Comments about the Global Shipping Program

[kalvin@ebay.com]

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.

[reallynicestamps]

Boys boys boys.

Why not bring this up in the weekly chat, now that we are supposed to get it back?

Or perhaps Tyler@ebay.com would have a comment.

[bat119]

I used to buy lots of items before this program kicked in now I only buy from sellers that will ship direct by mail. $20 US for shipping a 2 oz remote keyfob valued at $64 is ridicules, Ebay was my goto place to purchase before  the Global Shipping Program.

Fact

there is no duty except that charged by the carrier

Fact

Canadapost only charges $7   plus 5% GST

Your excessive shipping charges to Canada are hurting EBAY.CA

[femmefan1946]

Fact

there is no duty except that charged by the carrier

No.

Unless the item was manufactured in the US (or Mexico or Chile also NAFTA partners) duty is assessed on any shipment valued over $20 CDN (about $16USD).

Whether duty is applicable or not (USmade or used goods for example) federal and provincial sales taxes are due.

Fact

Canadapost only charges $7   plus 5% GST

No.

Canada Post charges $9.95 and whatever taxes are assessed (GST/PST/HST). which can be up to 17% depending on the province or territory.

The reason some think Canada Post does not collect import fees is that the public servants who run CBSA and Canada Post made the sensible but informal decision not to assess small / low value items since the cost of doing so would be higher than the amount that could be collected.

If you think $20 is too low-- as most Canadian importers do-- write your MP. You don't even need a stamp on the envelope.

Joe Doe MP

House of Commons

OTTAWA ON

K1A 0A6

[beecharmer02]

I have purchased many items from the U.S. over the years and the most cost effective way for the buyer is for the seller to ship to Canada via USPS. The GSP adds a considerable import charge to the purchase cost and the buyer is still liable for any actual customs duty. The GPS has no value add for the buyer.

Sellers can opt out of the GSP. If an item has no bids, contact the seller, explain the problem, explain that the item could be shipped USPS and suggest that the seller opt out of the GSP for that item.

If an item didn't sell, ask the seller to opt out of the GSP and relist with a buy it now option.  I have done the latter and saved about 30% of my purchase price.

[pocomocomputing]

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@beecharmer02 wrote:

I have purchased many items from the U.S. over the years and the most cost effective way for the buyer is for the seller to ship to Canada via USPS. The GSP adds a considerable import charge to the purchase cost and the buyer is still liable for any actual customs duty. The GPS has no value add for the buyer.

Sellers can opt out of the GSP. If an item has no bids, contact the seller, explain the problem, explain that the item could be shipped USPS and suggest that the seller opt out of the GSP for that item.

If an item didn't sell, ask the seller to opt out of the GSP and relist with a buy it now option.  I have done the latter and saved about 30% of my purchase price.

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A buyer should not have any charges upon receiving the item through the GSP The purpose of the GSP is to pay all such duties and taxes so that nothing is due when the buyer receives the item in Canada.

Please explain what you mean by this statement and gives examples from your personal experiences where this has happened.

[femmefan1946]

GSP adds a considerable import charge to the purchase cost

Not exactly.

Pitney Bowes obfuscates their service charge, but it seems to be about $5 USD  (around $6.50 Cdn). This is actually lower than Canada Post at $9.95 (not hidden) and considerably lower than couriers like UPS at $25 + (sliding scale based on value of shipment).

and the buyer is still liable for any actual customs duty.

And sales taxes.

Actually, most often the money paid to the Canadian government is sales tax.

But these fees are collected by PB when the buyer pays for his item and before the seller ships.

There should be NO payment on the doorstep.

It is also possible to stop the transaction when the GSP charges (again duty, sales tax and service fee) appear on the billing form and before agreeing to pay for the item.

ask the seller to opt out of the GSP and relist with a buy it now option.

Yes, this is possible.

But.

Human nature gets in the way.

• Many sellers do not know they are enrolled in the GSP and never wanted to deal with offshore customers in the first place.
• Many items should never have been sold with GSP coverage, because they were too cheap. At one time eBay was telling sellers (badly and not often enough) not to use the program for items valued under $50USD. Which was sensible. So they stopped discouraging customers from using it.
• The buyer may have to walk the seller through the process
• If the seller decides the work is too much for a low profit item, he can refuse.

EBay needs to add a warning box, like those used when we list Native American products, animal parts, stamps, or Nazi pariphenalia, reminding the seller that his item is too cheap for the GSP to be useful and that using it will annoy his potential customers.

