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.

[mater721]

True story...

Saw a collectible I liked, but of course shipping was GSP.

I contacted seller asking if they have other international shipping options like USPS.

Next day no answer. However, in looking at the item listing again, it was changed to Does Not Ship to Canada.

Maybe they did not realize they had been opted in to GSP.

Still sucks that the listing shows up on ebay.ca.  I hate seeing those - rather not see the listing in the first place.

[eth1900]

I am awaiting delivery of an item I  bought from an (excellent) US seller through the GSP program.. This was my first experience with this program and I have found the experience sufficiently frustrating and mysterious that I will never repeat it. 

Apart from the question of costs, I have found the shipping/tracking arrangements erratic, weird and frustrating, There are 2 shipping notices, one to Erlanger KY, the other to my address. One reads "delivered " when it reaches Erlanger, which I later realized means delivered to the shipping centre there, but this  is confusing. The second one reads "in transit" as it should, but contradicts the first.The carrier (USPS) from the seller to Erlanger is not the same as the carrier which will ship the item on  to my address, and i don't get to choose either carrier.  Because there are 2 carriers there are 2 separate tracking numbers . The one that is initially sent by Ebay  does not shed much light on progress once the item reaches Canada and has an incorrect delivery date. The Canadian carrier tracking number (CanPar) when clicked  often does not open a page properly so I cannot keep up to date on delivery.

Maybe despite all this confusion I will get this parcel this coming week but the GSP system with its proliferation of shipping notices, carriers, and tracking numbers makes the whole process fraught with uncertainty, in a way that shipping with one carrier which I and the seller choose, does not. Add to that questions about costs charged (especially for low cost items that might never be charged duty/taxes on delivery) and I can't see why anyone would opt for the GSP

Nick

[afantiques]

bogus "import and duty" charges are being charged when a free trade agreement is in place between Canada and the United States

The charges are not bogus. See pierre's post above.

Free Trade does not mean 'Tax Free Trade'. Consumption taxes still apply, as do tariffs on non qualifying items, that is items not made in Mexico, USA or Canada.

[Anonymous]

In past couple of months I have made a few purchases and attempts to purchase from USA Ebay sellers.  I see Ebay has not informed USA sellers that Pitney Bowes is only an option for courier service.  I as a Canadian buyer I refuse to buy from a USA sellers will not use USPS exclusively.  This is not a new topic for buyers of USA purchases, but I find it is not well known throughout the entire USA.  Shame on Ebay executives and their counterparts in Pitney Bowes. 

[salze819]

Hi,

I think GSP is a terrible mistake...:

1- GSP is everything but obvious, Sellers don't seems to understand how it works, buyers see their deals vanishing with import charges (you got to explain how you do calculate your charges) and an expensive shipping cost.

2- Do not make default but an option, your buyers do not understand.

3- Explain sumply how it works, KY adress delivered status is a mess if you don't know how it works.

I am not a big buyer and I think it will stay this way and I will AVOID making business with GSP sellers, and I will INFORM all my friends who use Ebay to do the same.

[chimera148]

---

@avianmanor wrote:

 Case in point, this forum  ....... have any changes or improvements to this program come about by means of it's existence? Shame on you eBay! The GSP should have been scrapped long ago.

---

Well, Pitney Bowes still seems to be charging provincial sales tax on baby and children's clothing, which I thought should be exempt, for BC anyways.

Any mistakes in the listings seem to work against the buyer.

[2818mark]

This Ebay global shipping is a rip off not only do the tax every item they dont ship by the posted shipping in the ADD my last two items said Priority mail the items came up by transport companys sometime 3 can par then loomis they are always late not very good and the items take 3 times longer to get here than USPS Priority mail.

I will start leaveing NEG feedback to the sellers if ebay ships by another type of shipper when they list priority mail.

Im not gona buy much stuff from USA sellers anymore either.

Canadians buy a ton of stuff on ebay many will be leaveing thanks to the idiots who came up with the global shipping idea.

[2818mark]

This Ebay global shipping is a rip off not only do they tax every item they dont ship by the posted shipping in the ADD my last two items said Priority mail the items came up by transport companys sometime 3 can par then loomis they are always late not very good and the items take 3 times longer to get here than USPS Priority mail.

I will start leaveing NEG feedback to the sellers if ebay ships by another type of shipper when they list priority mail.

Im not gona buy much stuff from USA sellers anymore either.

Canadians buy a ton of stuff on ebay many will be leaveing thanks to the idiots who came up with the global shipping idea.

[mg152]

You're correct! That's why I ship my own items to Canada! It's cheaper and easy.
Just look for those of us who will ship directly to you.
It's still costly but it's postage only not all the added charges.

[maximus7001]

And ebay moved your post to try keeping the whole thing more covered up.

