eBay

kalvin@ebay.com · ‎09-26-2013

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

oldbroadangela · ‎09-14-2017

Does Oak Bay not have a Dropbox for payments as most other B.C. government agencies does? IE: welfare/disability, employment income etc.

v.i-rover.salvage · ‎09-14-2017

The global shipping program sucks , I just purchased an item off eBay that is literally 109 KM away from me.

I live on Vancouver island , BC , Canada. The item purchased said "ships from: point Roberts , Washington"

I thought , PERFECT ! It's so close to me already I should see this item in a few days.

I purchase the item, and when it gets shipped I begin tracking it only to watch it go from Blaine Wa, to Seattle WA , to Cincinnati OH And arrived at global shipping center in Kentucky.

Talk about a waste of man power and waste of resources. Why the hell would it go all the way to Kentucky only to come almost right back to where it was shipped from !!!! That's insane !

thestuffofchris · ‎09-14-2017

@amcdc79 wrote:

1-No combined shipping-when I want to purchase more than one item from the seller, I have to pay double the amount in shipping charges. I wonder if the freight forwarders do that, I don't know for sure if they do. What I do know, is that the shipping companies, UPS, USPS etc Do Not double their cost to ship for Every item, unlike the GPS! This is where it is a rip-off!

2-The packages at PB are opened to make sure that what is listed on the outside, matches what is inside. I have heard many horror stories, regarding damage they have done in the process, Do freight forwarders do likewise? I don't think they do.

I'd like to answer your questions, but I will preface my answers by saying that they are based on my experiences using a specific freight forwarder in Japan so I'm definitely not able to speak on what any other freight forwarder does.

1 - The freight forwarder I used does not charge shipping for each item. What they do is they allow you to combine any orders made within a period of 30 days, and they only charge you what it costs to send those items together. For example, if I order 3 CDs from 3 separate sellers in a 30 day period, they will hold the items till they have all arrived and then package them all together. I am only charged shipping based on the combined weight of all 3 items, not the shipping cost of 1 item times 3.

2 - The freight forwarder I used does open the packages from the original seller, both to confirm the contents and combine orders if necessary. My experience, though, is that the workers at this freight forwarder are extremely careful and repackage very carefully, and I have never had any issues with any damage occurring due to mishandling at the freight forwarder.

amcdc79 · ‎09-14-2017

Thanks for letting me(us) know about your experience using a freight forwarder in Japan.

I'd like to know why ebay can't get their act together, and do the same as the folks in Japan?

All the GSP has done, is hindered my US buying capability, maybe that's a good thing. I guess I also should be thanking ebay, as it makes my items cheaper to Canadians, and now, I purchase more from fellow Canadians, also a good thing.

marnotom! · ‎09-16-2017

@amcdc79 wrote:

Since most Canadians no longer purchase from US sellers who use the GSP, the other US sellers who do not use it, have seen their sales take off.

My last two comments regarding the GSP are.

1-No combined shipping-when I want to purchase more than one item from the seller, I have to pay double the amount in shipping charges. I wonder if the freight forwarders do that, I don't know for sure if they do. What I do know, is that the shipping companies, UPS, USPS etc Do Not double their cost to ship for Every item, unlike the GPS! This is where it is a rip-off!

2-The packages at PB are opened to make sure that what is listed on the outside, matches what is inside. I have heard many horror stories, regarding damage they have done in the process, Do freight forwarders do likewise? I don't think they do.

Sorry to be a bit late to the party on this.

Your conclusion that non-GSP-using sellers have seen their sales "take off" strikes me as being based on the belief that there are many US sellers that have switched over from shipping directly to international buyers to having their items forwarded by the GSP instead.

I don't believe that's the case. I think it's more likely that for sales of most smaller, modestly-priced items, at least, the sellers aren't ones who have switched to the GSP, but instead are ones who didn't offer internationally in the first place and have had the GSP applied to their listings by eBay.

With these sort of conditions, I don't think non-GSP-using sellers of smaller, modestly-priced items have seen a dramatic increase in their sales thanks to the program.

As for your other points:

1. It's been pointed out a few times on this board that there is combined shipping of sorts on GSP items if buyers use the shopping cart for purchases. I can't state from personal experience how well this works in practice, however.

2. As many--if not most--sellers using the GSP don't provide Pitney Bowes with information on the country of manufacture on their items, packages sent through the program invariably have to be opened and inspected at the Global Shipping Program prior to be handed off to whoever's transporting it to Canada (or whatever other country the item is destined).

Freight forwarders dealing with commercial clients can obtain this information more readily and there's more overall control over the shipment.

atvds1210 · ‎09-16-2017

Bought a phono cartridge from the US, and first time subjected myself to GPS. $13US shipping and then GPS tacked on $18US for a very light $100 phono cartridge.

