eBay

kerstingunnel · ‎06-22-2013

Since 2009 I have been and am a VERY happy eBay buyer. The recent surge of US based eBay sellers partnering with GSP, however, has me scratch my head. From what I can tell, it postures to solve a completely non-existing problem while creating a very tangible and substantial one.

In the years I have been buying on eBay, a shipment to me from the US has NEVER ONCE been halted at the Canadian Border Agency to accrue charges of broker's fees, sales taxes and import charges. I have NOT PAID A CENT EVER in such charges for shipments originating from US based eBay sellers. Shipments can be halted, but in my own experience, they rarely, if ever, are.

For each and every purchase from a seller who is partnering with GSP, however, such charges are paid (probably in addition to monies paid to eBay and GSP for their hand in the arrangement) and paid substantially. In a typical eBay transaction an item won at $26 cost $11.50 to ship and $9.51 (!!!) in GSP import charges.

Postal rates have gone up steeply for international shipping recently, adding to the sudden increase in the cost of shipping to Canada..

EBay may not be able to influence US postal costs, but the GSP partnership with eBay vendors is definitely an area of eBay's direct control and prerogative.

I will not buy from an eBay business who partners with GSP.

This year we Canadians number 35 million people and I'm sure that there are many of them who LOVE eBay as much as I do. Since this is a substantial market, I think it would be exceedingly foolish and myopic of eBay to jeopardize it altogether by taking GSP on board. Several eBay sellers I have contacted say that if the partnership becomes mandatory, they will cease to offer their listings to Canadians. Some have tried to work with GSP and find immediately that it doesn't serve them or their Canadian customers well - they have subsequently backed out of the partnership. Many have figured out beforehand and on their own that it wouldn't be in their interest or that of their Canadian customers and they have not opted for bringing GSP on board. All sellers say that they are encouraged by eBay to partner with GSP.

Every seller I have discussed this issue with was under the impression that this a valuable service devised to streamline the buying process and solve existing problems for their Canadian customers. This is, then, patently untrue. If this is how eBay, against their better knowing, "sells" the GSP program to their vendors, eBay actively misleads them. If eBay is unaware of the real state of affairs in regards to import charges, it ought to look into the factual situation more diligently before making such a serious move. It appears to be a predatory and parasitic practise.

It seems, thus, that the arrangement benefits GSP, eBay and the coffers of Canada. It doesn't benefit eBay vendors or their Canadian customers. In the end, since we all coexist and are interdependent, if it chokes or severely affects the Canadian market, only GSP and the government of Canada come out the winners, not eBay, not eBay sellers, not Canadian eBay buyers.

Other US based on-line businesses are partnered with similar programs for shipping to Canadian customers, which is one of the reasons I always prefer to buy on eBay.

Why fix what works perfectly well without fixing?

pjcdn2005 · ‎08-20-2013

marnotom,

My reference to bulk shipping: If I were a us seller selling pocket watches and sold 10 in a week I could ship all 10 at once in a box to Kentucky at a cheaper postal rate than I charged for the 10 individual sales.

AS AN ILLUSTRATION: 10 watches X $10 each for shipping = $100 Shipped all at once to KY for $40 t0 $70. And regardless of whether my figures are correct it would still be cheaper and ill gotten gains at the expense of Canadian buyers.

I'm not marnotom but I would like to comment on your post. If 1 buyer purchased 10 watches and they were sent to Kentucky in one package, I am sure that they would receive a combined shipping price from the seller. If 10 different buyers each bought a watch, the seller would have to send each watch in a separate package and therefore pay separate postage for each package.. PB does not open up packages so that they can be repackaged and/or shipped separately.

Actually, even if it was a single buyer...unless they purchased those watches all in one transaction, they can't be sent separately through the GSP. That is defintely a problem for some Canadians.

The GSP does not benefit American sellers by providing them more money from Canadian sellers. It does provide them with what they feel is a "safer" way to sell internationally. Whether it really is more safe has yet to be proven.

i*m-still-here · ‎08-20-2013

Ok........ so it's giving me a headache now. BB is right. I've stated my opinion over and over and there is nothing more to add.

All the details and analyzing etc. You don't have to agree.

I am not debating the GSP. There is nothing to debate. The GSP does not work for Canadians.

exoteeth · ‎08-20-2013

It's hit and miss, but for me the percentage over the years has been so low that I can count the times I've had to pay taxes on my fingers and I get items over $20 every day (valued well over $1,000) ....................... have been for many many years.

I guess it's different from province to province. I've been dinged on just about everything over $200. Customs sliding on $1000? That's extremely unusual.

i*m-still-here · ‎08-20-2013

Very curious to know what kinds of items you're buying.

Are you buying new items or used items.....................?

Electronics?

pjcdn2005 · ‎08-21-2013

Ok........ so it's giving me a headache now. BB is right. I've stated my opinion over and over and there is nothing more to add.

All the details and analyzing etc. You don't have to agree.

Very convenient 🙂 .

I was not analyzing the GSP at all. I was commenting on your claim that most think as you do. You have no evidence to support that.

I am not debating the GSP. There is nothing to debate.

To suggest that there is nothing to debate sounds very close minded.

You don't seem to realize that noone here is saying that GSP is all good. But you do insist that it is all bad. There has to be some middle ground in there.

The GSP does not work for Canadians.

It doesn't work for you.

However, It does work for some Canadians in some situations.

You won't agree to that. No problem.

