eBay

Anonymous · ‎04-14-2015

I was told by 2 US sellers that they are losing money as they had to pay $$$ to ship their items to the hub through GSP and that they don't get any $$$$ for shipping costs, all of them go to GSP!!

I mean why on earth are US sellers using GSP if they are losing $$ by paying to ship them to the hub through GSP. Why don't they opt out of GSP??!!

You may not believe me but it is true because I checked my PayPal statement and noticed that all shipping costs go to Pitney Bowes and nothing to sellers, only the sold prices. And what more those sellers don't include the shipping costs in the asking prices. I bought a 8x10 photo for $6.50 (that doesn't cover the cost of photo lab, eBay final value fees, PayPal fees, shipping costs!!) and paid $15.81 for shipping cost which all of $15.81 to Pitney Bowes and of course Pitney Bowes (maybe eBay) are making hefty profits that way.

Again why would US sellers opt in GSP if they are losing $$$ that way??

We have see pages and pages and pages of complaints about GSP and yet eBay doesn't do anything to make it better or to "retire" it?? Many US sellers didn't know that with GSP, they cannot offer combined shipping on multiple orders.

If I want to buy or bid 5 items, I would have to pay $15.81 shipping costs for EACH item and the total of shipping costs would be $79.05!! And guess who is making huge hefty profits on shipping costs. It is eBay/Pitney Bowes and that is why they wouldn't "retire" GSP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Raphael, can you explain as to why GSP WON'T allow combined shipping to save shipping costs? Or does eBay/Pitney Bowes are so greedy that they won't give up and allow it??

It is ironic because eBay is the one that started to charge final value fees on shipping costs due to some sellers charging excessive shipping costs and yet eBay/Pitney Bowes encourage by opt into GSP so they make more $$$ that way? How very ironic is that???

eBay could encourage the US sellers to use USPS E-Delcon International Mail for Canadian buyers, they include tracking numbers.

With GSP, most slowest mail delivery ever than USPS! With GSP, they tend to arrive damaged due to poor packing by the hub which they had to open them to "inspect" (as if!!!) and then re-pack them poorly. Is it worth it???

I found out that those sellers with GSP are losing money because they don't get shipping costs from buyers, all of them go straight to GSP when I was asking one of my favorite sellers that I need to re-order some items and was wondering why they opt into GSP. I use to received my parcels from them through USPS and was asking them if they would ship them by USPS and they told me that they prefer to use GSP due to many scammers claiming they never received their items. We had to pay dearly because of those scammers!! And that is how I found out they don't get $$$ for shipping costs from buyers!! And it is true according to my PayPal statements as all $$ for shipping costs go to GSP nothing to sellers.

What a tragedy for US sellers that eBay allows it. Shame on eBay!!!

femmefan1946 · ‎04-15-2015

I was told by 2 US sellers that they are losing money as they had to pay $$$ to ship their items to the hub through GSP and that they don't get any $$$$ for shipping costs, all of them go to GSP!!

Interesting if true.

But are the sellers using Free Shipping for their US customers? If so, then that Free Shipping would also be used for shipping to GSP in Kentucky.

And should have been included in the sellers' asking price. If they are forgetting that, they are losing money on all their sales, not just the US ones.

Look at your seller's listing.

Is there a shipping price for Canada when you look at it on eBaydotCA?

And then below that there would be some price for 'import fees' which is the PB cut + tax and duty as applicable.

Do BOTH appear?

You should have been charged both. And the seller should be getting the first one.

Again why would US sellers opt in GSP if they are losing $$$ that way??

An awful lot of sellers, everywhere, do not realize they are losing money by selling here. Some don't care. Some don't understand the difference between markup and profit.

Those sellers underprice their product, underestimate shipping costs, and don't understand how much they actually pay to eBay and PP for the 'privilege' of selling.

Raphael, can you explain....

I don't think any eBay employee reads these Boards. You can ask questions at the Wednesday noon hour webinar. That's tomorrow (or today depending on your location).

