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,

[pierrelebel]

"I think this is illegal to invoice us for taxes but not provide a some form of invoice showing the taxes separately."

That point was made repeatedly to eBay and Pitney Bowes over and over and over.

Canadian GST/HST registered businesses need the information to claim ITCs.  It is as simple as that.

Or is it?

I spoke to a senior tax auditor at CRA and was told that in such instances, I should make a claim based on having paid 13% HST on the transaction value converted into Cdn$ (I am in Ontario; residents of other provinces may have to adjust the rate) while the rest of the "import charges" represents an expense.  No receipt is actually required as long as I have evidence of payment through PayPal.

Here is the rub.  When reading the terms and conditions of using the program (I know many use the program but very few will take the time to read every term and condition) it becomes evident that the program (GSP) is available to individuals only and specifically excludes businesses.  In other words, if the buyer is a "business" that program should not be used.

Very specifically:

"Non-Commercial Use. Any GSP Item that you purchase must be for the personal use or consumption of the designated recipient and not for commercial resale purposes. 

http://pages.ebay.com/shipping/globalshipping/buyer-tnc.html

[femmefan1946]

You can't.

The GSP was not set up for BTB use , but only for person to person or business to person use.

The import fees are not paid by you***, technically. They are paid by Pitney Bowes, who charge you for their service.

For a private transaction, this is not a problem.

With a business who want to track GST/PST/HST and duties it doesn't work.

If the transaction is worthwhile as a business you have two choices.

Treat the purchase as if there are no import fees, or more precisely don't even try to break them out and claim them as such. Just call them brokerage fees and be done with it.

BEFORE ORDERING, ask the seller not to use the GSP but to ship either by USPS** or by a courier. You will then be charged duty, sales taxes, and a service fee, all broken down for your accountant to play with, at your doorstep. The service fee however will be double or more the GSP service fee*. The seller will have to set up a special listing for you to do this, so I hope you have a good order for him.

Okay, I need that in Captain Dummy talk, Kaylee.-- Captain Malcolm Reynolds

*The GSP service fee seems to be $4-5 USD. Couriers as you probably know charge $25 and up for brokerage. Canada Post charges $9.95.

**If the seller agrees, assume that you will be assessed for duty and tax. If your purchase passes without assessment, bonus!

*** Somewhere upstream in this thread, pierrelebel has explained this in language your accountant will understand. Fortunately, it is also reasonably clear for the rest of us.

[neatjerseys]

Clearly the GSP is grossly over charging customers. My question is why does Ebay allow such fraud to continue?

[pierrelebel]

"why does Ebay allow such fraud to continue?"

It is not a fraud.  The program is meant for American sellers to increase their sales outside the domestic market.

Unfortunately, the program (GSP) is not suitable for Canadian buyers for most transactions and should be avoided by Canadians.

The facts that shipping is more expensive in most instances than a direct shipment and taxes and handling fees are collected at time of purchase do not make the program a "fraud" as you stated.  Simply not suitable for Canadians.

From eBay's point-of-view the program is successful as there has been a noticeable increase in sales by American sellers to overseas buyers.  It is so successful that eBay has expanded the program to the United Kingdom.

Canadians may not like it but... it is what it is and life does go on.

[manomusic]

I'm just experiencing this GSP thing for the first time, and am still struggling to comprehend it.

I'm in Canada, and have ordered many things from U.S. sellers. All they've ever had to do was get a little green export slip at the postal counter, write the package's contents and value on it, stick it onto the package, and send it off. When Canada Post delivered it to me, I paid the carrier the Canadian taxes—the same amount I would've paid if I'd bought the item here. Simple.

Now I've just ordered something from a U.S. seller who, it turns out (I had no idea) is using this Global Shipping Program. And a hefty unexpected, separate charge (about 20% of the item price) has appeared on my PayPal account.

Am I right in understanding this is because the seller, rather than simply shipping the package to me, is instead shipping it to these Pitney-Bowes people so they can re-ship it to me? Thus I'm being charged twice for shipping (once domestically, once internationally), plus whatever extra handling fees P-B decides to tack on?