I've said what I wanted to say.

marnotom! · ‎08-21-2013

@i*m-still-here wrote:

I am not debating the GSP. There is nothing to debate. The GSP does not work for ~~Canadians~~ me.

i*m-still-here · ‎08-21-2013

PJ......... just tired of it. That's all.
I'm still curious about the way taxes are charged for new items,.................. but.................

Anyone who is shopping and comparing items searching for a purchase among a myriad of contenders, will understand why the GSP is a bad idea.

it complicates an already difficult terrain without adding to it.

That is a fact.

There is nothing to debate.

pierrelebel · ‎08-21-2013

"I'm still curious about the way taxes are charged for new items,..."

This has been explained many times: GST/HST apply regardless whether a taxable item is new or used. For example, a car attracts the same rate of GST/HST if new or used. The same principle applies to imports.

pierrelebel · ‎08-21-2013

It should be noted that some items otherwise taxable are not taxable because of the location where they are sold - it has nothing to do with new or used.

For example, items - new or used - purchased on a reserve are generally sold on a tax exempt basis.

Items - new or used - purchased from a thrift store managed by the Salvation Army are generally sold on a tax exempt basis (considered a donation to a charitable or religious organization). The fact most items sold in the thrift store are used has nothing to do with taxes.

On the other hand, new or used items purchased from Value Village (for example) will not be exempted.

However, these exceptions have little to do with imports where, once again, new or used makes no difference of the taxable status of an item.

marnotom! · ‎08-21-2013

@i*m-still-here wrote:

Anyone who is shopping and comparing items searching for a purchase among a myriad of contenders, will understand why the GSP is a bad idea.

it complicates an already difficult terrain without adding to it.

That is a fact.
There is nothing to debate.

I don't agree with that statement but I don't disagree with it either, You've made your contention so vague that it's meaningless. I still have no idea what you mean by "difficult" or "adding to it" in the context of eBay or the GSP.

pocomocomputing · ‎08-21-2013

Off topic: I wish I could ignore members in these Lithium forums like in the old forums.

i*m-still-here · ‎08-21-2013

@pocomocomputing wrote:
Off topic: I wish I could ignore members in these Lithium forums like in the old forums.

Poco, yes, that is off topic ............. but I can help you with that.

There's a handful of posters who I simply ignore because they have nothing to say and they spend a lot of time saying it.

When I see those particular ids I just move on.

Unless those posters address me directly and I just happen to catch it, I find that it's the easiest thing in the world to ignore them.

I recommend it.

chimera148 · ‎08-21-2013

Sellers and buyers have reported GSP repackaging and damage problems.

feedbaxlows and twintechmoms posts in this recent thread are interesting, stuffing removed and damaged item.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Packaging-Shipping/Has-the-Ebay-Global-Shipping-led-to-more-positive-o...

"Jeff" reported "the package may be inspected and repackaged {if necessary }" on the Weekly Chat concerning the GSP. Some Canadians asked good questions.

Maybe the repackaging would allow lower volume or weight to the package, for cheaper shipping, if necessary.

http://community.ebay.com/t5/Weekly-Chat-with-eBay-Staff/Weekly-Chat-July-24-2013/td-p/16637241

chimera148 · ‎08-21-2013

http://community.eBay.com/t5/Weekly-Chat-with-eBay-Staff/bd-p/Weekly_Chat

hopefully this link works

00nevermind00 · ‎08-21-2013

I buy collectibles. Some are modestly priced, others are rather expensive. Some are easy to find, others are one of a kind. ALL are small and light. But lately I'm getting annoyed because I see more and more of the items I want being offered with the GSP.

When it happens, I either sigh and move on, or I email the seller to let them know, nicely and politely, why I won't be bidding on their item. That's probably the best thing unhappy buyers in GSP countries can do right now.

Two of the things I don't like about the GSP are that 1) once an item is listed with the GSP, the only way for the seller to get rid of the GSP is to end the listing and relist without it. If a seller uses UPS Ground for shipping, a Canadian buyer interested in an item can email them to ask about the possibility of shipping USPS instead, before placing a bid. Not so with the GSP. And 2) if you buy auction items, you have no way of knowing what the GSP charges will be until the listing ends because you won't know the final bid price until then. That's a big no-no in my book. Ebay requires its sellers to show shipping charges in their listings so that buyers can shop "total price", yet doesn't require PB to do the same thing. Shouldn't what's good for the goose also be good for the gander?

I can only speak for myself, but given the type of items I buy, the GSP as it currently stands will always be a major deterrent to buying. But I try to look on the bright side: I have more money in my pocket for other, non-eBay stuff!

pjcdn2005 · ‎08-22-2013

"Jeff" reported "the package may be inspected and repackaged {if necessary }

So I wonder when repackaging 'is necessary". The only time I can see it being necessary is if they want to inspect it for customs.

I still don't think that they provide a service in which the seller can send all of their orders in one big package and have PB unpack the box and redirect the packages.

pjcdn2005 · ‎08-22-2013

@chimera148 wrote:
http://community.eBay.com/t5/Weekly-Chat-with-eBay-Staff/bd-p/Weekly_Chat
hopefully this link works

The link works but shows all of the weekly chats. It doesn't specify which date you are referring to.

chimera148 · ‎08-22-2013

The July 24 Weekly Chat, as shown in the attachment.

@pjcdn2005 wrote:
@chimera148 wrote:
http://community.eBay.com/t5/Weekly-Chat-with-eBay-Staff/bd-p/Weekly_Chat
hopefully this link works

The link works but shows all of the weekly chats. It doesn't specify which date you are referring to.