eBay

kelpball · ‎12-22-2015

Why is the eBay shipping service so incredibly over priced? When an item from the states to Canada costs twice the purchase price and it's never more than $5 from anyone doing it them selves, it seems kinda gougie... No?

I will not be buying from anybody using eBay's international shipping service... Ever. $30.60+ minimum is just silly for a $12 item.

marnotom! · ‎12-23-2015

There's several reasons. Here are the major ones.

1. The Global "Shipping" Program is actually a freight forwarding service. You're paying for two shipping charges, the first being what the seller charges for shipping the item to a processing centre in Kentucky, the second being what PitneyBowes (administrators of the Global Shipping Program) charges for getting the item from Kentucky to you.

2. Letter mail (what Canada Post calls "small packet" or "light packet" and what the US Postal Service calls "First Class International") is about the only means for private individuals to ship items from country to country that approaches the definition of economical. No other shipping service comes close in terms of price.

3. GSP items are bundled up in palettes of freight and shipped from Kentucky to a logistics centre in Canada for customs processing. Those palettes are mixes of larger items and smaller items and the GSP's pricing formula sort of averages things out. This means that it's often a pretty inexpensive way to ship larger items (particularly when compared to services such as FedEx or UPS) but a lousy way to ship oversized letters.

I don't think the GSP was really intended for smaller, modestly-priced items, but the way it's getting foisted on sellers means that you're going to find an awful lot of listings where it's used inappropriately and sellers don't always realize (or care) that it's being offered in their listings.

komics4sale · ‎12-23-2015

Of all the hundreds of explanations I've ever read either PRO or CON regarding the GSP program.....your explanation is one of the best I have read.

You don't whole-heartedly support them while at the same time also don't regard them a crooks!

You just explain it the way it is....

I don't like them at all with regard to my dealings on ebay, but Kudos to you!

patken123 · ‎12-23-2015

Of all the hundreds of explanations I've ever read either PRO or CON regarding the GSP program.....your explanation is one of the best I have read

I agree,what I like the most in his/her explanation is, it is straight to the point without any fluff.

Anonymous · ‎12-23-2015

Any US sellers who opt in GSP are killing their businesses because they are not getting any Canadian buyers, that is for sure and what more with GSP, US sellers CANNOT offer combined shipping! If you buy more than 1 item with one same seller, you would have to pay the shipping costs for EACH item!! It is insane that eBay don't listen to us about GSP not offering combined shipping that way for more than 2 years., It is a GOLDMINE for eBay and Pitney Bowes, that is why!!

Many US sellers with GSP don't realize how much shipping costs we have to pay them!! It is insane!!

marnotom! · ‎12-23-2015

@Anonymous wrote:

Any US sellers who opt in GSP are killing their businesses because they are not getting any Canadian buyers, that is for sure

While many US sellers opting in (knowingly or unknowingly) to the GSP are likely not seeing much in the way of Canadian buyers, I doubt it's "killing their business". Many US sellers do quite well selling strictly within the United States as Americans have a much larger domestic market than we Canadians do. Adding another 10% to their pool of potential buyers isn't going to make an awful lot of difference to their overall bottom line.

marnotom! · ‎12-23-2015

@Anonymous wrote:

It is insane that eBay don't listen to us about GSP not offering combined shipping that way for more than 2 years., It is a GOLDMINE for eBay and Pitney Bowes, that is why!!

Sellers are supposed to provide PitneyBowes with information on the packaged weight and dimensions of a GSP item. Yes, they often don't, but that's beside the point.

Combining shipping means that the information PitneyBowes has for calculating the shipping price and import charges has to go out the window and be resupplied by the seller. For whatever reason, PitneyBowes seems to prefer that sellers be kept in the dark as much as possible if they've been conscripted into the GSP, possibly under the guise of "we're making this just as easy as a domestic sale for you." I do doubt that they're doing this to extract every last unofficial Canadian penny from Canadian buyers, though.

