eBay

paul8700 · ‎02-15-2015

I would encourage all Canadians and anyone else importing an item on ebay to boycott the Pitney Bowes Global Shipping program (GSP),
This can be done by contacting the seller that you are interested but wish the item to be shipped USPS, the contact should be made before bidding.
The latest example for me was a $10.00 US item, the shipping and brokerage is listed at US$17.50, the item can fit inside a small padded or regular envelope, so shipping should be minimal, also on items less than CAN$20.00 there is no import fee needed.
I called eBay and asked to speak to someone about the shipping pricing structure, which is outrageous.
eBay makes millions of dollars on these collected fees, NONE of which are paid to any government body for duties or tariffs. They go straight to the profit margin.

CANADA CUSTOMS SELDOM CHARGES DUTIES OR TARIFFS ON ITEMS LESS THAN $100 (or more).

PLEASE SHARE AN

sylviebee · ‎10-03-2015

@pierrelebel wrote:
"or you making the classic mistake of assuming"

No.

But you did post that the GSP caused sales to increase when the evidence you spoke of only showed correlation and not causation.

It's a leap to assume one caused the other without further evidence.

6502dude · ‎06-03-2016

I agree. Beyond the outrages fees charged, there is very little accountability by Pitney Bowes for services rendered.

I am in Canada and have had a few items go thru GSP. All have had long delays.

Transport by UPS to KY is quick and has good scan detail for package transit.

The GPS tracking info always lags behind - sometimes it is a full day behind.

When it gets to Pitney Bowes center in KY, if goes into a big black void with no tracking updates.

When info is available, it is some times from scans with misinformation (ie, item in customs clearance when it has already passed).

I have one package in KY center which still has Arrival Scan from 06:00 yesterday AM and no info since.

Pitney Bowes is a more incompetent organization, than the postal system that they will hand my package off to, on its next leg of its journey.

A direct shipment via UPS (in this case from New York to Toronto), would have been much more simple.

femmefan1946 · ‎06-03-2016

A direct shipment via UPS (in this case from New York to Toronto), would have been much more simple.

Have you ever read the UPS-bashing thread that preceded the GSP-bashing thread?

It's nearly as long.

The basic complaint is that UPS charges the same duty and sales tax as GSP/PB, which they must since that's the law, and add on a service/customs brokerage fee of $25 or more.

Be careful what you wish for, cause you just might get it.- Nicole Scherzinger

andyman4 · ‎06-11-2016

You should have asked whether they remit 100% of the fees as you would still be waiting for a reply.

......

WHAT I FIND BAFFLING.....IS WHO THOUGHT OF THIS BUSINESS MODEL, TO MAKE MONEY OFF OF
SHIPPING THEN ISOLATE YOUR CUSTOMERS TO THE POINT OF NOT BUYING ANYMORE. WELL DONE,

YOU FAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

iwc · ‎01-04-2017

Anyone who sell over I believe $32,000 a year is a business in the eyes of Revenue Canada must collect GST HST and declare profits on there taxes. Most sellers like me work part time from there homes buying and selling on Ebay. Canada is made of 10 provinces 10 levels of taxation Ebay as far as we can see charges same GST if you live in Alberta or PEI. Would not be hard for Ebay or Pitney Bowes to separate the fees to show what is being charged. When you hide all these fees it's easy to charge whatever you like. Yes Pitney Bowes remits GST HST tax to Revenue Canada, Anyone who thinks they could get away with smuggling into Canada needs a wake up call.

00nevermind00 · ‎01-04-2017

Necro thread.

nikkow · ‎01-11-2017

Wake up Canada! You're being gouged and lied to by the Global scam program

ypdc_dennis · ‎01-12-2017

Necro thread.

qualicumcavedweller · ‎01-14-2017

The Global Shipping Program/ eBay program identifies its fee as import charges. That is false.

In most cases there are not import charges on the items i deal with. Even if you try to use the argument the GSP is paying GST/ HST to the Canadian government (which I am highly suspicious it is paying or likely not paying the full amount). That would only be $3.75 GST or $9.75 HST on a $75 CAD item depending on province. The GSP "import charges" are often 3-4 times above that.

Moreover, all the items go their central distribution centre in Kentucky first to then be sent to the buyer's destination. It typically doubles the shipping distance travel that the item travels and adds a week to ten days to delivery over USPS delivery times. At a minimum, what an incredible waste of fuel!

Boycott the sellers definitely. Let them know you like their "stuff" but won't be using them and why.

I have also let sellers know that GSP hurts them . In auctions it actually depresses what they are getting for their item and reduces the pool of bidders. Buyers take that 37.85 USD in shipping to calculate a rough total price to figure if a particular seller is worth it, and then go bid elsewhere.

qualicumcavedweller · ‎01-14-2017

No, buyers I've dealt with say if there are separate listed items purchased, the GSP system will not combine shipping. I know that ( separate charges) is certainly what is showing up when you go to pay.

What they have had to do is cancel the successful bids, combined the two items in one listing, relist so you can buy and then GSP will now recalculate the 'import charges"

That is with a helpful seller- otherwise you are out of luck.

marnotom! · ‎01-14-2017

@qualicumcavedweller wrote:

The Global Shipping Program/ eBay program identifies its fee as import charges. That is false.

