eBay getting too expensive for Canadians

[fashionbaygirl]

I'm Canadian and getting fed up with eBay lately. I have found its getting too expensive to buy from the U.S. Where most of the items I want to buy from because of the global shipping program , I contacted a seller about not charging me it and he didn't even know what it was? I haven't bought anything lately from eBay because of this and won't either if this keeps up I, been buying from other sites don't find it half expensive.

[momcqueen · Accepted solution]

Some sellers in the USA and UK (the only two places with the Global Shipping Program in place at present) have found themselves signed up for it without their knowledge. 

If you are looking at www.ebay.ca search results on a desktop, it's easy to avoid any item listed with it. Simply steer clear of any item with the subtitle that says, 'Customs services and international tracking provided'. You have to be on the ebay.ca website to see this, though.

On the bright side, you may now find it less expensive than ever before to buy domestically. Between the GSP costs, CAD to USD conversion, and the cost of USPS or UPS shipping, it's even easier to support your local, friendly Canadian seller.

[reallynicestamps]

While  the GSP does add a hefty, but perfectly legal, amount to the cost of shipping and handling, you can avoid it by looking for these words

Customs services and international tracking provided

This won't be visible if you are using a mobile device to shop nor if you are using Gallery View in Search.

So before ordering, take a look at the listing on a laptop or desktop computer and get all the information.

The GSP is made up of Canadian duty and Canadian sales** taxes as applicable*, plus a $5 or so service charge.

The maximum you can buy by mail is $20 CDN (about $16USD), so if the seller is using the GSP those charges will exist.

So if your item is below $20 there should be no GSP charges.

If your item is over $20 there will be.

But remember, the GSP was introduced to encourage paranoid and xenophobic US sellers to sell internationally, by extending special protections to them.

Apparently this worked, and many more sellers are now offering their items internationally.

Make that " many more paranoid and xenophobic sellers are now offering their items internationally".

*There is no duty on NAFTA-made items. But if the item was made in Germany and sold in the USA , there could be duty. There will be sales tax, from 5% to 17% depending on your province. The $5 is for processing those charges including we can assume a profit.

**There is no duty on used goods. There is sales tax on used goods.

[fashionbaygirl]

Good news the seller took the global shipping program off his listing but sellers are not always going to do it because a lot of them don't even know they are in the program and don't understand it like the seller I contacted . I love to support more Canadian sellers but unfortunately their shipping can be just as expensive somethimes and I can buy most of in my province that they offer unlike the U.S have more that I want that I can't get here in Canada . Not ditching Canadian sellers at all it's just I can't find most of what I'm looking for in Canada especially in my province so I do lot of online shopping wherever I can get it the cheapest.

[momcqueen]

I do understand. Back about a decade ago when I bought clothes for myself first and foremost, the bottom-line cost was the most important determining factor for me.

The other thing that you may consider is the cost of return shipping is something goes wrong with the transaction. If it's international seller and you need to send it back with tracking, it will cost you an arm and a leg whereas a Canadian seller has an advantage in that they can send you a return label through ebay. This doesn't have an international equivalent.

After awhile, I had too many 'great deals' turn out to be 'giant headaches' and I had to alter my buying patterns to save my sanity. While it's true that the Resolution Centre will cover you, for me it was a very stressful experience to have reason to open a case. I had a seller in the States ship me a $250 USD dress in an empty envelope and lie about it so I had to go to the police as per paypal's instructions to get my money back. Another time, I bought a pair of knee-high leather boots that were so poorly made it felt like there were rocks in the heels and I sent those back. That was $45 with tracking to send back. The boots were $50 plus shipping and the seller didn't refund the shipping either direction. Anyway.....

Good luck as you carry forward!

[9080trevor]

No kidding eh? 

[u2g484]

I know people who sell on Ebay and they do get hit with hefty fees, both from Ebay and Paypal. I myself am 99% a buyer, and all I know is its now getting  cheaper and easier to buy retail, no waiting on delivery, no excessive shipping  cost. . The only advantage I see now  in Ebay is the vast selection they can offer. Does Ebay realize what they are doing to themselves?, its almost like they are shooting themselves in the foot

[reallynicestamps]

The only advantage I see now  in Ebay is the vast selection they can offer.

This is and always has been eBay's best attraction.

Yes, with the fall of the loonie and the entry of the GSP , the cost of importing has risen.

But if you live an hour's drive and two mountain passes from the nearest WalMart, there are no women's clothing stores in your town, and it's an overnighter to visit the West Edmonton Mall, eBay looks pretty good for even ordinary things.

For urban buyers? The attraction is the specialty item like pre-WWI covers from the German Carolinas, or weighted blankets for autistics or movie set props or radio tubes or Avro Arrow gimmee pins or Clarice Cliff teapots or...... stuff that is really unusual.

[jonathabaile_3]

What other sites

[jonathabaile_3]

What other sites do u find are reliable and better priced? Thx u!

I'm in Canada too, I find the cost way to high on eBay as well and I know what the global shipping program is and how it changes us and then the conversion.

I have looked for other sites and I just can't find any thing good. Stay away from TouWiz. I couldn't get one order out of them!

Anyway I hope we both have better luck. I recently ordered from eBay and have a lot on order and wondering what I will get and not get. In the past the following happened to me. I got the wrong order, didn't get two orders and got sent a double order and had to pay for two.