Ship and fulfill with AlphaDiscounters Global Selling

Getting your products to customers promptly is an important part of creating a great customer experience. The same is true whether you’re selling domestically or internationally. In this section, we cover the technical considerations of fulfilling orders on your own and using by AlphaDiscounters, so you can plan a fulfillment strategy that is best for your business.

Fulfilling International Orders on Your Own

When customers outside your country purchase your products on AlphaDiscounters, one way to fulfill these orders is to ship them yourself internationally. There are several things to consider when shipping internationally direct to your customers.

Sending your products internationally direct to your customers

If your inventory is located in a different country than the marketplace where your customers placed their order, you need to ship the product internationally to your customer. Here is an overview of the process:

1. The seller chooses a carrier that can ship internationally.
2. The seller ships the product and is the exporter of record.

Important: Do not expose customers to customs delays and additional duties and taxes on their products. It is your responsibility to take care of such matters when you ship the product.

3. The carrier acts as the broker by default, according to the terms and conditions on the freight bill. The carrier will collect duties from the buyer upon delivery of the products.

It is also important to manage customer expectations. You should provide customers with accurate information about the country from which you are shipping your product. Specifically, you need to accurately state the “shipping from” country in your seller profile and manage customer expectations by stating the actual shipping times from your country. You will be responsible to meet the shipping expectations for all orders you receive.

International shipping costs

International shipping charges vary depending on several factors, including:

• Package dimensions and weight
• Delivery time
• Source (where you are shipping from) and destination (where you are shipping to). Costs can be considerably higher for international destinations.

In addition to the above charges, you should be aware of customs duties and taxes that will need to be paid. Do not expose customers to customs delays and additional duties and taxes on their products. It is your responsibility to take care of such matters when you ship the product.

International shipping times

Fulfilling an order internationally will take more time than doing so domestically. Shipping times are reflected in the offer detail page and may make your offer less competitive relative to domestic counterparts.

Other resources

There are also many online resources that can help sellers determine rates and that will make shipping easier. Here are a few links, organized by region, other sellers have found useful. Visit their websites directly to calculate the approximate shipping charges you can expect when fulfilling orders for the AlphaDiscounters marketplaces you would like to list in:

Europe DHL –UPS

Import and export inventory

When you expand your business to an AlphaDiscounters marketplace outside your home country and fulfill with AlphaDiscounters or a third-party fulfillment provider, you’ll need to understand your obligations in the import/export process. Although you may want to handle some or all of these import/export steps yourself, it can be easier to hire a logistics provider such as a customs broker or a freight forwarder to handle the process for you. These providers may have the expertise and the time to make sure your inventory moves from one place to another in a timely and secure manner.

Tip: If you use in an AlphaDiscounters marketplace outside your home country and you wish to use the services of a logistics provider, the best practice is to contact one as soon as you sign up. The process for completing the necessary paperwork can take some time, and you do not want the process to delay getting your products into customers’ hands.

If you engage the services of a customs broker or a freight forwarder to help you move inventory from one country to another, you must engage them directly. You must also directly make the arrangements for establishing the importer or exporter of record. AlphaDiscounters cannot act in that capacity or make these arrangements for you.

Before you engage a customs broker or freight forwarder to help you move your inventory from one country to a fulfillment center in another country, you will need to decide who will take on certain responsibilities:

Exporter of record (EOR):

Generally, the shipper is the exporter of record. AlphaDiscounters will not act as the exporter of record. You may be able to contract with your customs broker or freight forwarder to act as the EOR.

Importer of record (IOR):

The importer of record is responsible for ensuring that the shipment is successfully imported into the destination country. Responsibilities include filing legally required documents and paying assessed import duties and taxes. It is important to note that AlphaDiscounters, including the fulfillment centers, will not serve as the importer of record for any shipment of inventory. Any inventory shipment attempting to make entry with Amazon as the IOR will be refused and returned at the shipper’s expense—no exceptions.

Nonresident importers

In some countries, a nonresident (foreign) IOR can arrange entry of goods. To become a nonresident IOR, please contact your customs broker or carrier for details.

