eBay

themetaldog · ‎02-21-2021

After being passed around by people who assured me that you CAN combine items (as far as they could tell ---GAH!!! NOTE: that is not the word YES) and then cut off when transferred to an equally unqualified person who put me on hold. I wasted more time and called back. I asked for a URL on the help page that defined YES OR NO (not maybe), if global shipping can be combined. This doesn't exist on any official ebay.com page.

She did send me a quote from her INTERNAL intranet that says you CANNOT use the GSP and combine shipping (ie. usa to canada)

NOTE: you CAN'T use GSP and combine shipping of auction items: feb 21, 2012

email sent thus:

--------FEB 21, 2021-----------------------

GLOBAL SHIPPING SR# 1-307912937173

Hello xxxxx,

Combined shipping discounts

Seller-specified (domestic shipping) combined shipping discounts aren't supported by the Global Shipping Program, but costs are sometimes cheaper when purchasing multiple items from a single seller.Buyers must add items to the cart in order to receive international shipping discounts through GSP.

Having a member buy multiple items and then requesting a discounted invoice (request total) will allow the seller to send an invoice, but we cannot force the seller to do so. If the seller elects to send an invoice, this will kick the transaction out of GSP.

Sellers creating combined shipping rules and then having the buyer purchase multiple items through the eBay shopping cart to get a discount (i.e., Manage Promotions) does not work with GSP.

Our system automatically calculates the shipping costs for items based on their weight, dimensions, and the buyer's and seller's locations.

When a buyer adds items from the seller to the eBay shopping cart, and then purchases the items as a single order, our system will calculate the shipping costs based off the combined weight. The eBay shopping cart automatically estimates any discounts, and assumes that the seller will ship the items in a single box.

If the buyer doesn't put the items into the eBay shopping cart first, then the items are processed as separate orders. Separate orders don't receive a combined shipping discount. The seller will not be able to combine the orders and must ship all separate orders in their own box.

Combined shipping is cheaper than shipping multiple items separately, so the buyer will see a lower shipping price per item as more items are added to the cart or order.

Example: In a certain scenario, it may cost $14 to ship a 5lb item, $20 to ship a 10lb item, and $25 to ship 15lbs. Therefore, the buyer sees lower shipping costs for 3 items purchased together than 2 items purchased separately.

This is not a set discount; it may vary for every order.

Keep in mind, this is only for international shipping. Import charges such as duty and tax are not discounted regardless if the buyer adds the items to the cart or not.

Thanks,

eBay

[THREAD ID: 1-307912937173]

-------------------------------

I also requested this be put on the help page VER BATIM, and she said she would send it up the chain of command. (sure...)

This is a very important concept that any megacorporation should be able to handle easily, there is no excuse for this not being possible.

If for instance you are buying say a sports card from USA to Canda, the cost is about 16$ GSP shipping.
if you buy 2 cards, you get to pay it AGAIN,

50 cards, you are into 800$ to ship something the size of a deck of cards. This is obviously INSANE.

Something needs to change, and the sooner the better.

EBAY ...MAKE this happen. please.

reallynicestamps · ‎02-21-2021

If all the cards you want are from the same seller (and remember eBay has more than 25million sellers) your best bet is to contact the seller, tell her which cards interest you and ask that those cards be combined into a single lot with a single price and shipped as a lot.

The seller can still use GSP, which is a Seller Protection mechanism and has few benefits for buyers.

Or she can use First Class International Package, which gives her the tracking she wants (Seller Protection again). You would pay duty (if valued over $150Cdn) and sales taxes (over$40Cdn) on delivery along with a $9.95 Canada Post service charge. This would be the seller's choice.

And when originally concieved, the GSP was explained as not being for use with low value items, usually under $50 or under $100.

American sellers, a paranoid bunch about international shipping, ignored that. And eBay never made it impossible to use the GSP on low value items.

I make combined lots for my buyers often. As a side note, I use the buyer's name as the title which prevents others from finding and buying first.

Note also that many sellers were automatically enrolled in GSP and have only just learned that, years and years later. Which is a comment on how small the Canadian/world market is for US sellers.

pjcdn2005 · ‎02-21-2021

That letter is saying that the seller cannot combine shipping for the gsp, it does not say that there is NO combined shipping for the gsp. This line from the letter "Buyers must add items to the cart in order to receive international shipping discounts through GSP." states that there is definitely is a discount for the international shipping portion as well as for the import charges. However, because the seller cannot change their portion of the shipping cost, that means that each item added to the cart has the full amount of the shipping to Kentucky and that's what can really add up for purchases with multiple items.

If the seller charged $3 for each item and you purchased 7 items, they would receive $21 for the domestic portion of the shipping. The international shipping portion which goes directly to the gsp would be discounted but not the domestic part. However, once you paid, the seller could give you a partial refund for shipping. If their shipping and handling costs were actually $10, they could refund you a portion of the extra $11. I say a portion because when they do receive a partial refund, they are not refunded their fees. I wouldn't assume though that the seller would do that..it's something that you would have to discuss with them first. I agree with you that something should be added to the help pages so that both sellers and buyers know how it works.

For the seller, the transaction is basically a domestic one and though some sellers their listings set up so that the shipping will combine for domestic transactions, the gsp doesn't take that into account for gsp transactions.It would be a better system if it did.

marnotom! · ‎02-21-2021

@themetaldog wrote:

I asked for a URL on the help page that defined YES OR NO (not maybe), if global shipping can be combined. This doesn't exist on any official ebay.com page.

