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.

[lestweforgetptsd]

Maybe your not understanding what I am saying: Per the Global Shipping Buyer Terms and Conditions it states as follows:

International priority shipping" (or "Shipping"): this Program Fee consists of charges associated with the parcel processing and shipping services described above and is comprised of the following variable amounts:

your Seller's shipping charges to ship your order to the U.S. Shipping Center; third party international shipping charges to ship your order from the U.S. Shipping Center to your designated delivery address; fuel surcharges; charges for selling, general, and administrative expenses, hardware, software development and licenses, operations, and hosting by Pitney Bowes; charges from third party parcel processing service providers and for the management of the parcel processing service providers and related software systems; charges relating to the management of insurance for lost or damaged items; charges for operational expenses associated with short-term loss recovery and the management of variances between the quoted Shipping amount and actual costs; and any referral fees paid by Pitney Bowes to eBay for referring you to the Program.

Import charges": this Program Fee consists of charges associated with the customs service described above and is comprised of the following variable amounts: sales, goods and services, and value added taxes, duties, tariffs, excise taxes, and other amounts assessed or levied by any government authority in connection with the importation of goods into the applicable country of importation (but excluding income taxes)

("Commodity taxes"); third party brokerage fees (including advancement and disbursement charges and customs brokers handling and filing fees); penalties (but excluding any customs duties, taxes, surcharges, fines, penalties, or other charges which may be imposed on you by customs or tax officials after a GSP Item has successfully cleared customs and been delivered to, or made available for pickup at, the delivery address that you specify);

classification charges associated with the assignment of a Harmonized System ("HS") classification code; charges for export compliance screening and verification and the assignment of an Export Control Classification Number (ECCN); and operational expenses associated with short-term loss recovery and the management of variances between the quoted Import charges and actual costs.

Note: at eBay's discretion, applicable classification and export compliance charges, third party brokerage fees, and operational expenses may instead be included within the Shipping amount that is quoted to you.

Program Fee Estimates. The Program Fees quoted in your Seller's listing are estimates only and are subject to change until you pay for the GSP Item and the quoted Program Fees in full during checkout. With the exception of the shipping charges specified by your Seller to ship your order to the U.S. Shipping Center, the quoted Program Fees are derived from real-time, proprietary estimates of applicable international shipping and import charges by Pitney Bowes.

 Pitney Bowes's estimates may not always reflect actual costs to Pitney Bowes; actual shipping and/or import costs may be more or less than the estimates. However, subject to your compliance with these Terms, your payment of the GSP Item price and quoted Program Fees during checkout represents the total amount of Shipping and Import charges for a GSP Item to be purchased, shipped to the delivery address specified by you, cleared by customs, and delivered to (or made available for pickup at) the delivery address that you specify.

You will not request, and you will not receive, a refund for the difference, if any, between Program Fees paid by you and actual costs to Pitney Bowes in the event that actual shipping and/or import costs are less than the amounts paid by you.

[afantiques]

Maybe you're not understanding what I am saying

Well, no not specifically, since you are quoting the terms and conditions which to me, at least, seem quite clear.

[toby_le_pue]

Most purchases imported into Canada with a value over $20.00 Canadian is subject to the taxes from your province and GST. You may get away with it if the item is shipped by USPS but if customs checks it you get charged the taxes plus a $9.95 service fee. Any item shipped from the USA by global shipping with a value over $20.00 canadian gets charged taxes plus about $5.00 handling fee by Pitney Bowes

[lestweforgetptsd]

Thats the problem who exactly are they clear to besides you and what BUYER in their right mind is reading this???

....lets be honest, most likely 1% of buyers if that have even read it, and as for sellers they are NOT reading the BUYERS terms and conditions. For sellers who care about their buyers, their reputation and the "antique or vintage or high dollar items they are selling overseas, they would be amazed to really read this. Most will not do so until there is some type of major problem.

Lastly,  I as a "buyer" or perhaps a "seller" but for sake of example, I do not have the time when I buy online to sit and read through terms and services on Walmart.com or any other site when I am making a purchase. It should be simple, straight forward. You own it, I buy it, I own it, you ship it, customs clears it, I pay what ever fee to customs directly they deem fit and then transaction is done.

Yes...it's all there yes to protect eBay/ PB from liability.....thats the main reason it is there plain and simple.

Sorry does the buyer click on a link to go read this stuff before they hit that payment button..I highly doubt that! 

[00nevermind00]

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@afantiques wrote:

More than any other topic this one seems to provoke the most ill informed rants.

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I can't think of any other program implemented by eBay over the years that has been despised so intensely by so many users (in this case, international buyers).  It's an ill-conceived, poorly implemented program that is full of problems (and now the sole support person seems to have vanished from the face of the Earth, or at least the face of eBay).

I don't think we should be surprised by the number of rants, ill-informed or otherwise.

