Important Notes:
The GSP does not allow sellers to combine shipping, even if they say they will. After the auction ends there is no way for a seller to send you an invoice for both items.
If a seller has opted into GSP, there is no discrimination for charging the import fees on their items. Meaning you will be charged beyond what may be required by Canadian Customs for certain items. If you are incorrectly charged these when importing goods by any other means the fees can be appealed. You will never receive a refund of any type from Ebay or PB for fees charged through the GSP, even if you can prove they over charged you. Especially if you are buying larger or more expensive items, understand the import taxes and duties that would be levied at the border on that type of item. If there are exemptions, it may be cheaper to pay a little extra from an international seller not from the Ebay community or at least not subscribing to the GSP.
There is currently (and in all likelihood won't be) anyway for you to opt out of receiving an item through the GSP as a buy after the auction ends. There is also no way for you to search for items from the US and exclude sellers using the GSP. Another note on shipping, the option for organizing the search listings by Price plus Shipping will not factor in the GSP charges and will not be entirely accurate. Use the Lowest Price search option and survey shipping charges for yourself, if you really want an item and don't agree with the charges, check the listing for a lower price being offered or contact the seller directly. Often I will just ask 'How much to ship to Canada?', and the response will be lower than what the auction lists. However, to mention again, if any agreements like this are made with sellers using the GSP, they will not be able to make any changes after the auction ends.
I have had sellers that were unaware of their participation in the GSP cancel sales, then opt out of the GSP and set up a buy it now for me. Doesn't hurt to ask, many sellers do not know they have signed up for the GSP, and many are equally **bleep** off when you tell them about it. I typically avoid using the word 'scam', but they always draw that conclusion anyway.
If considering buying from a seller using the GSP it is always better to voice any concerns before bidding, as the fallout from trying to deal with issues after the auction is over can result in cancelled sales and strikes. Not always a bad thing, but remember that the seller may not be aware of the GSP, they do not see or get any of the additional shipping and import fees, and you may end up causing harm to someone that really did nothing wrong. Ebay is taking your money, not them.
There is no apparent pattern to GSP fees. The fees are 'estimated' for the current bid. I have had no luck trying to determine what the fees will increase to if the auction reaches my maximum bid, so do not even try to accurately assume what your final cost might be. My rule has been my max bid plus shipping, then subtract 20-25%, depending on how expensive and/or large the item is.
My experience with the GSP is that items bought in the US from auction while trying to save some money typically end up costing more than I really wanted to spend, and often the same price as I could have found them for in Canada. Try to use it only for very rare items you may no be able to find elsewhere, and hopefully items that you do not mind paying more for.
Note that while you have bid on a low priced item (say under $20) and the auction may not show any import fees to be estimated for that auction, even if you win at that price you can still be charged at the checkout. So the actual price shown is not always (and rarely in my experience) the final cost that you will be paying.
Shipping times will vary significantly with the GSP. I have had items from California show up in 5 days, and others from just across the border in NY state take over 3 weeks.
Bottom line for newer buyers who for some reason managed to make it to the 225th or something page of this overwhelming topic. Only buy items from US sellers in the GSP if it is something that is difficult to find and you are willing to pay more than you might actually want to. Or don't and search for items only in Canada. I used to tell people to try searching Kijiji for items they cannot find on Ebay.ca, however since Ebay 'aquired' Kijiji, I am counting the days until they find a way to start picking my pockets on that site as well.
One positive note: If a seller has explicitly mentioned in their auction that they will only ship to the Lower 48 States then you can still bid, because it is likely that they will think they've sold an item to somewhere in Kentucky (where most of my GSP/PB shipments originate). However, many of them have adopted this shipping policy due to their distaste for foreigners, and from experience they get very **bleep** off when you contact them to let them know that you're so delighted to have won the auction because you could not find this item in Canada. I have followed up and found that more than one US seller has consequently opted out of the GSP to avoid shipping internationally even though they would never have known otherwise. This of course does not help us in anyway, as those items would not have been available to us without the GSP and seller ignorance. It does however keep US sellers from unwittingly selling internationally and padding Ebay and PB's pockets with Canadian dollars.
I would rather pay a few extra bucks to another Canadian than be shovelling dollars into the Ebay bank anyway.
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