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,

[kxeron]

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@marnotom! wrote:

Wouldn't a better solution be simply to better educate sellers on its appropriate use?

Keep in mind that most GSP listings that are active now are from sellers who have likely never sold internationally before on eBay.  Take those listings away and all of a sudden you're left with fewer choices for items that are available for shipping to Canada.

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I know I am not eBay staff and this isn't the comment thread but I need to assert something here:

Like I've said elsewhere before, eBay needs to functionally limit the GSP's use to where it makes sense, just like the post office will look at you like you have 8 heads if you demand freight shipping on a pen, the GSP needs to be disabled on items where it doesn't make sense.

What I mean here is that there seems to be a lot of thought and struggle about seller education, creating exhaustive documentation on how the programme works, creating additional checks and balances within the programme, critique about PBI as an organization, critique about eBay as an organization, GST/HST numbers, laws, policy, critique on how much people need to pay etc, etc ("administrative items"), but it seems there is so very little attention being placed to how the GSP works on ebay.com/ca as a website (NOT eBay as an organization), how sellers can end up enabling it, how it's applied to items in the actual databases, how sellers can end up not seeing the upper ranges of what buyers may pay, why it's not switched off on items that eBay prescribes that the programme isn't designed for, so on and so forth on the actual software aspect of the site. Further, the measures of the actual logistics and cost benefit analysis of where the greatest amounts resources are being wasted by both consumers and eBay ("operational items").

I'm starting to see in my own personal cost benefit analysis of this whole situation that there's considerable amount of energy, resources (time included) and so forth going to waste because of OPERATIONAL issues of the GSP, not administrative are being treated as administrative items.

Now, for a few questions of my own to eBay staff to make this post relevant to this thread:

1. How is eBay addressing these operational issues about GSP and from what angles is eBay addressing these operational issues?

2. What is factored into the organizational cost benefit analysis to determine the operational feasibility of a programme like the GSP in its current form to both consumers and eBay itself?

3. How would consumers be best addressing these operational issues in eBay's opinion?

[femmefan1946]

At least one poster complaining about a damaged Japanese box uploaded a picture with the form that PB includes when they open and repack an item.

If there is no such note from PB or Canada Customs*, then the damage happened before it was packed by the seller or when the buyer opened the package.

If the OP did not open the package with a box cutter, and if the damage to the package affects the use of the item, then he should be contacting the seller with the problem.

If the seller is not helpful, the next step is Customer Support in the top right hand corner of this page and an Item Not As Described claim. Be aware that the item is usually required to be returned to the seller for such a claim to succeed.

*Canada Customs sub-contracts collection of duty and tax to Pitney Bowes, just as they do to thousands of other businesses large and small.

[femmefan1946]

Okay, I can see the "loss" where the item is never delivered not requiring return, but "damage"? That would be a scammer's technicolour dream.

At the most, sellers are encouraged to accept photos of damaged items as proof, rather than demanding the return of the item (with confirmation of delivery) from the unhappy buyer.

[afantiques]

At the most, sellers are encouraged to accept photos of damaged items as proof, rather than demanding the return of the item (with confirmation of delivery) from the unhappy buyer.

In theory sellers are not involved in damage in transit claims if the item reached KY safely.

[brickcracker]

I have had a couple items unpackaged by customs and without incident.  I could tell by the customs tape they used.  Since the GSP though it seems many of the items shipped have been retaped (coincidence??) .  If the seller did accidentally do it then shame on them for not letting me know.  But it looked like the bubble wrap was cut open and retapped at that particular point.   Not really reasonable for the seller to do.  Is it mandatory for the GSP to open every package they are used for?  It's adding up too as I had maybe one in every 20 items dinged with customs.  Anyways, thanks for all your feedback and I will chalk this up as bad luck and hope it doesn't happen again.  I know for one thing, it wasn't me who did it and I will take a better look at how things come unpackaged and hopefully have a better idea as to who to point the finger at.

[brickcracker]

Also, I am aware sellers would reuse boxes and it would appear that they have been opened.  Perhaps that is  my mistake and have built up this conspiracy.  I never did get a note inside from PB or the like so maybe it's my own paranoia 🙂

[walker0017]

I agree with items made overseas, but in this case the item in question was created, manufactured and distributed from the US. other sellers advertise the same item with no import duties on it but I have noticed that this additional import duties fee is appearing on items being shipped via an official eBay sponsored shipper (Global Shipping thru Pitney Bowes). A check with Revenue Canada confirmed that they are not getting import duties from this company and are looking into it.
To me this looks like an additional money grab which makes a person ask why are buyers being forced to pay to ship via this company when the USPS does it cheaper. This has forced me lately to start buying the same items from non-eBay sources which are now cheaper to ship from them.