[lestweforgetptsd]

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@afantiques wrote:

GSP is a fraudulent tax evasion scam if you dig and they are pocketing off the buyer back thousands - millions of dollars per year from International Buyers who have no clue as to the fine print and legalese of this program. Buyers are under the impression the "fees" are to pay taxes, in most cases that are not required...and PB and ebay keep that money in those cases cause guess what the buyer agreed without knowing and reading the 50 page legal **bleep** 

This is complete nonsense.  There are many things wrong with the GSP but nothing illegal or indeed very profitable.

More than any other topic this one seems to provoke the most ill informed rants.

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Ok, you might feel it is ill informed, or nonsense, but I have dug deep enough to see this program is not working above board. I bet if the Feds or the IRS investigated the program they would shut it down and you might even see criminal indictments of some sort.

If you add up say for example a small $5.00 excessive fee per customer, times that by say 2,000 International sales per day using  the GSP program, times that by 365 days that's $3,650,000 per year! Over 3 million a year is NOT a small matter. Do I have proof of mis-dealings directly, no because the numbers are not published or public by PB, Ebay or the Liquidators that resell the items they confiscate that never make it to the customers

BUT when you have the GSP program run by a subcontracted company of PB.....PB only oversees it, and that same subcontractor is also the liquidator of the confiscated items and resells those confiscated items on ebay and they all are located in the same building you have a HUGE opportunity for fraud and abuse!

If you can not see that abuse opportunity for tax fraud, illegal conversion and loss of future gain for the buyers, then you just will never see it.

eBay reads these forums, let them release the data publicly for the program from all three sides, eBay, Pitney Bowes and the Liquidators aka NorAm and the numbers for the items confiscated as well

[afantiques]

and now the sole support person seems to have vanished from the face of the Earth, (or at least the face of eBay)

bennett tells me he is no longer on the GSP desk, but has been replaced. 

Nothing seen from the replacement, though.

"

I have transitioned off of my day-to-day role with the Global Shipping Program.

Katherine is taking over the day-to-day GSP role. Her user name is  katherine_hfrgsp

She is very sharp,  and should fill my shoes nicely."

The only thing wrong with bennett was the love of nonce-words like 'transitioned' instead of moved, and 'reach out to' instead of contact.

I have seen nothing from the replacement on any board so life must be pretty peaceful for her, as no one knows to contact her.

[afantiques]

If you can not see that abuse opportunity for tax fraud, illegal conversion and loss of future gain for the buyers, then you just will never see it.

Your objection to the monstrous Juggernaut, that crushes the faithful beneath its wheels, seems to amount to disliking the colour the wheels are painted.

[arlene_v]

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@00nevermind00 wrote:

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@afantiques wrote:

More than any other topic this one seems to provoke the most ill informed rants.

---

I can't think of any other program implemented by eBay over the years that has been despised so intensely by so many users (in this case, international buyers).  It's an ill-conceived, poorly implemented program that is full of problems (and now the sole support person seems to have vanished from the face of the Earth, or at least the face of eBay).

I don't think we should be surprised by the number of rants, ill-informed or otherwise.

---

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I have got to the point where I actually prefer the rants, the cries of scam and the "ill-informed" posts to the so called logical and rational ones. This program is simply put the pits. There is no break down of what is being charged under tax and duty versus  what is being legally remitted to tax authorities ...despite endless calls. 

So no surprise that folks think it a scam.

Esp. since the program now has a glitch in this regard re NAFTA (and this is just one example out of how many tax treaties out there).

Yes, for sure all REQUIRED tax and duty are being paid, PB will make 100% sure of this .... but what is being OVERCHARGED  erroneously (let's be generous here)  to the buyer is another story.

[pierrelebel]

lestweforgetptsd   I think most Canadian buyers here would like to congratulate you for understanding that Americans can easily sell to Canadians and ship without any major problems.  Mail order business is not that complicated and Americans like yourself generate more business and profits by selling to Canadians and overseas customers.  Buyers are thankful to have access to products that may not be available locally.  Win-Win.

You have learned over the years how to pack goods safely and supply whatever paperwork was required for Customs. eBay could use more sellers like you.

However, as you know, many American sellers over the years have concentrated their marketing efforts selling domestically exclusively.  For whatever reasons they felt that exporting was too much trouble. maybe too time consuming or required extra steps, whatever.  The Global Shipping Program (GSP) was created for them, not for sellers like yourself. Its goals was to make it "easy" for American sellers to export goods as the program would take care of everything while sellers would ship domestically.  eBay made it clear that sellers using the program would pay NOTHING extra and would be getting additional protection from eBay with regards to feedback and DSRs.  All additional costs would be charged to and paid by the foreign buyers.

Unfortunately, the program was flawed from the beginning. There is no need to repeat the problems expressed in thousands of posts over the last two years. While some aspects of the program have been improved this year, much remains to be done specifically:

1) providing buyers with detailed information as to what - exactly - they are paying (extra shipping, duty, tax, fee)

2) educating sellers as to when to use the program correctly

3) set up filters to prevent sellers from using GSP when not appropriate - for low value items for example (under $100 or $50) or items that can easily be sent by regular first class mail (sports trading cards come to mind)

4) reconsider who pays the fees.  Since sellers benefit the most from the program, maybe they should pay a share of the Pitney Bowes fees

5) etc... etc... etc...

