I was looking for a movie on DVD for my granddaughter. The local stores were sold out but could get it for me for Cdn$ 20.00 plus tax in one or two weeks. I decided to take a look at what was available on eBay.com. Here is what I found: over 135 results (fixed price) including a few from Europe. Starting from the lowest price (including shipping):
New - Cdn$ 4.92 + Cdn$ 3.99 shipping (economy from USA)
Used - US$ 3.99 + US$ 4.99 shipping (standard international from USA)
New (BluRay) - US$ 6.55 + Us$ 3.99 shipping (economy from USA)
New - US$ 6.51 + US$ 4.00 shipping (standard international from USA)
New - US$ 5.52 + US$ 4.99 shipping (standard international from USA)
New (BluRay) - US$ 6.28 + US$ 4.99 shipping (standard international from USA)
New - US$ 4.88 + US$ 6.99 shipping (standard international from USA)
New - US$ 8.99 + US$ 3.00 shipping (standard international from Thailand)
Used - US$ 6.99 + US$ 5.00 shipping (standard international from USA)
New - US$ 7.98 + US$ 4.99 shipping (first class mail from USA)
New (BluRay) - US$ 6.29 + US$ 6.99 shipping (standard international from USA)
So far, I can buy from eBay at a much lower price than purchasing from a local store
Now, let's go down the list a bit to find an American seller offering Global Shipping...
New - US$ 6.51 + US$ 13.37 shipping (priority shipping from USA) + $0.00 import charge
Used - US$ 5.00 + US$ 16.26 shipping (priority shipping from USA) + $0.00 import charge
New - US$ 9.59 + US$ 13.42 shipping (priority shipping from USA) + $0.00 import charge
New - US$ 7.90 + US$ 17.07 shipping (priority shipping from USA) + $0.00 import charge
Conclusion : many American sellers are misguided in listing DVD/BluRay offering GSP.
""misguided" is too diplomatic"
Maybe so but I try to be nice (most of the time).
While some of the blame belongs to sellers using a program (GSP) without properly checking and understanding how it works, I still maintain most of the blame belongs to eBay for not providing proper guidance and education to American sellers.
And, let's not forget buyers who are so quick to hit the BUY button without reading the terms of the listing and complain about the "scam" a few hours or days later.
