eBay Global shipping program?

[worldwandering]

Anybody else get invited to this?

They deal with all customs forms, etc by shipping to a US address?  Feedback is protected from low ratings etc?

What the heck are they talking about?

I said yes, and now they are going to revise all my listings.  I don't understand this nebulous program.  Can anybody sum it up gracefully?

Thank you!

[highland.2112]

Agreed.I have purchased a lot of items on eBay and I WILL NO LONGER BID on items offered by sellers who are part of eBay's Global Shipping Program, and I make sure to tell them that. This is a ripoff of global proportions.

The sad part is, eBay feels it is their corporate right to charge Canadians an additional fee for items leaving the USA. They've taken it upon themselves to be viewed as a kind of dodgy tax and duty police. I see it as nothing more than a wallet-draining money-grab.

I truly wish there was a way to sort those sellers who participate in GSP and those who do not: it would make searches easier.

[metz1949]

This is a rip off to canadians buying  from us , they are charging extra money  for shipping and it is still comming usps . you are paying twice. on a 20.00 dollar item i payed 14.94 shipping & handling plus extra  6.95 to ebay global shipping . and it is till being shipped usps.

with the free trade deal this 6.95 is not necessary . they are just making money off us . it's a rip off as far as i'm concerned . from now on i will be requesting the seller to remove this charge if they want to sell me the item . jerry

[pierrelebel]

"with the free trade deal this 6.95 is not necessary ."

I do not like GSP and have often stated it should not be used by American sellers selling goods priced below $100 (eBay suggets $50 average) to Canada.  Canadian buyers should not purchase from American sellers offering the program unless it is beneficial for them to do so.

However, I would really like to know what you mean by "free trade deal".  What does it have to do with the prepayment of taxes to Pitney Bowes?

[addam_and_jen]

Couldn't agree more - I will not be bidding on anything that uses the GSP.

I tried to buy a small used toy for about $15 and it came with $12 S&h - not too bad but I tried to add another small toy of inconsequential weight to take adavantage of "combined" shipping and GSP tacked on another $6 plus an $8 import fee. Considering the whole thing was valued under $20 for a couple of used toys it would have never even gotten hit with import fees from Canada Post, but GSP claims it needs an extra $6 to ship an additional toy the size/weight of a couple of Bin pens and import fees that neither I nor the seller would have to pay if it was just a personal transaction - 1 individual mailing a package to another.

Ridiculous.

I asked the seller if he would ship it to me for the real S&H cost and bypass the GSP - he said he wanted to use GSP because it was safe & easy (for him). Luckilly he was cool enough to cancel the sale - no hard feelings.

So I consider myself lucky to get a warning to avoid GSP without having to get burned first.

[pierrelebel]

"Ridiculous."

I agree.  So do most Canadian buyers.

American sellers should not be using GSP for small transactions.  eBay told them that.  Unfortunately, eBay has not done a good job educating American sellers enroling in the program. And that is the real problem.

[regalservice]

Im in Canada, and find it truly appalling that this Global Shipping Program exists, I will NOT be buying ANYTHING that uses the GLOBAL SHIPPING PROGRAM ... NOTHING! This program really Ruins shopping on eBay and is a huge problem now I can totally understand how some people are going to completely stop using eBay simply because of the Pitney Bowes Global Shipping Program. There are many reviews of it on the internet and youtube and almost all of them are negative.

[pierrelebel]

I agree with you.  You have the right not to buy anything from American sellers using GSP.

The program was not designed for the benefit of Canadian buyers in mind.  It is designed to help some American sellers sell outside their borders and eBay has done a poor job educating its American sellers as to when and how to use the program.

[dmssmile]

I too would not buy from anyone using this service,  its a shame I have a perfect feedback and pay within one day at most but if I see this BS customs charge I will pass you by.  I live in a border city and have countless friends who work for customs, have never had to pay a customs charge on numismatic items.

