GLOBAL SHIPPING SCAM to CANADA

[vintpbs]

Due to this Global Shipping Program SCAM which rips off the Seller also & sends the $ to Pitney Bowes. I've stopped buying books from Sellers who use it which is about 80% of my purchases or 200 to 300 books each year.

Who in their right mind would pay $20 to $40 USD for a single paperback!!!

Thus US book sellers are loosing my business with these ridiculous charges!

I guess they will never drop this program due to good old GREED!

[15westcoast]

I have had items on the GSP "lost in transit" " Never Arrived " "Confiscated by GSP"-stag handled
knives. The fee charged by Pitney Bowes most times does not make the purchase a bargain.
Shipping to Kansas instead of direct adds on another week or more waiting for the item. A lot of
the US sellers are not even aware that they are on the GSP and some think it is just the easiest way
to sell items. I now never buy from any seller that is on the GSP. It is a very flawed system and penalizes buyers from outside the country of shipping.

[marnotom!]

The GSP is a glorified forwarding service that just happens to be also responsible for the taxes and duty due on an item. The charges are calculated by a bot, not a human, and are based on the information the seller provides. If the seller provides inaccurate (or no) information that the bot requires, it has to “guess” or apply a category average.

Also consider that part of the GSP’s shipping charge is the seller’s charge for shipping the item to the GSP’s forwarding hub in Kentucky. If the seller uses a pricey shipping method, that’s going to affect the overall shipping charge.

Like any shipping service, the GSP works well for some items, not so much others. If sellers started shipping two-dollar pocketbooks as express parcels, I don’t think most people would conclude that express parcel post was a terrible shipping method for everything, just for pocketbooks.

Some sellers with the GSP in their listings are unaware that it’s there, while some won’t even entertain the idea of shipping out of the US or UK without it. If you see a “must have” item that you like but don’t want it forwarded by the GSP, either ask the seller if they can relist the item with a different shipping method, or else have the item sent to a US address where you can pick it up or have it forwarded to you by your choice of shipping method, just like the old days of eBay pre-GSP.

[reallynicestamps]

For the record, GSP shipments are sent by the seller to Erlanger Kentucky.

All Canadian duties and Sales Taxes are added there. The GSP also adds a service charge that is ~$5 US.

The GSP is not suitable for items priced under $50 and at one point eBay was telling sellers that. But "Sellers Don't Read" is a given.

The GSP is a Seller Protection for US and UK sellers too paranoid and xenophobic to ship outside the lower 48 states.

It offers very little for buyers and particularly for Canadian buyers.

That being said, sometimes the thing you want is only available from one of those terrified sellers. You can try approaching them directly using Contact Seller on the listing.

[richardcm]

As much as buyers in Canada hate the GSP, sellers in Canada would love to have a GSP here for their sales worldwide. Just ship to Toronto (most central populous place to have it) and have much less responsibility after that.  Sellers would be able to list more valuable items. I know I would love a GSP here. 

[koorot]

The Global Shipping Program needs to uphold the USMCA agreement that states Canadian consumers ordering U.S. goods do not have to pay a duty on products that are $150 or less!

[marnotom!]

The GSP bot shouldn’t include duty in its calculation of import charges provided the seller indicates (in the “item specifics” section of the listing) that the item in the listing was manufactured in Canada, the United States or Mexico.

GST and HST are a different story and get calculated as part of the import charges at exemption rates that are less than C$150.

[recped]

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@koorot wrote:

The Global Shipping Program needs to uphold the USMCA agreement that states Canadian consumers ordering U.S. goods do not have to pay a duty on products that are $150 or less!

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GSP will take the new amounts

BUT

The $150 applies to DUTY, the new cutoff for GST/HST is $40, I expect GSP will have already figured this into their calculations.

I just went looking for a random item and found one

Item US$19.70

Domestic US shipping $7.25 (USPS Priority)

For a Canadian buyer

Shipping via GSP US$22.29

Import Charges US$0.00 (the value is more than the old CA$20 but lower than the new CA$40)

Pitney Bowes are adding (22.29-7.25) US$15.04

It should be noted that to send the package directly from the seller to Canada would cost the seller a minimum of US$19.71

Bottom line, USPS International postage charges are MUCH MUCH higher than they were 10 years ago when GSP started, GSP rates have naturally gone up as well but not at the same rate. GSP can actually be cheaper if you are buying something with free US shipping.

GSP appears to be taking the newly revised tax free limits into account so no issues there.

[luv4orphans]

I think they can now send first class with tracking if its under a certain weight. They can bypass the GSP on their own without relisting the item. I wanted something a few months ago and asked the seller if she could ship by another method and this is what she told me and did. They were allowed to do it this way. Probably not all sellers are aware of this. For smaller items when first class was offered with tracking to Canada a few years back it was great and a lot less costly than the GSP program.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

@luv4orphans 

The new service is called Ebay Standard International Delivery. Guarantees and some savings for seller. Pitney Bowes is not involved. Duties, taxes and clearing fees as Canadapost applies. If the seller is not using currently all they need to do is apply and update/choose for their listings. Most suitable for lower value items and sellers are able to combine on shipping if they so choose which is NOT available with GSP. Included 2 distinct tracking numbers with my recent purchase. Link includes sample rates.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Announcements/Introducing-eBay-international-standard-delivery/ba-p/30...

