How accurate is the QUOTED Global Shipping Program Fee (Confirmed at Checkout)?

[adamcarlseventyfive]

Hi,

I'm about to buy an item using the global shipping program - I'm in Canada - but the listing states that the fee shown is just an estimate and it will be confirmed at checkout. That's fine, but should I expect much or any difference when I commit to buy? It's a big deal for me as I only transfer as much money to my Papal account as needed, and I wouldn't like to be short on funds when I finally go through checkout and have to wait to transfer more before I can send full payment. 

So, for those that have used this program, is the quoted fee usually the same when you complete? 

Thank you 

[marnotom!]

I went through the Checkout process once.  It was for a seller wanting to do an experiment with it and I wanted to learn more about how it looked on the buyer's end.  I didn't actually purchase the item.

Anyway, in this particular instance I didn't see any difference between the estimate on the listing page and what appeared on the Checkout invoice.

What you may want to do before hitting that "buy" button, though, is view the listing on the .com site as well as the .ca site.  There have been some reports on some discrepancies in the import charge estimates between the two sites, the .ca site showing higher charges than the .com site.

[marnotom!]

By the way, why do you need to transfer funds to your PayPal account to make a purchase?  I don't have to do that.

[adamcarlseventyfive]

Thanks, I just checked and I'm getting the same quoted cost on both sites, .ca & .com. I hope that means it's about accurate. I don't mind it being off by $0.30 or $0.40 but I'm just afraid that it'll quote $10 and really be $15! I'm not a fan of this GSP as it is, but on this particular item the charge isn't too high and really not much more than what I expected to pay for shipping anyway. 

As for the funds transfer thing...

I don't use my PayPal account for anything other than buying from eBay, and I do not keep a credit card on file there. So I just transfer the amount of cash I need from my bank account to my PayPal balance and use that. I guess if you're not transferring from your bank, you must have a card setup for your purchasing? Since I signed up originally using just my bank and only use the account here and there, I never thought there was much point in adding a card. Less personal info online as well, too. 

[chappy_keith]

GSP,usually if shipped USPS no customs duties....NAFTA covers a lot of parts and electronics with no duty. So what your really doing is lining someones pocket., but have to admit a good scam

[marnotom!]

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@adamcarlseventyfive wrote:

Thanks, I just checked and I'm getting the same quoted cost on both sites, .ca & .com. I hope that means it's about accurate. I don't mind it being off by $0.30 or $0.40 but I'm just afraid that it'll quote $10 and really be $15! I'm not a fan of this GSP as it is, but on this particular item the charge isn't too high and really not much more than what I expected to pay for shipping anyway. 

As for the funds transfer thing...

I don't use my PayPal account for anything other than buying from eBay, and I do not keep a credit card on file there. So I just transfer the amount of cash I need from my bank account to my PayPal balance and use that. I guess if you're not transferring from your bank, you must have a card setup for your purchasing? Since I signed up originally using just my bank and only use the account here and there, I never thought there was much point in adding a card. Less personal info online as well, too. 

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I'm not wild about the GSP either, but for some heavier or higher-priced items, it makes quite a bit of sense to use it, I'm finding.  However, I'm not going to make a purchase through it until some issues with returns and accountability are dealt with by eBay and Pitney Bowes.

As far as PayPal goes, I have to admit it's been ages since I set up my PayPal account, and perhaps things have changed, but I have both my credit union account and a bank credit card on file with PayPal.  I have the option of choosing either when I make a payment.  Usually, I'll pay with my credit card as it theoretically offers a bit more protection should PayPal protection fail for whatever reason.

I could be wrong, but I would have thought that even if one doesn't have a credit card on file with PayPal that one could just have the amount for the transaction withdrawn by PayPal "automatically" without all the rigamarole of a funds transfer a la H'wallet.

[lady.stark]

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@marnotom! wrote:
I could be wrong, but I would have thought that even if one doesn't have a credit card on file with PayPal that one could just have the amount for the transaction withdrawn by PayPal "automatically" without all the rigamarole of a funds transfer a la H'wallet.

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It is my undertanding as well that you can ask PayPal to withdraw the money directly through your bank account. But since I have both a Credit Card and a Bank Account on file, I can't be 100% sure.

[adamcarlseventyfive]

@chappy_keith

Yeah, I know what the GSP really is, but in this case it actually works best. I'm buying autoparts. I can get the part from a few sellers not in the GSP but they all ship using FedEx and UPS which will end up jacking the price by $20 because of their import / handling fees. So that's $20 bucks for shipping and then another $20 for carrier fee at delivery. Suddenly the $23 fee for the GSP (shipping & Import fees) seems more reasonable. I save something at the very least. If only sellers would all ship via USPS there wouldn't be such a problem, and the import charge is usually very low in my experience. I've contacted a few sellers and asked if they would mind sending by USPS and they flat out said no.

