding smooth by assigning you a free US mail address that you can use for global shipping from USA. Shop and ship from your favorite US online stores with Global Shopaholics, a company you can rely on. Global shipping from USA was never this easy. Online shop and ship from US on reasonable shipping charges with GS.
https://globalshopaholics.com/

Reply
Roy Goldstein link
2/10/2021 08:30:23 pm

Great Tips. I have also read other articles on your site and all of them are very help. thanks a lot for sharing!

Reply



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  • About
  • Amazon FBA Guide
    • How to Register an Amazon Seller Account
    • Amazon FBA 101
    • Amazon Professional vs Individual Selling Plans
    • How to Sell On Amazon From Outside the US
    • Amazon FBA Prep Companies
    • Best Tools for Amazon Sellers
    • Code Confusion - Understanding GTIN, UPC and Amazon Barcodes
    • Amazon FBA Fees Explained
    • Amazon Coupons vs Prime Exclusive Discounts
    • How to Create Amazon Coupons
    • How to Increase Amazon Sales - Traffic, Click-throughs and Conversions
    • Optimizing FBA Inbound Shipping
    • Product Images and Photography
    • Amazon and Taxes - Income Tax, Sales Tax, and VAT
    • Amazon PPC Advertising
    • Insurance for Amazon Sellers
    • Amazon Seller FAQ
  • Reviews
    • Payoneer vs WorldFirst vs TransferWise vs OFX vs Airwallex
    • Helium 10 Review and Discount Codes
    • Proven Amazon Course Review
    • Amazing Selling Machine Review
    • Amazon Advantage Review - How to Optimize Copywriting for Amazon Listings
    • Amazon FBA Reimbursement Guide Review
    • Rebate Programs
  • Training
    • Amazon Seller Live Training
  • Blog
  • Newsletters
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