GSP should be an option at check out and not imposed on the auction!!!

[electric-pixel]

Don't want to complain but i see more and more GSP auctions and it really upsets me as it seems that american sellers are dictating to international buyers how there import fees and such should be handled rather than having to let the buyer deal with his or  her own countrie's regulations.

It is a complete farce as this is nothing more than a brokerage system that will overcharge you every step of the way for the service. Why would you willingly punish your buyers with the use of such a program is beyond me.

It should be some sort of shipping auction at the check out. If the buyer want to willingly go to this process then he or she should be able to choose so and it should not be imposed if they have specific reasons to do so.

I know for a fact that i would rather use USPS priority mail with a flat fee and pay customs and taxes at the post office rather than paying some 20$ extra on top of the fees i have just mentioned that just says that my package is ok to cross the border. To me this is highway robbery.

It just makes it easier for the seller to deal with the international shipping process as they dump it on the broker but the broker sure as hell will charge the buyer for this. I somewhat call these sellers a bit on the lazy side since they just dump their problem to someone else.

Very frustrating and more common and it ruins everything...

[ggsale27]

Most US sellers do not understand exactly what this program does to their customers. They only see that they get a discount on their FVFs if they sign up for it. I have talked to a few of them, and some will opt out once you explain it to them, and some just do not care. We mostly avoid these auctions unless it is for something that we would really need, and then we send a message , asking if the seller will work around the program or not. Some will, some will not.

[prairietrains]

I hate this CRP (Customs Ripoff Provided). If Sellers don't want to sell foreign, just mark ships to US only and then it will not show in eBay .ca. And I will not know what I missed.   

[rose-dee]

I hate this CRP (Customs Ripoff Provided). If Sellers don't want to sell foreign, just mark ships to US only and then it will not show in eBay .ca. And I will not know what I missed.   

Sellers are lured into this Global Shipping programme by promises and assurances from eBay that it will make their selling safer and faster.  This is so much horse manure (because eBay and Pitney Bowes are the ones making money), but it's very easy for sellers to just click the button and "opt in" without really knowing the details because they're told it will help them. 

Many U.S. sellers have no idea what costs this entails for their international buyers, and some are shocked when they're told by the buyers what the true costs are.

As others have said, if you really want an item listed by a GSP seller in the US, it may be worth asking if they'll work around it.  I imagine some seller's won't accommodate the request -- it might depend on the value of the purchase.  

[i*m-still-here]

That's an excellent suggestion!

Using the GSP should be at the buyer's discretion and not the seller's dictation.

Some would argue that the purpose the GSP is to make it more appealing to American sellers to sell internationally.

Others would argue that if they care that little for the welfare of their buyers that they should keep their stuff.

We don't need it that badly!

[reallynicestamps]

Well, no. The seller owns the material he is selling and has the right to decide how he wishes to sell and deliver it.

However, the customer, before bidding,  also has the right to explain about the problems this dumb program causes and ask that the seller not use it.

Then the seller with both sides of the story understood, can decide for himself.

And if he decides to stick with the GSP, the buyer is not required to bid.

[mayotrucklive]

Ebays newest way to try and rob the community that built them or bite the ahnd that feeds...nothing new really.... ebay gets really greedy at least once a year until people start boycotting them.. eventually ebay will fall because of their greed, this is just making me lean toward different online auction sites.

[electric-pixel]

We did not have the GSP crap before and everything was fine and dandy. Its just another money grabing gimmick from ebay. They probably get kick backs from using PB in those transactions. Like i said it should not be imposed but chosen at checkout.... i saw an email they send about this but could not understand it...

[cumos55]

From one of the Wednesday discussions with eBay personnel..

US sellers should offer two shipping options..

(1) with the GSP

(2) Without the GSP

Let this buyer decide

I do remember something about this,  but unable to provide a link....

Perhaps .....Something for The weekly discussion on Wednesday

[pjcdn2005]

cumos, I'm not positive, but based on conversations that I've seen on the .com boards, I don't think that they can offer 1 option with the GSP and one without.

[cumos55]

From eBay,com ..

Abourt using the GSP... link to

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

with the following comment...

If you want to provide other shipping options to international buyers, specify additional shipping options in the Additional international shipping options section. You can specify up to 4 additional international shipping options.

[cumos55]

If a seller wants to ship worldwide, other shipping options would cover the countries excluded by the GSP option....

[Anonymous]

When I see something I really want to buy, I would ask the sellers if they would opt out of GSP, nearly all of them are willilng after learning about it and were shocked and disguisted with eBay for offering them this insane bogus program.

As for eBay's offer for 50% off on FVFs, it was good until March 31, so what is the point of having this GSP after March 31?  Am I missing something that the sellers think it is cool to opt in GSP?

By opting in GSP, the sellers have to ship their items to another location before finally ship outside Canada, causing more mail delay and those sellers didn't mind?  It is a risk for them as we knew lots of buyers have been gripping about "slow" mail delivery all the time.

