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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.
"how things work on Ebay,"
Is that blog referring to eBay specifically?
There is more in the world than eBay. Hundreds of American retailers sell to Canada. Some do it themselves while others use forwarders like PB to arrange shipping and Customs clearance. Those retailers try to make it easy for Canadians to buy by prepaying Canadian consumption taxes (GST/HST/PST) and duty (if applicable). They also arrange for Customs pre-clearance in order to speed up the delivery process. No tax collection at time of delivery, no brokerage fee. LL Bean is a perfect example of a large US retailer with thousands of satisfied Canadian buyers.
Basically, in addition to their products, they sell convenience.
Now, eBay is something totally different because it does not involve one large retailer but thousands of small sellers, many of them hobbyists (not businesses). Canadian buyers have come to expect to have sellers ship directly by mail. As we all know, GSP was ill conceived and eBay screwed up by giving incentives to American sellers to use it even when not appropriate to do so.
A program like GSP has a place on eBay but not as currently administered. It should be offered specifically to American sellers not currently shipping outside the USA for items of value. Considering the value of the service in potentially expanding exports for those sellers, part of the service should be paid by the sellers benefiting from the program, not buyers.
eBay has a long way to go to make it right.
"They are charging duties on EXEMPT ITEMS. Which IS ILLEGAL period."
Could you please provide a specific example (listing number)
I have looked and cannot find any instance of illegal "duty" being charged.
Since you claim you have seen it, please provide a listing number to back up your claim.
Like many other posters, I think you are confusing consumption taxes (GST/HST/PST) which are payable with "duty".
From the government of Canada official webpage:
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/postal-postale/duty-droits-eng.html
I do not make the rules. The government of Canada does,
Where is that instance of "illegal" duty being charged?
CBSA
No duty is payable on goods imported for personal use, if it is marked as “made in Canada, the USA, or Mexico”, or if there is no marking or labelling indicating that it was made somewhere other than Canada, the USA, or Mexico.
Interesting. Was that on the CBSA website? Could you add a link?
pierre: Another thing that some buyers seem to miss is that the shipping charge from the seller covers the cost of shipping from the seller's doorstep to PB in Kentucky.
PB charges another fee at that point which seems to cover thier assessment costs (somebody is opening all those packages and damaging the contents 
) and then trucking/flying the parcels to Canada and transferring them to a Canadian deliverer (often Canada Post).
Pretty good making a profit on what seems to be about a $5 charge on average.
Also : the one and only item I have purchased with GSP handling was just dropped on my porch by Canada Post. Is PB not worrying about fake Item Not Recieved claims?
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