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.

[john*online]

Just about to purchase - haven't been to eBay for a while, went to purchase an item (which ends in 9 minutes) saw "International Priority Shipping" and Pitney Bowes gets (some of the shipping cost) ... Thought WTH is that?

Google search brought me here ... now confused as to whether it will cost me more than what the listing shows, FUD = goodbye eBay, hello other sources, ... Amazon, Craigs List, Kijiji, Bonanza, eBid etc.

37 sec left in  auction ... zero bids ... auction over ... zero bids ...

[bobenis]

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@marnotom! wrote:

I'm in BC and I'm waiting for a First Class International shipment that was mailed out from New York on 27 November.  It might be one of the items I received a parcel pickup notice for while I was out yesterday, but I can't say for certain at this point.

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So that was sent reg then, no shipping program.

Weird thing is Canada Post has been treating 1st Class now as Xpresspost because the packages have a priority stamp on them.

Bonus for us!

[rick31797]

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@john*online wrote:

Just about to purchase - haven't been to eBay for a while, went to purchase an item (which ends in 9 minutes) saw "International Priority Shipping" and Pitney Bowes gets (some of the shipping cost) ... Thought WTH is that?

Google search brought me here ... now confused as to whether it will cost me more than what the listing shows, FUD = goodbye eBay, hello other sources, ... Amazon, Craigs List, Kijiji, Bonanza, eBid etc.

37 sec left in  auction ... zero bids ... auction over ... zero bids ...

Good for you John you made a wise decision.

[bobenis]

What ebay SHOULD be doing is giving the buyer a choice to either have it shipped direct and face delays (although it can';t be longer than I have been waiting via this BS drop shipping) or do the drop shipping upon check out.

This blanket rule is a joke and is making this 3rd party company tons of cash on items that should NEVER be stung with duty in the 1st place!

[pierrelebel]

"This blanket rule is a joke and is making this 3rd party company tons of cash on items that should NEVER be stung with duty in the 1st place!"

???

There is no "blanket rule".  Unfortunately many sellers select to use GSP when they should not, resulting in higher costs to Canadian buyers.  eBay has done a poor job of properly educating sellers and communicating with them that GSP should NOT be used when the seller typically sells items for less than $50 on average.

Sellers are free to use or not use GSP.  Once again, there is no "blanket rule". In fact sellers can use GSP for overseas destinations and keep shipping directly to Canadians if they wish.

The decision as to how and when to use GSP is for sellers to make although, as stated earlier, eBay did not properly instruct them.

Buyers always have the option to ignore any listing offering GSP if inappropriate. Or tell sellers to relist offering a direct shipping method (USPS).

[rick31797]

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@bobenis wrote:

What ebay SHOULD be doing is giving the buyer a choice to either have it shipped direct and face delays (although it can';t be longer than I have been waiting via this BS drop shipping) or do the drop shipping upon check out.

This blanket rule is a joke and is making this 3rd party company tons of cash on items that should NEVER be stung with duty in the 1st place!

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besides the shipping problems with using GSP, using this program you are guarantee, to be charged custom fee`s on any amount purchased, now why would anybody want to pay more money then he/she needs to.

[marnotom!]

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@rick31797 wrote:

besides the shipping problems with using GSP, using this program you are guarantee, to be charged custom fee`s on any amount purchased, now why would anybody want to pay more money then he/she needs to.

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In some cases--particulary with heavier items but sometimes even with smaller items such as hardcover books--the GSP shipping price plus the import charges comes to a lower price than shipping the item by USPS with no taxes/duties/processing fees being charged by Canada Border Services and Canada Post.

A "guarantee" in paying import charges doesn't necessarily mean a higher overall cost to the buyer compared to a direct shipment by mail.

[rick31797]

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@marnotom! wrote:

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@rick31797 wrote:

besides the shipping problems with using GSP, using this program you are guarantee, to be charged custom fee`s on any amount purchased, now why would anybody want to pay more money then he/she needs to.

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In some cases--particulary with heavier items but sometimes even with smaller items such as hardcover books--the GSP shipping price plus the import charges comes to a lower price than shipping the item by USPS with no taxes/duties/processing fees being charged by Canada Border Services and Canada Post.

A "guarantee" in paying import charges doesn't necessarily mean a higher overall cost to the buyer compared to a direct shipment by mail.

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Then you have the other issues, of a longer transit time, package may be opened, package may be lost , package may be damaged..

all these issues are very rare using USPS, and Canada Post, so when you look at the whole picture, there is no good reason to support GSP..

