eBay

patken123 · ‎05-08-2015

I'm planning on buying this item: 361275123642, the seller is using GSP , I have sent an email (through ebay ) asking the seller if he/she is willing to ship it directly to me instead of via GSP,still waiting for a reply.

My question is, what if the seller says no can do, then I'll have to order it with GSP involved, according to the listing, the shipping to Kentucky is 1$14.19 USD, plus $6.56 import charge,how much more on top of those two charges do I have to pay to get it in my hands?in other words, what are the other hidden charges that is not visible on the listing?

Your help is appreciated.

Ken.

pierrelebel · ‎05-08-2015

There are no hidden charges.

You pay US$19.99 for the item, US$14.19 for shipping from the seller to you (includes from the seller to eBay distribution centre in KY and from KY to your door) and US$ 6.56 for taxes (GST/HST depending on your province) and brokerage fee for a total of US$ 40.74 (almost Cdn$50.00). Actually, looking at the listing, the seller offers "free shipping:" within the USA.

The only question to ask is: Is the item worth $50 to you?

The program is intended for items valued at US$50+. It gets pretty pricy for items purchased for US$20.

Your decision.

reid4311 · ‎05-08-2015

Do what I've done in the past. Ask the seller politely if he / she would be willing to post it to you using USPS. Make sure you include what the price would be if shipped by GSP and also include the province you live in.

I've had pretty good results doing this. Very few refused but some have.

If you go ahead and buy it using GSP you will overpay big time on postage and he will NOT be able to post to you directly. It will end up in Kentucky!

If he refuses look around for another seller offering what you're looking for and try again.

nuvistors · ‎05-08-2015

the GSP will add between 3 and 6 days extra shipping time to your order.

patken123 · ‎05-08-2015

Do what I've done in the past. Ask the seller politely if he / she would be willing to post it to you using USPS.

I did exactly that , the seller's response was they do not ship to Canada!! that's it. no explanation as to "we had no idea our items are being sold internationally with GSP" ,,,, or something like that rather than " we do not ship to Canada".

,it goes to show you that most USA sellers have no idea that their items are being advertised on ebay.ca ,this seller seem to be very unprofessional and rude if you ask me , I feel like replying to him and ask why the heck are you advertising on ebay canada if you don't ship here but it's just not worth it.

Thank you all for your replies and guidance.

pierrelebel · ‎05-08-2015

"we do not ship to Canada"

Actually, this is exactly why the program was created three years ago. Many (not all) American sellers do not want to ship to Canada or overseas. They are fine shipping domestically and that is where it ends. They see "export" as paperwork and risks.

GSP eliminates those risks for sellers. They simply ship to a domestic address in KY and everything else is taken care of ---- buyers worldwide pay for the privilege.

Time to find someone else. Have you tried contacting Sears directly?

patken123 · ‎05-08-2015

I tried to find that item(rubber impeller) locally but it is next to impossible to find one,Sears do not have it in stock anymore, I have been told by an outboard motor mechanic that if I manage to find one, it'll be around $40, so once I heard that I decided to order it from that USA seller,it'll cost under $51 CDN so it's not too bad.

This is the first time I have bothered with an item that has GSP attached to it, when I think about this deal in particular, I'm happy that ebay and GSP made it possible ,I was in a pinch , Paid a little extra but I'm sure I'll get exactly what I want ,save myself a lot of headache trying to locate that item locally and probably never find one anyway,so I'll say GSP in some instances might help a buyer after all.

jt-libra · ‎05-09-2015

@patken123 wrote:
I tried to find that item(rubber impeller) locally but it is next to impossible to find one,Sears do not have it in stock anymore, I have been told by an outboard motor mechanic that if I manage to find one, it'll be around $40, so once I heard that I decided to order it from that USA seller,it'll cost under $51 CDN so it's not too bad.
This is the first time I have bothered with an item that has GSP attached to it, when I think about this deal in particular, I'm happy that ebay and GSP made it possible ,I was in a pinch , Paid a little extra but I'm sure I'll get exactly what I want ,save myself a lot of headache trying to locate that item locally and probably never find one anyway,so I'll say GSP in some instances might help a buyer after all.

I've bought a few things from sellers who use the GSP and, to date, have had no problems. I know that some people have received damaged goods as a result of repackaging at the Kentucky center but, luckily, I have not. In each case, the item arrived quickly and I was able to track it all the way. Good luck!

