Today's tip is courtesy of feedback from one of ECommerce Guide's readers. In response to the article about accepting foreign payments, International Flavor: Accepting Foreign Currency, John Geiger, of Geiger and Associates, brought up a good point about companies who neglect to realize that if it has a Web presence, it is now in a global marketplace. If an e-business decides to not offer its products and services abroad, then it should include a visible disclaimer such as "This offer is for U.S. (or Canadian, or German, etc.) residents only" on its Web site, or in any email marketing offers it sends out.

According to Geiger, "When engaging in e-commerce, a company is, by definition, open for business around the world. Email offers are routinely sent to international addresses. Yet many Web sites and email offers are targeted to U.S. clients, are only available to U.S. residents, accept only U.S. addresses, etc. More frustrating - the reader has often had to drill through multiple pages before the registration or enrollment form blocks the transaction. This is a waste of time and money, a loss of sales, a loss of a client and potentially the birth of a competitor."

At the very least, every company should make an explicit decision to offer, or not offer, products and services to foreign audiences and then build email lists and Web sites around that decision.

And, if you are truly open for international business then, by all means, be prepared to accept foreign currency and ship to foreign addresses.

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