If you read those thousands of messages on GSP the biggest complaint from Canadians (and I suspect many foreign buyers) is the fact that they now have to pay tax (and a fee) on many shipments that normally get delivered bythe postal service without taxes (and fee) being collected.  It is that simple.  Raising the minimum value where sellers could use GSP would minimize that problem.

On the other hand, your post - in my opinion - is out of order when suggesting "criminal indictments of some sort".   You seem to object to "a small $5.00 excessive fee".  Personally I find their $4/$5 fee to be reasonable.  Canada Post charges $10 for the same service, Royal Mail charges £8 ($13) for incoming shipments valued at £15 or more, etc...

You may not be aware of that but eBay and Pitney Bowes have a very long relationship.  Pitney Bowes, under contract from eBay, provides sellers on eBay.com with access to postage from USPS, paid through PayPal.  eBay has a similar relationship in Canada where Pitney Bowes administers the program allowing sellers to purchase Canada Post postage and pay with their PayPal account.

As stated earlier, Canadian buyers are delighted with sellers like yourself offering to sell and ship directly.  The GSP has faults, many faults.  However, let us not suggest or imply criminal wrongdoing at every corner.  Maybe you should concentrate your efforts in convincing other American sellers to sell and ship directly instead of using GSP.  That would be helpful.

[toddpuppy]

I've just experienced a problem with an item that I purchased. When communicating with the seller about a partial refund, the seller had no idea that I was from Canada, and had to pay quadruple the shipping cost to a 3rd party (Global Shipping)!! If Global Shipping is a legitimate service, why is it such a mystery to those who "choose" to use it? As a Canadian buyer, I am very sad that this is happening. I will hardly look at listings that use Global Shipping

[afantiques]

why is it such a mystery to those who "choose" to use it?

Because US sellers see the domestic version of the item listing and overseas buyers see the overseas version.

They can see the overseas version, but the steps to do so are not ones people are likely to do, especially as they mostly have no idea there is anything to see.

[pierrelebel]

"that is criminal! This is a huge consumer fraud being played out by 4 partnered groups..."

This comment reflects one of the major differences between being a Canadian and an American.

In the USA, at last count, they have over 1,225,000 lawyers or one per 265 people, nearly twice as many when compared to a per capita of 450 in Canada.

I do not suggest one is better than the other, one more aggressive and/or one more passive, simply pointing out the difference.

[colourmatrix13]

Import charges between free trade countries are illegal and felonious. Sellers charging them are either making an honest mistake or .......

[theundercutter]

You may not agree with them charges, but nobody is committing a felony act

[toby_le_pue]

You are confusing duty and taxes. there is no duty but most things over $20.00 Canadian there is the same taxes as if you bought it in your local store.

[pierrelebel]

"Import charges between free trade countries are illegal and felonious. '

Could you please explain exactly what you mean by "illegal and felonious"?

Canada Post charges $9.95 for every parcel coming from the USA (and overseas) when tax (GST/HST/PST) was levied by Canada Customs.  Does that make the charge by Canada Post "illegal and felonious"?

Every Canadian courier and custom broker clearing shipments from the USA charges a fee to the importer (buyer).  Does that make the fee "illegal and felonious"?

Is it possible the problem resides in your understanding of "import charges"?  Do you assume it means "duty"?

[micaylah]

It does make me wonder though if NAFTA was even looked at.

[pierrelebel]

This question has been asked and answered several times on this thread.

When importing goods from the USA (other than by personally crossing the border), Canadians are liable to pay consumption taxes (GST/HST/PST) when the parcel exceeds Cdn$20.00 in value.  This has nothing to do with NAFTA.

NAFTA deals with tariff (duty) and quotas, not consumption taxes.  It does not change the rights of each country to impose consumption taxes at time of importation.

For the full text of NAFTA, please get yourself a large cup of coffee and take a look at:

https://www.nafta-sec-alena.org/Default.aspx?tabid=97&language=en-US

Good reading!

[arlene_v]

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@micaylah wrote:
It does make me wonder though if NAFTA was even looked at.

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Yes, I have wondered the same thing myself. Although Canada is but a small player, it does seem as if this program is woefully inept when it comes to calculating duty for Canadian buyers.

Despite the repeated assertion on this thread that NAFTA is of no consequence, in fact it is when buying items listed under the GSP, because duty is currently being added to many  items that  are specifically exempt under NAFTA. I have provided many such examples on this thread so no need to repeat that particular exercise.

This has been mentioned here at least 5 or 6 times and even brought to the attention of eBay and Pitney Bowes on the US site, and on various feedback sessions, to no avail.

It has to do with a programming glitch that is unable to read the country of manufacture on all new listings - all of those using a new specific item as of 2014 - and it is in fact a rather significant issue for Canadians. It has nothing to do with HST/GST/PST as most of us are completely aware.

Since eBay is aware of this, and at least one poster here has reported this to Pitney Bowes it does begin to look very very fishy that nothing has been done to rectify this.