Questions about the Global Shipping Program

[kalvin@ebay.com]

Do you have questions about the Global Shipping Program? Please post here & I'll do my best to track those answers down for you!

If you have any comments about the program, use this forum instead.

Thanks,

[afantiques]

I've had bad experiences in the past with the Global Shipping System. Items were shipped by a Seller who had multiple Winning Buyers . My parcel along with others received wrong items and Seller was unfamiliar with system and refused to cover return shipping charges for these items. Seller assumed his customers were all located in Kentucky

The combination of ignorant sellers and uninformed buyers in one transaction is never going to end well, and until US sellers have to pass some sort of examination before being allowed to use the GSP, problems will occour.

As an introduction to international shipping the GSP is akin to tying a brick to your baby and teaching it to swim by dropping it in the deep end. Only the cleverest and most agile babies manage to untie the brick and wobble to the surface, like a GSP  seller who finally discovers the Opt Out button.

[arlene_v]

A quick question about auction style GSP listiings.

I've read the FAQs for the GSP and see that the import charges are based on the bidder's max bid (pretty obvious,  don't want any nasty shocks).

http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/shipping/globalshippingprogram/faq.html

I'd like to hear back from folks here who have bid on  GSP auction style listings, please.

I am trying to figure out at what point the bidder gets to authorize the bid - is there an intermediate step that calculates final costs based on max bid that a buyer can  accept or decline .... and how the process works ... for example snipe programs would likely not be a good idea, right?

If this has already been discussed here ad nauseam please forgive me but I haven't read each and every post on this winding thread. If there is ominous silence to this question I guess I'll not be lazy and go back and try to find answers posted here already!

Thanks in advance.

[123newyorx]

 I recently purchased a guitar and it was shipped using GSP.  The tracking # provided in MY Ebay says the package was delivered on Dec 30 / 2013 @ 18:26 pm  Sk  S4S 6S2.  Only shows province and postal code but not an address.  I have left voice and email messages with Pitney Bowes with no reply yet, and have opened a didn't receive item case with Pay Pal. 

Is there anything else I should be doing to track down this item or might it still show up?

Regards

Derrick

[afantiques]

If this has already been discussed here ad nauseam please forgive me but I haven't read each and every post on this winding thread. If there is ominous silence to this question I guess I'll not be lazy and go back and try to find answers posted here already! 

This has not been discussed much, as far as I can recall, and any reports would be welcome to shed a bit of light.

My approach if bidding on an auction would be to factor in about 20% for possible import charges and bid accordingly.

[afantiques]

Is there anything else I should be doing to track down this item or might it still show up?

Have you escalated the case to a claim, you will need to do this.

[xaerogravity87]

Hey everyone.  I apologise if I'm asking this in the wrong place, but I'm at a total loss.  I placed an order back on December 30th and it was shipped using the GSP, and since then I have not received a single tracking update.  In fact, it simply states that the item was marked as "shipped", but nothing other than that.  I've contacted the seller and they said I should receive another tracking number from Pitney Bowes once it arrives at their shipping depot, but I can't seem to get confirmation on whether or not that's correct.  Any thing I can do to possibly correct this?  Or am I simply just being paranoid?  Thanks in advance.

[pierrelebel]

December 30th was only four business days ago.

Patience.

[xaerogravity87]

I understand that, I just find it odd that the last time a seller shipped through PBI, I started receiving tracking updates the very next day.  I'm sure this is simply a case of me being paranoid, but I'd much rather look into it now and be safe rather than sorry.

[afantiques]

It seems that the GSP tracking is a chimerical feature, briefly glimpsed only to vanish or reform.  You may have some lovely tracking a few days after the item arrives.

Simply put, it's rubbish.

Luckily, it is not your problem.

[nadafarms]

I sold and item through the global shipping program, the buyer in Germany is asking for tracking info but all I have is the tracking number to the Kentucky shipping center where is has been accepted. Now what? How are we supposed to track this?

Any help would be much appreciated!

[dream3rz]

Can someone break down the GSP charge for me?

When I bid during the auction, I was given an estimate of the shipping & handling to Canada ($17.24) and import charges ($25.85). I was charged the same after I won the auction. However, the receipt for my auction payment shows this:

Payment to seller

Item: $113.50

Shipping & handling: $5.75

Total: $119.25

Payment to Pitney Bowes, Inc.

International shipping (includes any seller handling fees): $5.75 (Why is the seller's cost to ship to the domestic shipping center here?)

Total: $37.34

It looks to me the international shipping cost from PB could have been $17.24 - $5.75 = $11.49, and the import charge same as estimate $25.85. The Canadian tax would only have been around $15 at most. Can anyone break down for me what charges are comprised of in the payment to PB? 

