eBay

canadianonlinegoods · ‎05-01-2015

Hey Guys,

I bought some shipping supplies from the US worth under $20 and it was being shipped International Priority Shipping via GSP.

When I buy items that are shipped via GSP and arrive in Kentucky, I usually get either a Canpar tracking number or Canada Post tracking number.

But for some reason it did not give me one. All it says is this :

Shipped from the Global Shipping Center to International Destination

Apr-30-15, 20:07 PM, Erlanger

I know I can track the item from eBay but I hate it, its very slow. I always track my items directly from the courier because it is more accurate with the ETA and its location.

Is this normal?

Thanks:)

femmefan1946 · ‎05-01-2015

Look at the timestamp again.

April 30 , about 11pm

The parcel is nowhere near the border yet, where it will be given to a Canadian shipper with a tracking number.

Probably.

In the meantime, no tracking is actually a benefit for the less than honest buyer. If the seller cannot prove delivery, the buyer gets his money back and when the parcel actually arrives ,GSP doesn't want it back so he is faced with an ethical dilemma of what to do with the item, since he shouldn't have both money and purchase.

pjcdn2005 · ‎05-01-2015

I've only purchased through the gsp once and the only tracking number I received after Kentucky was a generic gsp one that couldn't be used on the CP or Canpar website. As far as I know, that's the norm.

pjcdn2005 · ‎05-01-2015

In the meantime, no tracking is actually a benefit for the less than honest buyer. If the seller cannot prove delivery, the buyer gets his money back and when the parcel actually arrives ,GSP doesn't want it back so he is faced with an ethical dilemma of what to do with the item, since he shouldn't have both money and purchase.

Regardless of whether or not the buyer sees a tracking number, I'm sure that the gsp center can tell if an item has been delivered or not.

reallynicestamps · ‎05-01-2015

Oh I agree.

But it is a weakness in the system that PB/GSP does not demand the return of unwanted items or items that arrived after refund.

It's an encouragement to dishonesty.

And embarrassing to the honest majority of buyers who end up with an unpaid for item. Donate? Keep? Toss? Return to sender?

00nevermind00 · ‎05-02-2015

@reallynicestamps wrote:

But it is a weakness in the system that PB/GSP does not demand the return of unwanted items or items that arrived after refund.
It's an encouragement to dishonesty.

And embarrassing to the honest majority of buyers who end up with an unpaid for item. Donate? Keep? Toss? Return to sender?

Why wouldn't the buyer keep the item? There is nothing dishonest in following a program's rules, and the GSP specifically does not support returns. While some items can be donated, tossing is hardly environmentally-friendly and returning to sender (who is the "sender": the seller or PB?) can only serve to further muddy already murky waters.

I think it's only fair that the GSP should take the hit. This, after all, is a program that can't even be bothered refunding overcharges to the buyer and which is buyer-UNfriendly in so many other ways!

As for tracking, don't forget that the GSP advertises with the "Customs services and international tracking provided" blurb. So it's only natural that buyers expect to be able to track their package, especially considering how much they pay for the "service". And considering that the GSP advertises "international priority shipping".

canadianonlinegoods · ‎05-02-2015

All I'm saying is I usually get a Canpar tracking number or Canada Post tracking number even when it's still in Kentucky.

This is the first time where I didn't receive a tracking number either from Canpar or Canada Post .

So as of now, I have no idea who will be delivering the item.

femmefan1946 · ‎05-02-2015

There are many things that are legal, but are not ethical.

As Mike Duffy is learning.

pjcdn2005 · ‎05-02-2015

If II sold you an item that was slightly damaged in shipping and told you to keep it and then refunded you, would be feel that you were doing something unethical?

00nevermind00 · ‎05-02-2015

@femmefan1946 wrote:
There are many things that are legal, but are not ethical.

As Mike Duffy is learning.

I think that comparing a buyer of a GSP item to Mike Duffy is quite unfair to the buyer, but that's not my point.

Say you order a sweater but instead PB sends you an old car racing program. You don't want to keep it because it's not "ethical". Do you return it to the seller? No, because he/she would then have both the item and the money, and that wouldn't be ethical either.

Do you send it back to PB? Since they don't do returns, I'm not sure what they would do with it. And they don't do refunds either, so you'd have to ship it back on your own dime.

Do you give it to charity? What is your local soup kitchen or Salvation Army outlet going to do with a car racing program?

Don't forget that with the GSP, whenever a problem arises, the buyer has to do all the work of contacting Ebay/Paypal/PB in order to get his or her money back. So if it was me (which it won't be, because I won't touch any GSP item with a 10-foot pole) I'd have no problems keeping the thing. And since I'm not into car racing, I'd have no problems giving it away to someone who is, or selling it on eBay.

Call me unethical if you want but I beg to differ, since this is how the GSP works.

arlene_v · ‎05-03-2015

Re tracking or lack thereof with the GSP ....

Here is my recent experience: (within the past 10 days)

I won an auction for a reference book ...unfortunately the seller was opted into the GSP, but since the total cost was half the price this book normally goes for, I was quite happy ....

Well, the seller contacted me after the sale and obviously has no clue that he/she is opted into the program. The email was a clear indicator the seller lacked the most basic info pertaining to the GSP.

Almost a week after purchase, and there has not been a single update re this purchase ....I have no idea whether the book is on its way to me or if the seller has any idea how to proceed.

Here is where I expect Pitney Bowes to step up to the plate and advocate on the buyer's behalf. Either send me an email to indicate the item is in transit in the USA or .... something ....

As a buyer who has purchased an additional service (and paid quite a bit for this service) I expect the top notch service so glibly promised.

Unfortunately, the reality is totally different.

Each time I buy an item from a seller who is enrolled in the GSP I hold my breath wondering if the transaction is going to go through or not.

The GSP is to a certain extent engaging in false advertising.

This is much more of an ethical problem than the so called potential buyer abuse that would not be an issue if PB got their GSP house in order.

Hoist by their own petard.

canadianonlinegoods · ‎05-03-2015

I've only purchased through the gsp once and the only tracking number I received after Kentucky was a generic gsp one that couldn't be used on the CP or Canpar website. As far as I know, that's the norm.

With my GSP experiences, I had no issues yet. But, I was given either a Canada Post or Canpar tracking number, even though it was still in Kentucky. I am nit picky with couriers, so my main concern here is who it is being shipped with.

Plus, the only way I can track it is from the eBay order which is slow and garbage. I was expecting a real courier tracking number. But, like someone stated, I might receive the tracking number once it hits the border. For now, I can expect my item to be delivered by May 8th, which is not so specific.

Thanks:)

jonmckillop198327 · ‎07-01-2016

GSP is a laugh out loud failure... They ship my item from Texas to Kentucky (wrong direction) then all the way back to be Canada... Environmentally ridiculous.. You don't like my item? Great hers a refund and keep it?!?!? eBay has become laugh out loud stupid