[marnotom!]

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@rick31797 wrote:

Then you have the other issues, of a longer transit time, package may be opened, package may be lost , package may be damaged..

all these issues are very rare using USPS, and Canada Post, so when you look at the whole picture, there is no good reason to support GSP..

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We also don't know how representative these experiences are of all GSP shipments.  For all we know, there may be many times more GSP shipments that go without a hitch.  Also remember, this is the Global Shipping Program, not the Canadian Shipping Program.  Maybe, for whatever reason, it works better for other countries.

Having said that, I'm not going to go out of my way in the near future to make a purchase through the program in its current incarnation, but it's due to lack of transparency in its charges, the awkward returns process, the fact that I may end up with a seller who knows nothing about the program, and just how poorly this whole thing has been communicated to staff and users alike.

[bobenis]

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@pierrelebel wrote:

"This blanket rule is a joke and is making this 3rd party company tons of cash on items that should NEVER be stung with duty in the 1st place!"

???

There is no "blanket rule".  Unfortunately many sellers select to use GSP when they should not, resulting in higher costs to Canadian buyers.  eBay has done a poor job of properly educating sellers and communicating with them that GSP should NOT be used when the seller typically sells items for less than $50 on average.

Sellers are free to use or not use GSP.  Once again, there is no "blanket rule". In fact sellers can use GSP for overseas destinations and keep shipping directly to Canadians if they wish.

The decision as to how and when to use GSP is for sellers to make although, as stated earlier, eBay did not properly instruct them.

Buyers always have the option to ignore any listing offering GSP if inappropriate. Or tell sellers to relist offering a direct shipping method (USPS).

---

Well it is a blanket rule as once the seller unknowingly opts to buy into the GS Program they are stuck.

I asked a seller to relist without that program and they told me they had no option as it auto selected the GSP option.

Not sure how much clout that holds as I have no way of testing it.

[marnotom!]

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@bobenis wrote:

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@pierrelebel wrote:

"This blanket rule is a joke and is making this 3rd party company tons of cash on items that should NEVER be stung with duty in the 1st place!"

???

There is no "blanket rule".  Unfortunately many sellers select to use GSP when they should not, resulting in higher costs to Canadian buyers.  eBay has done a poor job of properly educating sellers and communicating with them that GSP should NOT be used when the seller typically sells items for less than $50 on average.

Sellers are free to use or not use GSP.  Once again, there is no "blanket rule". In fact sellers can use GSP for overseas destinations and keep shipping directly to Canadians if they wish.

The decision as to how and when to use GSP is for sellers to make although, as stated earlier, eBay did not properly instruct them.

Buyers always have the option to ignore any listing offering GSP if inappropriate. Or tell sellers to relist offering a direct shipping method (USPS).

---

Well it is a blanket rule as once the seller unknowingly opts to buy into the GS Program they are stuck.

I asked a seller to relist without that program and they told me they had no option as it auto selected the GSP option.

Not sure how much clout that holds as I have no way of testing it.

---

You were spared a seller who doesn't know what the Hades they're doing, then, because the GSP can be toggled "on and off" once a seller's opted into it.

[rick31797]

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@bobenis wrote:

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@pierrelebel wrote:

"This blanket rule is a joke and is making this 3rd party company tons of cash on items that should NEVER be stung with duty in the 1st place!"

???

There is no "blanket rule".  Unfortunately many sellers select to use GSP when they should not, resulting in higher costs to Canadian buyers.  eBay has done a poor job of properly educating sellers and communicating with them that GSP should NOT be used when the seller typically sells items for less than $50 on average.

Sellers are free to use or not use GSP.  Once again, there is no "blanket rule". In fact sellers can use GSP for overseas destinations and keep shipping directly to Canadians if they wish.

The decision as to how and when to use GSP is for sellers to make although, as stated earlier, eBay did not properly instruct them.

Buyers always have the option to ignore any listing offering GSP if inappropriate. Or tell sellers to relist offering a direct shipping method (USPS).

---

Well it is a blanket rule as once the seller unknowingly opts to buy into the GS Program they are stuck.

I asked a seller to relist without that program and they told me they had no option as it auto selected the GSP option.

Not sure how much clout that holds as I have no way of testing it.

