Comments about the Global Shipping Program

Feel free to share your thoughts about the Global Shipping Program here. 

 

A few questions to get the ball rolling:

 

  • What has worked well for you with the Global Shipping Program?
  • Any ideas to help improve the experience for Canadian buyers?
  • What has deterred you from buying items offered using the Global Shipping Program?
  • How have you managed to search for items outside the program?

Please try & keep the comments constructive 🙂

 

If you have any questions about the program, please post them here.

~Kalvin
eBay.ca Community Manager

kalvin@ebay.com

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Re: Comments about the Global Shipping Program

They may be buying postage using Pitney but the shipping charges are going right to Ebay

 

This is simply not the case.

Message 1001 of 6,171
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Re: Comments about the Global Shipping Program

"but the shipping charges are going right to Ebay"

 

What do you men, exactly?  What shipping charges - specifically - go to eBay?

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Re: Comments about the Global Shipping Program


@taicho717 wrote:

 

It's an example on whether an item will be sold by a seller ... to me anyway. I was interested in an item > $405. Import charges (GSP) $100.03. + shipping charge. SELLERS WILL NOT SELL ITEMS with Global Shipping Program. I hope they realize this.


If I wanted that US$400 item and it sold in my area for no less than C$500--duties included but not taxes (12% in BC)--and I was comfortable with the workings of the GSP, would I consider purchasing that item?  You'd better believe it.

 

 

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Re: Comments about the Global Shipping Program

From a Canadian buyers perspective with over ten years in and over 1000 transactions, nothing about this program is good.  Now I understand you are a publicly traded company and profit is important (which I believe this initiative to be primarily about), to me this program is completely and patently useless.

 

 The costs for shipping one vintage 1950  Bowman Baseball Card in Near Mint condition exceeds the bid value of the card. A card that sells for $15 will have GSP cost of $15 and change plus another $6 in import charges. I've never paid more than $5 for shipping and I've never experienced any duty/brokerage/tax or otherwise any import charges. I avoid all auctions that have GSP attached, outside of collectibles as well.

 

The GSP program is punitive to Canadian buyers. I congratulate each seller for not offering the service for items I've purchased from them.

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Re: Comments about the Global Shipping Program

As a Canadian buyer, I don't really care about the added cost of items. It happens one way or the other and we get screwed on just about everything we buy anyways.

 

My complaint is that Pitney is constantly loosing stuff I've bought! I currently have 3 items missing. All three recieved at Pitney and none coming out. They generate electronic shipping labels with Canada post but do not ship them.

 

Multiple calls to Pitney resulted in no action or returned called. Now I have to fight with Paypal to get refunds issued (~$400 worth) due to product not being received.

 

I will never, ever again purchase something that will be shipped with the GSP.

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Re: Comments about the Global Shipping Program

6 days since Pitney shipped my Christmas gifts and nothing is even showing up on Canada Post other than electronic info received.

What a JOKE!

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Re: Comments about the Global Shipping Program


@1980gmcjunkie wrote:

As a Canadian buyer, I don't really care about the added cost of items. It happens one way or the other and we get screwed on just about everything we buy anyways.

 

My complaint is that Pitney is constantly loosing stuff I've bought! I currently have 3 items missing. All three recieved at Pitney and none coming out. They generate electronic shipping labels with Canada post but do not ship them.

 

Multiple calls to Pitney resulted in no action or returned called. Now I have to fight with Paypal to get refunds issued (~$400 worth) due to product not being received.

 

I will never, ever again purchase something that will be shipped with the GSP.


Oh man...you are scaring me now!!

Two tablets (both Christmas gifts) in a row via Pitney and both still say electronic info received for 6 days now...

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Re: Comments about the Global Shipping Program

See this garbage?

So sellers have to ship it to Pitney for free, ship the same day, and get it to Pitney within 4 days in order to 5 star protection??

So what happens to that larger initial shipping fee we pay?

Ebay gets it all?

 

Also, while I can understand it is not the seller's fault for sure, ebay fails to present a remedy for what happens to the buyer if Pitney or their 3rd party shipping program fails to ship or deliver your item.

WHO is responsible for lost items, ebay?

 

This is a total scam, those who say it isn't need to wake up....

