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.

[pierrelebel]

"Canadians have the choice to accept it or chose not to buy anything with this."

There is general agreement that most Canadian buyers should avoid Global Shipping Program in most instances (for a variety of reasons).

"adds 17%"

That depends on your province (GST/HST vary from 5% to 15% in Canada) and the value of the item.  A low value item will see a higher percentage since the handling fee ($4/$5) is fixed.  The same is true if the item comes directly by mail and tax is charged by Canada Customs.

On a Cdn$50 item, in addition to tax(es) payable, Canada Post fee of $9.95 represents 20% of the value; on a parcel valued at $200, the same $9.95 works out to only 5%

"he replied that it is an eBay thing, "

That is not totally correct.  American sellers do have the option to opt out of the program or, more specifically, to exempt Canada from the program. 

Alternatively, the seller could revise the listing and remove GSP or start a new listing without GSP offering direct shipment by USPS or invoice you through PayPal directly. 

However, many American sellers who use this program find it very easy (same as shipping domestically at no extra cost or risk) and will not take the time and spend a few more minutes to accommodate a Canadian buyer.

[tango69]

Global Shipping Program - On a a 1 to 10 rating, GSP is a minus 14!  Merchandise shipped from United States tio Canada is subjected to a cash grab when, in many cases, Canada Customs would not bother to levy taxes.  The ebay/Pitney Bowes fee is four times the taxes that might - maybe - unlikely charged were the postman collects at the door.  I will not deal with any supplier that employs the GSP program.  Customs law exempts package $20 or less but, in my experience, Customs has little in interest imports up to circa $100 and sometimes more.  These package arrive at the door - free.   I suspect that this GSP Cash Grab will soon apply to all listings.  Ebay used to be fun - no longer... .. 

[femmefan1946]

I was shocked by a new fee that adds 17% in the $45 USD item I was looking at.

Yes. The Canadian GST/PST/HST which makes up the largest part of that fee is substantial.

About $5 goes to Pitney Bowes as a service fee. They triage and ship the parcels to Canada and broker all of them through Canadian Border Services Agency.

If the item was not manufactured in a NAFTA signatory country, part of the fee is duty.

But Hey!

It's an election year!

One reason that the GSP is so high is that the Conservatives did not increase the import value for 'postal' imports from the $20 it was set at in 1984. Harper did increase the cutoff to $200 for cross-border shoppers.

So if you don't want the high import fee, start with writing"

The Right Honourable Stephen Harper PC MP

Office of the Prime Minister

House of Commons

OTTAWA ON K1A 0A6

The letter does not require a stamp. Just write OHMS on the corner.

[dealintruth]

You want honesty, you are going to get it. When you compare EBay to other like sites, the shipping costs are outrageous. I find the sellers on here seem to consider themselves better than others. There are so many sites now that offer FREE shipping while EBay sellers have rates that seem beyond extreme. 

Amazon as the leader in the industry, has rates of $3.49 to as high as $6.49. You van deal with others and get like rates or even free. Amazon Prime provides free as well as guaranteed 2 day delivery. There is only one thing that justifies EBay shipping rates and that is seller greed. I did an experiment and bought the same item on Amazon and EBay. It was a digital camera (Fuji) with all the same features and everything identical. Amazon shipping rate was $6.49, while the EBay rate was $78.82 plus the possibility of duty and other " brokerage" fees. The second camera I returned to the seller as the package was damaged and I did get the full refund.

Now, why would a much higher shipping rate not guarantee a much safer delivery process for the item? Why would the Amazon rate arrive two weeks quicker than the much higher EBay rate? Why would a difference in $2.00 on the asking price have such a huge difference in quality of service and the overall customer satisfaction? There are some great deals to be had on EBay and it is a site that you can find some obscure listings and hard to find items, but the sellers are the most greedy and self serving bunch I have ever witnessed. When shipping rates are often times greater than the value of the purchased item, this makes no sense whatsoever.

One added comment, the majority of the outlandish rates come from CONTINENTAL USA as you can get much better shipping rates from foreign sellers. If any so called reasonable seller can offer any sensible reasoning, please do. As of the last year, EBay has become my last option when wanting to purchase items. Customer service and customer satisfaction appears to be a thing of the past and then when negative feedback is posted it is deemed to be unreasonable and improper.

[pierrelebel]

"Customer service and customer satisfaction appears to be a thing of the past"

I am confused.

Your very negative comments about eBay and its sellers contrast strangely with the very positive feedback comments you have left for your eBay sellers in the last year (with one exception).

[mater721]

"There are some great deals to be had on EBay and it is a site that you can find some obscure listings and hard to find items,"

This is key - there are a lot of items for sale on ebay that can't be found on any other sites. So it has a built-in market.

Shoppers just need to perform due diligence.

"as you can get much better shipping rates from foreign sellers."

Not always. Rates from UK can be quite high as well.

If you are referring to China - well... that's a gamble.  You never know what you are going to get. And good luck returning items to China. Imagine what the cost would be if you had to return that camera to China.

"and then when negative feedback is posted it is deemed to be unreasonable and improper."

The only one who might find accurate negative feedback improper is the one receiving it - but... that's their problem

I have no hesitation leaving negative feedback if the seller deserved it.

