eBay

00nevermind00 · ‎06-19-2015

I came across a GSP listing (who doesn't!) when browsing eBay earlier today. Have a look at this screen shot:

The item's price is definitely above the paltry $20 tax-free limit, yet there are no "import charges"??? I checked the same item on .com and the amount also comes up as zero for the "import charges".

What am I missing? Is this a new GSP twist? Or just a glitch? If I were to buy this, would the "import charges" suddenly jump to a more realistic amount? Not that I would buy it, mind you. It's a very small and light item that could ship directly for a few bucks. But I think about all those posts in which buyers claim that the "import charges" were not visible until they were committed, and I wonder...

00nevermind00 · ‎06-21-2015

@pocomocomputing wrote:
I doubt it was the number of complaints. Most likely there was a strong decline in sales to Canada from the USA over the past three years with no change in the trend. The only voice that was heard and listened to was the lost $$$$ in sales.

While the GSP may have increased international sales for other counties, it is an apparent failure in Canada for most items.

The complaints may have given reasons for the decline but the lost $$$ over the years is what pushed the apparent change.

I thought of that after I wrote my last post. And I also thought of something else (and I hope I'm not going to burst anyone's bubble here, including my own): remember how a while back, eBay ran a "test" which was never announced? They barely even acknowledged it, and only did once or twice in the weekly chat. For a time, Canada was taken off the GSP for items under $20. They still showed as GSP items to other countries, but not to Canada.

Of course, since the test was "unannounced" (and unacknowledged by eBay), the overwhelming majority of those items came up as "May not ship to Canada", since the sellers thought that they were using the GSP to Canada. Then one day, the test was over, its conclusion equally unannounced.

I hope that what we're seeing here isn't simply just another "test", but a more permanent change.

marnotom! · ‎06-21-2015

@pocomocomputing wrote:

All of a sudden, cheap (under $50) items that should normally be taxable show up with zero "import charges" on .com and .ca. This does not happen on the UK site where GSP items still show up with "import charges" as soon as their price goes over C$20.

This item listed on eBay.com (with eBay mobile, for what it's worth) doesn't show import charges when viewed on the UK site, at least for me. Is it different for you?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301657399408

arlene_v · ‎06-21-2015

Hmmm, seems the charges are based on the location of the seller, not the site.

I think that is what Nevermind was pointing out initially and I missed that point skimming over the posts ... if the seller is based in the USA, the import charges don't show on GSP listings under $50 (Can) ....however, if the seller is located in the UK the import charges show for items over $20 (Can).

That is true for eBay.com.eBay.uk and eBay.ca ....

It's the location of the seller that makes the difference to whether there are import charges showing for items under $50 (Can).

Or am I wrong?

00nevermind00 · ‎06-21-2015

@arlene_v wrote:
Hmmm, seems the charges are based on the location of the seller, not the site.

I think that is what Nevermind was pointing out initially and I missed that point skimming over the posts ... if the seller is based in the USA, the import charges don't show on GSP listings under $50 (Can) ....however, if the seller is located in the UK the import charges show for items over $20 (Can).

That is true for eBay.com.eBay.uk and eBay.ca ....

It's the location of the seller that makes the difference to whether there are import charges showing for items under $50 (Can).

Or am I wrong?

That is exactly what I was trying to say Arlene. Sorry I wasn't more clear.

When you think of it, it makes sense. Canadians buy a lot from US sellers, so a marked drop in their purchases has to have at least a small effect on eBay's numbers. But their avoidance of the GSP (and their leaving eBay altogether over it) must have a much smaller impact (most likely a negligible one) on UK sales figures.

So as far as we can tell (let's not forget that it's all conjecture at this point) eBay may have felt that they had to do something to regain some of that lost Canadian business in the US. But there must be no such need over any loss of sales from the UK to Canada.

00nevermind00 · ‎06-21-2015

@marnotom! wrote:
This item listed on eBay.com (with eBay mobile, for what it's worth) doesn't show import charges when viewed on the UK site, at least for me. Is it different for you?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301657399408

This is a screen shot of an item listed on eBay.co.uk. Converted to Canadian dollars, the price would be above the official C$20 tax-free limit and under the alleged new GSP limit of C$50. The "import charges" are clearly displayed.

adamcarlseventyfive · ‎07-01-2015

Seems like the $20 thing for being charged import fees has returned. I'm seeing it on everything just like before. I knew it was too good to be true when it comes to this garbage program.

marnotom! · ‎07-01-2015

@adamcarlseventyfive wrote:

Seems like the $20 thing for being charged import fees has returned. I'm seeing it on everything just like before. I knew it was too good to be true when it comes to this garbage program.

How do you suggest the GSP deal with taxes and duties payable on an item with a declared value of above CDN$20, then? Keep in mind that unlike items handled through the postal system, private carriers don't have the luxury of letting these items slide by uncharged.