Because they don't charge one!!!!!

[cmsahe]

The USA Government wants to milk buyers with huge internet sales taxes (Google it out), this GSP is the result of it. I'm in Mexico and my government allows me to buy, import, collectibles (toys, action figures) for a total amount of up to $300USD without they charging me any customs taxes at all.

This GPS nonsense will be the end of many sellers, it charges ridiculous high fees (Plus the hidden charges). And why eBay believes to be above the mexican international trade laws? Those taxes they are charging go directly to their pockets.

I simply ignore any seller who checked into this GSP nonsense. Please sellers get out from it.

[cmsahe]

GSP Is the result of a bunch of money junkies within eBay, they only think of profits profits profits and in the end they end up killing their business:

 Watch this Gerald Celente video on money junkies:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrNC0tIQov0

[1casuallife]

sorry ebay I refuse to bid on   anything within the global shipping program . get rid of it . useless !!!!

[bestchoicebrand]

Funny thing ....

When I'm looking at shipping charge from US seller it shows -

"No additional import charges at delivery!

This item will be shipped through the Global Shipping Program and includes international tracking."

Next line

Shipping:

US $10.10 (approx. C $10.74) International Priority Shipping to Canada

and then -

Import charges:

US $8.39 (amount confirmed at checkout) To be provided at checkout  (!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

This amount includes applicable customs duties, taxes, brokerage and other fees. This amount is subject to change until you make payment. For additional information, see the Global Shipping Program "

[reallynicestamps]

bestcheapfast

Well, yes, that's what it says.

There will be no additional charges on your doorstep (at delivery) but that is because you will have already paid them before the seller will ship.

[rose-dee]

The part that really bothers me is not: "This amount includes applicable customs duties, taxes, brokerage and other fees." 

Fine, no problem, tell me what they are and I'll decide if I still want to go ahead, 

but: "This amount is subject to change until you make payment."  What the heck does this mean?  A blank cheque! 

Still, to be fair, I have to say that having purchased an item with the GSP (against my better judgment), the total charges I ended up paying were pretty much in line with what I would have paid in total (including Canadian taxes and Canada Post's collection fee), had the item been shipped directly from the US seller using USPS.  

However, that item was worth about $120.00 and likely would have attracted tax in any event.  An item of lower value would probably not be a good choice for a Canadian to buy via the GSP.  

[jokesrfree]

I tried to buy some antique tools for $150.00, shipping was about $35.00 but GSP added $23 in other fees. I'm pretty sure there are no duties on antiques as I don't usually pay any fees when buying this type of thing. I contacted the seller and he took it off the GSP but when I tried to buy it this time the shipping had changed to $54.oo or priority @ $45.00. Somehow the shipper's rates changed till they were about the same as GPS's all inclusive rate. I asked the seller why and he said all he did was enter the weight and dimensions and that's what came up. Why would priority post cost more outside of the program than it would inside the program?

It just reeks of there being a few people at the top who know if they can pitch this system then all the millions of ebay users will add up to huge profits for them.

On the "Pay Now" page there is a link  to tell ebay what you think of the program. I asked them why they felt it necessary to do the government's job and that I thought they should stick to their original business concept of providing a market place for buyers and sellers.

I'm wondering has ebay taken over the government or has the government taken over ebay? All I know is I do 1/20th of the ebay business I used to do. It's unpractical buyong goods valued under $100.00 or so.

[rose-dee]

---

@jokesrfree wrote:

@I contacted the seller and he took it off the GSP but when I tried to buy it this time the shipping had changed to $54.oo or priority @ $45.00. Somehow the shipper's rates changed till they were about the same as GPS's all inclusive rate. I asked the seller why and he said all he did was enter the weight and dimensions and that's what came up. Why would priority post cost more outside of the program than it would inside the program?