Having said that, there does appear to be a way to combine shipping on a GSP sale but it involves use of the cart on the .com site. See this short thread for details:

http://community.ebay.com/t5/Shipping-Returns/Global-Shipping-Program-combined-shipping/qaq-p/20094864

Anonymous · ‎12-24-2015

This link doesn't show combined shipping! And what more it is disgustingly that eBay knew about our complaints for 2 years and yet eBay does nothing to fix it!

pjcdn2005 · ‎12-24-2015

That thread gives a lot of incorrect information but the gsp does combine shipping if a cart is used on .com, .ca and on most other sites.

It is easy enough to see for yourself. Just enter 2 items from the same gsp seller in a cart and compare the total against what it would cost for shipping and import fees if you purchased the items separately. Once you've checked you can delete the items from your cart, it isn't necessary to purchase anything in order to see the results. In some cases the combined shipping can make quite a difference.

Combined shipping with the gsp only affects the international shipping charges. It doesn't take into account the sellers domestic combined shipping discounts but any time I've checked, that doesn't seem to make much of a difference.

marnotom! · ‎12-24-2015

@Anonymous wrote:

This link doesn't show combined shipping! And what more it is disgustingly that eBay knew about our complaints for 2 years and yet eBay does nothing to fix it!

The second response to the thread details the closest thing buyers (and sellers) can get to combining shipping with the GSP's current set up. Any complaints about the process are probably better directed to PitneyBowes as eBay doesn't operate the Global Shipping Program. I suspect eBay's involvement in the GSP's operations is pretty "hands off" which is why its customer service reps haven't been trained properly on it. "Global shipping specialists" are likely employees of or contractors with PitneyBowes.

ypdc_dennis · ‎12-25-2015

@Anonymous wrote:
Any US sellers who opt in GSP are killing their businesses because they are not getting any Canadian buyers...

Any loss on potential Canadian sales for US sellers is covered by the increase in sales to the rest of the world (where GSP does manage to provide good savings in the shipping department).

-.-

It's too bad that eBay did not properly set GSP up to allow sellers to select what countries they would use GSP for shipping, rather than this all or nothing approach when listing.

I really suspect someone in the eBay computer programming department said the current GSP method was the easiest for eBay programmers to create -- and anything else would be just toooo difficult.

-.-

GSP could work for Canada, even with our high domestic rates. But it would have some similar problems to the current USA GSP -- no advantage for light weight items, and no advantage when selling next door (to the USA). For small sellers sending 2kg+ packages overseas, there would be cost savings over sending direct.

But eBay would have a very tough time getting Canadian sellers to sign up for the current flawed GSP structure -- it would need to be available as just another selectable shipping choice.

-.-

marnotom! · ‎12-25-2015

@ypdc_dennis wrote:

It's too bad that eBay did not properly set GSP up to allow sellers to select what countries they would use GSP for shipping, rather than this all or nothing approach when listing.

Actually, there's this:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/shipping-globally.html#offering

However, as noted elsewhere on this board, reports on the .com discussion boards suggest the process isn't as straightforward as the help page suggests.

pjcdn2005 · ‎12-25-2015

@marnotom! wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:

This link doesn't show combined shipping! And what more it is disgustingly that eBay knew about our complaints for 2 years and yet eBay does nothing to fix it!

The second response to the thread details the closest thing buyers (and sellers) can get to combining shipping with the GSP's current set up. Any complaints about the process are probably better directed to PitneyBowes as eBay doesn't operate the Global Shipping Program. I suspect eBay's involvement in the GSP's operations is pretty "hands off" which is why its customer service reps haven't been trained properly on it. "Global shipping specialists" are likely employees of or contractors with PitneyBowes.

That poster is incorrect in that it has nothing to do with whether or not the seller has combined shipping rules set up. As I mentioned earlier, the gsp combines the internationally shipping portion and since that is not in the seller's control, it doesn't matter if they have combined shipping set up or not.

marnotom! · ‎12-26-2015

@pjcdn2005 wrote:
That poster is incorrect in that it has nothing to do with whether or not the seller has combined shipping rules set up. As I mentioned earlier, the gsp combines the internationally shipping portion and since that is not in the seller's control, it doesn't matter if they have combined shipping set up or not.

