eBay

kalvin@ebay.com · ‎09-26-2013

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.

~Kalvin
eBay.ca Community Manager

kalvin@ebay.com

robertqc2017 · ‎07-01-2014

With this particular transaction there were no import charges, you can bet I wouldn't commit to purchase with GSP import fees.

I haven't purchased anything with import charges via the GSP since it was introduced.

As I never purchased anything shipped with UPS, FedEx or any similar carriers from the USA, only USPS.

This was my first purchase & experience via GSP with no import fees & I figured what can go very wrong?

surprise...

I'm not impressed with the free tour my parcel was receiving.

femmefan1946 · ‎07-02-2014

Possibly in part American Ebayers prefer just to sell to their fellow Americans,

hence discouraging Canadian Ebayers to bid with GSP added.

US sellers could always restrict their sales to the USA only.

The program was set up to ENCOURAGE US sellers to ship internationally, by removing their concerns about poor feedback for other nations duty and taxes, and false or fast non-delivery claims.

Once the seller ships, with cheap domestic Delivery Confirmation, to the Kentucky plant for GSP, his duty is done.

No point losing money, besides the GSP fees...

You can spend a little time and avoid GSP.

First you can avoid any listing that notifies you of GSP use.

Customs services and international tracking provided

However, you may find that items over $100 or manufactured in the USA are actually cheaper than similar items listed without, especially if the item is bulky or in a category (such as photographic equipment) likely to be stopped by CBSA. Keep in mind too, that if it is assessed, Canada Post has a $10 service charge, twice that of PB.

And of course, you can also ask the seller, before bidding, for a Paypal invoice rather than the usual eBay one. This means that you do NOT pay immediately on purchase, instead waiting for the seller to send you the PP invoice. He then marks the item paid and shipped. He pays eBay /PP fees only.

anpmw2000 · ‎07-02-2014

I am sick of being ripped off by the Global Shipping system. I refuse to pay for fees that would not apply to a normal shipment. When will whoever instituted this rip off take it away. Often I am asked pay more for the shipping than the item is worth or the price is so high for the shipping and all other added charges that the item is not worth buying. I know this question will be avoided.

robertqc2017 · ‎07-02-2014

Actually Canada Duties & Customs usually ignore used anything in Film Photographic Equipment..

I have purchased many ( 100+) classic film cameras, lenses & related items up to values of $500.00 at times from the USA with no surplus charges at all if mailed via USPS.

For used film cameras, the selection is the best in the USA, unlimited variety of brands & models to compare pricing & condition of the items listed.

Of course if I purchase a new- newly released Digital Camera worth over maybe $200.00, the odds are better than average there will be surplus charges.

Yes, I agree, Request an PayPal Invoice is the best route to take before bidding, although many US Sellers are in the dark regarding GSP, therefore the long procedure of explanations begins with the Seller "Why don't you just accept the GSP option?"

After all the explanations back & forth, the Seller ends it with "I do not know how to do that, sorry".

Ebay can be entertaining at times as well as frustrating at the same time.

gillesblue · ‎07-03-2014

Took care of the import charges by simply not buying anymore from the U.S.A.

capitalj14 · ‎07-03-2014

ditto

so stupid

such a cash grab

davesplace89 · ‎07-03-2014

thats the best bet. do not buy any thing from gsp sellers . to costly

rosscd57 · ‎07-03-2014

I have found that about 2 out of 3 US sellers will drop the Global Fee structure Thingamebob if you point out to them the extras fees will have to pay.

__________________________________________________________

Old enough to know better. Young enough to do it again. Crazy enough to try

thebidsniper · ‎07-04-2014

Gee, haven't heard anything from Bennett in a while on this thread, have we? I'm sure Ebay told him to simply ignore this thread because they have no plans on changing anything, so why bother even giving us lip service? Sickening.

ruz-n-zue · ‎07-04-2014

Well, I'm done with Ebay. I had no idea they implemented this program, I'm not all that active anymore. My son's $18 of pokemon had $30 in fees from this program on top of the shipping. It turned into a $70 thing, I could have bought him tons at Toys R Us for that and they would have been new. I'm **bleep**. Yes I should have read more closely, but this isn't something I ever would have expected.

