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.

[marnotom!]

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@pollybernard wrote:

 THE BIGGEST SCAM EVER " Global Shipping Program "

... several times

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I don't understand from your post how the Global Shipping Program is a scam by charging the taxes (and duty) that apply to any purchase from the United States with a declared value of over C$20.

[marnotom!]

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@rick31797 wrote:

Its about the money, and remember shipping  USPS through Canada Customs has all ready proven themselves, GSP has been in effect a year and it still is not be excepted with open arms, and its because the old way was not broken,GSP has to be better then Canada Customs and they have not proven that.

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I think you mean to say that "[the] GSP has to be better than Canada Post" and the fact is, I don't think the GSP was really intended to compete with the postal system, or at the very least, letter post (First Class International / small packet) mail.

The main reason the GSP has been received with such hostility up here is because (once again), many sellers are using it--knowingly or not--for the wrong sorts of items.  If all of a sudden we had an epidemic of U.S. sellers using Express Mail to ship fountain pens or videogames, would we conclude that Express Mail is a horrible shipping method?  No.  Express Mail has its place, although a very limited on in the eBay Canada universe.  It's likely the same with the GSP.

Also keep in mind that using the GSP doesn't remove the Canada Border Services Agency from the picture.

[anguscoinshop]

I dont care what anyone says, Canada Post will always be superior than any civilian organization. For one thing a crown corporation cannot go broke or bankrupt.

Canada Post is and will always be superior to the GSP.

[anguscoinshop]

There still no answer to Peirre's questions.

I phoned the CRA and there answer was very simple, if they dont want to give you the GST/HST #, stay away from them.

There nothing constructive to discuss when we don't have proof of the legality of what ebay is doing.

I no longer buy on this site, after asking time and time again i was never supplied GST/HST #.

It would go a long ways into establish once and for all ebay's legitimacy.

[rick31797]

Somebody is making money with this GSP , nobody does anything for nothing especially Ebay and the people they are in a contract with...

[anguscoinshop]

When a business refuse to give you there there GST/HST # as they are required by law, it falls under the category of a SCAM until they prove the legitimacy of there program. show us your GST/HST #.

[marnotom!]

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@angus_coin_shop wrote:

When a business refuse to give you there there GST/HST # as they are required by law, it falls under the category of a SCAM until they prove the legitimacy of there program. show us your GST/HST #.

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In case you missed it, the GST/HST issue was dealt with about a week and a half ago by eBay staff and Pierre's awaiting further information in response to it:

http://community.ebay.ca/t5/Buyer-Central/Questions-about-the-Global-Shipping-Program/m-p/159739

[afantiques]

For one thing a Crown corporation cannot go broke or bankrupt.

So it can be really badly run and pretty useless and still keep going. Not saying it is, mind you.

Canada Post is and will always be superior to the GSP.

In Canada, Canada Post delivers GSP items.

 Somebody is making money with this GSP , nobody does anything for nothing especially Ebay and the people they are in a contract with...

Making money is what businesses do. Why should anyone think otherwise?

[kxeron]

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@pierrelebel wrote:

"on a pair of $10 shoes"

As stated over and over again, GSP was not intended for transactions under $50

 <snip>

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Perhaps the site's programming and internal eBay policy needs to reflect this  to automatically disable GSP on items under a qualifying value because as long as GSP is permitted to be enabled on such items, there is an error on eBay's part — not the sellers. Pitney Bowes should be only an option for mid to big-ticket items, in the same vein you wouldn't use freight shipping to ship a pen.

Sellers simply use the tools provided to them by eBay, just as sellers are required to notify eBay of how shipping is being taken care of if "Free Shipping" isn't being used as an option. eBay making "suggestions" isn't enough, options that don't make sense need to be disabled outright even if the seller themselves opted into a programme. It'd be easy for eBay to notify a seller "We are sorry, due to the nature of this item it doesn't qualify for the Global Shipping Program. We advise you to utilize conventional postal or shipping services."

The primary issue is that there is a lot of buck-passing going on where eBay blames Pitney Bowes for any issues with the program, and since neither buyers nor sellers have any contract with Pitney Bowes, that organization is permitted to operate without accountability with impunity. Perhaps the Pitney Bowes/eBay contract has eBay over a barrel, we don't know as most likely none of us will ever see that contract or any other documents related that are not public information. As it seems, even eBay employees are left in the dark about how the GSP works or any administrative information like how Pitney Bowes is authorized to collect taxes without a public HST/GST number (until they produce it it doesn't exist in my book given their reluctance), having to talk to a dedicated team all the time for answers where it can take days to just receive non-answers.