The irony is that it did not sell at a BIN only price of $125, which was a reasonable price and I would have bought it IF there was no GPS added fees wildcard. It did not sell and it went to auction which I won for $100. By using GPS the seller cost themselves $25. It was a wash for me as I had enough room to pay the GPS fee.

I was thinking that GPS would double the shipping cost, but nope, they blew that away.

So $31 total shipping for a 4 small ounce package. Unless there is a smoking deal, I buy my styluses from a non-Ebayer who manages to ship bigger packages for $10.50 US to Canada. Imagine that.

marnotom! · ‎09-17-2017

@atvds1210 wrote:

Bought a phono cartridge from the US, and first time subjected myself to GPS. $13US shipping and then GPS tacked on $18US for a very light $100 phono cartridge.

The irony is that it did not sell at a BIN only price of $125, which was a reasonable price and I would have bought it IF there was no GPS added fees wildcard. It did not sell and it went to auction which I won for $100. By using GPS the seller cost themselves $25. It was a wash for me as I had enough room to pay the GPS fee.

I was thinking that GPS would double the shipping cost, but nope, they blew that away.

So $31 total shipping for a 4 small ounce package. Unless there is a smoking deal, I buy my styluses from a non-Ebayer who manages to ship bigger packages for $10.50 US to Canada. Imagine that.

Again, this may well be a case where the GSP was automatically applied to a listing where the seller didn't offer international shipping. Or at the very worst, the seller doesn't really care.

If the listing for the cartridge didn't have the GSP applied to it and international shipping wasn't offered, the item may well have gone unsold, so the GSP actually generated $100 in revenue for the seller.

In addition, the the seller didn't plan for the GSP, they may have used flat-rate shipping rather than use the shipping weight of the cartridge to calculate a shipping rate. This means that the GSP bot would have had no shipping weight to work with and would have had to "guess" (more accurately, apply a shipping rate based on the average for the category the cartridge in which the cartridge was listed). You didn't say anything about being hit with "import charges" so I'm also wondering if those were added to the shipping price rather than being a separate line item. That does happen for some people for some listings.

None of this is intended as a defence of the GSP, but I find it's useful to know the ways of one's enemy so you can better take advantage of them. If you find a listing for a cartridge where the seller has set up their listing properly, you may find yourself looking at one where the shipping price is comparable to oversize letter, like it was for the mobile phones I purchased.

Footnote: If a seller can ship a cartridge to Canada for less than US$11 and this seller's domestic shipping price was US$13, it strikes me that this seller was either using a rather primo shipping method themselves, or else they've marked up their domestic shipping price a fair bit.

hinu45 · ‎09-18-2017

Ebay

what a Joke.

So I am looking at mega bloks destiny stuff. LOL used to be a Canadian company that basically knocked off Lego goes to court and then sells it to Mattel. Probably planned that way. well I can no longer get their product. Looking at getting the Destiny Cabal Drop Ship and even though you do the exchange which is fair you get the shipping then between 50 to 80 dollars for import charges. HAHAHAHAHAHA

What a joke ebay has become. I wonder if US sellers even care. They basically screw international buyers. I have basically tossed ebay to the curb next to the food waste bin. I mean the flies need some other nutrient. Why not balance it off feasting on ebay's decay.

Amazon has been my go too. I mean you have ebay sellers selling fake stuff. I was on their CS line asking about refunds on two obvious knockoffs and they never refunded me. So much for their buyer protection then another seller sold me an item and 2.5 months later I still dont have the product. Probably a knockoff as its a Comicon Exclusive but the seller is from Hong Kong.

Ebay is a criminal organization that promotes fraud and breaking IP licenses

reallynicestamps · ‎09-18-2017

Any item over $20 Cdn (~$16USD) is subject to assessment for duty and Sales Taxes.

The shipper is also entitled to charge a service fee. For Canada Post this is $9.95. For UPS/fedEx this is $25 or more. For GSP/Pitney Bowes it is ~$5.

If you want to have the duty free limit raised, write your MP

Jane DoeMP

House of Commons

OTTAWA ON

K1A 0A6

You don't have to stamp the envelope, just mark it OHMS.

Probably a knockoff as its a Comicon Exclusive but the seller is from Hong Kong.

Yes. But you chose to buy it anyway, eh?

If your eBay Dispute deadline has passed*, you are still covered by Paypal's Buyer Protection for 180 days from payment.

The PP Resolution Centre is at the top of your PP account page under Tools.

Skip the part about contacting the seller. It's only a suggestion.

*You have 30 days after the last estimated delivery date to Dispute.

marnotom! · ‎09-18-2017

Lego Purists would probably find it amusing that someone who uses Mega Bloks is concerned about knock-offs.

the.philosopher · ‎09-24-2017

Add me to the list of people annoyed with the Global Shipping Program.