I found this help page from the .com site. Information on combined shipping is under "Seller FAQs":

https://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/shipping/global-shipping-program.html

As a Canadian buyer, you would be subject to a set of buyer terms and conditions from the .ca site. I'm pretty sure these terms and conditions once had a reference to combined shipping, but I don't see anything like that there now:

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

cleaninghouseinc · ‎03-23-2021

Yes the global shipping program stinks

blackranda2 · ‎06-11-2021

You can say please to eBay as many times as you want. It is not going to happen for one simple reason. They charge FVF on shipping so the higher the shipping cost on international sales the better it is for them. Unless you refund and cancel the entire transaction they don't refund you for the difference in fees. Then this means the buyer has to start all over again which most hate having to do. I have lost more than one sale due to this. So most sellers just refund the buyer the difference and swallow the fee difference which is a win win for eBay!

marnotom! · ‎06-11-2021

Nice conspiracy theory, @blackranda2, but eBay.com doesn’t charge FVF on international shipping charges, be the item be forwarded through the GSP or shipped directly. FVF on shipping for internationally shipped items are based on the seller’s domestic shipping charge.

(For what it’s worth, I recently posted something to the .com boards suggesting that most sellers using the GSP should exempt Canada from it and ship directly instead.)

blackranda2 · ‎06-12-2021

No conspiracy theory. You could be right that on eBay .com the seller is charged on the domestic shipping fee as on the .ca site but think there are still FVF on that shipping cost which are not refunded if the seller refunds the buyer. That might have changed now with Managed Payments. I am not on managed payments and don't intend to be. The big question is : Are they charged FVF on shipping for each of the combined items. If so that could add up depending on the what the size and weight of the items are? So no conspiracy theory. Just the facts as I see them.

As for posting on the .com boards suggessting that US sellers exempt Canada from it, I did that years ago when GSP first started. Some have done it but most either don't know how to do it or can't be bothered since it has to be done ( or used have to be done anyway) for every listing unless they did it in their settings when the GSP first started. The issue with that is a huge number of US sellers where opted into the GSP automatically and didn't even know it until it was pointed out to them. From what I uderstand it is another one of those things which once opted in you can't opt out which is why it needs to be exempted for each and every listing. But then hey it is possible as per eBay's track record that could have changed by now too. This is an old issue for me which I haven't and don't intend follow up on. I just decided not to buy from US sellers who use the GSP due to a horrible experience with it the first time I bought from a US seller who had it activated.

marnotom! · ‎06-12-2021

@blackranda2 wrote:

You could be right that on eBay .com the seller is charged on the domestic shipping fee as on the .ca site but think there are still FVF on that shipping cost which are not refunded if the seller refunds the buyer. That might have changed now with Managed Payments.

My understanding is that that situation has changed with Managed Payments.

@blackranda2 wrote:

Are they charged FVF on shipping for each of the combined items. If so that could add up depending on the what the size and weight of the items are?

I don't know on what else those FVF could be charged. Remember, this calculation isn't done by a human being. A "bot" sees how much the seller charged in shipping and charges FVF based on that.

And, yes, it could add up, but perhaps some sellers feel that's a small price to pay for a bit of security or "protection" against a nasty furriner wanting to buy stuff on American (or British) soil.

@blackranda2 wrote:

As for posting on the .com boards suggessting that US sellers exempt Canada from it, I did that years ago when GSP first started. Some have done it but most either don't know how to do it or can't be bothered since it has to be done ( or used have to be done anyway) for every listing unless they did it in their settings when the GSP first started. The issue with that is a huge number of US sellers where opted into the GSP automatically and didn't even know it until it was pointed out to them. From what I uderstand it is another one of those things which once opted in you can't opt out which is why it needs to be exempted for each and every listing. But then hey it is possible as per eBay's track record that could have changed by now too. This is an old issue for me which I haven't and don't intend follow up on. I just decided not to buy from US sellers who use the GSP due to a horrible experience with it the first time I bought from a US seller who had it activated.

No question buyers have to really use their "Spider Sense" to figure out if a seller knows what they're doing if their listings have the GSP applied to them. My understanding is that sellers who wound up with the GSP "automatically" applied to their listings actually clicked on a button in a UA update that they mistook for one to click on if they agreed to the UA when it was actually to have the GSP applied to their listings.

I've purchased a small number of items that were forwarded through the GSP, mostly cellphones, which were a lot cheaper to ship that way than the overtracked overkill shipping most "direct shipping" sellers were using. I haven't purchased more items because it simply doesn't make sense to have those items forwarded through the GSP. Those sellers probably wouldn't be shipping directly to Canada if the GSP weren't an option, anyway.

clemowbooks · ‎06-12-2021

The good thing about using USPS First Class International Parcel, from the buyer's perspective, is that the shipment stays within the international postal system, instead of switching back and forth from postal service to courier.

The bad thing about using FCIP, is that instead of paying import fees* up front as with the GSP , you are paying them on reciept, which can be awkward.

The good thing about FCIP and import fees, is that the carrier will not leave the parcel unattended but will leave you a Notice about where to pay the fees and pickup the shipment.

The good thing about GSP is that the service fee (customs brokerage fee) is ~$5USD.

The bad thing about FCIP is that the Canada Post service fee is $9.95Cdn.

What you lose on the coconuts, you make up on the roundabouts.

Unless the GSP delivery involves either AppleExpress or IntelExpress who appear to be the ~~gold~~ swamp muck standard in terrible delivery.

* Fees are made up of appropriate duty, Canadian sales taxes, and a service charge.