 

 

 

How sellers are protected

With the Global Shipping Program, you're protected in the following ways:
You qualify for automatic 5-star protection on shipping and handling charge detailed seller ratings when you provide free domestic shipping to the US shipping center. If you receive a rating below 5 stars for shipping and handling charges, it won't count against your seller performance standards.
You qualify for automatic 5-star protection on shipping time detailed seller rating when you ship with same day or 1-day handling, upload tracking information within 1 business day of receiving cleared payment, and the item is delivered to the US shipping center within 4 business days. If you receive a rating below 5 stars for shipping time, it won't count against your seller performance standards.
Any negative or neutral feedback that can be attributed to the Global Shipping Program from item handling during international transit will be removed. See details.
You aren't responsible for item loss or damage that occurs after the item is forwarded by the US shipping center. Once an item has been forwarded by the US shipping center, you won't be responsible for refunding the buyer if an eBay Buyer Protection or PayPal Purchase Protection case is filed against you for one of the following reasons:
A buyer claims an item isn't received or
A package is damaged in transit

Message 1008 of 6,171
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Re: Comments about the Global Shipping Program


@bobenis wrote:

See this garbage?

So sellers have to ship it to Pitney for free, ship the same day, and get it to Pitney within 4 days in order to 5 star protection??

So what happens to that larger initial shipping fee we pay?

Ebay gets it all?

 

Also, while I can understand it is not the seller's fault for sure, ebay fails to present a remedy for what happens to the buyer if Pitney or their 3rd party shipping program fails to ship or deliver your item.

WHO is responsible for lost items, ebay?

 

This is a total scam, those who say it isn't need to wake up....

 


Where are you getting your information?  It can't be from the GSP terms and conditions page for buyers that you were linked to prior to committing to make your purchase.

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

 

With the GSP, the seller receives the item price plus whatever their lowest charge is for shipping their item to the address of the Global Shipping Center, just as if it were the address of an actual buyer.  That's part of the GSP's shipping charge to you.  The rest of the shipping charge is what the GSP charges you for shipping the item from Kentucky to you.  Check your PayPal history and you should see that your GSP payment was split up into two parts: the seller's and Pitney Bowes'.

 

Seeing as Pitney Bowes doesn't actually do the shipping but, in fact, contracts it out, that shipping charge will get split among the various subcontractors responsible for getting the item from Kentucky to you.  If it's a really inexpensive item, import/export processing fees will be part of that shipping charge, rather than being added to the "import charges".  The terms and conditions page gives you some idea what's what, and does mention that eBay receives a "referral fee" from Pitney Bowes for the GSP. Given the size of the pie, I doubt eBay's slice is very big in the grand scheme of things.

 

The terms and conditions page also explains that the usual protections through the eBay's buyer protection schemes apply to items purchased through the GSP.  (What it doesn't explain is that they don't work as smoothly at present.)

 

The GSP assumes liability for items that go lost in the Kentucky-to-final-destination portion of the item's transit.  This is probably the aspect of the GSP that initially attracted a lot of interest in the program.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Re: Comments about the Global Shipping Program


@marnotom! wrote:

Where are you getting your information?  It can't be from the GSP terms and conditions page for buyers that you were linked to prior to committing to make your purchase.

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

 

With the GSP, the seller receives the item price plus whatever their lowest charge is for shipping their item to the address of the Global Shipping Center, just as if it were the address of an actual buyer.  That's part of the GSP's shipping charge to you.  The rest of the shipping charge is what the GSP charges you for shipping the item from Kentucky to you.  Check your PayPal history and you should see that your GSP payment was split up into two parts: the seller's and Pitney Bowes'.

 

Seeing as Pitney Bowes doesn't actually do the shipping but, in fact, contracts it out, that shipping charge will get split among the various subcontractors responsible for getting the item from Kentucky to you.  If it's a really inexpensive item, import/export processing fees will be part of that shipping charge, rather than being added to the "import charges".  The terms and conditions page gives you some idea what's what, and does mention that eBay receives a "referral fee" from Pitney Bowes for the GSP. Given the size of the pie, I doubt eBay's slice is very big in the grand scheme of things.

 

The terms and conditions page also explains that the usual protections through the eBay's buyer protection schemes apply to items purchased through the GSP.  (What it doesn't explain is that they don't work as smoothly at present.)