But yes, if there's a "$50" figure floating about, it should be put into practice. We can stand on soapboxes pontificating about what sellers should do all we want but there won't be any action taken until someone much higher up the chain within eBay than the employees available on these forums makes a decision to change how the GSP works (if it is possible if the legal agreements between Pitney Bowes and eBay doesn't have eBay over a barrel).

[afantiques]

Some sensible ideas there.

[regalservice]

Im in Canada, and find it truly appalling that this Global Shipping Program exists, I will NOT be buying ANYTHING that uses the GLOBAL SHIPPING PROGRAM ... NOTHING! This program really Ruins shopping on eBay for most buyers and is a huge problem people are going to completely stop using eBay simply because of the Pitney Bowes Global Shipping Program. There are many reviews of it on the internet and youtube and almost all of them are negative. It costs buyers more money so why bother buying in the first place.

[marnotom!]

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@kxeron wrote:

But yes, if there's a "$50" figure floating about, it should be put into practice. 

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Great post, Kxeron.  It should be noted, though, that the "$50 guideline" is pretty arbitrary.  It may make more sense to ship a 10 kg item of that value with the GSP than one weighing 100 grams.  The context for which that $50 figure is mentioned is here (see the question "Who might not benefit from the Global Shipping Program?":

http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/shipping/globalshippingprogram/update_faqs.html

You'll see that it refers to a seller's "average" selling price.  I think it's an attempt to get sellers to do the necessary research and legwork into using the GSP, but I can't see many sellers finding that page of information, let alone reading it in the first place.

[rick31797]

I didn't realize that GSP , open up the packages and in some cases remove packing material, and make the package smaller to save them money.I think this  is illegal.

A seller also said if they use GSP, paypal charges them 3.9 instead of 2.9 percent...

[pierrelebel]

"make the package smaller to save them money."

Usual internet nonsense.  Check the facts. That question has been answered often as to when a parcel is opened by PB.

"seller also said if they use GSP, paypal charges them 3.9 instead of 2.9 percent..."

PayPal has always charged 3.9% fees (includes 1% cross border fee) to American sellers when shipping outside the USA.  No change.

[rick31797]

this guy you think may be , not telling the truth, he says Ebay sent him a message saying GSP , open up the packages...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijmdVlQ36-w

[pierrelebel]

There are a few instances where packages may be open by PB at their warehouse.  That information is publicly available and has been covered many times on these threads.  It has nothing to do with your statement that the purpose is to save on shipping.

[pierrelebel]

Please allow me to restate the answer I gave you yesterday:

"It is obvious from your many posts that you do not like the program.  OK.  Do not use it.  That is your choice.

I do not like the program either and will not use it.  That is my choice.

However, let's keep our comments factual, not tinted by the like or dislike of a program."

[anguscoinshop]

I do not like and do not buy from the ones that use the program. I also will be correct to myself and not speak with a forked tong(speaking for the GSP when i don't like it).

That video is all common sense.

[rick31797]

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@pierrelebel wrote:

Please allow me to restate the answer I gave you yesterday:

"It is obvious from your many posts that you do not like the program.  OK.  Do not use it.  That is your choice.

I do not like the program either and will not use it.  That is my choice.

However, let's keep our comments factual, not tinted by the like or dislike of a program."

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You say you don't like and will not use it, but your posts seem to trust what they say, any time there is a negative comment about GSP, you defend it, Like about the comment of them opening packages and re-package the box smaller , your make it sound like you actual work there and oversee what they are doing,

which i dont think you do, the video made it clear that the buyer in Japan after talking to the seller about how he pack the item, it was not pack that way when the buyer received it.. is somebody mistaken..... Companies have to earn a persons trust, this company has not, What percentage of the people you see out there is against this shipping company, is it 90 percent, can 90 percent be wrong.. mis-informed.

Nothing is being tinited, if there are so many people having issues with the way the company operates..

[marnotom!]

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@angus_coin_shop wrote:

I do not like and do not buy from the ones that use the program. I also will be correct to myself and not speak with a forked tong(speaking for the GSP when i don't like it).

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Explaining how the GSP operates isn't "speaking for the GSP".

By your thinking, explaining to people how my hearing aids work must mean that I support (and may even like) hearing loss.