[bat119]

I have ordered 100's of item's from the US not only from Ebay but through other sources as well, Canada post rarely collect any fee's or taxes for low value items.

The easiest way to avoid EBay's excessive fees is to not buy through them, since this programs inception I only use Ebay as a reference to shop elsewhere the internet is a vast shopping center who needs Ebay.

[bobenis]

Yup...Amazon Canada rocks and with Prime no hassle returns etc it is a no brainer.

[reallynicestamps]

Canada post rarely collect any fee's or taxes for low value items.

Yup.

Those sensible public servants at CBSA and Canada Post seem to have made a (possibly informal) decision to ignore any low value, small  imports on the intelligent basis that it would cost more to assess them than could possibly be collected in duty and Sales Taxes.

The duty free limit meanwhile remains at $20CDN (~$16USD) as it has been since 1985.

Wherever possible Canadian eBayers should be opting for items that ship by USPS/Canada Post, since those items will probably be ignored.

Couriers like UPS, FedEx and GSP cannot legally refuse or ignore these low value parcels.

Watch out though.

Many US sellers are unaware that there are cheaper USPS rates than Priority International.

If you are negotiating with a US seller, it is useful to direct them to this page on the USPS website.

https://postcalc.usps.com/Calculator/ShapeAndSize?country=10440&ccode=AE&omil=False&dmil=False&mdt=5...

This is the Shape and Size choice after this page

https://postcalc.usps.com/?country=10440

All that being said, if your item is over $100CDN or bulky, use your Watch List to compare GSP and non-GSP listings. Sometimes the GSP is actually cheaper than USPS.

Just not very often.

[marnotom!]

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@bobenis wrote:

Yup...Amazon Canada rocks and with Prime no hassle returns etc it is a no brainer.

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Buying directly from the Amazon warehouse is not the same as purchasing from an independent eBay seller, though.

Quite frankly, I don't get why people keep bringing up Amazon.  Sure, what it does it generally does well (although I find that a lot of what I look for isn't in stock or else it's marked up considerably in order to cover the cost of the "free" shipping or buried import charges), but it's like comparing Costco to a corner grocery store.  It's a completely different purchasing experience.

[bobenis]

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@marnotom! wrote:

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@bobenis wrote:

Yup...Amazon Canada rocks and with Prime no hassle returns etc it is a no brainer.

---

Buying directly from the Amazon warehouse is not the same as purchasing from an independent eBay seller, though.

Quite frankly, I don't get why people keep bringing up Amazon.  Sure, what it does it generally does well (although I find that a lot of what I look for isn't in stock or else it's marked up considerably in order to cover the cost of the "free" shipping or buried import charges), but it's like comparing Costco to a corner grocery store.  It's a completely different purchasing experience.

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Not even close and I totally disagree.

You should be pointing out NEW vs USED instead of markups.

Amazon Canada has no import charges on anything done via Prime as they are all located within Canada and are in fact cheaper most times.  

Much of what is NEW on ebay can be found on Amazon for much less and you get it in 2 days with free shipping AND hassle free returns with instant refunds once it is picked up by the shipper. 

[marnotom!]

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@bobenis wrote:

Not even close and I totally disagree.

You should be pointing out NEW vs USED instead of markups.

Amazon Canada has no import charges on anything done via Prime as they are all located within Canada and are in fact cheaper most times.  

Much of what is NEW on ebay can be found on Amazon for much less and you get it in 2 days with free shipping AND hassle free returns with instant refunds once it is picked up by the shipper. 

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It's still an apples and oranges comparison.

[bobenis]

LOL no it isn't.

Only to you because of your undying love for ebay...you remind me of Apple users and their defending a brand name. 

Ebay has lost a lot of business specifically due to Amazon & Alibaba so whether you wish to deny it or not, those are the facts. 

http://www.retailwire.com/discussion/ebays-loss-is-amazon-marketplaces-gain/

[marnotom!]

It's like comparing Costco to a corner grocer store.

If you want something resembling a fair comparison, you need to compare independent Amazon sellers to independent eBay sellers, not a behemoth with economies of scale, buying power and infrastructure to small sellers who probably can't purchase the same products at the same cost, and so on.

There's a lot that Amazon does well, but it's also a completely different buying experience than eBay.

You can have the last word if you wish.  This discussion is completely off-topic so I'm bailing.

