[Aletheides]

I'm a seller in the US planning to use a New Zealand auction site to sell my product on (higher demand outside of US so it commands a much higher price). What methods of payment can I use to break the currency barrier between NZD and USD? Thanks!

-Al

[mikewheaton]

For an auction, your best methods of payment are probably PayPal or BidPay - my personal choice being BidPay with PayPal as a second option for customers who prefer it.

Regardless of how you charge them, the simplest way may be to convert and then charge in US Dollars. Right now, $1US is worth about $1.55NZ - so if you sell something to $155NZ, just have them send $100US.

It may also be possible to have them pay (probably by credit card), in New Zealand dollars - and then the card company will convert over to US dollars.

It probably doesn't matter much either way, just go with what is the easiest to set up and is simplest for the buyer.

What type of product are you looking to sell to New Zealand? You've got me curious as to what sells so much better there than in the US.

Mike

[Aletheides]

Thanks Mike, I appreciate your feedback.

I'm in the game console business and have a lot of contacts in China who manufacture accessories. Hopefully I'll be doing a lot of business soon...

[mikewheaton]

Sounds interesting, Aletheides - what types of console accessories are you looking at selling? I've shopped for GameBoy Advance and X-Box extras before (controllers, screen covers, etc.) and there's a lot out there... a very exciting and competitive area.

Mike

[Aletheides]

I'll definately be starting small with controllers, stands, and some other things...just to see how the products sell. If things go well i'll stick by the idea and expand, if they don't i'm just going to move on to the next idea..

-Al

[mikewheaton]

If you can find a product that isn't widely available offline and fills a niche (ie: special vertical stand for X-box and clips to hold disks in) - I can see it doing very well not only on auction sites, but as its own eCommerce site.

Gamers, especially those looking for accessories, are much more likely to research new products online than your average consumer. For example, before GameBoy Advance SP came along with the backlit display, many Advance players had difficulty seeing the screen. A company called Triton Labs came along with the Afterburner: a backlit display that can be installed for better viewing in poor lighting conditions.

You most likely won't come across an innovation quite like this, but I'm sure you could find many products that fill a niche and aren't easily available offline. For example, specialize in specialty controllers, or rare stands, or even kits to change the look of an X-Box... anything that has demand, but no current supply offline.

Another example related to this: A few months ago my friend had a Dreamcast, but it wasn't working... we figured the controller was broken. With his birthday coming up I checked out some local shops, and could find any Dreamcast controllers because it's an older system. So I went online and bought one.

Find a niche, a specialty, an individual area you can dedicate yourself to and be the best in. An offline store serves only a small population, and won't carry a product if only 1 person in that area is buying. On the Internet, you've can appeal to those small groups of people from around the world... and make a success of the store's limitations.

Mike