walker0017 · ‎07-04-2014

thebidsniper wrote:

Gee, haven't heard anything from Bennett in a while on this thread, have we? I'm sure Ebay told him to simply ignore this thread because they have no plans on changing anything, so why bother even giving us lip service? Sickening

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The GSP pages on the .com site seem to either no longer exist or have been moved so that you cannot find them easily anymore which leads me to believe that this one will be shut down in the near future in order to shut Canadian buyers up about the numerous faults with the GSP. It is fairly obvious that neither eBay or PBI are going to do anything which will interrupt their income stream short of a major foreign class action lawsuit which I am sure is coming. But in the long run that is ok as they are no longer the only game in town anymore including Kijiji which they own and people are going to go elsewhere in search for a real bargain. The one good thing the GSP has shown is that you can get much better deals overseas or in Canada than not to mention cheaper shipping than from the US and their hyper inflated shipping charges. eBay had a good thing going until they got greedy and that greed created their competition which is growing stronger.

thebidsniper · ‎07-04-2014

I'm sure you're right, but how can any company simply ignore this level of outrage over such a thoughtlessly implemented program? Are they really that callous? It's baffling that the company won't even take steps to address the very obvious shortcomings of this charade, let alone ignore all the buyers and sellers here who they claim to care so much about.

walker0017 · ‎07-04-2014

thebidsniper wrote:

I'm sure you're right, but how can any company simply ignore this level of outrage over such a thoughtlessly implemented program? Are they really that callous? It's baffling that the company won't even take steps to address the very obvious shortcomings of this charade, let alone ignore all the buyers and sellers here who they claim to care so much about.

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The problem with most American companies and eBay/PBI are no exception is that as long as their US customers are happy and they are making a lot of short term profits then they don't really care about Canada with it's 35 million person population. We are a tenth of the business they get when compared to what they draw in from the US. As I said before eBay's policies have helped to create their growing competition by making it easier for them to get a foothold on their market share. When I started buying on eBay, it was one of the most friendly and enjoyable experiences a person could have in buying hard to find merchandise, then a few years ago they became less friendly and more corporate until it has gotten to this point where I buy less and less because more US sellers are using the GSP. So as long as they are making a short term profit the opinions of their non-US buyers mean absolutely nothing, over 3000 comments have proved that.

pjcdn2005 · ‎07-04-2014

@thebidsniper wrote:
Gee, haven't heard anything from Bennett in a while on this thread, have we? I'm sure Ebay told him to simply ignore this thread because they have no plans on changing anything, so why bother even giving us lip service? Sickening.

I don't know if it is true but I did read on a .com board that the gsp help group was disbanded and that regular customer service reps now deal with all of the gsp probems. I imagine that Bennett was part of that group.

00nevermind00 · ‎07-04-2014

@pjcdn2005 wrote:
@thebidsniper wrote:
Gee, haven't heard anything from Bennett in a while on this thread, have we? I'm sure Ebay told him to simply ignore this thread because they have no plans on changing anything, so why bother even giving us lip service? Sickening.
I don't know if it is true but I did read on a .com board that the gsp help group was disbanded and that regular customer service reps now deal with all of the gsp probems. I imagine that Bennett was part of that group.

If that's true, then it's a crying shame. He was the only one who seemed to actually care, at least a little bit.

This turd of a program is here to stay and eBay obviously feels that there is no reason to tweak it to make it more palatable to international buyers. So I guess that we're all basically whistling in the wind here. I guess it was naive to think that eBay had any real intention of actually listening to us and doing something about even the most reasonable and sensible complaints and suggestions.

mwc1942 · ‎07-04-2014

"So I guess that we're all basically whistling in the wind here. I guess it was naive to think that eBay had any real intention of actually listening to us and doing something about even the most reasonable and sensible complaints and suggestions."

And another has seen the light. At least the wind we're whistling now is clean fresh air and smells darn good to boot.

highland.2112 · ‎07-04-2014

I've found that if you ask the Seller to cover the GSP charges, they will usually either reply that they did not know they were part of it, or will willingly rescind it if they can.

I've only once been bitten by GSP, $13 on a paperback book. It won't happen again.