---

I ask a seller using GSP, if i could just pay them for the item and shipping and they said yes , they didnt even know what the GSP  was about, so i bought it and ask for them to send me an invoice and all was well, and no custom fee, i have ask others with no luck, one guy , or idiot wanted to report me to ebay as if i was asking him to do something illegal..

[cnor1259]

I do not like it. There is a place for import duties that I do not object to; however, as implemented the range of goods GSP is applied to is much broader than those subject to any import fees.  Someone is lining their pockets with these fees. I do not purchase from sellers using this program.

US sellers, given the choice of buying from you or elsewhere in the world, you are at a significant disadvantage for Canadian buyers. 

[3926davidn]

Please get ride of the global shipping program nothing a bout it works just higher shipping fees very frustrating,most of the time I do not pay fees or duteis or tax on the things I by at the Canada post GET RIDE OF IT BYE BYE THANKS DAVID

[marnotom!]

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@cnor1259 wrote:

I do not like it. There is a place for import duties that I do not object to; however, as implemented the range of goods GSP is applied to is much broader than those subject to any import fees.  Someone is lining their pockets with these fees. I do not purchase from sellers using this program.

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While there have been found to be a few subcategories where the GSP charges taxes/duties unnecessarily, I haven't found that it applies to a "much broader" spectrum that it should.  Do you have an example of an item or a category where you believe taxes and/or duty shouldn't be assessed by the GSP?   (Tip:  We've already covered maple syrup and hearing aids.)

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@cnor1259 wrote:

US sellers, given the choice of buying from you or elsewhere in the world, you are at a significant disadvantage for Canadian buyers. 

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There are still lots of sellers who ship directly to their non-U.S. buyers and don't use the GSP.  My take on it is that most sellers using the GSP for modestly-valued, lightweight items haven't sold internationally prior to using the GSP, so those sellers probably don't know what they're doing.  Why would you want to buy from a seller who doesn't know what they're doing?

[taicho717]

"My response to your post, then, is that expressing the GSP "import charges" as a percentage is not generally a useful exercise."

It's an example on whether an item will be sold by a seller ... to me anyway. I was interested in an item > $405. Import charges (GSP) $100.03. + shipping charge. SELLERS WILL NOT SELL ITEMS with Global Shipping Program. I hope they realize this.

[jtpickering]

Those of you saying that this program isn't necessarily a bad thing if the item in question is valued at over $50, please consider this example:

I recently purchased item #261349141044. This was a GSP listing, with $70.66 shipping/$42.12 import charge. However, the seller had stated something about international shipping in the description, which made it fairly clear that they did not understand the GSP information that was appearing to buyers. 

Before bidding, I sent the seller a message, not mentioning the GSP fees to them at all, just asking how much it would cost to ship to my postal code. They replied, $35 by UPS.

I won the auction for $276. Somehow, I was able to circumvent the GSP checkout and use eBay's "request total" function, and the seller sent the invoice with the item price plus $35 for shipping, and I paid, and that was it. Just like old times.

Long story short: even if UPS charges me the duty on this item (they probably will; it hasn't arrived yet), that will be an extra $47. So, total if I had used the GSP rates: 276+70.66+42.12 = $388.78.

Total for me, after circumventing GSP: 276+35+47 = $358.00.

So yes. GSP, even when implemented "properly" by sellers, is costing Canadians (and other international buyers) more.

If I can't keep finding ways of circumventing it (which is annoying and time consuming), I'll do what many other Canadian buyers here have already done, and give up on buying things from the US. 

[pocomocomputing]

If it was sent UPS ground, then you will pay more than the $47 when it arrives at your door. That is just the Entry Preparation charge for an item between $200 and $350. UPS also has COD fees of $4.25 to collect at your door as well as a Bond fee of 2.7% = $7.45. Add on sales taxes (GST, PST, HST, depends on your province, of 5 to 15%) applicable to the item price and the UPS charges. Most likely, you will pay more than the GSP charge by $20-$40 in the end. Expect to pay somewhere around $80-100 at your door.

[afantiques]

SELLERS WILL NOT SELL ITEMS with Global Shipping Program. I hope they realize this.

Generally they don't know this. Best you can do it tell them. They just don't see the charges if they look at their own items.

[stevephinn2012]

Scam?  No

not sure I agree--ebay shipping is now making and additional amount of money as  a "service charge" on every item being shipped.

My parcel was also opened and the paperwork said Ebay Shipping! Not Pitney Bowes. They may be buying postage using Pitney but the shipping charges are going right to Ebay