Unlike some of the other posters on these boards, I have had no luck in asking sellers to ship using USPS; they either seemed to be confused by the mention of anything other than the GSP or they did not know how to calculate the shipping through USPS or they couldn't be bothered to even reply.

vanmerchant · ‎05-09-2015

GSP is a terrible system for Canadian buyers. They collect huge tax they charge huge postage. Sellers' chance of getting more money gets totally cut down. U.s. Sellers please just use postal service for Canadians. Most of the time we don't have to pay taxes and our postal service is AAA.

reid4311 · ‎05-09-2015

Hello: That's exactly the response I've had from a few american sellers. But they are a minority. They got opted in without any knowledge. They can't see what you do. That's why when I did ask I included the GSP postage price. The word they used often when responding was excessive! I usually only buy CDs so it's no big deal, another will turn up. I have one U.K. buyer I'm pretty steady with who won't opt out of the program but will opt out on any specific discs I want. All I do is ask. So unless your purchase is time sensitive for you I'd hold off for a little while and see what turns up. You never know!

femmefan1946 · ‎05-09-2015

They collect huge tax

We might be able to change that.

The tax (and duty) MUST be charged by all commercial shippers* by law. They don't have a choice.

BUT

The Harper government raised the import limit from $20 to $200 dollars for cross-border shoppers. Possibly a bribe to their 905 voters who can drive down to Buffalo for a day of shopping.

Write and ask that the same import limit be allowed for importers using shipping companies.

You don't even need to stamp the envelope.

The Right Honourable Stephen Harper PC MP

House of Commons

OTTAWA ON K1A 0A6

And cc your own Member of Parliament.

*CBSA and Canada Post have sensibly decided it is foolish to perform a service that costs more than would be collected.

forester_studios · ‎05-10-2015

Does this apply to buying online? I thought the $200 limit only applied to folks actually driving across the border and staying in the U.S. for more than 24 hours.

pierrelebel · ‎05-10-2015

"I thought the $200 limit only applied to folks actually driving across the border and staying in the U.S. for more than 24 hours."

That is correct.

The $20 limit applies to goods coming by mail (it does not matter if ordered by mail, phone or online).

For more information. the government of Canada offers this webpage:

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/postal-postale/duty-droits-eng.html

Now, it is well known that not all parcels coming by mail are properly assessed the tax (GST/HST). Many parcels are coming without any tax being levied by Canada Customs.

However, when the goods come by courier or freight, then all shipments with value exceeding Cdn$ 20.00 are assessed the tax.

forester_studios · ‎05-10-2015

Thanks for the info Pierre. After a quarter century of free trade it's hard to believe that the limit is still so low on items shipped into Canada. You'd think after all these years the government could raise it to at least $40 or $50.

reallynicestamps · ‎05-11-2015

Free Trade only applies to items manufactured in the countries of the signatories. (Canada Mexico USA and Chile. Canada has Free Trade agreements with some other countries outside of NAFTA, Costa Rica is one I believe.)

And sales tax applies to imports no matter where manufactured.

Anonymous · ‎05-11-2015

Why is that the US sellers cannot see that GSP is include in their listings? They often told me what is "GSP"?!! I have to tell them to sign on eBay.ca (Canada site) to see their listings, and too often they got upset and working so hard to revise to opt out of GSP.

The way I see eBay is being fishy with that area. Nice guy? Eh.

pierrelebel · ‎05-11-2015

"Why is that the US sellers cannot see that GSP is include in their listings? "

Actually all eBay members located in the USA do not see any reference to GSP or "import charges" or whatever when viewing listings on eBay.com and showing a buyer's location in the USA. It only takes a minute to test that

I guess many American buyers (the vast majority of eBay's customers) could get confused with any wording suggesting shipping outside the country.

forester_studios · ‎05-11-2015

All points of which I am well aware of. However the fact still remains that Canadians can face additional costs when importing more then twenty dollars worth of goods and Americans can buy hundreds of dollars in goods without duty fees.

pierrelebel · ‎05-11-2015

"and Americans can buy hundreds of dollars in goods without duty fees."

Both sides of the border are "duty free" for goods manufactured in North America - no limit.

That is not and has never been the problem.

Canada (like most industrialized countries) raises revenue through a consumption tax (GST/HST). In Europe, they call it VAT.

When taxable goods are purchased in Canada, the retailer must charge and remit such tax (rates vary by province). When importing goods, the tax collection for shipments over Cdn$20 is made by the freight carrier or the courier or Canada Post if Canada Customs assessed tax(es).

In all instances, if taxes are assessed and need to be remitted, the carrier will also charge a "brokerage" or "administration" fee.

None of that has anything to do with "duty". Too often the term "duty" is confused with "consumption tax".

The real problem is the fact that the USA does not raise revenue through a federal consumption tax like the rest of the world does.

marnotom! · ‎05-11-2015

@pierrelebel wrote:

The real problem is the fact that the USA does not raise revenue through a federal consumption tax like the rest of the world does.

Individual states may have "use tax" in place which is--generally speaking--a mechanism to collect the equivalent of state sales tax on goods purchased from outside of the state in question, but it's pretty much up to the importer to report and redeem it.