And will Pitney-Bowes use UPS, who charge an additional "customs handling" fee (usually $20+) which they demand on delivery? Even though I specifically chose USPS when I bought the item?

Why are these ridiculous complications necessary? What was wrong with the original method? Is this just a huge cash grab dreamed up by eBay and P-B?

I've bought and sold on eBay for many years. If this is really how it is now, I'm quite disappointed and will have to reconsider any further activity here.

Of course if I'm wrong about any of this, feel free to elucidate me.

[pierrelebel]

The global Shipping Program has been around for nearly three years.

As stated before on this board GSP is not suitable for most Canadian buyers in most instances.

When you purchase from an American seller and he ships directly to you, as you correctly described the Canada Post delivery person will collect taxes (if applicable) at time of delivery.  You forgot to mention Canada Post also automatically charges $9,95 handling fee (no exception) when taxes are collected.  Often parcels are delivered without any tax collected.

With GSP. the seller ships domestically (presumably at a much lower cost than shipping internationally) to a distribution centre in Kentucky where the parcel is consolidated with hundreds or thousands of other parcels coming by truck into Canada daily.

The consumption taxes (GST/HST) and duty if applicable are prepaid to Pitney Bowes so there is no tax collection at time of delivery.  The fee charged by Pitney Bowes for Customs clearance and handling (included in "import charge") is about $5 (compared to $9.95 by Canada Post).

Yes duplicate shipping charges most often result in higher shipping charges than if the seller had shipped directly and will usually take longer to reach destination.  The program was created for American sellers who generally did not ship outside their country. With GSP it becomes a domestic transaction for them.  They can export at no extra cost, no added paperwork, no added risk.  All extra costs are paid by the foreign buyers (including Canadians)

"U.S. seller who, it turns out (I had no idea) is using this Global Shipping Program"

???

The shipping charges and "import charges" are clearly shown in each listing.  Not sure how you could have missed it.

[island_alan]

Thanks for the replies.

I do wonder about a program where they refuse to provide any documentation of what you're being charged for. I have a remaining concern of how much, if any, taxes were paid on my shipment. I do wonder when they elude that taxes being paid, but refuse to substantiating it in any way. 

I will commend EBay as I did receive a reply from them on my inquiry. This is how it was explained to me.

The tax on GSP items is calculated according to the item price before all the fees (ie. The Buy It Now amount or if you won an auction, your winning bid) as determined by which province in which your shipping address is located. Since you’re in B.C., the sales tax on a $100 item would be $12 (5% federal and 7% provincial). The rest of the import fees would be duty (if applicable) and Pitney Bowes’ service fee.

[femmefan1946]

We are a business and can claim back the GST on things we purchase against items we sell. 

The Global Shipping Program in their description of the program specifically state they are NOT meant for business to business transactions.

The importer is PitneyBowes and the shipment your stuff was in was handled as a bulk import.

You won't get a breakdown because technically you did not pay GST, PB did.

So.

If the deal is good including the import fees, take it.

If the deal is only good if you can claim the import fees on your GST (and PST?) form, find another supplier.

[pumpkin537]

Hello

I just received ( March 11, 2015 ) my item thru EBay using PayPal and the Item was shipped using GSP.

 (Unique Transaction ID #23G58470FC7384XXXX) ( if you need more info on tracking this transaction, let me know ).

I am very disappointed to see that I paid $39.98 Import Duty Charges in advance as part of the transaction to GSP.

Disappointed because the GSP import charge that automatically went with this purchase transaction stated and claims :

 " No Additional Import Fees ".

Well, when parcel arrived, they said I had to pay the Import Fee of $32.00. That means I paid it twice ??

Can you please explain this problem as early as possible, the seller is awaiting feedback, and please also explain why EBay allows this practice to continue and tarnish a consumers experience ?

I do not wish to give the seller a negative rating, it's not his fault, however, in light of a speedy reply I see no other place to express the negative impact.

This situation is very misleading to the point of false claims,...not a refection of what EBAY represents,

Kim

[mater721]

Did the seller send directly to you?

