Can a seller issue a non-GSP invoice after the auction has ended?

[3islanders]

Talking to a U.K. seller who is willing to ship regular Royal Mail packet or whatever, rather than the listed GSP.  But she hasn't changed the listing (yet?) to add this option (have had other sellers do this, so I know it's possible) so I'm reluctant to bid in case she can't send me a different invoice when it ends.  Not paying $40 shipping on a $4 item.

Can anyone say whether it's possible for a seller to opt out of GSP on a listing and send a different invoice after the auction is over?

[reallynicestamps · Accepted solution]

Can anyone say whether it's possible for a seller to opt out of GSP on a listing and send a different invoice after the auction is over?

Yes. Sort of.

Your seller may trust you, but prefer to use GSP shipping for others. That, to me, would be why she is reluctant to change her terms of sale on the basis of a query.

What she can do, if you actually buy, is send you a Paypal invoice with the corrected shipping.

You pay that invoice, she manually marks the purchase paid and ships.

There is trust needed on both sides.

[burge.ca2015]

Would this work the same way from a seller in the US? I've learned to ask each seller the same question about if whether they will accommodate a buyers/bidders request to not use the GSP. Some will and some won't, and then there are yet others that say they don't know how to do it. One seller told me today that they would but didn't know if eBay will let them change the address (instead of using the Kentucky GSP centre address I assume). If the listing still says "shipped using the GSP", then how does the seller sending a revised/updated PayPal invoice avoid the GSP shipping charge (and customs fees if applicable) that is normally automatically added to the price when the buyer makes their payment? Do you go to your PayPal account directly to make the payment or do you still go through the ebay site/link? When the split between ebay and PayPal becomes effective what will happen then?

What I've learned to do is, explain what effects the GSP has on the Canadian buyers decision to bid/buy or not and the fact that it is sometimes an unnecessary extra cost for us because Canada Customs/Canada Post may choose to waive the duty/taxes/fees when using the postal system (as opposed to using UPS or FedEx for example). Once the seller is informed of this, I've found that they are more willing to make changes and accommodate the buyer. One even thanked me for letting her know about these concerns and would be more open to making exceptions for Canadians in the future, and a different one said he would make an exception to his "ship to US only" rule because I was more informed of the complications of the GSP. So, I guess it's true - the saying "knowledge is power".

[blueberrysparkle]

Simply do negotiations via messages.

  My understanding is the price will be x and the shipping will be y in currency z.  That you will revised the invoice to reflect this change. Could you please confirm.

Once they confirm you have your  written record .

Also simply don't pay for item until correctly invoiced. 

[femmefan1946]

Would this work the same way from a seller in the US?

At this time, (June 2015) only the US and the UK sites have the Global Shipping Program enabled.

Remember that the purpose of the program was to encourage nervous and paranoid sellers in the US and UK to ship internationally. So any seller with the GSP enabled is likely to fall into that category if he is experienced.

And many new sellers were automatically enrolled when they signed up, and are baffled by the entire selling experience.

A third category is sellers, who were automatically enrolled two or three years ago and are only now getting their first international sales.

So while it is possible that your seller will be willing to cooperate the demographic of sellers enrolled makes it unlikely.

But no one can say yes if you don't ask.

Oh, yeah. If the value of the item is over $100, you may do better with the GSP than USPS/Royal Mail/ Canada Post.  And sellers are less likely to be cooperative if you are asking them for a lot of fiddling over a $10 item.

[femmefan1946]

Would this work the same way from a seller in the US?

[femmefan1946]

At this time, (June 2015) only the US and the UK sites have the Global Shipping Program enabled.

[femmefan1946]

Remember that the purpose of the program was to encourage nervous and paranoid sellers in the US and UK to ship internationally. So any seller with the GSP enabled is likely to fall into that category if he is experienced.

[femmefan1946]

And many new sellers were automatically enrolled when they signed up, and are baffled by the entire selling experience.

[femmefan1946]

A third category is sellers, who were automatically enrolled two or three years ago and are only now getting their first international sales.

[femmefan1946]

So while it is possible that your seller will be willing to cooperate the demographic of sellers enrolled makes it unlikely.

[femmefan1946]

But no one can say yes if you don't ask.

[femmefan1946]

Oh, yeah. If the value of the item is over $100, you may do better with the GSP than USPS/Royal Mail/ Canada Post.  And sellers are less likely to be cooperative if you are asking them for a lot of fiddling over a $10 item.