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,

[greatnorthernarts]

Why am I paying import duties through eBay's Global Shipping Program from the US to Canada on used, second-hand clothing?

[toby_le_pue]

Brecause almost everything with a value over $20.00 Canadian is subject

to Canadian Taxes whether it is new or used.

[femmefan1946]

According to my reading of the CBSA website the only used clothing that is not subject to duty is that which is imported in bulk as "obsolete", which would be bundles to be turned into wipes or rags, at a guess. Or recylcled into new products.

Not a second hand wedding dress or used baby clothes.

[femmefan1946]

How do I know where the item is?

With the Global shipping program, you get a GSP number. The next number you get is a tacking number that indicates that it has been received at the shipping centre. 

Don't think about it. The tracking is internal and not useful to you.

What is useful is the Paypal /eBay Buyer Protection Program.

If the item has not shown up after 20 days contact the seller and ask for the date she shipped and the service used. Check that the item did arrive in Kentucky.

Ignore all subsequent 'tracking'.

If the item was shipped and was received in KY, and you don't have it yet, open an Item Not Received dispute.

GSP /Pitney Bowes will either show proof that the item has been delivered. (and it might be waiting at your local PO or your four year old might have taken it and put it in the Christmas Present Closet) or will refund you.

Tracking is for sellers who are faced with spurious Item Not Delivered claims.

Not for buyers.

[femmefan1946]

There are no plans to make the GSP mandatory. 

EBay does not even recommend that sellers use the program for items valued under $50.

But they don't push this hard enough and it is apparently a little difficult to remove the option once it is in place.

Sellers of certain products (stamps, native artifacts, Nazi memorabilia, etc) get a warning before confirming every listing. I see no reason why a similar warning could not appear on listings with an asking price under $50 and GSP in place , reminding sellers that they can opt out of the program and giving a link to do so as a one-off.

[cellsforfun]

Hi, Kalvin 🙂

I have a question regarding the Import Charges.

What are they based on?

If it's the value the item has been sold for in the past, then I understand that, but that would

be inaccurate and tantamount to gouging or fraud.

A better way would be if it's based on what the item is selling for now, and have the import

 charges change along with the current bid on the item.

That way, you don't get any nasty surprises when you go to pay for the item.

I think this option is more fair and may even be more correct legally.

If this is already the case, then sorry to have bothered you, but I don't think it is because I'm

currently watching a broken phone that has a Buy It Now price of $200 and import duties of

 $32 but the phone will likely not reach even half of the BIN price.

Any chance that eBay could implement my suggestion?

Cheers,

Wayne

cellsforfun

[afantiques]

Charges are based on the current listing price for BIN items. They also depend on the location of the buyer,

[pjcdn2005]

---

@afantiques wrote:

Charges are based on the current listing price for BIN items. They also depend on the location of the buyer,

---

But if the BIN priced is not the end price in the auction, the estimated import charges should go down when the buyer is billed...correct?

[pjcdn2005]

Oops...I just noticed AF's reply to the same question in the other gsp thread and he confirms that the import charges are based on the end price of the auction, not the original BIN price for the auction.

[jpdjb5]

You can't. I search myself and the only trick I found : just select items come FROM Canada... or ignore it !

[femmefan1946]

You can watch for and discard listings showing

Customs services and international tracking provided

in the sub-title.

You can use Compare to see how the items you are willing to consider ... umm... compare.

You can use Highest Price+ Shipping as your Search, This should show the GSP items first.

BTW, if you are looking at items that cost over $100, the GSP items may actually cost less by the time they hit your doorstep. This is a combination of high shipping costs with Global Priority shipping through USPS and doorstep payment of duty, sales tax and the $10 Canada Post service fee. This can be even higher if your seller decides to use UPS or another courier. Just sayin'.

[bookbuddy4me]

I guess I need to clarify my question. I know I can't eliminate GSP items from my search results. What I am asking for is a choice, such as in Show Only and you select  Free Shipping. I want to be able to select an option that lets me see my search results WITHOUT any of the items from sellers using GSP. Perhaps those sellers that were just opted in without any choice or opted in without really knowing what the service (and I use that word loosely!)would notice a change in their sales and change back to good old USPS!!! In spite of what many US sellers seem to think, if I request an item be mailed USPS First Class Mail Int'l, and am supplied a tracking number, I can follow my purchase all the way across the US to Canada Customs where it gets another number linked to the US one and I can see the parcel make its way through Ontario sorting stations until it arrives in my home town and the Canada Post tells me it is "out for delivery" That seems to me to be a very service oriented and logical way of shipping!!!

[chimera148]

---

@bookbuddy4me wrote:

 That seems to me to be a very service oriented and logical way of shipping!!!

---

Yes, I find it convenient to subscribe to the email updates on both the USPS and Canada Post websites, which seem to update the scans quickly.

[16amainwest]

I was charged import duties on six dolls that are over 60 years old.  Anything 50 years old is considered an antique in Canada Customs, and is duty free.  The charges just came up automatically on the amount of the purchase, not the item itself.  I won't complete the transaction until this is resolved.  Both myself and the seller are getting the round around from the Global program.  Can anyone out there help with this.  Thanks.

[mutesong]

I have had issues with a few transactions as well. The way one was successfully resolved was by the seller canceling the transaction, deselecting the global program and re-listing the item with the correct shipping (in my case USPS First Class) once the item was re-listed as a Buy It Now I was able to buy it and finalize the purchase. Unfortunately one of the transactions was purchased by another buyer while in process for me to re-buy the item after having had the global program deselected, even before changing to the correct shipping amount.

I don't think most sellers are aware that the Global program more than doubles the shipping costs for us Canadians and that if they all follow that road we will be spending our money somewhere else other than Ebay.

[femmefan1946]

Well, that makes me an antique.

The usual number quoted is 100 years, and that is US Customs. British standard is pre-1830 which is considered to be the beginning of the Machine Age and mass production.

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/forms-formulaires/e604-eng.pdf

Canada goes with the American date-- currently 1914. See Section 5.

[motorcycleman19660]

Not long ago I used to shop via Ebay for everything.Lately it has become economically unfeaseable to do.I have made a couple of recent purchases and in both cases Ebay has transformed the purchases from a reasonably good deal(ACCORDING TO THE PRICE I'm LED TO BELIVE I,M PAYING)to a ridiculous price by the time I,m done paying for the nasty skim Ebay takes.This is ridiculous! Bunch of Goddam crooks! I hope your money will buy you everlasting life!Because your greed will cost you tenfold in time.That's it for me with ebay.Here I come kijiji!

[motorcycleman19660]

**bleep** you! I,m done with Ebay.You are crooks and NEVER AGAIN!

[motorcycleman19660]

EBAY HAS RECENTLY DECIDED TO START RIPPING OFF EVERY FOREIGNER THAT PATRONIZES THEIR CLIENTS.Ihave been robbed by them for the last time! Hello Kijiji!BYE BYE CROOKED EBAY!