For GSP to work properly, seller sends to PB central location in Kentucky. Then PB sends to you.

If seller sent directly to you, then the courier may collect duty, as they are out of the loop of GSP purchases.

GSP tracking numbers start with UPAA....

[pumpkin537]

Hi,

Thank you for your comments.

The Tracking Number Starts with UPAA :

Global tracking :

UPAAA00000010400xxxx

and a note on bottom of Global Tracking Number says :

This item was shipped using the Global Shipping Program

Does this mean he shipped to PB Central ? And would that not be something a seller should be aware of doing in order to take advantage of the GPS claims ?

Or if he Shipped Direct to me why would GSP allow a courier to be out of the loop ?, Knowing that this will contradict their claims.

Thank you for your time as you are being helpful, I appreciate the forum, I was also under the impression that this question will be answered by a EBay employee, but do appreciate your comments !

[pierrelebel]

"I had to pay the Import Fee of $32.00"

To whom did you pay $32.00 ?  Was this $22 in taxes and $10 in service charge?

If the seller had shipped to PB in Kentucky, the parcel would have been delivered to you without taxes being collected at time of delivery.

I suspect the seller shipped to you directly instead of following instructions from PayPal to ship to KY.

[pumpkin537]

Thank you

( taxes and service charge was paid at same time at my door, but there was also a itemized charge of $32.02 for Import along with it for a total of $69.26 )

, yes I see he did not follow instructions and sent direct, so why does EBay allow sellers to use this service, if seller requested to offer GSP, should he not be aware of the procedure, and if not followed, should it be not flagged ?

Thanks for your time.

[pierrelebel]

"so why does EBay allow sellers to use this service,:"

eBay does not allow it but sellers do make mistakes at times and this is one of them.

Contact the seller and file a claim with PayPal for the "import charges" you paid to Pitney Bowes.

100% of this problem is the result of your seller not following instructions.

[mater721]

Ebay employees have not been here very often of late.

Have you contacted the seller to find out what process they followed?

As Pierre indicates, if you are charged Import Fees at the door for a GSP purchase it sounds like seller did not follow instructions.

[pumpkin537]

Thank you for prompt reply, we all learn something new everyday, and this is one of them 🙂

I agree, instruction not followed or understood by seller.

If its a mistake, are the instructions clear enough for sellers when they use this service ?,

I will contact seller and let him know that unfortunately I cannot give a positive review because he lacked the responsibility of fulfilling the duties of GSP.

I will also file a claim.

Thank you for your time

[pierrelebel]

"are the instructions clear enough for sellers when they use this service ?,"

Yes.

[loyalist33]

Just a notice.  I live in Canada.  S&H fees plus import fees are extravagant.  I can buy similar items on other auction sites at a fraction of the S&H fees etc. I pay on paypal.  I doubt I'll be doing any more business with ebay.  Way too costly and inefficient.  

So long!

[afantiques]

A picture of the shipping label would instantly confirm the method the seller used to ship. If it is a USPS label with a customs form they sent direct, indeed, the presence of a customs form on any supposedly GSP package is an indication it did not come through the GSP

It is possible to reclaim 'unused' GSP shipping and import fees. but they don't make it easy. You may need to contact a customer service GSP specialist. You need to contact regular CS and ask to be referred to a GSP specialist. Front line operators cannot help, and may hinder with wrong advice.

[arlene_v]

---

@pumpkin537 wrote:

, yes I see he did not follow instructions and sent direct, so why does EBay allow sellers to use this service, if seller requested to offer GSP, should he not be aware of the procedure, and if not followed, should it be not flagged ?

---

The seller is to blame,  but not 100% .... eBay shares the blame.

You ask .. why the seller isn't aware of the procedure?

eBay has done nothing in this regard.

 Maybe a simple pop up screen when the seller marks an item as shipped stating "You sold this item through the GSP. Ship to: ...PB, Kentucky"  

Point being, I am sure that there are relatively easy programming solutions, not complicated, but for some reason the GSP continues in the current form, no improvements or adjustments.  For this I blame the venue as much as the seller.

And you have to spend hours dealing with the fall out.