[walker0017]

---

@pierrelebel wrote:

"Customer service and customer satisfaction appears to be a thing of the past"

I am confused.

Your very negative comments about eBay and its sellers contrast strangely with the very positive feedback comments you have left for your eBay sellers in the last year (with one exception).

---

Maybe it is because the sellers he dealt with were worth leaving positive feedback with the one exception. The rest of what was stated is in my opinion very much true as there are a great deal of greedy US sellers charging shipping fees that even taking into account the cost of packaging and transportation are totally beyond belief for something being shipped through the mail, if it was coming by courier or overnight express fine but it isn't and since I understand EBay now gets a piece of that shipping cost action it is just more money in their pocket so why should they care to regulate it.

[afantiques]

Now, why would a much higher shipping rate not guarantee a much safer delivery process for the item? Why would the Amazon rate arrive two weeks quicker than the much higher EBay rate? Why would a difference in $2.00 on the asking price have such a huge difference in quality of service and the overall customer satisfaction?

You are probably blaming sellers using the GSP for something that is not really their fault. Many do not know they are enrolled and few know how much it costs the buyer. Very few know how to use the GSP to both the seller's and the buyer's advantage.

[picklcs]

Just another buyer complaining about the program. After over a week the item is lost between our friends Pitney Bowes and Canada Post. One says its been turned over to the final destination shipper and the other says it waiting to be received. Tracking says its some where between Ontario and BC. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. Except I'm the one paying for the comedy. Never again. Will not but from anyone using this joke.

[afantiques]

Welcome this.

If it has not arrived by the latest expected date, open a not received claim.If the item is slow enough, there is a good chance that you will be refunded, then the item will arrive.

Since there is  no way of repaying the refund, you get a free item. The seller does not lose any money.

[marnotom!]

Hey, gang!  It's been a while!  Have I missed anything?  

[pjcdn2005]

Yes! They have made some awesome changes to the gsp to make it more buyer friendly.

Just kidding.

[afantiques]

Same old stuff,sorry to say. 🙂 Good to know the caribou have not eaten you.

[pierrelebel]

Have I missed anything?" 

Same old, same old.

To quote Sir Winston Churchill:

"Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened."

[bpw3]

For me, nothing much positive has happened due to being, on occasion, forced to use the GSP. Like every other critical comment left by a Canadian buyer, I maintain it adds unnecessary costs to things that routinely come to me without tax or duties attached, without justification. Even items over 50 dollars reach me routinely without duty attached if I use a seller who does not use GSP.  I can still find people who do not use the GSP though they tend to be low-volume sellers who still are usually open to working with me. 

My most recent experience with a GSP seller has been gob-smacking unbelievable as I watch the item move from its location in New York, to Kentucky and sit there, and sit there and sit there...while, if it had just gone to USPS it would be on a plane to me days ago. I bought it on April 21 and just today got a ship notification! It's enough to make me crazy, especially since the purchase is a bit time-sensitive. 

No - not for me. 

[number-six-6]

I can't imagine what could motivate any seller to take part in this program. In the past I always had the value of goods I purchased from the U.S. and coming to me in Canada declared legitimaty however, the duties were nowhere near as high as these pre-paid feed. I suspect this benefits eBay somehow. Perhaps they take a cut as a customs broker or something??? In any case I say this to US sellers. I will avoid buying ebay items from the US whenever possible unless this goes away. This feels like a racket and I question how much of these fees are "duties". Any import calculator online will indicate that something is off.

[pierrelebel]

"I can't imagine what could motivate any seller to take part in this program."

You have to look at it from the American seller's perspective.

https://scgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?UserAgreement&agrid=8&aid=26&_trkparms=clkid%3D58472295447697...

Many American sellers have restricted their marketing efforts to the large and profitable - easy to service - domestic market.

For the last three years, with GSP, eBay is telling them how easy it is to expand their market to the whole world - at no additional cost - no additional time - no additional expense - and with their feedback rating fully protected!

That is quite a motivation for many.

And eBay's financial results clearly demonstrate that it works for them. It is not friendly to Canadian buyers but, once again, the program was not created to help us.  It was created to help the American sellers (and eBay generating additional fees)

[cinderellaontheleft]

The global shipping program is a RIP-OFF for Canadian buyers.

We have been buying on eBay 15 years, mostly from U.S. sellers. Our feedback score is over 1,400,  we are "veteran" ebay-ers.

RARELY have  purchases got charged customs duties crossing our border - only about 6 times in 15 YEARS!

NOTHING has gone missing in transit from the U.S.- NOTHING. (However, items ordered from China have "disappeared" occasionally)

This global shipping program is a big RIP-OFF, ensuring that somebody gets to charge a buyer extra, unnecessary costs.

I will NEVER again bid on something that has the global shipping program. This hurts both the seller and the buyer.

Who the heck sold ebay on this ridiculous program?? You should get rid of it for the sake of both buyers and sellers.

[mgadei]

An ugly change for canadians, with GSP. Taxes are higher, longer ahipping time. I used ebay in past and it was always ok but now I will try to avoid it.

[dealintruth]

That is because every time I have left honest feedback I am reprimanded by the EBay community as a whole. It seems negative feedback us not tolerated and if you do the community brands you. Look, I do most my buying on Amazon because of the shipping costs but EBay has some great sellers for my collection of Maija art.