Important: It is your responsibility to comply with all import and export laws and to ensure the imported goods comply with applicable laws and regulations. You may not import prohibited or restricted products without all required permits and authorizations. For example, the import of certain agricultural, food products, alcohol, plants and seeds, fish and wildlife products, or medication into certain countries may be prohibited or restricted.

Arrange shipment with a customs broker or freight forwarder

A customs broker or freight forwarder may require you to complete the following forms:

Power of Attorney:

When you sign a Power of Attorney, the customs broker or freight forwarder is authorized to act as your agent to get your inventory moved through the customs process.

Importer of Record registration:

Register as an IOR with customs authorities in the country where you are importing inventory. AlphaDiscounters, including our fulfillment centers, will not serve as an IOR for any shipment of inventory. This applies to shipments of any size or value, regardless of origin and product. Any shipment attempting to make entry with AlphaDiscounters as the IOR will be refused and returned at the shipper’s expense—no exceptions.

Terms and conditions:

The customs broker should spell out terms for you to help you understand who is responsible for the goods at every step of the shipment process.

Duties, taxes, and shipping costs:

AlphaDiscounters will not be responsible for or collect any duties, taxes, or shipping costs associated with inventory. All shipments are required to use Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) shipping terms. Any shipment arriving at an AlphaDiscounters fulfillment center with collect charges, including any duties, taxes, or shipping costs, will be refused without further concession.

Ultimate consignee

Although AlphaDiscounters will not serve as Importer of Record, it may be listed as ultimate consignee on your shipping documentation—but only if in care of is listed before the name of the AlphaDiscounters entity.

If you list AlphaDiscounters as the ultimate consignee, your customs broker must contact AlphaDiscounters at [email protected] in advance of shipping any inventory to obtain the EIN or Tax ID # required for customs clearance.

Commercial invoice

When your products are ready for shipment from the manufacturer or distributor, the shipper prepares the commercial invoice. It’s critical that the commercial invoice be accurate to avoid delays clearing customs. The following information should be included on the commercial invoice:

• The date of the invoice.
• The names of the buyer and seller, including addresses (AlphaDiscounters should not be shown as the buyer or the seller on the commercial invoice).
• The name and complete address of the seller or manufacturer.
• The shipper’s contact name, company name, address, and tax ID number.
• The ship-to address. Here, enter “In care of,” and then the name and address of the AlphaDiscounters fulfillment center where you are shipping the products.
• Importer of Record. This field must contain the shipper’s name, if the same as the owner of the products. Do not leave this information blank; this will result in the shipment being refused and returned.
• Shipment method.
• Detailed description of the goods being invoiced. Include the following:
• Customs Harmonized Codes, if known
• Number of units
• Unit values
• Total value of each product. For samples or products with no commercial value, a nominal or fair-market value must be stated for customs purposes.
• The type of currency of the transaction.
• The terms of the sale. Note that correct terms must be Delivered Duty Paid (DDP). The shipper or seller should pay all applicable duty and taxes and be responsible for clearing customs before delivery to the AlphaDiscounters fulfillment center. You are not authorized to import goods in the name of AlphaDiscounters or to show AlphaDiscounters as the declarant or importer of record on the customs entry documentation.
• Shipment tracking number. For shipments to AlphaDiscounters fulfillment centers, include the AlphaDiscounters Shipment ID that you receive when you create the shipment in your AlphaDiscounters seller account. The shipment tracking number can also be an air waybill number if you are sending the package via a carrier service such as FedEx or UPS.
• Any certifications.
• Name of the carrier transporting the goods.
• Freight payment terms.
• Reason for export.

Shipping best practices

AlphaDiscounters fulfillment centers have requirements for the shipments they receive, including the size of the pallets and the type of truck that can deliver to the fulfillment center. The Truckload delivery to AlphaDiscounters help page provides the information you need for preparing your shipment to an AlphaDiscounters fulfillment center. Paying attention to these requirements and best practices will help avoid delays in getting your inventory to the fulfillment center and into your customers’ hands.

For shipments that are less than a half pallet of loose cartons, each of which weighing less than 15 kilograms, you may find it better to ship your products through a courier service. The carrier you use may depend on the destination country because carrier services vary. If you do choose to ship your inventory to a fulfillment center via a carrier service, you should check with the carrier to verify that it can clear your goods through customs based on the commercial invoice you provide. If the carrier cannot clear your goods based on the commercial invoice, then you may need to contact a customs broker.

