On June 12th, the first post during the "Weekly Board Hour" read:
Good afternoon.
I would like to follow-up on the questions I raised last week about eBay’s Global Shipping Program (GSP).
As stated, eBay does not provide a breakdown of the so-called “import charges”. Often, the number does not seem to make sense based on what buyers know about applicable taxes.
Why can’t eBay provide a detailed breakdown of those “estimated import charges”? How much of it is actually calculated for duty (if applicable)? For taxes (GST/HST/PST) if applicable? Handling fee? Brokerage fee? Additional shipping charge (from PB distribution centre to buyer)? Etc…
Also, have you considered opening a discussion board manned by Pitney Bowes personnel to answer questions on their program? This was done by eBay way back in 1999/2000 for PayPal well before eBay purchased the payment system. PayPal staff was allowed access to eBay’s board to answer technical and policy questions.
A question that keeps coming back is: how do Canadian buyers get their PB “import charges” refunded if the transaction is cancelled? The seller refunds the purchase price, that is easy. However, how do Canadian buyers get their money back from PB? Similar question: how do Canadian buyers get their duty and taxes refunded should the goods be returned to seller in the USA?
Post # 4 from eBay.ca: "These are all great questions for which I'll have to source answers from a colleague from the GSP team."
Post # 29 from eBay.ca: "I'm still waiting for an answer from my US colleague Pierre, I'll post the answers here when I have them and notify you via email."
When can we expect answers?
=============================================================
Then other questions were asked on post #22
"Another question, if I may, on the subject of GSP.
eBay staffers are also eBay buyers.
Have any of you in the Toronto office actually made an eBay purchase from American sellers offering GSP?
What was your experience? Was it faster? Was it more expensive? Was the cost of tax(es) properly broken down? Did Pitney Bowes provide you with their GST/HST or business registration number as required by Canadian law?
Finally, having gone through the experience, would you do it again?"
No reply. Does it suggest nobody on staff at eBay.ca ever used GSP ? The silence speaks for itself.
"If I am ever charged taxes with the CP collection fee the funds will be received in Canada."
In general terms, no tax is levied on items imported with a value of less than $20, regardless of the carrier. Many of your recent purchases seem to be approximating that value. So if you generally import low value items, yes it is possible to avoid taxation.
However, many Canadian buyers often purchase "dtuff" with a higher value where tax (GST/HST/PST) is generally levied at time of Customs clearance although many buyers have experienced goods coming through without taxes being charged.
Personally, over the years I have generally been charged taxes on most imports with a declared value of $50 or more.
@pjcdn2005 wrote:
So to clarify....you're saying that what is needed for the buyer to receive their fees back from PB is simply that the seller has to cancel the transaction? So if the seller refunds and cancels because the item wasn't what they expected, or if the seller is out of stock or cancels for any other reason, the system is set up so that the buyer will be refunded for all import and shipping fees paid to PB and that PB won't be keeping any fees at all?
That's the way it's been explained to mt by the GSP team.
@pjcdn2005 wrote:
You mentioned that this should be done automatically and that if it isn't, the buyer should contact CS. Is this clearly spelled out for both buyer and seller? Based on comments made on the boards,neither party seem too clear about that. Also, is contact information going to be provided for the buyer as it seems that many people find it almost impossible to find a phone number or any way to contact ebay.
When I say GSP fees should be refunded automatically, I mean refunded automatically by the system, not by the seller. Secondly, the contact information for your buyer is always available to you via the Advanced Search.
If I misunderstood any of your questions here please let me know.
@pierrelebel wrote:
Raphael - according to written policies on eBay.com:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/buy/shipping-globally.html
You didn't receive an item or the item was not as described in the listing
If you did not receive an item or the item was not as described in the listing, contact the seller. Many issues can be solved with a simple conversation. If the seller isn't able or willing to resolve the problem, you can open a buyer protection case in the Resolution Center. Learn more about what do to if you don't receive an item or it doesn't match the seller's description.
You want to return an item
If you want to return an item, check to see if the seller accepts international returns by reviewing the return policy in the listing. If the seller does accept international returns, contact the seller.
NOWHERE does eBay indicate what a Canadian buyer is to do when an item "not as described" is received under GSP.
You're linking to a US Help Page that existed long before GSP was introduced, it's likely they haven't updated it yet to reflect GSP transactions. I'll alert the appropriate US team.
Hi Raphael.
The page from the link is titled:
Buying an item through the Global Shipping Program
@pierrelebel wrote:
Hi Raphael.
The page from the link is titled:
Buying an item through the Global Shipping Program
Sorry about that, the URL mislead me (that was the URL for the old Help Page). I'll tell the appropriate team to add refund information.
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