We prefer to take risks at the custom border if our packages/parcels would be charged for the custom duty fees but I knew nearly all of my packages/parcels would not be charged.  I have been receiving them, an average of 20 per week, not one have been charged, expect 2 in 3 years which were large and heavy which I expected to be charged.  In fact, I did recieved a large heavy box last month but not one penny for the custom duty fees!

It is just a moneymaking/money grabbing scam by eBay.  I hope that eBay will "retire" this insane program as they "retire" eBucks for Canada.

[electric-pixel]

In essence it looks great on paper. Everything is legal and the proper taxes are paid. But in reality it is just a mess and an hidden brokerage fee that ebay charges. I would not even be surprised if ebay does not even try to get money out of the seller on the final value of the gsp like they did with excessive postal fees that some people were charging.

I have seen an auction go up to over 400$ ( Star Wars toy collection ) and i had contacted the seller about shipping fees. and he said it would be cheap. He turned around and added the GSP crap to his auction. ( unless it was hidden in the ca site ) as i saw the auction go up in price i saw the gsp go up also. by the end it was almost half price of the actual auction.

If you do the proper math: here is what you would get.

lets say the auction ends and the final price with postage is 400$ you would be expected to pay: 400$ times 13% HST ( in my province ) which is around 52$ plus the 10$ fee that customs Canada charge for the processing of the order.

so total of around 62$ or 70$ if my math is wrong.

same auction with GSP was over 140$ in fees. How can a seller honestly believe that a person outside the US would be willing to pay close to half of the value of his auction in that stupid GSP fee?

The sellers are just plain ignorant and will bite at everything ebay throws at them to save a penny, even at the cost of losing major sales outside the US. Maybe no one in the US would want their stuff but maybe someone in Canada would be willing to shell a decent price for the item because they just cant get it in Canada.

worse program ever!

[tobyshitzu]

", causing more mail delay and those sellers didn't mind?  It is a risk for them as we knew lots of buyers have been gripping about "slow" mail delivery all the time."

Unlike with Canadian sellers, drs from international customers don't count against american sellers at all so they don't care what Canadians think or leave them

[cumos55]

A US seller can have shipping options other than the GSP option.

Is the GSP option fixed for a Canadian buyer , even if there are other options available?...

[antique.collector]

The problem is eBay is kind of misleading the sellers to think that GSP is a good program to protect against low rating on feedback and gets cheaper international shipping with tracking.  Which are totally false.

Half of the time when i spoken to the seller who opted-in to the GSP, they don't really know what it is.

So it is important to let the seller know why you want to cancel the sale.or why you are stepping away from the transaction. Even if you are to keep the purchase, you should let them know how much GSP is billing you for import charges and shipping.

[jbrodietelstad]

I just had my first experience with the GSP and I must say I am NOT impressed!  If this continues, I will no longer buy or bid on Ebay, or only on those listings that do not have GSP!  Can anyone direct me to where I can contact Ebay regarding this?  I find these extra "charges" disturbing and outright theft!

[jbrodietelstad]

I have not been charged GST, HST or any other fee on a parcel from the US, shipped through regular mail, if the declared value of the parcel was under $50.  When it was charged, of course we paid, but to the CANADIAN postal service!  Does Pitney Bowes give this extra fee to the Canadian government??  Or do they keep it for themselves??  If Ebay sellers continue with this, I will move to a different auction sight!  What a slap in the face to Canadian buyers!

[Anonymous]

You got to wonder how much longer before eBay finally waving the white flag and "retire" this insane GSP.  eBay really got to know how much sellers are now opt out of GSP which I am sure that there are more and more sellers opt out of GSP so fast the last few months.  Unless eBay is so stubborn because they are so greedy and want extra $$$.

I had many sellers that were willing to opt out of GSP the last 4-5 weeks when I see something they have that I wanted to have.   They admitted that their sales went down so much, no sales from Canada and International buyers since they opt in GSP and decided to opt out of GSP, then they get good sales from Canada and International buyers. 

Surely eBay would notice that acitivity lately.  It cannot be that eBay don't know or whatever.  I am looking forward to when eBay finally "retire" GSP like they retired eBucks for Canada.

It is getting to be a hassle having to ask the US sellers to opt out of GSP especially during the auction-style formats and hoping that it wouldn't be too late for us to bid on them while they work opt out of GSP in the process.  Lot of US sellers have no idea how hassle GSP is when contacted by Canada and International buyers.  All they see is 50% FVFs and tracking but didn't know that it would cause a delay in mail service, etc., especially when they are not protected by eBay when the buyers can give them negative and lower DSRs which I think is unfair that eBay would treat US sellers like that by fooling them with this insane GSP.

Actually we prefer to take risks at the custom border when any packages/parcels stop and be charged for the import charges/custom duty fees than paying to GSP when we fully knew we would never be charged in the first place.