[debtou]

I just received my package today from GPS. It took twice as long as it should have if it had been sent priority as the ad stated. It came standard first class. The postage price label on the box was 11$USD cheaper than what I was charged for shipping. I paid 28$USD import charges for an item that I wouldnt be charged duty on if it was sent by regular mail. I would have rather purchased this item from a seller that didnt use GSP but it was Christmas and I thought it would be worth it in the end. Not the first time I have been wrong.

If that isnt bad enough it looks as though the box was kicked all the way here from Kentucky. Of course the electronics I bought are damaged and now I have to go through the Ebay process to hopefully recoup hundreds of dollars. I love *NOT* the fact that I if I criticize the shipping costs or damage to my item in sellers feedback it will be removed by Ebay. How is this even legit. I am freaking out that there is some loophole here that makes me responsible for this somehow because I live in Canada so this is an international purchase. I will never buy from a seller using this method of shipping again. I tried to add the link to the page that I read this on but Ebay removed it before I could post this.  Here is what I read...

"If you {seller} receive a rating below 5 stars for shipping time, it won't count against your seller performance standards."

"Any negative or neutral feedback that can be attributed to the Global Shipping Program from item handling during international transit will be removed."

"

• You aren't responsible for item loss or damage that occurs after the item is forwarded by the US shipping center. Once an item has been forwarded by the US shipping center, you won't be responsible for refunding the buyer if an eBay Money Back Guarantee or PayPal Purchase Protection case is filed against you for one of the following reasons:

  • A buyer claims an item isn't received or

  • A package is damaged in transit

[reallynicestamps]

That's right.

But that message is for the seller.

The buyer can still claim for damage and, although it is a small comfort, will not be asked to return the damaged product with Confirmation of Delivery (a very expensive service) to the seller or to the GSP.

Just go to the Resolution Centre under Help and Contact and start the Item Not As Described dispute process. The refunds are paid by PitneyBowes/GSP as part of their guarantee to your seller.

28$USD import charges for an item that I wouldnt be charged duty on if it was sent by regular mail.../...to hopefully recoup hundreds of dollars....

Which is it?

If your item is valued over $20 CDN you are technically required to pay duty and sales tax. However, it is true that CBSA does tend to ignore small parcels and parcels valued under about $100 on the sensible basis that it would cost the taxpayer more to collect the money due than could actually be collected.

CSDA does charge applicable duty and sales tax on most bulky imports and on imports valued over $100 or more. And then Canada Post tacks on their $9.95 service charge.

The GSP paid those for you based on the seller's description of the origin and the value of the goods. They don't have a choice as a commercial business. 

But $28 seems a very small amount of duty and tax (plus the GSP $5 service charge) on an item you paid 'hundreds of dollars' for. 

If your seller undervalued the actual amount you paid for the item then she did you no favour, because it is unlikely that the GSP will reimburse you for any more than the seller told them that the item was worth.

[debtou]

Hey, Thanks for your reply. I contacted the seller. explained the sitch and sent him pics. Hopefully he gets back to me soon and we can sort out the return details.
I have ordered many items from sellers not using GSP and never had a problem with the declaration for customs nor have I had to pay duty.
I admit it was after the fact but when I saw the shipping cost was for 11$ USD less than I was charged and that it was sent Standard and not Priority as was advertised, I looked up what my costs would have been and it was 5% sales tax because "Native Instruments Traktor 2 is duty free and a has a GST rate of 5% =14.00 CDN based on the purchase price of $292.00 or about 11 bucks USD. I paid $25.17 USD for import fees. I would give the link to that info but Ebay doesnt allow.
Anyway all that aside I chose to pay the costs .. Woe is me. My problem concerns what happened to my parcel. I will call CanPar tomorrow to see if they recorded the damage because I did not have to sign for it. The box was sitting at the door when I got home. Is Pitney Bowes responsible for figuring out which of the multiple carriers that were used was responsible for dragging my box behind the truck? Is the seller at fault for wrapping a fragile electronic in two sheets of bubble wrap then sticking it in a box four time to big for it with out any other padding to absorb the beating it was in for? By the looks of it he gets five stars regardless of what happens. Where does it start or end is the real question.

[debtou]

But $28 seems a very small amount of duty and tax (plus the GSP $5 service charge) on an item you paid 'hundreds of dollars' for.
"If your seller undervalued the actual amount you paid for the item then she did you no favour, because it is unlikely that the GSP will reimburse you for any more than the seller told them that the item was worth."