@marnotom! @lady.stark

Yeah, you can have it transferred automatically without keeping a balance in your PP account, but from a Canadian back that takes 7-8 business days! REALLY! So rather than have the sellers wait for payment, I go in the week before and transfer from my bank to the PP balance, and once it's done, I just buy what I want and complete the payment instantly from the PP balance. A lot of auctions say they want instant payments these days too, so I don't fancy they'd be happy to wait for the transfer to complete.

What would be great would be if the bank transfers worked like a debt card at a store. Swipe it and your done in just a few seconds. I'm sure that COULD be done, but I doubt it will anytime soon. What annoyes me most is that when you go in and do a bank to PP transfer, the money is pulled from your bank the same day, but where it goes between then and the 8 days it takes to actually enter your PP account is a mystery.

Anyway, anyone else have any experiences with the GSP quoted cost?

[sa_calla]

US seller's using the Global Shipping Program are usually not aware that ANY item shipped outside the US will be hit with a brokerage fee. This fee is not a receiving country customs fee(you may also be charged for that).  The brokerage fee charged can & many times does cost more than the item itself. So buyer's beware!!

[marnotom!]

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@sa_calla wrote:

US seller's using the Global Shipping Program are usually not aware that ANY item shipped outside the US will be hit with a brokerage fee. This fee is not a receiving country customs fee(you may also be charged for that).  The brokerage fee charged can & many times does cost more than the item itself.

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Many of the GSP items I've checked recently have what appears to be processing charges that are less than what Canada Post charges once one subtracts the tax portion from the total Import Charges.

Sorry to continue the hijacking of the thread, Adamcarl.  I hope you do get more input from buyers who have used the GSP as I'm curious, as well.

[chimera148]

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adamcarlseventyfive wrote: 

Anyway, anyone else have any experiences with the GSP quoted cost?

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There is some info here on import charge discrepancies between ebay.com and ebay.ca. on a variety of items. 34 listings found with little effort.

http://community.ebay.com/t5/International-Trading/DO-INTERNATIONAL-BUYERS-SEE-A-TOTAL-COST-FOR-SHIP... 

[adamcarlseventyfive]

@chimera148

To be honest, what I was really looking for was not if there was a discrepancy between .com and .ca, but from the quoted cost and what the final cost is during checkout.

In the listing I'm viewing for example, I'm seeing a quote for the import charge, but it notes that this is not the final cost, just an estimate of the final cost, and the final fee will be calculated during checkout when I've ALREADY committed to buy the item. I'm just looking to see if anyone has gone through this and found the final import charge to be vastly different compared to the quote.

[pierrelebel]

There are three factors that may justify a difference.

1) exchange fluctuations since taxes are calculated on the Cdn$ value

2) in case of auction, the closing price may be different from the minimum bid

3) a mistake by PB in calculating tax rate - mostly due to buyer's location.

Overall, I would not worry too much about it IF the value offered in the listing makes sense (you know the tax rate for your province, add some for the brokerage fee). For example, if the item is listed at $100, you live in Ontario (13% HST) and the "import charges" are shown as $20.00 that would make sense.  $$10 would not nor would $50.

[chimera148]

You could search "Global Shipping says zero import" for a report.

[lady.stark]

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@adamcarlseventyfive wrote:

Yeah, you can have it transferred automatically without keeping a balance in your PP account, but from a Canadian back that takes 7-8 business days! REALLY! So rather than have the sellers wait for payment, I go in the week before and transfer from my bank to the PP balance, and once it's done, I just buy what I want and complete the payment instantly from the PP balance.

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In my experience, when I pay with my bank account, it is - almost - always an "Instant Transfer". I have the "echeque" option very rarely. But maybe it's because I have a credit card as back up.

I'm also sorry to hijack the thread like that, Adamcarl, but I had to reply. 😉

Regarding your main question, I think Pierre is right. If taxes make sense for your province, why worry too much? I've never heard of someone being charged more than what was written (except if the price varies from .ca to .com).

[lady.stark]

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@chimera148 wrote:

You could search "Global Shipping says zero import" for a report.

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??

I don't understand your comment.... what do you mean by that?

[adamcarlseventyfive]

@lady.stark

You must be making payments via that card on file then, because if it was from your bank account - an echeck - it would take well over a week for payment to go through. And I don't mind the hijacking 🙂

Oh, and not sure I understand the "Global Shipping says zero import" thing either. I did search for it, but the result but it doesn't seem to be relevant to things here. But it doesn't matter really, since I'm just goanna have to go ahead with buying and see how it works out. I'm sure it'll be fine anyway. 

Thanks

[pierrelebel]

"You must be making payments via that card on file then, because if it was from your bank account - an echeck - it would take well over a week for payment to go through"

Let me highjack that one!

If you have both a bank account and a credit card linked to your PayPal account, the payment may be charged to your bank account and credited to the seller account immediately because it is backed by the credit card.  In such instance, it is not an e-check.

[adamcarlseventyfive]

Well, in that case, I don't know what I'm talking about! 🙂 

Side note: I just went ahead with the purchase and there was no change in the import charge. It was the same as it was initially quoted on the listing. If this sale works out as it should, the GSP will have worked in my favor, giving me a lower cost all around.