With GSP, they tend to arrive damaged due to poor packing by the hub which they had to open them to "inspect" (as if!!!) and then re-pack them poorly. Is it worth it???

It would not surprise me if some sneaky buyers have decided to make Claims of Item Not As Described / Damaged in Transit since PB does not seem to want these damaged items back. Too easy to get free stuff if you are greedy and dishonest.

In any case, it does not hurt the seller to open a damage Claim. PB/GSP seems content to refund on damage in transit.

Repacked items seem to include a branded letter explaining that they have been repacked. Similarly, if USPS or Canada Post damages an item, that fact is clearly marked on the plastic bag it is delivered in.

If that doesn't appear, it would be down to the seller not to PB / USPS/ CP if packing is inadequate.

I use to received my parcels from them through USPS and was asking them if they would ship them by USPS and they told me that they prefer to use GSP due to many scammers claiming they never received their items.

I suppose this is a different seller than the ones who are claiming to lose money on shipping.

Because otherwise what you are saying is that the sellers are losing money on shipping but prefer to continue shipping internationally with the GSP and lose money to GSP because of foreign scammers.

Which would be two very good reasons to refuse all non-US bidders.

The whole point of the GSP was to give paranoid US sellers protection against us wicked foreign buyers. It is not in any way of any benefit to the buyer.

But if it is not of any benefit to the seller, he has to make the decision to go back to refusing non-US sales, because some sales are not worth having.

pierrelebel · ‎04-15-2015

"What a tragedy for US sellers that eBay allows it. Shame on eBay!!!"

???

To be candid, the real tragedy here is to allow a poster to post such misinformation.

Actually it is not misinformation, it is utter nonsense and the poster - who claims to be a very experienced eBay user (both buyer and seller) - should know better.

From eBay: http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/shipping-globally.html

"In addition to the final charges, the buyer sees the amount paid to the seller and the amount paid to the global shipping provider. You (seller) receive the item price and the domestic shipping and handling amount that you specified directly from your buyer."

pierrelebel · ‎04-15-2015

Now to answer the question: "Is it worth for US sellers to GSP?"

I guess the answer must come from American sellers, not Canadian posters. What we have seen from eBay's financial statements is an increase in export sales by American sellers. That is reality.

Unfortunately, when looking at eBay listings Canadians can see many American sellers not using GSP as it was intended (for items averaging over US$50 as suggested by eBay).

While GSP may benefit many American sellers by offering them a much larger overseas market for their products, it is not "Canadian buyer friendly" for a variety of reasons (extra postage, fees, taxes, delays, etc...) and most Canadians should avoid purchasing items offering the service in most instances.

pierrelebel · ‎04-15-2015

"When you pay for the item through PayPal, you are authorizing 2 payment transactions.

The first payment goes to the seller and consists of the item cost and the US or UK domestic shipping costs.

The second payment goes to the global shipping provider and consists of the international shipping costs and any import charges."

http://pages.ebay.com/help/buy/shipping-globally.html

femmefan1946 · ‎04-15-2015

So when a seller is using the GSP, he should have only one shipping charge: the tracked/delivery confirmed rate from him to Kentucky?

We still see many US sellers charging much higher amounts to foreign buyers. Do they keep the excess they charge the off-shore buyer? Or does some of that go to GSP/PB to offset their shipping costs?

Anonymous · ‎04-15-2015

For Pierre, it is NOT, NOT, NOT misinformation! It is a FACT!! Just because you think you knew everything doesn't mean you are always right! Wake up and listen! Thanks.

pjcdn2005 · ‎04-15-2015

@Anonymous wrote:
For Pierre, it is NOT, NOT, NOT misinformation! It is a FACT!! Just because you think you knew everything doesn't mean you are always right! Wake up and listen! Thanks.

Sorry but you are not correct. If a seller charges $5 for shipping within the U.S. that is what they receive from a gsp buyer. They are not losing any money unless they are losing money from every single one of their domestic buyers. If a seller told you otherwise than they are confused.

pierrelebel · ‎04-15-2015

" It is a FACT!!"

