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.

[arlene_v]

Thanks Pierre, so this has been raised here ... well now that is interesting because that means that no-one at Ebay and PB can claim that they were unaware of this ... and the fact that nothing has been done to rectify this problem is perplexing. 

AF suggested one way of handling this on another thread ... to simply  make it impossible to list an item under the GSP if the place of manufacture is not stated. That won't of course solve all problems, but will at least go some way to addressing this issue.

I plan to investigate this further.

Living in Ottawa does have its advantages!  Hard as that is to believe!  

BTW, I have seen MANY such listings just in the last day or so that don't indicate place of manufacture ...unfortunately this particular "oversight" is rampant  in the costume jewelry category, and is not just the occasional mistake by the odd seller.

[pierrelebel]

"and have the responsibility  of knowing all the import regulations around the world, i think this task would be near impossible to get  right, as regulations change from time to time"

You are correct and this is why GSP was created: to take away the need by an American seller to know and understand worldwide regulations.  All the seller needs to do is show where the goods he is selling were manufactured and the system takes care of the rest.

In theory, it sounds great.

The problem is that the system was not implemented properly.  Sellers use the program without understanding if they should use it, when they should use it and how they should use it.  And, I generally do not blame the American sellers but eBay for not properly informing them. 

Having their lawyers put together one hundred paragraphs of "legalese" may help protect eBay and its contractors but does little to properly guide American sellers enrolled in the program.

[i*m-still-here]

The lack of understanding of the GSP by sellers using it is a huge nuisance.

Using the GSP seems to be more complicated for them than any International shipping "The Normal Way" that I've ever encountered.

Shipping around the world is quite simple and if someone wants to be self-employed and sell on line for Goodness Sakes:........ Learn a thing or two about how to ship internationally.  It's not rocket science.

Two of the reasons that the GSP has taken hold the way it has:

1) There are some huge Walmart type sellers who don't need or really want our business as they have enough but eBay wants the commission so they push the GSP.

2)  EBay is constantly wooing new inexperienced sellers who want to make a quick buck or two and expend as little energy as possible and have no idea they've tapped into the GSP and have zero understanding of it.

I'd swear I'm dealing with 12 year olds sometimes.

[pat6969]

I don't get charged any fees when an item it shipped through USPS but still have to pay the customs fees??? Do I get that money back?? Cash grab!!!! Not only don't I sell on ebay anymore but now I have to find the few sellers that don't allow ebay to screw me over on the bogus customs fees!!!

[marnotom!]

Define "bogus".

[marnotom!]

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@pierrelebel wrote:

It would not surprise me to see eBay cancel or roll back the program within a year (as they did a long time ago for ill-conceived eBay Express) and come back a few years later with a better, smoother program with the same goals (increase exports for American sellers) without having buyers pay for the service.

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It wouldn't surprise me, either, but I don't think it's going to be a straightforward process.  The GSP is Pitney Bowes' baby.  They run the show.  eBay just gives the program a home of sorts.  I wouldn't be surprised if the contract Pitney Bowes has with eBay on the administration of the GSP lacks a decent exit clause.  After all, eBay is in Pitney Bowes' pocket for other aspects of its operations, too.

[debbiezig]

As a furious Canadian buyer I am checking in on this debate from time to time.  Today, there are 65 pages to this thread, and all are complaints from Buyers and Sellers regarding this problem.

So, firstly no one can tell me that someone from eBay isn't reading this.  Why the lack of action or response from them?  I personally haven't purchased anything with GSP (after my first mistake!) and never will again.  Are the US Sellers not feeling (financially) this?

[marnotom!]

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@i*m-still-here wrote:

Shipping around the world is quite simple and if someone wants to be self-employed and sell on line for Goodness Sakes:........ Learn a thing or two about how to ship internationally.  It's not rocket science.

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No, it's not tough, but I get the impression that in a country with about ten times Canada's population in a slightly smaller package, you don't really need to sell anywhere else to make a decent go of it on eBay.

And then there's the issue of some Americans having a limited world view.  I believe it's been argued that 9/11 was the first time some Americans had some sort of sense (realistic or not) of how they were viewed by other nationalities and just how pervasive the influence of the United States was in the lives of many non-Americans.

I think for some American sellers, the idea of shipping internationally is viewed as being like learning to drive a vehicle with a stick shift after years of driving nothing but vehicles with automatic transmissions, yet they worry that the occasional grinding of gears or stall in traffic is going to somehow do them in.

[nudibranch4569]

just dont buy from sellers who use global shipping program,very simple.

[rick31797]

Maybe the message is slowly getting out , this seller makes a point of ¸not using the GSP.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Fender-2013-USA-Birdseye-Maple-Compound-Raidus-American-Select-Telecaster-Nec...

[walker0017]

Debbiezig, As a Canadian buyer I fully agree with what you are saying. In only my opinion there are possibly 1 of 3 reasons that I can think of that after over 1286 posts concerning this issue that nothing meaningful from EBay has changed concerning the GSP because:

 1. EBay and PB are making a very nice profit from this program so why change it to satisfy a few Canadian buyers, or

2. Canada only contains 35 million or so people of which only a very small number probably less than 5%( I am guessing on this one) actually buy from EBay and with that small number as long as reason 1 above remains valid then they probably do not really care what we in Canada think because really where else would we make our purchases from? Or

3. The contract with PB might be worded in such a way that no meaningful changes cannot be done until the contract comes up for renegotiation (if there is an end date on that) especially changes that would impact the amount of cash flow coming into the program and into PB's coffers.

The best any of us can do is to boycott any US seller that is enrolled in the program but I do not realistically believe we will see any changes that will look out for the interests of Canadian buyers as we represent too small of a buyers’ market compared to the rest of the world who are also affected by this program where it is mainly focused. As for some of the US sellers, I do know a few who have stated they will not enroll in the program because of their Canadian Clients.

