Is this a good news for Canadian?

[asyahijab]

http://announcements.ebay.com/2013/12/sellers-keep-your-current-shipping-method-for-the-countries-yo...

[marnotom!]

I can't see it making much difference, quite frankly.

Most sellers enrolled in the Global Shipping Program are there either accidentally or because they've never shipped outside of the United States in their lives and they're convinced it's some brain-busting exercise or doomed to fraud at every step of the way.

The sellers using the GSP inappropriately for modestly-priced, lightweight items might as well just turf it entirely rather than exempt a small handful of countries using it.  Once you've shipped directly to a Canadian buyer, it's pretty much the same procedure to any other non-U.S. destination.

The small handful of sellers using the GSP appropriately for larger, more expensive items have no reason to exempt eligible countries for it because they've done their homework and worked out that--for them--the benefits of a lower shipping cost and limited liability in the event of loss or damage outweigh the dodgier aspects of the program.

[reallynicestamps]

Canadian buyers? Or Canadian sellers?

Canadian sellers, especially of inexpensive items like my books and your headscarves, should be pleased, since many of our American competitors are pricing themselves out of the market with the inappropriate use of a service that should only be used on much more pricey items. (pierrelebel suggests $100 minimum and even eBay suggests $50 and up).

But I suspect the market will not be within Canada, due to high and rising postal costs, but to overseas destinations, where buyers already expect high shipping and will shop for the best shipping rate on equivalent items.

Canadian buyers probably won't see much change, since most of the problems seem to come from new sellers and sellers inexperienced with international shipping. Those sellers won't see what the problem is until they are trashed by a very angry buyer, at which point there is a strong likelihood that they will quit shipping internationally entirely.

Some people juggle geese. Small ones. Goslings.- Hoban Washburne