This week, eBay participated in an event announcing a partnership with federal leaders to empower US micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to grow their exports to overseas markets.  The public-private partnership, called the Getting to Global Initiative, will incorporate digital tools from eBay, Google, Facebook and Pitney Bowes along with data, services and expertise from the US Small Business Administration, Department of Commerce and the United States Postal Service.  eBay and the other partners will help MSMEs in the US by providing insights on consumer expectations, payments, currency exchange, compliance and regulatory issues and other key aspects of cross border commerce.  The eBay Government Relations team has been active in the development of this Initiative, as it will amplify the resources – from the private and public sectors – available to help MSME’s across the country to grow their exports and grow their businesses.

The launch event took place in Cincinnati, OH and featured Tomas Ponce De Leon, eBay’s head of US exports, and Travis Baird, owner of Speedoutfitters and a member of the eBay Small Business Ambassador Network.  Tomas appeared on an industry panel as part of the launch event and focused his remarks on the numerous tools that eBay provides sellers to help them export including:

• The Global Shipping Program, a fully managed eBay shipping solution to reduce the complexity out of international transaction.
• The eBay Labels Program, which offers savings of up to 32% on international shipping.  
• Automatic inventory upload across all the eBay sites worldwide, which reduces barriers by enabling a seller to list places like Europe, South America and Asia as a local business.   
• Optimization of the eBay search experience based on each region’s demand.
• Recommendations on pricing and shipping solutions for our sellers.
• In-country eBay teams focused on marketing the unique inventory that US sellers provide to the world.

Tomas also touched on the research conducted by the eBay Public Policy Lab demonstrating that 97% of eBay Commercial Sellers are exporters and reach an average of 17 markets with their goods.  Representatives from Google, Facebook, Pitney Bowes and the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America also appeared on the panel.

Travis Baird participated in a one-on-one interview during a workshop component of the launch event to highlight tips and best practices of enterprises that were successfully exporting to a number of overseas markets.  Travis discussed how he started his business and why eBay has been a great partner in helping him reach customers around the world.  He explained that selling internationally is absolutely vital to his business, with roughly 41% of his total sales traveling outside the US to an average of 131 different countries.