[radioguy79]

Was just going to make a separate post but this will fit nicely here....

I hadn't paid much attention to the "Global shipping program" notice on US listings until recently. Someone sold me an item and I couldn't figure out why there was a $43 import fee, as this was far higher than any customs fees I normally pay (usually our provincial (harmonized) sales tax only). I explained this to the seller, and he requested my email, unaware that such exchanges were not permitted. I stupidly attempted to do so anyway (figuring it might be OK since I'd already used the BIN and the seller would be charged his fees), but was quickly warned to go back and change the message. I did so but made a vague reference to my email, the message went through and I thought everything was OK. After not hearing back from the seller after multiple attempts, I managed to locate his email through an external source and soon confirmed what I already suspected - eBay had not only blocked the message with my email, but was now blocking all further communication with the seller. Not only that, but I also discovered that I didn't even receive a revised invoice the seller had sent me!! Can you hear my blood pressure rising?

While I can understand, although not agree with, eBay blocking email address from messages, they had no business to cut off further communication between me and the seller and I can't believe they had the audacity to do so. It's enough that they've driven away most of their sellers but now they're taking a dump on the buyers too - where is this madness going to end?

I should make it clear that I was not trying to cheat the system, I only wanted to arrange for an alternate shipping method. Leave it to eBay to so complicate such a simple matter.

From now on I will be asking sellers to arrange for alternate shipping before I make any bids or purchases.

But back to the topic at hand.... I agree that the Global Shipping Program is nothing but a money-making scam and I think US sellers are going to quickly realize this too as they lose international sales.

What I can't figure out is why eBay keeps doing things to destroy itself. Sure, every business makes bad decisions once in a while, but it seems as if this company is deliberately trying to see how many nails it can drive into it's coffin. Let's hope they come to their senses while there are still any sellers or buyers left.

[karl*katz]

Off Topic Mr Radioguy

But I thought I would mention two of the links on your MePage no longer work 🙂 

[radioguy79]

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@karl*katz wrote:

Off Topic Mr Radioguy

But I thought I would mention two of the links on your MePage no longer work 🙂 

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I wasn't aware anyone ever read those Me pages... I'll have to update mine.

[karl*katz]

At least you have one.

I took mine down about a year ago.

Guess I should do a new one.  

[kxeron]

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@rick31797 wrote:

Maybe the message is slowly getting out , this seller makes a point of ¸not using the GSP.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Fender-2013-USA-Birdseye-Maple-Compound-Raidus-American-Select-Telecaster-Nec...

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I'm wondering how much longer such lines in listings will be "accepted". eBay already prohibits "leading comments" about eBay policy in feedback entries, so I'm wondering if there will be a point as so that there can't be "leading comments" in listings by sellers themselves on eBay policy.

I would hazard a guess when there's a nontrivial number of sellers who advertise that they don't partake in the GSP with tones that such is a feature, that non-sanctioned mentions of the GSP other than GSP listings will be prohibited.

[marnotom!]

Experienced buyers can easily pick out the GSP listings in a "list view" search anyway.

[kxeron]

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@marnotom! wrote:

Experienced buyers can easily pick out the GSP listings in a "list view" search anyway.

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While this may be true, the sentiments of my last post was mainly in regards to say:

A) Buyers showing sellers via other sellers' listings as examples that the GSP isn't needed to ship internationally with ease;

B) Sellers themselves investigating the markets and seeing that the GSP is frowned upon by some other sellers and therefore prompted to investigate why

Both of these if a "critical mass" is achieved of sellers opting out of the GSP and mentioning on their listings that being without the GSP is a feature (thus implying that the GSP is a misfeature), could result in eBay modifying their policy or using existing "don't dispute eBay policy in public on anywhere but the forums" policy to moderate listings and/or set strikes against sellers who spread "negativity" about the programme as so that people can't "rock the boat" and make the programme look bad on eBay's own site.

The reason such isn't happening at this moment is that it's a minority of sellers who qualify (and potentially used) for the GSP who have begun to question the GSP.

[pierrelebel]

OK - I found the listing which was prepared by the seller specifically for you.

Why did the seller use GSP in this case?  I do not know.  It simply does not make sense.  He should have offered you direct shipment instead of using GSP.  He obviously made a mistake.

As far as import charges are concerned, they appear to be OK to me.  They would be about the same as charged by Canada Customs if the seller had shipped by USPS and eventually delivered by Canada Post.  I suspect the country of origin for these bulbs is China which would result in 10% duty being charged.  Add the GST/HST/PST (depending on your province) and a handling charge (Canada Post charges $9.95; Pitney Bowes a bit less, UPS or Fed-Ex a lot more).

[rick31797]

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@kxeron wrote:

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@rick31797 wrote:

Maybe the message is slowly getting out , this seller makes a point of ¸not using the GSP.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Fender-2013-USA-Birdseye-Maple-Compound-Raidus-American-Select-Telecaster-Nec...

---

I'm wondering how much longer such lines in listings will be "accepted". eBay already prohibits "leading comments" about eBay policy in feedback entries, so I'm wondering if there will be a point as so that there can't be "leading comments" in listings by sellers themselves on eBay policy.

I would hazard a guess when there's a nontrivial number of sellers who advertise that they don't partake in the GSP with tones that such is a feature, that non-sanctioned mentions of the GSP other than GSP listings will be prohibited.

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I was under the impression that USA sellers have a choice of using the GSP or not using it. If this is true, then Ebay should have not problem if a USA seller puts this notice in there listing.. If they ( Ebay ) does remove it, then that tell's me that it's mandatory Ebay seller's  use the Gobal shipping program.