Recently returned to purchase on Ebay but not impressed
Summary: r3500vdp expressed dissatisfaction with eBay's shipping process, noting that items bought outside Canada go through a lengthy third-party shipping hub, making eBay a last resort for purchases. They compared eBay unfavorably to platforms like Amazon, Etsy, and FB Marketplace, which offer faster shipping options. marnotom! questioned if the delay was longer than previous standards and pointed out that eBay's shipping process isn't mandatory. reallynicestamps explained that eBay's International Shipping program initially aimed to encourage sellers to ship internationally, offering buyer benefits like pre-paid import fees, though it adds little else for buyers.
Recently returned to buy some items on Ebay after a pause of over a year. I am shocked how bad shipping has become for buyers. It appears every item bought outside of Canada goes through a third party to a shipping hub where it waits endlessly for a full container load.
In the current buyer market, this doesn't seem a very smart decision. I will use Ebay as a last resort only, if I cannot get it anywhere else, as any other selling platform or online retailer provides a much better and quicker shipping experience.
There really isn't an incentive to buy on Ebay this point. Sure, sellers will come up with the "Ebay is forcing us" story. Well that's not really my problem as a buyer. FB market place allows me to buy a lot of things I would have bought on Ebay locally with fast direct shipping or local pick up.
reallynicestamps
·3 weeks agoThe eBay International Shipping program (formerly GSP) was initially set up as a Seller Protection program to encourage xenophobic and parochial US and UK sellers to ship outside their borders.
It offers very little to buyers except that all import fees (duty, sales tax, tariffs) are paid at the time of purchase, and not a shock on the doorstep, and those xenophobic sellers are offering goods to us foreigners that otherwise would not be available at all.
r3500vdp
OP3 weeks agoThe thing for me is:
If I want something new, I will go to Amazon as I get same or next day delivery, at most a week if ordering from the US.
If I want something collectible, I can go to Etsy and have it shipped directly to me quickly.
If I want to something that is either collectible or just used, I will check FB marketplace first. Often I will find it and pick it up locally or have it shipped.
If I need automotive supplies for my classic Mercury, I can find it from online retailers.
Bottomline is that I have very little reason to shop on Ebay these days and the platform has lost a lot of marketshare. Unless they make buying more attractive and competive, I don't see how they will maintain the marketshare they currently have.
rdeels
·2 weeks agoSo you came here to complain then?
marnotom!
·3 weeks ago · EditedHow long is too long for your liking? Before eBay initiated its international shipping forwarding systems (the Global Shipping Program and eBay International Shipping) I’d allow two to four weeks for items shipped from the US through the postal system to reach me on Vancouver Island. It’s not been much different for me for items shipped through eBay’s forwarding systems.
You say you receive items sold through FB and shipped directly to you faster than items sold through eBay, but are these items from the United States? I don’t use FB marketplace but I can’t imagine too many US sellers on there being willing to ship outside the country, so I’m wondering if this is an apples and oranges comparison.
For what it’s worth, I responded to a recent post similar to yours with some explanation as to why shipping is done this way on eBay. (It’s not mandatory, by the way.) Feel free to give it a read:
https://community.ebay.ca/forum/buying-21/topic/global-shipping-4408/
Finally, I have to ask, what’s the rush?