In most cases there are not import charges on the items i deal with. Even if you try to use the argument the GSP is paying GST/ HST to the Canadian government (which I am highly suspicious it is paying or likely not paying the full amount). That would only be $3.75 GST or $9.75 HST on a $75 CAD item depending on province. The GSP "import charges" are often 3-4 times above that.

I suggest you skim through the Global Shipping Program terms and conditions page for buyers. In a nutshell, Pitney Bowes specifically defines "import charges" as any taxes and duty it may pay on your behalf for the item, plus various processing and customs clearance related fees. Usually those processing fees add about five bucks U.S. to the taxes and duty, a bit lower than what Canada Post charges to collect taxes on CBSA's behalf for a postal import. CBSA also charges for PST, to boot.

No, the GSP doesn't always get that calculation quite right as it doesn't have the item in its possession to calculate a bang-on exact "import charges" but instances where it's been way off seem to have decreased dramatically since the early days of the program. Do you have an example of a listing where the calculation of "import charges" seems to be from another planet?

@qualicumcavedweller wrote:

Moreover, all the items go their central distribution centre in Kentucky first to then be sent to the buyer's destination. It typically doubles the shipping distance travel that the item travels and adds a week to ten days to delivery over USPS delivery times. At a minimum, what an incredible waste of fuel!

Judging by your user name, you're from or have connections to Vancouver Island like me. Did you know that all letter mail originating from Vancouver Island, even if it's sent to the same town or city, goes off the island to be processed in Vancouver?

Consolidation of goods in shipping is becoming increasingly common.

Interesting how your experience seems to be the opposite of mine. I've only purchased two items through the GSP: mobile phones. The shipping rate was a lot lower than the couriers or express services that non-GSP sellers were using (and I may have ended up being charged taxes and hefty brokerage fees upon receipt, to boot), and they arrived faster than the cases for the phones that I purchased from non-GSP sellers. One of them was even in California, so who knows what sort of route that took to reach me on Vancouver Island.

I'm guessing that you've been looking at modestly-priced items that can ship as oversized letters (First Class International/Small Packet). The GSP seems to be structured to be competitive with parcel post, not letter post. Parcel post is also a lousy way to ship lightweight items. No, it doesn't make sense to use the GSP for these sorts of items, but bear in mind that a lot of sellers that have the GSP on their listings have been unwittingly opted into it because they haven't set their listings up to offer direct international shipping and they haven't kept up with changes to the eBay user agreement.

I would suggest that if you need to contact a seller using the GSP for a shipment, keep in mind that they may not be aware that it's on the listing, or even aware that the program exists, for that matter. You may have to do a lot of handholding.

nikkow · ‎01-17-2017

EBAY is dishonest

woolwinder · ‎06-15-2017

Didn't happen with my purchase ! In fact P-B got $14.34 whereas vendor got $11.85 in shipping. P-B is a racket; a scam foisted on non-US people. So US vendors do NOT give a care...

woolwinder · ‎06-15-2017

They "repack" alright ! NOT. They open the package then tape it up (poorly) and send it along. P-B is a racket; scam; rip-off.

femmefan1946 · ‎06-16-2017

Yeah, the bad repacking is notorious.

Blame it on workers rushing the job on a fast moving conveyor belt.

The opening of packages is done when the seller did not clearly state what was being shipped and its place of origin, information the GSP needs for customs brokerage.

But the GSP was not designed for to help buyers.

It's a Seller Protection program.

tictoctac66 · ‎07-03-2017

Ups is a Big rip off... the broker fees are way out.. global shipping is a Joke.. and now shi*show shipping..

I didnt think it could get worse.. was I wrong..

whiteny1 · ‎10-28-2017

Hello Pierre (re: consumption taxes paid by Pitney Bowes customs brokers to Revenue Canada).

May be you better check again. Pitney Bowes (Ebay) customs brokers pay nothing to Revenue Canada unless forced to.

This also goes for UK, Australia, Europe, etc.

The Global Shipping Program was a good idea in theory however the reality is it increases the cost to any buyers outside of the US.

It is simple. You contact the Seller and ask them to not put your purchase through the GSP. If the seller says, "I can't do that", then don't buy it!!!

marnotom! · ‎10-28-2017

@whiteny1 wrote:

Hello Pierre (re: consumption taxes paid by Pitney Bowes customs brokers to Revenue Canada).
May be you better check again. Pitney Bowes (Ebay) customs brokers pay nothing to Revenue Canada unless forced to.
This also goes for UK, Australia, Europe, etc.

Pierre is retired from eBay now and occasionally posts to the Seller Central board. I hope you don't mind my trying to respond to your query.

Perhaps I''m misunderstanding your point, but the Terms and Conditions page for the GSP contains this clause (abbreviated slightly for clarity and space):

Pitney Bowes' Role as Your Forwarding Agent. By purchasing the GSP Item and consenting to these Terms, you authorize Pitney Bowes to act as your agent for the shipment and delivery of the GSP Item. As your appointed forwarding agent, Pitney Bowes will . . . pay the assessed import duties and other taxes due upon importation of the GSP Item, each on your behalf.

http://pages.ebay.ca/shipping/globalshipping/buyer-tnc.html

Could you elaborate on your post and give the source of your information? Thanks.