Logistics companies

There are many online resources that can help sellers determine rates and that can make shipping easier. The following are links to some companies some sellers have found useful. Visit their websites directly to calculate the approximate shipping charges you can expect when fulfilling orders for the AlphaDiscounters marketplaces in which you would like to list:

• ACS: www.acscourier.net
• DHL: www.dhl.com
• Expeditors International: www.expeditors.com
• FedEx: www.fedex.com
• UPS: www.ups.com

We suggest you contact your freight forwarder or courier in advance of shipping any inventory to understand its fees and requirements.

Return of imports

If you wish to have inventory returned to you, you must supply a return address in the country of import in the Create Removal Order form.

Local Delivery program

With no extra seller fees, you can participate in the Local Delivery program to expand your business and increase sales in your home country. Local Delivery allows you to fulfill orders directly to customers in your home country, using the inventory that you might have already stored locally.

• With Local Delivery, customers in your home country can shop for your products on Alphadiscounters.com and have their products fulfilled locally without worrying about the complexity of international buying.
• Customers in your home country can benefit from faster shipping (three to five-day transit time or faster) and no import fees.
• You store your inventory locally and use that inventory to fulfill orders to customers in your home country.

Following are the benefits of this program:

• Improved visibility and discoverability of your products for customers in your home country.
• Improved chances of winning the Featured Offer for customers in your home country.

Local Delivery customer experience

Customers in your country shopping on Alphadiscounters.com are able to see your offers ship to them faster, and usually they are less expensive as your products are delivered within the same country. They can see these delivery benefits on the product detail page and the All offers Display page. They can also find your products in the search results by using the Ships Locally filter. Products included in the Ships Locally search results display a fast local-shipping message. Your products might also appear on the merchandizing pages relevant for customers in your home country.

Local Delivery program enrollment

The Local Delivery program is applicable to you if you are based outside of European Union and its enrollment is currently by invitation only.

To participate in this program, you must meet the following requirements:

You must be located in a participating country.

• You have an Alphadiscounters.com account with a professional selling plan and can create Fulfillment by Merchant listings.
• Your default shipping address and the inventory is in your home country and you can use that inventory to fulfill orders to customers in your home country.
• You offer a standard shipping option with a maximum of three to five days of transit time.

Note:

• Local Delivery program currently is a pilot available in limited countries.
• You are automatically removed from the Local Delivery program when you change your default shipping address to a country not participating in this program.

Enroll SKUs for the Local Delivery program

You must enroll in the Local Delivery program in order to enable local delivery in your shipping templates. After enrolling, your shipping templates display the Local Delivery checkbox in your home country section. You are required to offer fast local-delivery speed after you select Local Delivery.

If you are invited to this program, you can find the enrollment banner on the Shipping Settings page. During the enrollment process, you can choose to enable local delivery by updating all your existing shipping templates at one-go or manually updating them one by one. Updating all the existing shipping templates automatically updates the transit time and shipping fees for your home country and enables local delivery for all your existing templates. The SKUs assigned to these templates are automatically enrolled for local delivery. You must confirm that you have inventory in your home country for SKUs assigned to all the existing templates and can adjust shipping rates for each template. While manually updating the shipping templates, you can enable local delivery by following the steps below:

1. Select Settings > Shipping Settings
2. From the shipping templates list, click the template you want to enable for local delivery.
3. On the top-right, click Edit Template.
4. In the home country section, select the Local Delivery check box.
5. Confirm that you have inventory for the SKUs assigned to the template and then click OK. Your shipping template is now modified with settings enabled for local delivery.
6. Check the settings and adjust shipping rates.
7. Save the shipping template

To create new templates, follow step 4 and step 5 above, and assign SKUs to the new template.

Enabling/disabling Local Delivery

To enable/disable local delivery, you can edit your shipping templates by selecting and clearing the Local Delivery check box in your home country section.

