The Challenge of Selling Across Borders
Pakistani merchants have a unique advantage in global e-commerce: competitive production costs, especially in textiles, fashion, and handcrafted goods. But selling internationally comes with a critical challenge — pricing. A product priced perfectly for the Pakistani market at PKR 2,500 needs to be positioned differently for customers in the UAE, UK, or US. Simply converting currencies isn't enough; you need a strategy that accounts for purchasing power, competition, and perceived value in each market.
How Eekaam's 3-Tier Price Resolution Works
Eekaam uses an intelligent 3-tier pricing system to automatically determine the right price for each market. First, it checks for fixed price overrides — manually set prices for specific markets. If none exist, it falls back to exchange rate conversion using real-time rates. Finally, it applies percentage or fixed adjustments per market before rounding to clean price points. This means you can set a premium price of $45 for the US market, let the UK price auto-convert, and add a 10% adjustment for UAE customers — all from one dashboard.
Setting Up Your Markets
In your Eekaam dashboard, navigate to Settings > Markets to create new markets. Start with the regions where your products have the most demand. For most Pakistani merchants, this means the Middle East (UAE, Saudi Arabia), UK, US, and neighboring countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. For each market, define the currency, price adjustment rules, and whether you want prices to auto-update with exchange rates or remain fixed.
Pricing Strategies That Work
The best approach depends on your product category. For luxury or handcrafted items, use fixed price overrides to maintain premium positioning. A hand-embroidered kurta might sell for PKR 8,000 locally but can command $89 in the US market. For commodity products where you compete on price, automatic conversion with a small markup works better. Consider psychological pricing — prices ending in .99 perform well in Western markets while rounded numbers work better in South Asian markets.
Avoiding Common Mistakes
The biggest mistake merchants make is setting prices too low for international markets. Pakistani production costs are competitive, but international customers associate very low prices with low quality. Price your products based on the value they provide in the target market, not just your cost plus a margin. Also, remember to factor in international shipping costs and potential customs duties so customers aren't surprised at checkout.