---

My guess on this question is that Pitney-Bowes may have arranged some sort of large-volume or bulk deal on shipping from the Kentucky hub (where all GSP parcels are initially shipped to and processed).  The US seller using GSP pays for shipping to Kentucky only, but the buyer pays for the seller's shipping costs and the Pitney-Bowes portion of the shipping, which is probably discounted to a significant extent.  

When the non-GSP seller puts his parcel weight and dimensions into the USPS calculator, he'll get the going rate. Someone here recently mentioned USPS discounts for eBay sellers, but I'm not sure they apply across the board to all sellers for all sizes/weights of items.  

Overall, my primary objections to the GSP are the lack of transparency and the absence of proper information given to US sellers about the programme.  It's been touted to US sellers as the "magic bullet" for all their international shipping worries, which it clearly is not.  

I believe it served Pitney-Bowes'/eBay's purposes not to fully disclose the details of the GSP to US sellers -- if they had, I doubt many sellers would have blithely opted in, thinking they were doing themselves a big favour.  How would P-B make any money from a programme that fizzled because sellers could see in advance how pointless it would be most of the time? 

[reallynicestamps]

eBay feels it is their corporate right to charge Canadians an additional fee for items leaving the USA. They've taken it upon themselves to be viewed as a kind of dodgy tax and duty police.

Well, no.

The eBay has contracted with Pitney Bowes, a very large international shipping company, to collect Canadian duty and taxes. Exactly as , for example, LL Bean does.( Check their catalogue if you got it this weekend as I did. )

The rest of the fee is PB's charge for shipping to Canada. The shipping fee the seller gives only takes the purchase from seller to PB, a domestic service. PB charges a (possiblly subsidized) fee for trans-shipping, including paying their workers wages and making a profit for their shareholders.

Not what Canadians are used to? No. Canadian Border Service Agency has taken it upon itself for many years to ignore the law of the land and wink at most imports between $20 and $100-150, provided they are not thrust into their attention by being unusually bulky.

I just broke down and made a purchase from a company that uses GSP - although the item actually cost less than $50. However, the total price was lower than the other identical items offered and those did NOT include tax or duty. Because the package will be bulky, if they ship in a tube as I hope (It'sa set of Serenity blueprints and maps, for my favourite Browncoat, me.) I expect that it would attract attention by CBSA . With GSP I'm probably ahead. We'll see.

[reallynicestamps]

 but when I tried to buy it this time the shipping had changed to $54.oo or priority @ $45.00. Somehow the shipper's rates changed till they were about the same as GPS's all inclusive rate

I suspect that the seller previously had only seen his cost for shipping to Kentucky where PitneyBowes has its plant. That would be a domestic , delivery confirmed rate.

When your seller entered direct shipping information, he got the cost of shipping to Canada with Delivery Confirmation, which depending on the service he chose, could start at $25. And remember his quote would not include duty, if any, and sales tax between 5% and15% depending on your province. Nor would it include the $10 Canada Post service fee.

If your seller had specified First Class International , he would have Delivery Confirmation. I understand this service handles up to 4 pound parcels, but I have no idea about dimensions.

[deadtreehalloween8]

There are NO benefits to Canadian buyers who buy from US sellers using this "program" it is a complete ripoff and I personally won't buy from a seller who uses it.

[pierrelebel]

"There are NO benefits to Canadian buyers who buy from US sellers using this "program""

That statement appears to be correct at first sight.

Could there be another side to the coin?

There is.

For years we have seen Canadian buyers complaining on these boards that items of interest to them were offered on eBay by American sellers for domestic (USA) sales only.  The purpose of the new program (GSP) is to make it easier for sellers who did not previously ship outside their borders.

In many instances Canadian buyers would contact the seller who would then agree to ship to Canada.  In other instances they would not.

Eventually more items will be available to Canadian and overseas buyers.  Items that were not previously available outside the USA.  That may be a benefit to some Canadian buyers.  Maybe not you but some may benefit.  And yes there is a cost of course!