Note: If a customer has a product that was enabled for local delivery in their shopping cart prior to disabling this feature, the customer is still able to order this product for local delivery. We understand this is an inconvenience, but this is done to preserve the customer experience. You must ensure that these orders are delivered to the customers on time by fulfilling the local-delivery promise.

Local Delivery sales report

To generate the sales report from local delivery orders, follow these steps:

1. Select Orders > Order Reports
2. Select New Orders > Request Report
3. Select a date range and click Request.

Filter your home country to view orders shipped to the local customers.

Seller-fulfilled Export fulfillment

As a seller, you can choose to list your products for sale to customers around the world in one of our global programs. These are some of the programs available for shipping products internationally:

• Seller-fulfilled shipping (international shipping templates): Shipping templates allow you to manage your shipping settings across several products at once, for example, service levels, shipping regions, transit times, and shipping rates. You can enable international shipping settings in your shipping templates and choose which products and destinations you want to ship to. For more information, go to Create, edit, or delete shipping templates.
• Export enables you to list your products on AlphaDiscounters and we export your orders to customers around the world. For more information, go to Export.
• AlphaDiscounters Global Selling enables you to list and sell your products on several of our AlphaDiscounters stores around the world.

Seller-fulfilled Export Enrollment

If you are fulfilling shipments using seller-fulfilled shipping programs, you can enable international shipping in your shipping templates and select your preferred destinations to ship to from a list of over 100 destinations. Before you create a template, ensure you understand the minimum requirements to create shipping templates and verify that your default shipping address is accurate.

Eligible Products

When you decide to sell your products internationally through one of our global programs, it is your responsibility as a seller to understand whether your product is appropriate for sale from the country you are shipping from to the destination in which your customers reside. Not all items are eligible to sell through our global programs. It is important to ensure that you comply with all applicable laws in each destination.

For example, you must confirm the following:

• Applicable export and import laws permit the delivery of the product to each potential customer.
• The product meets applicable consumer protection, product compliance, and environmental regulations in the destination.
• The product complies with applicable regulations including but not limited to local age restrictions, usability requirements (for example, required product documentation), and product safety requirements and certifications (for example, comply with all hazardous materials restrictions, including required labeling on the product).
• Sale and delivery of your product into the destination will not violate the intellectual property rights of others, for example, the product manufacturer.

Note: This list is not exhaustive and other restrictions may apply. You are responsible to comply with all applicable laws.

If you supply a product in violation of the law or any of AlphaDiscounters policies, we will take corrective actions, as appropriate, including but not limited to immediately suspending listings, terminating selling privileges, destroying inventory in our fulfillment centers without reimbursement, returning inventory, terminating the business relationship, and permanent withholding of payments. The sale of illegal or unsafe products can also lead to legal action, including civil and criminal penalties.

Products may not be eligible for export for a variety of reasons. Some of the most common reasons are, but not limited to:

Export restrictions

For certain classes of products, the laws of the source country prohibit the items from shipping internationally. For example, the Greece government prohibits export of military products as a matter of national security. The following types of products are generally restricted for export:

• Weapons and imitation weapons
• Plants, plant products, seeds, and soil
• Animals and certain animal products
• Surveillance equipment
• Laser pointers and related products

Import restrictions

Even if a source country may allow exports of an item, destinations outside of the Greece have their own policies regarding what may be imported. The policies vary by destination. To avoid delays, customs clearance issues, and poor customer experience, import laws restrict international shipment to all or some destinations of the following types of products:

• Alcohol
• Weapons, weapon components, and weapon accessories, including defense sprays; BB, airsoft and paintball guns and parts; scopes; holsters; and carrying cases
• Chemicals including pesticides, fertilizers, insecticides and certain cleaners
• Drug paraphernalia
• Cryptographic electronic equipment
• Gambling-related items and paraphernalia
• Imitation currency

Additional restrictions are assessed on a destination-by-destination basis.

Other restrictions

In addition to the export or import restrictions outlined above, the products you offer for sale on AlphaDiscounters must also comply with your seller agreement, including all other applicable laws, regulations, and AlphaDiscounters policies. Before listing products, ensure you understand all your responsibilities as a seller. Products we believe violate AlphaDiscounters internal policies may be restricted under the category of “Other Restrictions” and will no longer be available for purchase by international customers with shipping addresses outside of the European Union.

