Japan Post has signed a cooperation agreement with eBay aimed at boosting sales for the C2C auctionwebsite and allowing the Japanese mail operator to take advantage of the rapid growth in
international e-commerce and the resulting parcel volumes.Sales through eBay in Japan are said to have reached a plateau, in part because much of thenecessary paperwork for international shipments must be filled out in English, and so thepartnership will include a support service from next spring for Japanese merchants wishing to sellto overseas markets.
The system will automatically prepare English-language documents needed to display goods onthe website when Japanese consumers fill in their names and addresses in Roman letters. It willalso prepare customs documents in English for goods that Japanese sellers wish to send to overseasbuyers, according to Japanese news service Mainichi.
Other elements under consideration are set to include a discount, reported to be as much as20-30 per cent, on Japan Post’s normal parcel rates for eBay customers. Customers will also be ableto consolidate orders for overseas shipping, view the status of deliveries, as well as view pastdelivery history.
Japan Post said it decided to join up with eBay in a bid to increase its handling ofinternational mail and parcel volumes, by making the international shipping services available moreconvenient and straightforward, and said it expected the number of items shipped via the newpartnership to reach several million per year in a few years’ time.
The two companies said they would also hold seminars for those wishing to learn more abouthow to enter the market for international e-commerce, and said they would “further develop thecooperation” in the future.
