Comments about the Global Shipping Program

[kalvin@ebay.com]

Feel free to share your thoughts about the Global Shipping Program here. 

A few questions to get the ball rolling:

• What has worked well for you with the Global Shipping Program?
• Any ideas to help improve the experience for Canadian buyers?
• What has deterred you from buying items offered using the Global Shipping Program?
• How have you managed to search for items outside the program?

Please try & keep the comments constructive 🙂

If you have any questions about the program, please post them here.

[anguscoinshop]

it would not surprise me if ebay said The GSP is here to stay. in the last two years ebay as been acting like a bunch of commu.... they absolutely impose there will on buyers and sellers.

They have gone global and that as far as you can go. eventually you have to make sacrifices to retain what you have.

Charging more money is always a very strong deterrent to advance any business.

The GSP needs to be eliminated.

When will it be eliminated?

By the way, Kalvin no longer works for ebay, he never answer my questions.

[bennett4612]

Hello angus_coin_shop.

GSP related questions can be posted on the "Questions about the Global Shipping Program" thread. 

http://community.ebay.ca/t5/Buyer-Central/Questions-about-the-Global-Shipping-Program/td-p/149063

I see that you have posted a couple on there already. From what I've seen I am reading your questions as rhetorical; apologies if this is a mis-read on my part. 

And as always,  feel free to post additional questions on that thread or comments on this one. 

Thanks. 

--Ben

[pollybernard]

Why would anyone want to use the THE BIGGEST SCAM EVER " Global Shipping Program "  when 9 times out of 10 the buyer will not be charged a brokerage fee + taxes + handling fees + surcharges etc etc. Not only that they make the buyer pay for one of the most expensive ways to ship.

If you actually read between the lines the buyer is paying 4 organizations a portion of the use of this feature, 

As for the seller ever wonder why you are not receiving the amount of bids you use to get when you did not use the THE BIGGEST SCAM EVER " Global Shipping Program " 

Not only that but a lot of buyers are paying 3 times the amount of a item than they should be because of this rip off program.

For example: A individual pays $40 usd  for shipping + THE BIGGEST SCAM EVER " Global Shipping Program "  fees for a listing the person won that was only wort $26 usd  GO FIGURE.

In a nut shell do not use THE BIGGEST SCAM EVER " Global Shipping Program "  the buyer will be happy and the seller will get way more bids on their listings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Either people are too naive or they just do not know any better, beats me but as a seller dump this program ASAP that is all I can say

[rose-dee]

I agree with you that the GSP is in most cases, for most Canadians, a grab for money by middlemen, but not in every case (especially, as I've found personally, if you're buying something of higher value, where it's basically a wash between GSP and the usual postal system).  I have other bones to pick with the GSP, not the least of which is the lack of transparency.

Nonetheless, as I said on another thread, it can work if a buyer is careful to understand the total cost before committing to a GSP purchase. 

By the way, the GSP is not available to Canadian sellers (thank goodness!), and in fact I doubt it will ever be, because we Canadians are quite used to, and comfortable with, shipping outside Canada.  Your comments directed at sellers being wary might accordingly be better posted on the .com discussion boards, where US sellers will see it.  I think many US sellers are still unaware of the issues Canadians in particular are having with the GSP, and probably wondering why their Cdn sales are drying up. 

[anguscoinshop]

There was no answer on the other post.

[rick31797]

I see something i would really like to buy but again the Global shipping is in the way, looks like they are charging over 20 percent of the BIN  price.

Price:

US $2,499.99

ApproximatelyC $2,622.24

Buy It Now

4 watchers

Add to watch list 

100% positiveFeedback

Global Shipping Program

No additional import charges at delivery!

This item will be shipped through the Global Shipping Program and includes international tracking. Learn more

Shipping:

US $59.82 (approx. C $62.75) International Priority Shipping to Canada | See details

Item location:

Clarksville, Maryland, United States

Ships to:

United States and many other countries | See details

Import charges:

US $537.91 (amount confirmed at checkout)  

[pierrelebel]

"hey are charging over 20 percent of the BIN  price"

I suspect this item includes some duty in addition to taxes.

The same duty and taxes would be payable at time of Customs clearance if imported directly without going through GSP.

Without more information, it is impossible to offer a definitive analysis.

[rick31797]

The item is a guitar made in the USA, according to NAFTA, this item would be duty free, so there would be HST the be paid, that would not come to 537.91, your looking at 340.00, so this is a perfect eg, how the GSP is over charging people from Canada.

[marnotom!]

---

@rick31797 wrote:
The item is a guitar made in the USA, according to NAFTA, this item would be duty free, so there would be HST the be paid, that would not come to 537.91, your looking at 340.00, so this is a perfect eg, how the GSP is over charging people from Canada.

---

Does the seller use the "Item Specifics" feature to note that the guitar is manufactured in the United States?  Remember, the calculation of import and shipping fees is only as accurate as the information that the seller provides.  If the GSP calculator doesn't "know" that the guitar is manufactured in the United States, it's likely going to add 6% duty to the import charges in addition to HST, customs clearance, export classification and other lovely things.

[pierrelebel]

Most guitars - coming from the USA - are actually manufactured in either China or Taiwan.

Duty rates are higher if from Taiwan.

If I recall well, the rate is 6% from China (PRC) and 11% from Taiwan (RC)

[pierrelebel]

By the way, do not take my word for it,  Check it out.  It will only take you a few minutes with a Canadian business importing guitars.