00nevermind00 · ‎07-01-2015

@adamcarlseventyfive wrote:
Seems like the $20 thing for being charged import fees has returned. I'm seeing it on everything just like before. I knew it was too good to be true when it comes to this garbage program.

Yes I noticed that too when checking GSP items on .com this morning.

At least I'm still not seeing any GSP item on .ca - for the time being! If you read last week's board hour, Raphael did tell us they were doing "tests". We don't know what those tests are and we don't know when they will end.

What is still not clear is whether the "import charges" were being folded into the shipping price for those items between $20 and $50 or if they were simply waived. If the latter (which I find a little hard to believe) who was eating them? PB? Ebay?

It was too good to be true only if you buy GSP items. For those of us who don't, $20 or $50 changes nothing. Still, it WOULD be nice to know what is going on!

arlene_v · ‎07-02-2015

I've been following this fiasco of a program for the better part of 2 years now, and have come to realize that trying to figure it out logically is really quite a waste of time and energy.

The contradictions are evident ... at every turn. Glitches persist for years ... the one I remember from a while back was when the field for the place of manufacture was changed by eBay to something else, and this name change went unrecognised by the GSP software, so that even IF the correct info was entered, the program didn't recognise the new field, resulting in overcharges in duty for duty exempt items. I wonder if this has ever actually been fixed? I got tired of checking.

And then of course, instead of making Place of Manufacture compulsory when GSP items are listed, oh no, items are opened and repacked in Kentucky to check this info .... at extra cost and causing shipping delays. The cost of this is always passed along to buyers.

After two years you would think things would get better. Seemingly not.

The GSP is a combination of many bad things.

I hope that the disappearance of GSP listings on this site will continue. But I suspect not, unfortunately. Someone will likely protest that it is against US and UK GSP sellers interests, and WHAM - the listings will return in full force to the .ca site.

Why they don't just do the simple thing and provide Canadian buyers with a filter to eliminate these listings is a bit of a mystery. It would win back a lot of goodwill and for those buyers who use the GSP, it would mean they could still access these listings on the .ca site.

But no, with the GSP expect complicated, convoluted and counter intuitive.

mater721 · ‎07-02-2015

"How do you suggest the GSP deal with taxes and duties payable on an item with a declared value of above CDN$20, then?"

Simple - we don't.

We expect this "program" to be not available on items of little to moderate value (< $50 Cdn).

Unfortunately that is not currently the case. And may never change.

adamcarlseventyfive · ‎07-02-2015

I suggest that there is no reason for the program to even exist at all. If I'm going to charged import fees so be it. I'll pay it when it arrives. A simple calculator type program provided by eBay to allow buyers to calculate the expected costs based on their location would be more than sufficient. The buyer then accepts the likelihood of being charged or does not complete the transaction.

adamcarlseventyfive · ‎07-02-2015

I don't really see any logic is removing the GSP items from the .ca listings. I loath the program, but if the GSP items are about making sales to non-US buyers, doesn't removing the listings from the .ca site defeat the entire purpose? I mean, most Canadian based buyers will likely go to .ca to search eBay rather than .com, but will be greeted with a very limited amount of what is actually available to them. I'm not defending the GSP at all, but I think ditching the listings makes no sense either.

mater721 · ‎07-02-2015

All Cdn buyers are asking for is the option to filter them out.

If some want to see all the listings they can.

Those that hate the GSP program can filter out and not waste time scrolling through items they will never buy.

00nevermind00 · ‎07-02-2015

@adamcarlseventyfive wrote:
I don't really see any logic is removing the GSP items from the .ca listings. I loath the program, but if the GSP items are about making sales to non-US buyers, doesn't removing the listings from the .ca site defeat the entire purpose? I mean, most Canadian based buyers will likely go to .ca to search eBay rather than .com, but will be greeted with a very limited amount of what is actually available to them. I'm not defending the GSP at all, but I think ditching the listings makes no sense either.

You're looking at it from an international buyer's point of view. But the GSP was never about the buyer, it was always meant for squeamish US (and now UK) sellers.

Reading the .com boards you realize that there are a lot of US sellers who think that customs forms are pages long and take hours to complete, or who seem to think that you need some sort of PHD to ship internationally. And then there are those who seem convinced that international buyers would just be lining up and tripping over themselves for a chance to steal their $5.00 widgets.

What eBay should have done is educate the sellers. But that takes time and it was easier to come up with a cockamamy program and reap immediate profits. All the buyer outrage should have been entirely predictable if only they'd thought to ask a sample of buyers what would make it appealing for them to buy from sellers using such a program.