-Lotz

[recped]

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@luv4orphans wrote:
I think they can now send first class with tracking if its under a certain weight. They can bypass the GSP on their own without relisting the item. I wanted something a few months ago and asked the seller if she could ship by another method and this is what she told me and did. They were allowed to do it this way. Probably not all sellers are aware of this. For smaller items when first class was offered with tracking to Canada a few years back it was great and a lot less costly than the GSP program.

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First Class Package Service from the USA is no longer the cheap service it was. Not only have the rates gone way up but the weight brackets have been condensed dramatically

1 - 8oz (224g) = US$11.64 (CA$15.70)

9 - 32oz (896g) = US$19.71 (CA$26.60)

33 - 48oz (1344g) = US$30.40 (CA$41.04)

49 - 64oz (1792g) = US$47.74 (CA$64.45)

Prices are for USPS Commercial Base which is the online rate that most US sellers would pay. Includes eDelcon Delivery Confirmation.

Compare those rates with Canada Post Tracked Packet, Small Packet or Expedited USA rates. I don't use any of those CP services so I'm not up on the current rates but I suspect that in many cases it is now cheaper to ship from Canada to the USA compared to USA to Canada.

[pjcdn2005]

They can ship by another method if you haven’t made the purchase yet. If you had already bought the item and then they shipped using first class or international standard, they would have to cancel, refund and then charge you for international shipping.  

[femmefan1946]

The Tracked Packet rates to the USA are:

100gr=$14.42 (not available with USPS)

250gr= $18.38

500gr=$20.10

1000 gr=$22.85

1500gr=$25.54

2000gr=$28.19

About half marginally cheaper and half much more expensive.

And if the purchase is high value (over $150Cdn) there may be duty on the doorstep, and if over ($40?-$60?) there will be sales taxes plus the Canada Post $9.95 service fee.

I suppose as Canadian sellers we should be pleased that US competition is weakened by USPS rates.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

Between all the special discounted programs with eBay, Shippo, PayPal, Stamps, ShippingEasy, Counter Rate with USPS or the special negotiated rates directly through USPS plus all the ones I've missed, it's anyone's guess what each eBay dot com seller is truly paying for postage. Throw in GSP to muddy it even more. It's too bad there weren't same quantity of options for dot ca sellers. For the average buyer all they truly want is fair and honest shipping choices in an "acceptable" time frame. (Covid 19 excluded) (Handling charges where applicable)

-Lotz

[marnotom!]

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@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:

The new service is called Ebay Standard International Delivery. Guarantees and some savings for seller. Pitney Bowes is not involved.

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Actually, it is.  Sellers have to print their postage labels for ISD items through eBay, and Pitney Bowes is responsible for that.  

As a result, items sent through the ISD program are trackable through the Pitney Bowes tracking page(s).

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

@marnotom! 

Go figure PB is involved!!! The seller I was speaking to this about has been using this service for awhile. He says he's had no issues with it to date. Ummm even with PB being involved which he never mentioned. They seem to have advertised this to some extent on the US side. The next trick is for Canadians to become aware of it (especially for low value transactions), then having the option to message sellers if they are not using (finding many US sellers as of late that have receive email option off) and requesting....How shall we say...An upgrade to this option.

-Lotz

[widgetc]

"GSP can actually be cheaper if you are buying something with free US shipping."

GSP can be much cheaper than USPS   for inexpensive heavy items. For example a wholesale bulk lot of say 100 or 200 dvds.

[pjcdn2005]

I've read about quite a few missing packages with that program in the past 3 months. I wouldn't consider it an upgrade.

When I first heard about the program, one concern that I had is that the carrier being used is DHL.  Any package that I have had delivered by DHL whether it was delivered by DHL itself or through the DHL global mail (delivered by Canada Post) I've had to pay tax/duty/brokerage for packages that usually wouldn't be charged  if shipped USPS first class.  A seller can use standard international even if their listing states usps so it's possible that there could be some surprise charges on delivery.  To be clear...I haven't read complaints about that, it's just something that I would be concerned about.

[marnotom!]

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@pjcdn2005 wrote:

When I first heard about the program, one concern that I had is that the carrier being used is DHL.  Any package that I have had delivered by DHL whether it was delivered by DHL itself or through the DHL global mail (delivered by Canada Post) I've had to pay tax/duty/brokerage for packages that usually wouldn't be charged  if shipped USPS first class.  A seller can use standard international even if their listing states usps so it's possible that there could be some surprise charges on delivery.  To be clear...I haven't read complaints about that, it's just something that I would be concerned about.

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It will be interesting to see if CBSA will be more vigilant about assessing and charging taxes and duties on items imported by mail in light of the changes to the de minimis for items manufactured in the United States and Mexico, particularly as the tax-free limit for postal imports is officially (key word here) lower than that for couriers.

I suspect DHL's Global Mail service (or equivalents if other carriers offer it) will be utilized quite a lot for shipments to Canada as it's likely the least expensive way for these items to be shipped from the US to Canada.  If DHL's brokerage charge remains at C$10, that will be competitive with Canada Post.  The rub is that we boardies will likely be educating a lot of users on the fact that even if the seller mailed their item to Canada, there's a (good? slim?) chance that their item would have been assessed taxes and duty and they'd be no further ahead.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

Thanks for heads up that PB and DHL were involved. Nowhere was it mentioned.  Either in the listing or from the seller. Truly I guess, I shouldn't be surprised. Please stay tuned. See how things work out with this maybe 1 time experience.

-Lotz