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Hello "darkpowell",
Many, many people are wondering the same thing. You say you've been away, for how long?
<<I come back to find shipping rates have gone up ... about fourfold!>>
Well, shipping fees certainly seem to have risen a great deal lately. A number of factors contribute
to that.
Back around 2011-2012 the Canadian dollar was high and shipping fees were, if not exactly low,
at least affordable. Then the various carriers all seemed to have whopping rate increases at once.
In 2013 UK's Royal Mail rates took a huge leap skyward, and so did USPS rates, - shipping fees shot up
overnight.
Then the Canadian dollar started to decline making these new rates even more expensive for us here.
And then, - then came The Global Shipping Program.
So yes, mail order has become more expensive, - not just on ebay but everywhere else too.
When shopping on ebay you can try to 'tailor' your perusals somewhat by first of all avoiding GSP listings.
You will know them when you scroll your search listings because they have the words:
Customs services and international tracking provided
in pale grey. When you see those words, . . . run. 
Or, you can always ask the seller if he will take the listing out of GSP and offer to mail it USPS First Class
thus enabling you to buy it.
You can also use the left column of the Search page to select Item Location. If you first try Canada Only,
items bought in Canada will come quickly and about as affordable as can be expected. Canada Post is known
to be expensive, but they are extremely reliable. They don't lose parcels.
The irritating thing is you have to keep readjusting your Search preferences because like everything else
on ebay, the 'default' settings are there to best serve the interest of increasing revenue for American sellers.
One of the things that makes that Global Shipping Program appear so expensive is that any item with a value
of $20 (Canadian) is subject to duties and taxes. Items sent plain old First Class, whilst tracked for sellers, are
often just delivered to your door if they are, say, under $100.
The law requires the GSP apply duties/taxes to all values over $20. That is perhaps the best reason to avoid GSP listings.
Other good reasons to avoid it include shipping delays, circuitous routes, opened and damaged parcels, . . .
Canada is such a small market we really don't count for much to a behemoth American company like ebay.
Just do everything you can for yourself to find what you want at a price you can afford, and yes, that includes
a wide variety of shopping around.
Best wishes.
" what's this ripoff? "
It is not a ripoff. It is a program started three years ago by eBay to help American sellers grow their business. The extra costs are paid by buyers. That program is generally not "buyer friendly" as far as Canadian buyers are concerned and should be avoided in most instances.
" And is eBay losing money ever since they instituted this stupid program? "
eBay is making more money since they started GSP. Sales by Americans have increased (maybe not to Canada but overseas where the real potential is). The program is also very helpful to PayPal since they charge an extra 1.00% on all "cross border" transactions. That extra 1.00% is pure profit for PayPal.
Hello "darkpowell",
Many, many people are wondering the same thing. You say you've been away, for how long?
<<I come back to find shipping rates have gone up ... about fourfold!>>
Well, shipping fees certainly seem to have risen a great deal lately. A number of factors contribute
to that.
Back around 2011-2012 the Canadian dollar was high and shipping fees were, if not exactly low,
at least affordable. Then the various carriers all seemed to have whopping rate increases at once.
In 2013 UK's Royal Mail rates took a huge leap skyward, and so did USPS rates, - shipping fees shot up
overnight.
Then the Canadian dollar started to decline making these new rates even more expensive for us here.
And then, - then came The Global Shipping Program.
So yes, mail order has become more expensive, - not just on ebay but everywhere else too.
When shopping on ebay you can try to 'tailor' your perusals somewhat by first of all avoiding GSP listings.
You will know them when you scroll your search listings because they have the words:
Customs services and international tracking provided
in pale grey. When you see those words, . . . run.
Or, you can always ask the seller if he will take the listing out of GSP and offer to mail it USPS First Class
thus enabling you to buy it.
You can also use the left column of the Search page to select Item Location. If you first try Canada Only,
items bought in Canada will come quickly and about as affordable as can be expected. Canada Post is known
to be expensive, but they are extremely reliable. They don't lose parcels.
The irritating thing is you have to keep readjusting your Search preferences because like everything else
on ebay, the 'default' settings are there to best serve the interest of increasing revenue for American sellers.
One of the things that makes that Global Shipping Program appear so expensive is that any item with a value
of $20 (Canadian) is subject to duties and taxes. Items sent plain old First Class, whilst tracked for sellers, are
often just delivered to your door if they are, say, under $100.
The law requires the GSP apply duties/taxes to all values over $20. That is perhaps the best reason to avoid GSP listings.
Other good reasons to avoid it include shipping delays, circuitous routes, opened and damaged parcels, . . .
Canada is such a small market we really don't count for much to a behemoth American company like ebay.
Just do everything you can for yourself to find what you want at a price you can afford, and yes, that includes
a wide variety of shopping around.
Best wishes.
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