w~~_7.JPG "pjcdn2005"){kind=avatar}
Hello 'nordica',
<< For the seller I did business with it was an auction. . . . The shipping cost ($69.99 UPS ground) that was on the ad
when I bid, is not there when I go to checkout.>>
I have looked over these listings very carefully, and near as I can see, the auction you won was a US-only auction.
To begin with, the screen shot you show us in your first post clearly illustrates that this was not on ebay Canada.
If it were, there would be the Cdn$$ equivalent visible, as we see on all US-dollar listings on ebay.ca.
The item description for the auction you won looks almost identical to another seller who you say ships items via the GSP,
as if it could be the same seller.
I see all these items have apparent differences that could explain price difference, such as construction. The SKB case
seems to be a heavy construction, perhaps better made than the cheap $150 ones, but it does not mention wheels.
The case you won says it has some 'cosmetic issues', -- but it does not say what these are, nor does the listing say it has
working wheels. The bowspeak model looks the same but clearly states it has wheels. Have you thought about that?
Although $400 seems a lot just for wheels. . . .
The bellafina case has wheels, but is described as "great value" and that's a phrase that always makes me nervous.
It seems a basic, lightweight case but if this is to travel with your own instrument, -- are you sure you want to scrimp on
a container for it?
At this point, as so many others have stated, you are not going to get this item at this price. Whether you bought
from the American site by mistake, or the seller hastily removed the international shipping option after you won,
none of us here can know.
There is another Fiberglass Suspension Cello Case - Red, 4/4 available at a laughably low start bid, 99 cents, and
in the listing the seller (also from Texas) states 'no international shipping', yet it is available on ebay Canada because
it claims to come via the GSP.
With only 1 bid at 99 cents, I see $82.71 for a GSP fee, yet on the US ebay the item has $69.99 "standard shipping"
aka, UPS. This is a seller who is opted into the GSP automatically and obviously against his own wishes but does not
know how to extricate himself from it.
So if you were to try to nab this one, the thing to do is wait until the last few seconds of the auction. 'Sniping' is best
done from a real computer and not a phone. You can have 2 windows open to facilitate the process.
You enter your bid, click once, but then wait. You count down to the last 6 or 8 seconds and then Confirm.
If there is a higher bid you lose, but if you win, you immediately click Pay Now and follow through with payment.
But as 'pjcdn' says, you can't force a seller to ship if the item price is too low, - and this is important - if there is
insufficient shipping costs included, the GSP might not ship it. It has in the past declined to forward items on to the
Canadian buyer.
<<The error message says that the seller didn't include shipping costs and to ask for the total, wich I did multiple times.>>
That message comes up anyway even when someone buys an item for which the seller has stated he does not ship
to the buyer's country and (or) has included no shipping fee.
It does not mean you will eventually get the item.
If this is for your own instrument, -- wouldn't it be worth it to buy the best quality, best made item you can at a reasonable
price? Even if you got this $4.25 one, -- what if there is something so wrong with it that it does not suit your needs?
What then?
A few years ago I bought a violin case, -- a Deluxe model. There were loads of cheap ones, but they were not good
enough for my baby. I chose the best one I could get at the time without paying extra for silly things like the colour pink.
This was before the GSP existed on ebay, so I had to pay Priority due to the size.
If you can find a good quality cello case at a price you are willing to afford, and have it come by courier, that will
likely be your best option, in my opinion. You will have to pay import charges, but you are guaranteed to get your item
quickly, and you don't have to do this every week.
Have a look at the "oversize" restrictions on items coming through the GSP. How big is the packed cello case?
Will it fit?
http://pages.ebay.ca/help/buy/shipping-globally.html#oversized
I am wondering if the reason the GSP shipping seems so low is because it is not on the allowables list once the seller
enters the dimensions, yet the listing still appears as available to Canadians through the program anyway.
You will have to make up your own mind about what you want to do, but gather all the information you can so you
are able to make the best and most informed decision, giving consideration to any and all possible consequences.
It is you who will have to live with the results of your own actions.
Best of luck 