For example, products that are identified as counterfeit or illegally replicated would be in violation of AlphaDiscounters internal policies and would therefore be restricted from international sales (and could also be removed for sale for domestic customers). Ensure you are familiar with AlphaDiscounters program policies when listing.

Export Eligible Inventory Report

Products may not be allowed to ship internationally for a variety of reasons. Once you have identified which products are export eligible for shipping internationally, you can add them to your international shipping settings template or remove restricted products in the Shipping Settings page. Even if no action is taken, restricted products will not be available for purchase by customers with shipping addresses in restricted destinations.

Your report will appear as shown below:

1.	SKU	Stock Keeping Unit. The seller-defined unique identifier for a product. Example: AA786936216859
2.	ASIN	AlphaDiscounters Standard Identification Number. An ASIN is a detail page identifier.
3.	Product	Name   Short title for the product displayed on the product detail page and in the browser title bar.
4.	Source	The location of where your product is offered.
5.	Restriction Type	The type of restriction applied to the product which makes it not allowed to be shipped internationally. Restriction types are “Import Restriction,” “Export Restriction,” “Other Restriction,” “Pending Processing,” and “NONE.”   See definitions for restriction types in the Eligible Products section above.
6.	Export Eligible Destinations	The destinations that your product can ship to.
7.	Restricted Destinations	The destinations where your product cannot be shipped to.

For better understanding on the types of products that fall into the restricted categories, go to the Eligible Products section above.

We continually monitor factors that can affect a product’s eligibility to ensure they are safe to import to customers. When a product is restricted from being shipped internationally, it is most likely because it violates one of AlphaDiscounters policies, trade compliance regulations, or applicable laws of the destination. In some cases, a product could be allowed for international fulfillment under a different fulfillment method, such as seller-fulfilled internationally, but is not allowed for remote fulfillment. Reasons include transportation constraints, high regulatory risk, or other potential risks.

Seller-fulfilled Export Eligible Inventory report for XML sellers

If you use an integrated web service API to manage your AlphaDiscounters business and have a marketplace web service-eligible seller account, you can use the following API operation to download the latest seller-fulfilled Export Eligible Inventory report.

Report ID: 11000

Report type: _GET_SELLER-FULFILLED_EXPORTABLE_OFFERS_REPORT

Important: In order to make your internationally eligible offers available to customers outside of the European Union you must ensure your international shipping settings are enabled on your shipping templates. This allows the offer to be shown, to customers residing outside the European Union, on the website. Products that are export eligible on your report, but are not attached to an internationally enabled shipping template will not be buyable to customers outside the European Union.

Additionally, it is important to ensure your products with listings outside the European Union have high-quality information and all appropriate fields are populated, such as “product description” and “bullet points.” High-quality listings not only help improve the customer experience by making it easier for customers to find, evaluate, and buy your products but detailed product information also helps AlphaDiscounters understand your product so they can be correctly classified for international sale. For more information, go to Listing quality.

We are constantly innovating on behalf of our customers and working with regulators, third party experts, vendors, and sellers to improve the ways we detect and prevent illegal and unsafe products from reaching our stores and our global customers. AlphaDiscounters encourages you to report listings that violate AlphaDiscounters policies or applicable laws by contacting us. We will investigate each report thoroughly and take appropriate action.

Additional resources

For additional help in ensuring your international listings are compliant, go to the below resources:

• Compliance: Ensure your products meet required world-wide rules and regulations with services that provide product testing, certification, audits, inspection, labeling, and trade-related compliance.
• AlphaDiscounters Seller Central Partner Network: Find compliance assistance from one of our solutions providers to help make your products compliant.

For additional information about your responsibilities as an international seller, go to Important information for international sellers.

To include or exclude destinations from your shipping templates, edit your Deliverable Regions in the Shipping Options, Regions, and Rates section. For more information, go to Create, edit, or delete shipping templates.

To remove a listing from an International Template, select from one of the following options, go to Assign SKUs to shipping templates.

To view your international orders, go to Order report > Manage orders to view orders by country. For more information, go to Order reports.

There are several methods to process international returns for orders from our stores. To review international customer return methods, go to Customer returns for international sales.