So what do you figure was being shown in that poster's screenshot, Pjcdn?

pjcdn2005 · ‎12-26-2015

@marnotom! wrote:
@pjcdn2005 wrote:
That poster is incorrect in that it has nothing to do with whether or not the seller has combined shipping rules set up. As I mentioned earlier, the gsp combines the internationally shipping portion and since that is not in the seller's control, it doesn't matter if they have combined shipping set up or not.

So what do you figure was being shown in that poster's screenshot, Pjcdn?

No need to be formal, PJ or pj is fine

Are you referring to the screenshot of the cart in the 2014 post?

If so, it shows what the buyer would be paying and obviously they are discounted rates because you never see a single gsp listing with a shipping rate or import charges under $4. Are you saying that the seller's discount shipping set up has anything to do with those discounts and if so...why do think that's the case?

marnotom! · ‎12-26-2015

@pjcdn2005 wrote:

It shows what the buyer would be paying and obviously they are discounted rates because you never see a single gsp listing with a shipping rate or import charges under $4. Are you saying that the seller's discount shipping set up has anything to do with those discounts and if so...why do think that's the case?

I'm just suggesting that the seller's shipping rules may help with the recalculation of GSP shipping rates as the GSP bot now may have a new set of weights and measures to work with based on a recalculation of the domestic shipping charge. The program fees are obviously split up between the two items.

Yes, the use of the cart is ultimately what prompts the GSP to combine shipments, but I'm wondering if having shipping rules in place somehow makes the calculations a bit more accurate and/or advantageous for the buyer.

@pjcdn2005 wrote:

No need to be formal, PJ or pj is fine

Hey, at least I didn't add the "2005".

pjcdn2005 · ‎12-26-2015

I'm not sure what weights and measures have to do with it

@marnotom! wrote:
@pjcdn2005 wrote:
It shows what the buyer would be paying and obviously they are discounted rates because you never see a single gsp listing with a shipping rate or import charges under $4. Are you saying that the seller's discount shipping set up has anything to do with those discounts and if so...why do think that's the case?
I'm just suggesting that the seller's shipping rules may help with the recalculation of GSP shipping rates as the GSP bot now may have a new set of weights and measures to work with based on a recalculation of the domestic shipping charge. The program fees are obviously split up between the two items.

Yes, the use of the cart is ultimately what prompts the GSP to combine shipments, but I'm wondering if having shipping rules in place somehow makes the calculations a bit more accurate and/or advantageous for the buyer.

Perhaps, if they were used in the gsp calculation, they might be of benefit because the domestic shipping portion might be slightly less. But I can't see how they would benefit the buyer from a weight or accuracy point of view. I guess we are just looking at at it differently.

It was an eBay rep (I think it was Raphael) who said that domestic shipping rules were not taken into account with gsp transactions. I doubt that it would be possible for the calculator to use both domestic shipping rules and the gsp's international shipping rules. The calculator isn't that sophisticated.

Anonymous · ‎12-28-2015

Still no excuses!!

luwilliam_0 · ‎12-28-2015

There's several reasons. Here are the major ones.

1. The Global "Shipping" Program is actually a freight forwarding service. You're paying for two shipping charges,

LOL...Think about that for a minute. You are paying for shipping twice...twice!

2. Letter mail (what Canada Post calls "small packet" or "light packet" and what the US Postal Service calls "First Class International") is about the only means for private individuals to ship items from country to country that approaches the definition of economical.

Then why aren't US sellers educated in that respect. Wait...I know....

3. GSP items are bundled up in palettes of freight and shipped from Kentucky to a logistics centre in Canada for customs processing. Those palettes are mixes of larger items and smaller items and the GSP's pricing formula sort of averages things out.

So all individual charges are inaccurate. If you think PB hasn't figured a way on how to maximize profits off our backs on that little game...

This means that it's ..... a lousy way to ship oversized letters.

But let's just keep that a secret....

.... the GSP ... it's getting foisted on sellers means that you're going to find an awful lot of listings where it's used inappropriately and sellers don't always realize (or care) that it's being offered in their listings.

Shhhhhh!