You got me thinking about that and I dont see how the seller could undervalue it below the purchase price because I paid what was invoiced and GSP supplied the cost of import based on the purchase price. Sheesh! I hope I am right.... I am right, right?
Oh my Gosh! How does that work? Can the seller submit a different amount to GSP than what I paid him through PayPal. Only positive answers Please...Just kidding, I can handle the truth..maybe

[afantiques]

This Ebay global shipping is a rip off not only do the tax every item they dont ship by the posted shipping in the ADD my last two items said Priority mail the items came up by transport companys sometime 3 can par then loomis they are always late not very good and the items take 3 times longer to get here than USPS Priority mail.

I will start leaveing NEG feedback to the sellers if ebay ships by another type of shipper when they list priority mail.

Im not gona buy much stuff from USA sellers anymore either.

Canadians buy a ton of stuff on ebay many will be leaveing thanks to the idiots who came up with the global shipping idea.

They do not say Priority mail, they say Priority shipping, which essentially means nothing. GSP items are not sent by mail internationally although final delivery in Canada is by mail. The delivery process in various countries seems to be the cheapest contractor they can find, which usually means the worst and slowest.

[afantiques]

This Ebay global shipping is a rip off not only do the tax every item they dont ship by the posted shipping in the ADD my last two items said Priority mail the items came up by transport companys sometime 3 can par then loomis they are always late not very good and the items take 3 times longer to get here than USPS Priority mail.

I will start leaveing NEG feedback to the sellers if ebay ships by another type of shipper when they list priority mail.

Im not gona buy much stuff from USA sellers anymore either.

Canadians buy a ton of stuff on ebay many will be leaveing thanks to the idiots who came up with the global shipping idea.

They do not say Priority mail, they say Priority shipping, which essentially means nothing. GSP items are not sent by mail internationally although final delivery in Canada is by mail. The delivery process in various countries seems to be the cheapest contractor they can find, which usually means the worst and slowest.

[mater721]

"If your seller undervalued the actual amount you paid for the item then she did you no favour, because it is unlikely that the GSP will reimburse you for any more than the seller told them that the item was worth."

How can that be?

Would buyer not be reimbursed for total paid? Amount paid is documented in ebay/paypal.

[00nevermind00]

---

@afantiques wrote:

 

They do not say Priority mail, they say Priority shipping, which essentially means nothing. GSP items are not sent by mail internationally although final delivery in Canada is by mail. The delivery process in various countries seems to be the cheapest contractor they can find, which usually means the worst and slowest.

---

They do not say Priority mail, but I think that this "Priority shipping" wording was chosen to deliberately confuse the buyer. "Priority shipping" is GSP-speak for "the cheapest carrier we could find for the international part of the trip". In Canada, it means Canada Post for smaller parcels, which is fine. But it means Canpar for larger ones, and we know that Canpar isn't exactly known for offering a 5-star service.

While I'm here...

Heads up if you search for items on the .com site!

GSP listings no longer show the GSP logo and the "No additional import charges at delivery!" blurb.  Here is what can now be seen on the page:

As you can see, the fact that this is a GSP item is much less obvious than it used to be. Fortunately, the GSP blurb is still there when using List View to conduct searches. And fortunately, GSP items still have the logo & GSP blurb on eBay.ca (for the time being!)

[00nevermind00]

 

They do not say Priority mail, they say Priority shipping, which essentially means nothing. GSP items are not sent by mail internationally although final delivery in Canada is by mail. The delivery process in various countries seems to be the cheapest contractor they can find, which usually means the worst and slowest.

[richvv11]

 No Pitney Bowes does not pay that. I am trying to get a refund for this now. And it looks as if no one will accept responsibllity. 

[debtou]

Is the seller at fault for wrapping a fragile electronic in two sheets of bubble wrap then sticking it in a box four time to big for it with out any other padding to absorb the beating it was in for? By the looks of it he gets five stars regardless of what happens.
________________________________________________________
I wanted to adjust my opinion towards my seller and the respective feedback that he might deserve.
After reading many posts concerning GSP shipping, I was unaware that many, many people have complaints that their items have been repackaged poorly in Kentucky when they were *inspected* , resulting in damage, theft and complete loss of items.
I was surprised that my seller would advertise a like new item, have good feedback and then throw it in a box with nothing to protect it but a piece of bubble wrap and a prayer. I didnt know this could happen at the time and of course berated him for taking advantage of a kind soul such as myself. *sob*

It seems pretty clear to me that GSP has added one more reason to not finance their bad business practices. My poor seller is probably thinking **bleep** so it will be interesting to hear back from him as to whether my item was doomed by him or the guy in Erlanger who hates working in the mail room.

[pjcdn2005]

There is no point in phoning Can Par. If an item was damaged in shipping, ebay or Pitney Bowes will refund you in full.  The process isn't always as smooth as it should be but that's how it should work in the end.  But you should file an item not as described claim and phone ebay about it just in case they don't notice that it is a gsp item. As another poster mentioned, the gsp doesn't usually require a return of a gsp damaged item.