I have bought things using that program for the last 2 years, I knew what I was getting into (outrageous shipping fees, long delays to the Kentucky state, opened packages) but the deals were too good to pass up then. I recently bought a NVidia Shield TV console and kept track of it. At some point I got a message saying that there will be a delay in the order because the package may contain prohibited items. And then when I finally received the package, it was missing an HDMI cable. I spoke with the seller and he said that he clearly put TWO hdmi cables in there.

I guess I got lucky that the console, power supply, controller and microusb cables got here safe and sound, but I have to wonder what exactly went through the thought process of the employees there to actually think that HDMI cables are prohibited?? I sent an email asking for an explanation, I haven't heard back from them. And I am pretty sure if I were to call, I'd get a generic lame answer.

People will say, HDMI cables can be found cheap in any store, but the thing is, today it is HDMI cables, what will it be tomorrow??? Never again! Geez.

marnotom! · ‎09-24-2017

@the.philosopher wrote:

. . . when I finally received the package, it was missing an HDMI cable. I spoke with the seller and he said that he clearly put TWO hdmi cables in there.

I guess I got lucky that the console, power supply, controller and microusb cables got here safe and sound, but I have to wonder what exactly went through the thought process of the employees there to actually think that HDMI cables are prohibited?? I sent an email asking for an explanation, I haven't heard back from them. And I am pretty sure if I were to call, I'd get a generic lame answer.

People will say, HDMI cables can be found cheap in any store, but the thing is, today it is HDMI cables, what will it be tomorrow??? Never again! Geez.

Given that the picture in the listing page shows only one HDMI cable and the listing description only mentions one HDMI cable, I'm not completely convinced of the seller's claims of packing two of the things.

marnotom! · ‎09-24-2017

In addition, I suspect what got the inspection process held up was the controller's battery, not the HDMI cable (or more likely the lack of one).

the.philosopher · ‎09-24-2017

@marnotom! wrote:
In addition, I suspect what got the inspection process held up was the controller's battery, not the HDMI cable (or more likely the lack of one).

Well, the description said one HDMI cable, but when I inquired about it, he said he added two in the package.

Let's say the seller simply forgot to add it, I would have understood, I have many cables at home, it wouldn't be such a big deal, it didn't look like the official one from NVidia on the picture. The fact is, he swears he added 2 of them and honestly, as a seller myself, I try to see things from both points of view (buyer and seller), I would have straight up said "sorry, forgot to add it, I'll send it right away". But nope, he said he added two, so I expect at least one.

I have read other stories just to make sure I am not talking non-sense and I came with the conclusion that they decided to remove the HDMI cables for some reason, or even better as you mentioned it, they inspected the battery in the controller and then stupidly forgot to put the cables back.

I do not know what to think, but in the end, it is the principle of the matter, fine if you need to inspect the items, but honestly, put them back if you think they are OK. As for the controller, I ordered the same one with an NVIDIA Shield tablet 2 years ago and it wasn't detained at all. Even funnier, the tablet I bought was part of the recall for exploding batteries (I knew what I bought), funny that they didn't detain THAT.

And I hate the fact that they don't even reply or give an explanation.

Anyway, I won't keep whining about it, I just needed to vent. But, lesson learned!! I can take heart that it was only 10$ HDMI cables that I lost and not some rare artifact. Unless the deal is too good to pass up, I'll stick to buying things from Canada. I have bought things there that got here literally the next day, no import duties, no taxes, no dumb repackaging, no fuss, no issues.

Thanks!!

marnotom! · ‎09-24-2017

@the.philosopher wrote:

Well, the description said one HDMI cable, but when I inquired about it, he said he added two in the package.

Let's say the seller simply forgot to add it, I would have understood, I have many cables at home, it wouldn't be such a big deal, it didn't look like the official one from NVidia on the picture. The fact is, he swears he added 2 of them and honestly, as a seller myself, I try to see things from both points of view (buyer and seller), I would have straight up said "sorry, forgot to add it, I'll send it right away". But nope, he said he added two, so I expect at least one.

I have read other stories just to make sure I am not talking non-sense and I came with the conclusion that they decided to remove the HDMI cables for some reason, or even better as you mentioned it, they inspected the battery in the controller and then stupidly forgot to put the cables back.

I try to look at things from more than one POV as well. I've sold in the past both online and in brick and mortar environments. Consider that this seller--if he's using the GSP because the idea of shipping directly to another country gives him the heebie-jeebies--is likely in no position to send you a replacement cable.

A possible scenario here is that he wants to look as though he "overpromised" here. He throws his choice of shipping method under the bus because he knows that if you were to file a "not as described" claim for the item, it's more likely to go through as a claim with the GSP than as a claim with him.