Or (I did the work for you) take a look at tariff 9202.90.90  6%

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/trade-commerce/tariff-tarif/2013/01-99/ch92-2013-02-eng.pdf

[pierrelebel]

I remember vaguely that the same question about rate of duty on imported guitars was raised on this board a few months ago.

Was it you?

The answer remains the same it was then: duty is 6%

[rick31797]

Even adding 6 percent onto the cost, that still does not add up to 537.00 which tells me the input from the seller is not correct, which is another flaw in the GSP system, Sellers have a hard enough time getting the shipping fee right

,
Also as GSP States the fee you see is just an EST. , meaning you really don't know what you are paying tell you buy and check out, i will take my chances with Canada Customs, and would have the seller ship directly to me instead of having the seller send it to one of the GSP parcel processing facility somewhere in the US.

Its a very flawed system,for a cross border buyer there is no advantage to using this service, your item and sometimes valuable item, is travelling farther,so longer ship times and is going to be handle more,which means a higher risk of damage,the buyer really does not know all the costs that he may be charged tell checkout.

.How would you like to go to a garage and ask to have 4 new tires installed and the cost and they tell you , that you have to buy the tires first and have them installed, then we will tell you what the total will be, this is not how business is done in the real world..

.There is nobody i know that doesn't want to know the total cost of what they are buying up front.,Whoever thought this would be a great benefit were not thinking clearly, and didn't think this through very well, i bet 99.9 percent of US sellers have not even read the GSP terms and condition and really dont care , what it says. they except it in there auction ad, they are not sure why its there, they know or think it doesn't effect them, when sales drop off then they may clue in..what a train wreck...

[marnotom!]

---

@rick31797 wrote:

Even adding 6 percent onto the cost, that still does not add up to 537.00 ...

---

Of course it doesn't.  "Import charges" aren't just taxes and duties.

[rick31797]

---

@marnotom! wrote:

---

@rick31797 wrote:

Even adding 6 percent onto the cost, that still does not add up to 537.00 ...

---

Of course it doesn't.  "Import charges" aren't just taxes and duties.

---

 GSP,  import charges are firm, where Canada Customs import charges are not firm, its up to the officer and the item he is processing.. I like the fact that Canada customs don't always enforce the rules. what's not to like about that.

[pierrelebel]

"that still does not add up to 537.00 ..."

Actually, it is pretty close, depending on your province of residence.

$2500 + 6% duty = $2650 x 13% HST (assuming Ontario) = $2994.50 leaving about $40 brokerage and handling fee.

Much less than UPS or FedEx but more than Canada Post

On the other hand, you are correct to ask the seller to ship directly to you if is willing to do so at a shipping cost similar to what it would cost you through PB.

And yes, the value of the program has never been to give more to the buyer.  GSP was created with the American seller in mind - the idea is to help them export where many were previously reluctant to sell outside the USA due to perceived risks or lack of knowledge.

[pierrelebel]

By the way, I took a look at guitars available on eBay and found hundreds in the $2500-$3000 price range.  Very few offer GSP.  The vast majority are offered for direct shipment.

Why did you pick that one?  What is the listing number?

[ranch48]

If it was created to help American sellers export outside of the US, it is on the way to being a resounding failure. You don`t export anything not purchased and I keep reading buyers say " I WILL NOT BUY FROM SELLERS USING GSP ". I won't unless my back is to the wall and can not get the item anywhere else. I don't think they did their homework when they thought this one up. I questioned one seller about using the GSP and he was totally confused and informed me he does not even ship to Canada. He doesn't understand what is going on with his business, it is now out of his control.

[afantiques]

your item and sometimes valuable item, is travelling farther,so longer ship times

This does not follow since the items are not using the same transport/clearance methods. Taking a cab to the airport and flying can be a lot quicker than driving all the way direct, even if the airport is in the 'wrong' direction.

and is going to be handled more,which means a higher risk of damage

Any handling after it reaches Kentucky safely is at the risk of the GSP shippers, not the buyer.

,the buyer really does not know all the costs that he may be charged tell checkout.

The buyer can simply abandon the purchase with no penalty once they see the final figure. Until you see the final and exact figure you have made no commitment. The final button on the page with the exact figure is marked 'Commit to buy' and if you just back away, in effect, nothing has happened.

The reason estimates are given is that the applicable tax cannot be calculated till the delivery address is known, but supplying your address does not commit you to buy the item, it just completes the calculations.

Usual disclaimer to deflect the hate mail, I do not think this GSP scheme is anything but a bad idea woefully badly applied, but that is no excuse for not countering misinfomed comment.

[rick31797]

your item and sometimes valuable item, is travelling farther,so longer ship times

This does not follow since the items are not using the same transport/clearance methods. Taking a cab to the airport and flying can be a lot quicker than driving all the way direct, even if the airport is in the 'wrong' direction.

and is going to be handled more,which means a higher risk of damage

Any handling after it reaches Kentucky safely is at the risk of the GSP shippers, not the buyer.

,the buyer really does not know all the costs that he may be charged tell checkout.


You comment about shipping GSP vs sending it USPS doesn't make much sense , as we know people that used GSP , have already commented how much longer the wait time is to get the product..

You seem to want to defend the GSP but then call it a scheme...,So i really don't know what your point is, if you think that most people are mis-informed and GSP really is a good thing, does that mean you are buying products out of the US using GSP, or let me ask you have you ever used this service, because you seem to have all the answers.