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.

[stevephinn2012]

if refunded you get the pittney money back also.

[stevephinn2012]

Thing I don't like is the double shipping! you pay the seller their shipping fees--which they assume is being shipped to your door and then you pay Pittney shipping on top of the shipping you have paid the seller.

You buy something and it calculates the shipping costs to your house BUT in reality they are only shipping it to |Pittney Bowes and then Pittney is shipping it to your house

[marnotom!]

---

@theoldestfart wrote:

Bingo. Passing the buck and skirting the issue by eBay. Its as bad as trying to get a straight answer out of politician.

---

In fairness, eBay doesn't administer the GSP so it's really up to PitneyBowes to help pull eBay's butt out of the fire on this besides its own.

[theoldestfart]

I assume that eBay has contracted with Pitney Bowes to administer the GSP have they not? Since Pitney Bowes is not on these communities and we are customers of  eBay then eBay has to light a fire under under Pitney Bowes. Passing the buck is still passing the buck. It does not matter whether its PB or eBay doing it.

PB must have the breakdown of what is GST/HST and PST and duty for each shipment with the remainder of the amount being brokerage fees.

What I often wonder though is on items whose eBay sale description does not indicate what the country of origin how is eBay/PB able to determine the actual Import Charges at time of purchase? Only upon further inspection of the package and its contents at the PB KY center would the item's country of origin be able to be determined and  in turn the calculation of duty be calculated. 

I wonder in the case of an item in an eBay listing whose country of origin is not stated, the shown Import Charges amount contains a fudge factor. Only after examining the item in the KY center can the break down of GST/HST & PST and duty with the remainder being brokerage fee? If the item is covered by NAFTA then the brokerage fee would be more since there would not be any duty payable on the item.

[marnotom!]

---

@theoldestfart wrote:

I assume that eBay has contracted with Pitney Bowes to administer the GSP have they not? Since Pitney Bowes is not on these communities and we are customers of  eBay then eBay has to light a fire under under Pitney Bowes. Passing the buck is still passing the buck. It does not matter whether its PB or eBay doing it.

---

You're more or less echoing what I said except the last part.  I don't think eBay can pass a buck that it doesn't have.  If you received a five cent Canadian Tire "Money" bill from your cashier and you noticed that the word "tire" was misspelt, who would be better to deal with the problem: the cashier or somebody at Canadian Tire Corp's marketing department?

---

@theoldestfart wrote:

PB must have the breakdown of what is GST/HST and PST and duty for each shipment with the remainder of the amount being brokerage fees.

What I often wonder though is on items whose eBay sale description does not indicate what the country of origin how is eBay/PB able to determine the actual Import Charges at time of purchase? Only upon further inspection of the package and its contents at the PB KY center would the item's country of origin be able to be determined and  in turn the calculation of duty be calculated. 

I wonder in the case of an item in an eBay listing whose country of origin is not stated, the shown Import Charges amount contains a fudge factor. Only after examining the item in the KY center can the break down of GST/HST & PST and duty with the remainder being brokerage fee? If the item is covered by NAFTA then the brokerage fee would be more since there would not be any duty payable on the item.

---

You'd better believe that the Import Charges contain fudge factors.  The mumbo-jumbo term is "variances" and they're mentioned in sections 3(a) and 3(b) of the GSP terms and conditions for buyers.

http://pages.ebay.ca/shipping/globalshipping/buyer-tnc.html

My guess as to why we have yet to see more detailed charge breakdowns for GSP shipments is because the odds of PitneyBowes being able to produce a bang-on-the-money accurate set of Import Charges is pretty slim, although in fairness that's likely very difficult to do without having the actual item in its (or its contractors') possession at the time of calcuation.

[theoldestfart]

---

@marnotom! wrote:

You'd better believe that the Import Charges contain fudge factors.  The mumbo-jumbo term is "variances" and they're mentioned in sections 3(a) and 3(b) of the GSP terms and conditions for buyers.

http://pages.ebay.ca/shipping/globalshipping/buyer-tnc.html

My guess as to why we have yet to see more detailed charge breakdowns for GSP shipments is because the odds of PitneyBowes being able to produce a bang-on-the-money accurate set of Import Charges is pretty slim, although in fairness that's likely very difficult to do without having the actual item in its (or its contractors') possession at the time of calcuation.

---

PB would be able to produce a detail break down once the package reaches the "Shipped from US Shipping Center to International Destination" since by then PB has finished processing the item and know how much the $ of each category is. That is fine with me. 

[pierrelebel]

"In fairness, eBay doesn't administer the GSP"

That may be true but, let's keep it simple: Pitney-Bowes works under contract for eBay, not the other way around.  It is clearly eBay's responsibility to instruct Pitney-Bowes as to how to conduct business legally in all countries where the service is provided.

[pierrelebel]

"under $20"

Do you mean US$20 = Cdn$ 21 and change?

That would explain why tax (13%) was added (about $2.65 + $4.00 handling fee by PB) - As you know Canada Post charges Cdn$ 9.95.

If the value had been under Cdn$ 20.00 (about US$ 18.95) there would have been no "import fees".

The shipping charge by the seller should be the domestic shipping from the seller to PB.  Is that what the first $10 is all about?  Then you have the second shipping charge from PB to your door.

[blue*cable]

Just wanted to voice a complaint that the Global Shipping Program makes eBay more expensive for Canadians!!

The prices quoted by the Global Shipping Program is equivalent to USPS Priority prices, it is like losing the option for 1st class mail to Canada which can be as low as $5 and includes delivery confirmation. 

I asked a US seller the question:  If I buy this item from you with the Global Shipping Program terms and price, does eBay give you the option after the auction has ended to not use the global shipping program and change the shipping method to first class mail directly from you?