[bobenis]

I have now purchased 6 items in a row via the GSP that did not have the import fees on them but rather just the shipping charges and sure enough ALL of them have gone via the Chicago USPS route. 

It is a 100% sure thing now...they are doing something different with the GSP and not letting the community know about it. 

Obviously trying to make it cheaper to see if this route is more appealing to Canadian buyers. 

The shipping is still ridiculous and obviously some additional fees are included in it but 6 for 6 is not a "clerical error" or some "greenhorn" at PB. 

This is a deliberate and conscious decision. 

[melipete]

I can understand that this system may be great for sellers, all they have to do is get it to the distribution center(as far as I know). I am sure it simplifies things and perhaps makes it possible to buy an item that a seller may otherwise just say no, sorry won't ship to Canada.

The system does seem to work well - other than the costs. Sorry, I have seen it broken down and explained but the bottom line is it is just too costly. Having bought several items using the Global shipping program - the latest one just stung too much and combined shipping made no sense. The $72 item's shipping cost was just cents higher than the $24 item - and the $24 item was lighter and smaller. It just makes no sense when shipping costs are higher than the item. Combined shipping should some what reflect an actual cost of these items being sent as one package. If you are going to charge such high rates - if I order 6 items at the same time from one seller they should be all packaged and shipped in separate boxes - otherwise combine them all in one box and calculate the costs to reflect that. Please try to improve something to make it possible for Canadians to pay reasonable rates. As things stand it just doesn't make sense and I for one just can't justify any more purchases using this system.

[femmefan1946]

I can understand that this system may be great for sellers,

Yup.

It's a Seller Protection program.

The buyers' reactions are irrelevant.

Which is why this thread is several thousand posts long.

And everyone agrees with you. Everyone.

combined shipping made no sense. The $72 item's shipping cost was just cents higher than the $24 item - and the $24 item was lighter and smaller. It just makes no sense when shipping costs are higher than the item.

This might help.

https://postcalc.usps.com/?country=10440

If one seller chose Priority shipping -- and most do -- and the other chose Shape and Size to use First Class Priority Parcel, that might be part of the difference.

And those rates change on less than an ounce/inch difference in dimensions and weight.

Basically, it is best to accept that the value of a shipment has nothing to do with the cost of shipping. (The value does affect the duty and sales taxes, since those are percentages.)

[robbwell]

Interesting experience ...?

Bought a carb part the size of a 25 cent coin from Ohio. Paid 10USD to seller and 13.40USD to Pitney Bowes - still 25% cheaper than buying the part through the local Arctic Cat dealer.

Nine days after ordering (5 holidays and 4 business days) it has moved 64 miles to the PB hub at Erlanger, KY ... further away from me, of course.

[reallynicestamps]

Amazing how prices can vary isn't it?

The tracking shows the last place your purchase was recorded, not where it actually is.

But you may find this useful:

———————————
Another poster worked this out for buyers who have not yet received their GSP shipment.
TRACKING SYSTEM FOR GSP
It's not user friendly... But I found how to track your package via the global shipping program, once it gets to Canada you need to:
- Log on to eBay.ca
- Under the My eBay menu select Purchase History
- Under your orders find the specific order.  It should have something like the following:
        Estimated delivery Mon, Jan 11 - Thu, Jan 21
        Tracking number: Tracking number UPAAB000000#########
- Click on the UPA number.  This should open up a Shipment Details window, which should contain something like this:
     This shipment has been transferred to CPC for delivery to the final destination # 70351#########
-Click on the Canada Post number to see where the Canada Post Tracking history and expected delivery
 And there is this method too (originally posted by unison)
I found this thread today while awaiting a shipment. Once I learned that Pitney Bowes was the relevant company, I was able to find my package's tracking info in about 10 seconds.
 

[gorda2007]

Ebay’s Global Shipping Program is new, and is a scam. Ebay has conned sellers into believing The Global Shipping Program is good for sellers and foreign buyers. It is not. It is a money grab that puts money into the hands of a third-party shipper. To be perfectly frank, I will not use an EBay seller who uses the Global Shipping Program to ship to Canada. The cost increases by this program are causing me to look outside EBay for my Internet shopping. If Ebay sellers plan on selling to Canada, they should ship USPS. They can opt out of the Global Shipping Program on Ebay. I paid Import Charges that have nothing to do with importing. I will never be fooled into buying from sellers whio have enrolled in the Global Shipping Program.