 

The GSP assumes liability for items that go lost in the Kentucky-to-final-destination portion of the item's transit.  This is probably the aspect of the GSP that initially attracted a lot of interest in the program.

 

 

 


 

Oh I realize all that you mentioned for sure but the service is a joke...more hands int he pot of a sale is asking for issues.

 

Link is right here

 

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/shipping-globally.html#protected

Message 1010 of 6,171
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Re: Comments about the Global Shipping Program

Fair enough.  I just don't see "incompetence" as being a "scam".

 

Successful scams have to be well run.  😄

Message 1011 of 6,171
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Re: Comments about the Global Shipping Program


@marnotom! wrote:

Fair enough.  I just don't see "incompetence" as being a "scam".

 

Successful scams have to be well run.  😄


People  initially thought GSP would be atleast as good or better service then USPS, now feel scammed , doesn't mean GSP is running a scam, just means after spending there hard , earned money and expecting to get there product in a reasonable amount of time,instead they are either not getting it,or getting it damaged.I would feel scammed also, because GSP  is not coming through, and i doubt if they can say these are growing pains after a year.

 

The one problem with GSP  is there seems to be too much handling..and if i have bought a rare expensive item, i want less handling not more. there are too many hands in the cookie.

jar..nothing was wrong with shipping USPS, now CA  buyers have to filter out GSP, and after searching today, its not that easy to find a product at a decent price, decent shipping and no GSP..When you finally find one , the  item is price way to high, or shipping is way to high, so you end your search and look for your item at Canadian stores that offer free shipping, and returns. 

 

 

Message 1012 of 6,171
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Re: Comments about the Global Shipping Program


rick31797 wrote:

People  initially thought GSP would be atleast as good or better service then USPS, now feel scammed , doesn't mean GSP is running a scam, just means after spending there hard , earned money and expecting to get there product in a reasonable amount of time,instead they are either not getting it,or getting it damaged.I would feel scammed also, because GSP  is not coming through, and i doubt if they can say these are growing pains after a year.

 

The one problem with GSP  is there seems to be too much handling..and if i have bought a rare expensive item, i want less handling not more. there are too many hands in the cookie jar..nothing was wrong with shipping USPS, now CA  buyers have to filter out GSP, and after searching today, its not that easy to find a product at a decent price, decent shipping and no GSP..When you finally find one , the  item is price way to high, or shipping is way to high, so you end your search and look for your item at Canadian stores that offer free shipping, and returns. 

 


 

I've never seen anything in the GSP's marketing that suggests that it's "better than USPS" (whatever that means).  I do see in the FAQ that most shipments should take week to arrive at their destination after leaving the global shipping center.  I suspect that's generally the case for items that have to go by air to reach the destination country, but it's probably more dicey for shipments to Canada which likely travel by truck or possibly even rail.

 

For what it's worth, I gave up looking for 'bargains' on eBay a long time ago and now focus more on items that are hard to source locally, such as a battery for my weird, minority-taste smartphone or special arch supports for my weird feet.  eBay's competition for my dollar is other websites, not brick and mortar merchants or yard sales.  I take the total cost into consideration and don't focus on just a single aspect of it.

 

 

Message 1013 of 6,171
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Re: Comments about the Global Shipping Program

STOP THIS PROGRAM..................NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's a disaster.....and USA sellers have NO IDEA they are using it!!!!!!!!!

 

PLEASE STOP THE MADNESS.

I HAVE HAD TO GET THE PAST 10 SELLERS TO SEND ME MANUAL INVOICES....

QUITE FRANKLY ITS WASTING MY TIME EXPLAINING TO SELLERS HOW TO DO THEIR JOB.


 


kalvin@ebay.com wrote:

Feel free to share your thoughts about the Global Shipping Program here. 

 

A few questions to get the ball rolling:

 

  • What has worked well for you with the Global Shipping Program?
  • Any ideas to help improve the experience for Canadian buyers?
  • What has deterred you from buying items offered using the Global Shipping Program?
  • How have you managed to search for items outside the program?

Please try & keep the comments constructive 🙂

 

If you have any questions about the program, please post them here.




Message 1014 of 6,171
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Re: Comments about the Global Shipping Program


@gijoe_canada wrote:

STOP THIS PROGRAM..................NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's a disaster.....and USA sellers have NO IDEA they are using it!!!!!!!!!