And they answered:  There's no option from our end. We can't even see where the package is going to, what country. For us we just receive the auction ending price + shipping, that's all. And w ship to ebay hub over in KY.

eBay should give US sellers an option to exclude Canada from the GSP so we still have the option for cheap, reliable 1st Class Mail. Canadians already pay enough with the standard US/Canadian price mark-ups. Now eBay is getting more expensive too!

PLEASE EXCLUDE CANADA FROM THE GLOBAL SHIPPING PROGRAM!!

[pierrelebel]

"And they answered:  There's no option from our end"

The seller was not well informed.

Yes, American sellers can exclude Canada from GSP.  It is their choice.

The real problem is that eBay has not done a good job informing sellers as to how and when top use GSP.  Hopefully steps are being taken to correct that problem.

[pierrelebel]

Instruction to American sellers from the Help pages:

"You can also customize which countries you'd like to ship to through the Global Shipping Program. This option allows you to select which international shipping service you would like to use for certain locations, so you can choose between the Global Shipping Program and alternative shipping services by country.

For example, you can set your preferences to ship to Canada through a standard carrier that provides international service, but still use the Global Shipping Program for the remaining eligible countries."

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/shipping-globally.html

I wish sellers would read all instructions to understand what they are actually doing.

[lifetimepassion]

Well ebay, you got me good this time.

It's been awhile since I've had anything to do with ebay. I should have paid closer attention to what has changed. I just bought an item from the US that cost $79 and when I went to pay via Paypal I noticed that there is an additional "Import Charge" of $23.28!!!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? That's almost an extra 25% of my purchase!

Is this supposed to be for customs duties?

I live in Alberta and we only have to pay 5% tax for the GST and Canada Post only charges about $8 to collect the duties so the "Import Charges" should have been about $12. So I'm guessing that ebay is fleecing me out of the other $12 in order to line their pockets!!!!

I've tried contacting the seller to ask about this "Import Charge" (or should I call it an ebay tax?) but my message won't be sent because of some keyword in it that suggested that I may be trying to make a deal off of ebay. Well, YEAH, I am because I think that this ebay tax is ridiculous and I shouldn't have to pay it!

Does anyone know how I can get in contact with the seller without the automated ebay system rejecting my message?

I don't know if the seller is even aware of this ebay tax (Import Charge) but I'm seriously considering not completing this transaction, out of principle if not for the added expense. I'd hate to just stick it to the seller by simply refusing to pay for the item but if I can't contact him that's just what may happen.

I'm seriously ticked off right now and any advice would be appreciated.

[pierrelebel]

Looking at the listing, the rate charged seems way out of line, unless the item is not manufactured in the USA and subject to a very high rate of duty (in addition to GST).

I suggest you contact the seller to ascertain how the item was identified for customs purposes (country of origin?)

[pierrelebel]

"Does anyone know how I can get in contact with the seller without the automated ebay system rejecting my message?"

First use the eBay system and ask your seller to contact you at "your name at provider dot com" .  This method allows you to bypass the eBay system.  Showing yourname@provider.com will be rejected/deleted/edited by eBay's computer.

[lifetimepassion]

Thank you very much. I will try to contact the seller the way that you suggested.

[lifetimepassion]

I had to play around with my email addy in order to get it to work but I finally found a way to contact the seller.

Not sure what to do except to ask him to send me a paypal request or I could send the funds to his email address.

IS EBAY THAT GREEDY? Is this something new or has it been around for awhile now? I can tell you one thing, knowing that there's a 25% ebay tax on international purchases will seriously reduce the number of items that I'd be willing to purchase on here. Something would have to be brand new and priced at only 30% to 40% of the regular retail value in order to make it worth my while to purchase on ebay.

I hope that I can get this sorted out without having to refuse the purchase.

[theoldestfart]

Welcome to eBay's Global Shipping Program (GSP). A program that eBay poorly explained to sellers and that some sellers were opted into recently by eBay after accepting new terms of service.

GSP shipping program is hated by Canucks especially for low price items such as the one you purchased. PB determines GST/HST PST as well as any duties due on a shipment with the remainder of the Import charges winding up being a brokerage fee for Pitney Bowes.

Expect to see a couple days of delays during the shipping of your item while Pitney Bowes processes your item in their KY depot and the forwards it on to Canada.

During this forwarding period tracking of your parcel will be unavailable until Canada Post receives it here in Canada.

[stevephinn2012]

correct under $20 CANADIAN!!!

if I am correct it was $18.09 U.S. was final bid--my Max. bid was $18.59 and it was under that. Will have to go check

[lifetimepassion]

I got it sorted out......Thanks for your help.

This was my first purchase in a long time and I'm absolutely positive that it's going to have to be an incredible deal for me to ever make an international purchase again. With the lack of deals on ebay nowadays, finding something that inexpensive is doubtful. I was planning on purchasing numerous items that I had searched and saved to my homepage but they are now going to be deleted. Between the cost and the principle of it, there's absolutely no fricken way that I'm going to give anyone the kind of money that ebay wanted me to give them.

I probably would have spent $1K or more on ebay in the next few days but not now.

[marnotom!]

---

@pierrelebel wrote:

"In fairness, eBay doesn't administer the GSP"

That may be true but, let's keep it simple: Pitney-Bowes works under contract for eBay, not the other way around.  It is clearly eBay's responsibility to instruct Pitney-Bowes as to how to conduct business legally in all countries where the service is provided.

---

Of course it is, but how do we know eBay is dropping the ball on this?  I appreciate that you've been associated with eBay for years, Pierre, and you've gained lots of insights into its inner workings, but are you certain that no pressure is being brought to bear on PitneyBowes by eBay?