Of course not. It is not a fact. For facts, please read my posts and refer to the links to eBay pages offered above.

What you offer in your post is your interpretation of communication with two US sellers. That does not make it "fact", does it?

Just same old, same old.

reid4311 · ‎04-15-2015

I found a simple way to circumvent the GSP virus! I simply ask the seller if he'd be willing to post using USPS. I ask politely and make a habit of stating what the postage would be as I'm not sure they can see it. When told several used the word excessive in their descriptions. Several more mentioned they didn't even know they'd been opted in. I'm not sure if they were being truthful.

Anyhow, less than 5% have refused while others were receptive and went as far as finding out what the rate would be before responding. This includes U.K sellers.

It's a little time consuming to contact those I'm interested in buying from but I've been saving an average of around 50% on postage alone for every transaction.

pjcdn2005 · ‎04-17-2015

Several more mentioned they didn't even know they'd been opted in. I'm not sure if they were being truthful.

It's common for sellers to be opted in without realizing it even if they have checked off that they don't want to be in the program.

I'm curious...when you contact these sellers do they usually change the listing so that it is no longer in the gsp system or do they invoice you through paypal later one or.....?

reid4311 · ‎04-17-2015

So far the listings have been changed to reflect shipping without GSP. In all instances (but one) I was contacted by the seller stating they had opted out for that CD. I'd go back out of curiosity to discover the icon was gone but there was no shipping cost visually listed, just 'will ship to Canada'.

In the one case the seller (believe it or not) actually ended the listing and has posted it to me without accepting any payment! I asked him how much he'd paid for postage and what he'd like for the disc (it was a bidder that had started at 1 cent with no takers) and he said he was a hockey fan living in Texas. His favorite team is the Buffalo Sabres. He said when the disc arrived I could play it and send him something accordingly. He wants hockey cards! This happened just this week so the CD hasn't arrived yet but if he wants cards, he'll get cards! He says he's a school teacher in a small town. Strange but true.

reid4311 · ‎04-17-2015

One other thing I forgot. I bought a cd using the GSP before I really understood what was going on. The seller said when I contacted him about the excessive rate that he'd send me an invoice. He couldn't. When he tried he got a popup that said this item MUST be shipped by GSP. He then tried to send me a request for payment through Paypal and got the same thing. He then told me what he'd ship it for and gave me his Paypal account. I transferred the money to his account but he then couldn't print the stamps! It appears that if you don't opt out you pay the full amount. He could also have been goofing or perhaps simply didn't know what to do.

pjcdn2005 · ‎04-18-2015

He said when the disc arrived I could play it and send him something accordingly.

Wow...that is definitely not a typical ebay gsp story.

With the other seller, he wouldn't be able to send you an invoice through eBay anymore but I am sure that he could have sent you an invoice through Paypal. He also should have been able to print postage but probably wasn't familiar with how to do it.

reid4311 · ‎04-19-2015

I should explain that the fella who couldn't send the invoice or print stamps and the fella who sent the CD for free were two different sellers.

The first was about three years ago. I snooped around the net and found that that particular CD wasn't even listed in the artists website even though it wasn't a bootleg or compilation. It was still the best deal because his starting bid was so low. I ended up paying $5.99 for the disc plus whatever the scam was at the time. It was still cheaper than the best price from that site that starts with an A. I was he said his first international. As I said previously, You can't do anything after the fact so I bought it.. The alternative was to cancel the deal outright.. Being an Elvin Bishop fan I sucked it up! I never made that mistake again.

The freebie came about just last week.. In that case he ended the listing. When I checked afterwards it said it had been ended because there was an error the listing.

If you want to keep in touch I'll keep you informed as to what happens. He says it was posted last Thursday. If that's the case then it could take as long as three weeks to arrive. I've got some hockey cards so we'll see if he's for real. So far I've not received any sort of invoice.