 

PLEASE STOP THE MADNESS.

I HAVE HAD TO GET THE PAST 10 SELLERS TO SEND ME MANUAL INVOICES....

QUITE FRANKLY ITS WASTING MY TIME EXPLAINING TO SELLERS HOW TO DO THEIR JOB.




If the sellers have no idea they're using the Global Shipping Program, they probably haven't shipped internationally very much if at all in the past.  A good clue is to see if they ship to any countries that are not in the GSP.  If they don't, they may think they're not set up for international shipping, and of course you're going to have to spend time holding their hand and explaining to them how to do their jobs. . .

Message 1015 of 6,171
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Re: Comments about the Global Shipping Program

Listen up marnotom!!!!!

 

Its the sellers responsibility to be aware of the rules.,,,,NOT ME PAL.

Where is the benefit in not being able to combine 6 orders into one box.....its absurd to have to send 6 separate boxes as unique orders AND PAY SIX SHIPPING BILLS  under the global **bleep**TING program.

ALSO....OVER THE COURSE OF A YEAR I MAY GET 1% OF MY ORDERS SUBJECT TO CUSTOMS.....NOW %100 OF MY ORDERS WILL BE SUBJECT TO CUSTOMS......ITS ABSURD.....I GUESS OK IF YOU ARE RICH.

THERE ARE NO BENEFITS TO THIS PROGRAM OTHER THEN AIDING PEOPLE WHO CAN'T THINK INDEPENDENTLY.

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Re: Comments about the Global Shipping Program

THERE ARE NO BENEFITS TO THIS PROGRAM OTHER THEN AIDING PEOPLE WHO CAN'T THINK INDEPENDENTLY.

 

AM TO THAT ...

 

This program will never go away though for one reason .. At the end of the day Ebay/Paypal/Pitney bowes don't give a shake about anybody but there bottom line and the only way this program wil go away is $$ losses other then that my rants and everyone elses will always fall on deaf ears....

 

 

Message 1017 of 6,171
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Re: Comments about the Global Shipping Program


@gijoe_canada wrote:

Listen up marnotom!!!!!

 

Its the sellers responsibility to be aware of the rules.,,,,NOT ME PAL.

Where is the benefit in not being able to combine 6 orders into one box.....its absurd to have to send 6 separate boxes as unique orders AND PAY SIX SHIPPING BILLS  under the global **bleep**TING program.

ALSO....OVER THE COURSE OF A YEAR I MAY GET 1% OF MY ORDERS SUBJECT TO CUSTOMS.....NOW %100 OF MY ORDERS WILL BE SUBJECT TO CUSTOMS......ITS ABSURD.....I GUESS OK IF YOU ARE RICH.

THERE ARE NO BENEFITS TO THIS PROGRAM OTHER THEN AIDING PEOPLE WHO CAN'T THINK INDEPENDENTLY.


You just said that there are sellers who don't know they're enrolled in the Global Shipping Program.  How do you expect them to know the terms and conditions of a program they don't even know that they're participating in?  How do you expect them to know how international shipping in general works if they don't even know that they're offering it?

 

And your objections are confusing.  You say you don't like paying customs fees, but six ten dollar shipments won't attract taxes, while one sixty dollar shipment will.  And 100% of your orders won't be subject to import charges if you restrict your purchases to sellers who don't use the Global Shipping Program.  However, if you go elsewhere, there's a good chance you'll pay the equivalent in Global Shipping Program charges except that those fees are charged differently.

 

 

Message 1018 of 6,171
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Re: Comments about the Global Shipping Program

<O_0> sad you are making no sense pal....what's confusing is your MAKE BELIEVE EXAMPLES.....I LIVE IN THE REAL WORLD!
6 --10 DOLLARS ORDERS???....WHAT THE **bleep** IS THAT???
WITH GLOBAL **bleep**TING THAT WOULD WORK OUT TO $20 PER BOX ( $100 SHIPPING-) WHERE IT WOULD ONLY COST ME 19.99 SHIPPING COMBINED....ONLY THING CONFUSING HERE IS YOUR WARPED IMAGINARY SHIPPING LOGIC.
Message 1019 of 6,171
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Re: Comments about the Global Shipping Program

What doesn't make sense to me is why you even try to buy from sellers enrolled in the Global Shipping Program if you don't like the program.

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