@the.philosopher wrote:

I do not know what to think, but in the end, it is the principle of the matter, fine if you need to inspect the items, but honestly, put them back if you think they are OK. As for the controller, I ordered the same one with an NVIDIA Shield tablet 2 years ago and it wasn't detained at all. Even funnier, the tablet I bought was part of the recall for exploding batteries (I knew what I bought), funny that they didn't detain THAT.

You say you don't know what to think, but practically in the same breath you seem to conclude that it's the GSP's fault that you didn't get the cable.

Neither of us have enough information on this particular sale or seller to make a definite call on who's at fault here. We have to rely on anecdotal evidence of the GSP's past performance and our sense of human nature. Consider that the Global Shipping Center is staffed with employees of varying levels of experience. Latisha may have handled your first NVIDIA item and her knowledge of and experience with handling these items may have been different than that of Jose who handled your more recent purchase.

@the.philosopher wrote:

Anyway, I won't keep whining about it, I just needed to vent. But, lesson learned!! I can take heart that it was only 10$ HDMI cables that I lost and not some rare artifact. Unless the deal is too good to pass up, I'll stick to buying things from Canada. I have bought things there that got here literally the next day, no import duties, no taxes, no dumb repackaging, no fuss, no issues.

Thanks!!

You're welcome. May I just add in parting, though, that buying Canadian is no guarantee that you won't pay taxes on your eBay purchase.

crazydad56 · ‎09-27-2017

Nothing has worked well for me with the Global program. Essentially it stole a piece of recording gear that was my property; bought and paid for. This was based on the program's incorrect assumption about the manufacture date of my gear, which was wrong by over 20 years.

I got a really good deal when I bought my gear and now it will only cost me more to find another one like it.

.

I personally will never use the Global Shipping Program again and have posted warnings on the recording gear sites I use to advise others not to use it or risk losing their recording gear.

femmefan1946 · ‎09-27-2017

Okay-- This should come under Item Not Received.

Have you opened an eBay Dispute - stating that the item was handled by the GSP?

Generally, GSP doesn't fight these and just refunds when they cannot prove delivery.

If you are too late (more than 30 days after eBay's last estimated date for delivery) you can still go to Paypal and open a Dispute.

Again, mention that it was shipped through the GSP.

I'm not sure if PP will collect for you from GSP or if they will go to the seller who :

chose GSP shipping
gave incorrect customs information*

both of which were his responsibility.

You have 180 days from payment to open a PP Dispute.

And of course, if you back your PP account with a credit card, you may want to call the 1-800 number on the card and ask the customer service rep about a chargeback. If you do this, have all your dates, transaction numbers, payments and currencies handy to help her process your refund.

*I'm assuming that this is what you meant by: " This was based on the program's incorrect assumption about the manufacture date of my gear, which was wrong by over 20 years." Although duty is usually based on place of manufacture rather than date of manufacture.

marnotom! · ‎09-27-2017

femmefan, I suspect that crazydad's issues are that this piece of recording gear was impounded ("stolen" in his words) at the Global Shipping Center because the seller didn't (or perhaps was unable to) provide them with information on the equipment's year of manufacture. In instances such as this, the GSP usually errs on the side of caution as the Global Shipping Center or its subcontractors are unlikely to have anybody on staff who's a category expert.

The terms and conditions that buyers agree to when purchasing an item forwarded through the GSP state that title to that item remains with the seller until it is delivered to the buyer. While crazydad may have put money out for this equipment and its shipping, the item wasn't actually his when delivery was halted at the GSC.

I completely agree that crazydad should be pursuing a full refund if he hasn't done so already.

afantiques · ‎09-28-2017

The GSP call such items 'undeliverable' and the refund should be automatic.

I am just wondering what type of 'recording gear' is subject to seizure?

black_antler · ‎10-04-2017

I am in Canada and purchase most of my items from the US. I truly HATE this program.

Because it is default when a seller lists an item, many sellers believe that this is the only option they have.

The program adds a week or more to the shipping time: the seller has to ship the item to Pitney Bowes. It is actually quicker for me to purchase as an American and ship it to Canada via my Reship address.Occasionally it is cheaper, but even if the same, I would rather avoid GPS if only to receive my item more quickly.

The programs adds unnecessary customs charges, plus shipping charges are always more expensive. Case in point: To ship a small plate $8.00 USPS Standard. GSP charges almost $30. I will ship the item to my Reship address, which will end up costing almost the same in the end (I pay for shipping twice) but it will always arrive days sooner.

As a buyer there is absolutely nothing positive about the GSP. In my humble opinion, this is simply an income generator for eBay and Pitney Bowes. Sellers may appear to win because they only have to drop an item off at the post office but ultimately they will get less sales. I know I have switched to purchasing from various other sellers like Amazon because of this unfair 'program'.

Sincerely.