As for all the GSP items suddenly disappearing from .ca, we can only guess why that was done. Maybe eBay purchases by Canadians dropped markedly? That's the only reason I can think of, although how much of that is due to the GSP and how much can be attributed to the low Canadian dollar, I doubt anyone can really tell. I totally agree that a GSP filter would have been preferable. My guess is that the GSP items will likely reappear sooner rather than later. Just like GSP items over C$20 are once again showing "import charges".

marnotom! · ‎07-03-2015

Once again I'm "tire-kicking" mobile phone listings on eBay, and I'm finding that most of them that come up in my search results have the GSP as the shipping method.

This is fine with me, actually, as the alternative to the GSP is usually something other than the postal system which could well mean UPS or FedEx ground services that would see me paying more in "import charges" than the GSP would likely charge me.

Back to the comment about it being only available for items above $50, keep in mind that a very heavy $40 item would likely ship for less through the GSP than if it were shipped directly through the postal system, depending on how much the seller charged for shipping the item to the Global Shipping Center in Kentucky.

This isn't intended as a defence of the GSP but rather as a suggestion that both buyer and seller really need to do their homework to determine if the GSP is the way to go for a particular listing. Just as Express Parcel Post isn't the best shipping method for a $1.25 purchase of stamps, the GSP isn't usually the way to go for an inexpensive, lightweight shipment that could ship internationally as an oversize letter.

arlene_v · ‎07-03-2015

@marnotom! wrote:
.

This isn't intended as a defence of the GSP but rather as a suggestion that both buyer and seller really need to do their homework to determine if the GSP is the way to go for a particular listing. Just as Express Parcel Post isn't the best shipping method for a $1.25 purchase of stamps, the GSP isn't usually the way to go for an inexpensive, lightweight shipment that could ship internationally as an oversize letter.

Absolutely, and of course this would be ideal, if both buyer and seller did their homework.

But eBay hasn't actually helped one iota in this regard.

By making the GSP a default and opting in all new sellers how does this help to ensure that only appropriate listings qualify?

Instead buyers are faced with hundreds of thousands of utterly inappropriate listings, which helps fuel the "distaste" many of us have for these listings. It helps fuel the cries of "scam". I blame this entirely on eBay.

GSP listings are often a "waste of space" and a waste of our time, especially if we use the gallery view, and have to always go over to the list view.

Once again a failure of logic and planning is evident with the GSP. And it continues years into the program.

00nevermind00 · ‎07-03-2015

@arlene_v wrote:
buyers are faced with hundreds of thousands of utterly inappropriate listings, which helps fuel the "distaste" many of us have for these listings. It helps fuel the cries of "scam". I blame this entirely on eBay.

GSP listings are often a "waste of space" and a waste of our time, especially if we use the gallery view, and have to always go over to the list view.

Once again a failure of logic and planning is evident with the GSP. And it continues years into the program.

Yes, absolutely! The number of requests for a GSP filter should have clued them in, if only they'd taken the time to listen. But eBay never went beyond cosmetic "improvements" to the GSP and even those were neither properly explained nor advertised. So the farce goes on and on. And on...

pierrelebel · ‎07-03-2015

"The number of requests for a GSP filter should have clued them in,"

I am sure eBay heard that! It has been repeated often enough.

However, eBay would rather listen to its American sellers - who pay the fees generating the profits and want their listings seen - than some foreign viewers in Canada who would rather not see those listings.

It is not a question of right or wrong, just the perspective of the folks running the place in San Jose, USA

From my perspective, it would be a lot easier and fairer to prevent listings from using GSP for items worth less than $50.00

mater721 · ‎07-06-2015

"Back to the comment about it being only available for items above $50, keep in mind that a very heavy $40 item would likely ship for less through the GSP than if it were shipped directly through the postal system, depending on how much the seller charged for shipping the item to the Global Shipping Center in Kentucky."

I admit there are some items <$50 Cdn that might be suitable for GSP. My only purchase through GSP was a bulky item that cost ~ $40. The total cost worked out and transaction was reasonable.

Unfortunately there are many items posted that are certainly not suitable. The bad outweigh the good IMO.

marnotom! · ‎07-07-2015

@marnotom! wrote:

Once again I'm "tire-kicking" mobile phone listings on eBay, and I'm finding that most of them that come up in my search results have the GSP as the shipping method.

This is fine with me, actually, as the alternative to the GSP is usually something other than the postal system which could well mean UPS or FedEx ground services that would see me paying more in "import charges" than the GSP would likely charge me.

So I ended up getting a phone that was shipped through First Class International as the phone was a good deal and the shipping price was comparable to the GSP-shipped phone I purchased a couple of years ago. I also got a case for the phone from a different seller that appears to be shipped through a freight consolidator (shipping rate US$2, supposedly from the US and not China) so it will be interesting to see how delivery times compare on the two items as they were purchased the same day, and also interesting to see how they compare to that of the item I purchased a couple of years ago.