Thanks!

[pierrelebel]

"The Canadian tax would only have been around $15 at most."

The import charges by Pitney Bowes include duty since the item was manufactured in Singapore, not the USA (it would then have been duty free) and taxes (GST/HST/PST) depending on your province.

No, PayPal and Pitney Bowes do NOT provide a breakdown of actual duty paid, taxes paid and service charge paid. 

Many Canadians, myself included, have been asking for such breakdown since the program was implemented over a year ago and the only reply we ever received from the management at eBay: "great idea - we'll look into it".

eBay had lost a lot of credibility with their total lack of accountability on the subject.  All we have read about are excuses and more excuses.

[bennett4612]

Hi nadafarms. 

When was the last time you checked the status of your transaction? Tracking should show arrival at the US Shipping Center (Kentucky), and then additional info for the next steps in the journey ("departure scan", etc., like in any shipping situation).

(On a related note, there are certainly cases (as reported on these message boards) where tracking info is missing, and we are working with Pitney Bowes to improve the tracking info provided with GSP orders.)

I can look into it from my end if you like. Please send me a Private Message and include full transaction details (transaction #, date of transaction, item #, user id and email address used, etc.)

Thanks.

---Ben

[aln_kat]

Currently am an noticing a consistent discrepancy in viewing of shipping prices on items where  GSP (Global Shipping Program) is used.  When I see an item in a search format, a shipping price is normally shown, However then when I  view the particular item  details  the shipping price are always more. In the last search I did , I  viewed details on 10 items and the shipping  amounts varied by $1 to $4 from what was shown in the search list. Why the discrepancy?  Is GSP now collecting from the buyer for extra fees that are needed to ship from seller to GSP central distribution center????!!!!And I am not talking about the import fees that can be added in  which is a totally different concern.

[marnotom!]

---

@aln_kat wrote:

Currently am an noticing a consistent discrepancy in viewing of shipping prices on items where  GSP (Global Shipping Program) is used.  When I see an item in a search format, a shipping price is normally shown, However then when I  view the particular item  details  the shipping price are always more. In the last search I did , I  viewed details on 10 items and the shipping  amounts varied by $1 to $4 from what was shown in the search list. Why the discrepancy?  Is GSP now collecting from the buyer for extra fees that are needed to ship from seller to GSP central distribution center????!!!!And I am not talking about the import fees that can be added in  which is a totally different concern.

---

Do these items show import charges otherwise, Aln? 

When the GSP first came about, there were "import charges" for items within the tax/duty-free threshold of C$20, usually an amount between three and four dollars.  Unfortunately, there were a lot of people who saw those "import charges" as "duty" or "tax" when they seemed to be charges for import/export processing and clearance.  As a result of that outcry, those charges were folded into the shipping charge.

What I suspect you're seeing in search is the shipping charge without the processing and clearance charges added in, while the listing page has those charges added to the shipping charge.

Does that make sense (in a weird, eBay sort of way)?

[higgswtop12]

Normally if an item has to be returned the buyer pays return shipping but gets refunded the original payment to the seller. The seller, if I understand correctly, does not receive the portion that Pitney Bowes charges for it's fees or customs charges. Is the buyer out those fees too in addition to the return shipping? Does one mail directly to the seller or is there a place to send the item in Canada and the GSP returns it to the seller?

[pierrelebel]

First, you must file with the Resolution Centre.

If eBay/PayPal agree with your claim, you will eventually receive two refunds:

1) from the seller for the purchase price of the item paid to the seller

2) from Pitney Bowes for the "import charges" (taxes and handling fee)

It is important to follow the instructions from eBay/PayPal to make sure you get all your money back.

Often the buyer gets a full refund while not being requested to return the damaged goods.  Each case is handled individually.

[higgswtop12]

Thanks for the reply Pierre. I contacted the seller. He had told me to return for a refund. I gather that even tough he is willing to refund I should to file with the resolution center to get the Pitney Bowes fees back. Is that correct?

This was an antique clock that clearly handled very roughly in shipping.

[higgswtop12]

Item: 321275814520

US $58.39 (approx. C $63.05) International Priority Shipping to Canada 

This amount includes seller specified US shipping charges as well as applicable international shipping, handling, and other fees. This amount is subject to change until you make payment. For additional information, see the Global Shipping Program terms and conditions

Item location:

Longview, Washington, United States

Import charges:

US $18.81

It was shaken hard enough in shipping that the brass rod that the chime sets on snapped off and it bounced around inside the case causing a problem with the hammer mechanism which now hammers continuously. Also it will not run except for a couple of minutes after which it stops.

[higgswtop12]

Is that the resolution center at paypal or eBay? I have not had to do this before.