[reallynicestamps]

 Is it mandatory for the GSP to open every package they are used for?

It would add a lot to their labour costs to do so, plus the chances of damage and damage claims. I'm sure the minimum wage in Kentucky is lower than Ontario's $10.25 an hour (17 cents a minute), but think about adding even 5 minutes (85 cents) to the cost of handling every single one of the thousands of packages they are handling every day.

Pitney Bowes seems to charge about $5 a package for shipping and handling and there have been very few reports of slow shipping. I think, as you say, it's probably a case of re-used packing materials and "paranoia".

I take it there was no actual functional problem with the item?

[brickcracker]

No problem that I can tell but if I open it, down goes it's worth.  Any damage to the cellophane greatly reduces the value.  So really I'm collecting mint cellophane 🙂  But thank you for all the input.  It's inspired me to read more posts and learn so much about a great number of topics.  I see a number of common posters and kudos to you all for helping the masses figure things out. 

[iankimmerly]

And here I thought the most valuable product on Earth was stamp gum, since the value of a stamp drops dramatically if it has been hinged, leaving a mark on the gum.

So now cellophane enters the same esoteric realm.

[brycan]

I have stopped buying cards from ebay. I made over 600  transactions in the past. But ebay switched to Global. One cannot blame Global entirely. EBay is at fault for choosing Global.  I am done. Charging $16 for a single card is outrageous. The former way was using the good old US postal system for $1.

I am done with ebay and everyone in our club agrees with this view.

[marnotom!]

eBay didn't switch to the Global Shipping Program.  eBay offered it as an option in addition to what already existed and still exists.

[femmefan1946]

If your writhing executives want some answers it'll be $1200 a day and you know how to find me. 🙂 - afantiques

If your writhing executives want some answers it'll be FREE (I have done it before through your Voices program and the Canadian Profitability Initiative) and you know how to find me.  -- pierrelebel

Geez , guys, talk about a race to the bottom!

[femmefan1946]

Like I've said elsewhere before, eBay needs to functionally limit the GSP's use to where it makes sense, just like the post office will look at you like you have 8 heads if you demand freight shipping on a pen, the GSP needs to be disabled on items where it doesn't make sense.

Yep. Just as entering the wrong dimensions for a postal service prevents listing, having GSP enabled for a fixed price listing under $50 or $100 should prevent the listing from indexing.

How to do it for auctions? I'm not sure.  And I suspect that with the 50 Free Auctions program set up to attract new and occasional sellers, who are the least knowledgeable sellers, it could be very difficult.

[marnotom!]

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@femmefan1946 wrote:

Yep. Just as entering the wrong dimensions for a postal service prevents listing, having GSP enabled for a fixed price listing under $50 or $100 should prevent the listing from indexing.

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The problem I see with that is that the "$50 maxim" is far from a hard and fast rule.  I've seen examples of sales of hardcover books sold through the GSP that actually aren't bad deals, for example, and those books were selling for quite a bit less than $50.

And if "inappropriate" GSP listings get kicked out of indexing, should we then go onto listings where the seller has used express mail or a carrier such as FedEX inappropriately?  Where do we draw the line here?

I think it would be far better if eBay or PitneyBowes got off the pot and put up more education pages on the GSP.  That "$50 maxim" is only on one eBay page, as far as I know, and it's not one that most sellers are going to actively seek out.

[afantiques]

Even being listed in a restricted category does not seem to stop GSP sales from indexing. I have seen many antique and art items with GSP offered.

[anguscoinshop]

this is for Kalvin

this program has all the symptoms of been launched in haste and now they are paying the price for there haste. be better to cut your losses, retire it. do all the research a professional company would do and relaunch it when the system has been worked out

if not, the damages caused to the Canadian buyer market will be irreparable.

retire or not retire?

[dcam66]

Regarding this program I think it is a total rip off. I recently purchased an item from a seller in New York and now it is Kentucky. From now on if I see an item listed with this program I will look elsewhere. I live in Ontario and at one point it was in Ohio. 

[afantiques]

I recently purchased an item from a seller in New York and now it is Kentucky.

Yes, that is how it works. If it is a rip off why did you buy?

[anguscoinshop]

i think its a case of waiting until everyone got ripped off on there first purchase, then this gsp thing will be starved into closing since there will be no returning buyers.