Hello Tricia.
As fairly new ECA, I think you mean someone that has no prior experience with an own shop?
It is quite hard and a lot to learn for a newcomer with a new shop.
He needs to learn the basic laws and regulations to owning a shop in his country (regulations, accounting, taxes, ...) as well as those for his products like detailed declarations. He also needs to present himself from day zero in the public and enter business / sales exhibitions and much more to do and learn.
Requiring about the Shipping fees is not only about the costs itself, it also includes inquiring about which of your products can even be shipped to which countries (ex: not all countries allow specific beverages) and to update the information at least each half a year. So it might take a burden off ones shoulders to wait two months with going internationally, if that is your main concern (I'd rather call it the least).
Officially stating that you are shipping internationally (i.e have a public list with international shipping fees listed) is more a question of budget:
<- For best results you'd need to enter international exhibits (not just those small local ones) and also advertise internationally. Even if affiliates advertise your business, it is always better when your shop is already existent in the world of public business. But even the smallest stall can already cost a fortune...
<- The license for international business costs more, as well as other requirements
<- You need more storage place and products to invest into (with a dropshipping company this gets even more expensive)
CONCLUSION
These additional costs and efforts are the biggest concern I'd have in opening up an international store. So, I'd rather advice you to open up a regional one first.
Don't worry, you don't need to forfeit international clients completely as long as offer your clients to ship to other countries on application/request. It still needs the research but limits the countries to the few interested clients that order from you (instead of your mainly international clientele.
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Hello Tricia.
As fairly new ECA, I think you mean someone that has no prior experience with an own shop?
It is quite hard and a lot to learn for a newcomer with a new shop.
He needs to learn the basic laws and regulations to owning a shop in his country (regulations, accounting, taxes, ...) as well as those for his products like detailed declarations. He also needs to present himself from day zero in the public and enter business / sales exhibitions and much more to do
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