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.

[adamcarlseventyfive]

Yes, if you scroll back just a few posts you'll see I posted the same issue just a day or so ago. My item tracking hasn't been updated since making it to KY on the 24th. Tracking just died there. I don't know if that means it's STILL there or if the tracking has been messed up, but you're not alone with this issue either way.

If I get my item I'll give the seller positive feedback since he/she isn't responsible once they hand it over to the GSP, but I plan to email and tell them the program is not user friendly to buyers.

I'd much rather risk the import fees on delivery and have regular USPS shipping than this GSP nonsense. 

[pjcdn2005]

It's quite common for the gsp tracking not to be updated and no, there's no way to find out where your package is. Quite often when that happens the package is already on its way to you but for some reason the information isn't being entered.

[afantiques]

It is quite common, just forget about it till it arrives.

[marnotom!]

In the grand scheme of things, the only thing that really matters is whether or not you have your item.  Tracking or no tracking won't change that state of affairs.

[00nevermind00]

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@marnotom! wrote:

In the grand scheme of things, the only thing that really matters is whether or not you have your item.  Tracking or no tracking won't change that state of affairs.

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Agreed. But the GSP promises "international tracking" to buyers. So you can't blame those buyers for thinking that maybe something happened to their package when the promised tracking isn't tracking anything.

The GSP offers so little to buyers, the least it could do would be to deliver on what it does promise! Having a tracking system that actually tracks would go a long way towards alleviating buyer anxiety that their package may be lost.

[adamcarlseventyfive]

Yes, that's it. If you offer tracking, then track it! If you can't do that, then don't bother offering the service at all. 

[arlene_v]

Once again I agree with you Nevermind.

I guess buyers are supposed to just accept this bad service? No we won't. If you pay for something and are promised something it is really quite condescending for posters here to repeatedly imply that these concerns are unfounded. There are so many complaints about tracking that it is quite obvious that YES buyers do in fact care about tracking for whatever reason. It is part of a service that has been promised and has not been delivered. Just one of the many things that rankles about this substandard service.

Maybe Canadian sellers who haven't experienced this frustration just don't "get it".

But rest assured buyers do, and this is a buyer forum.

[arlene_v]

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@adamcarlseventyfive wrote:

Yes, that's it. If you offer tracking, then track it! If you can't do that, then don't bother offering the service at all. 

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Absolutely ... and don't charge an arm and a leg for service that is woefully inferior and expect buyers to  simply accept this dismal state of affairs.

[adamcarlseventyfive]

Glad others understand the frustration of this program and it's lack of "service"... 

[marnotom!]

I appreciate that one is not getting an advertised feature but I still don't understand how the lack of tracking affects one's overall buying experience.

[chucksrevenge]

It's just annoying because I actually haven't had any problems with GSP up until now. And usually when it clears Erlanger, I get it in a day or 2. It's been 8 days since it's been there and I have nothing so I doubt it's in Canada.

[00nevermind00]

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@marnotom! wrote:

I appreciate that one is not getting an advertised feature but I still don't understand how the lack of tracking affects one's overall buying experience.

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It affects the overall experience if the lack of tracking is understood to mean that maybe the package is lost or in limbo somewhere.

If the tracking says my package is currently in Podunk, then I know where it is and that's reassuring. If the tracking shows nothing, then I may feel that maybe my package is lost and I may start worrying.

If you advertise end-to-end tracking but the tracking doesn't show where the package is, you're causing needless anxiety for buyers.

[afantiques]

If the tracking says my package is currently in Podunk, then I know where it is

All you will ever know is where it WAS.

[chimera148]

With tracked USPS packages delivered by Canada Post, I'm emailed the notice when the package has arrived at my P.O box.

[femmefan1946]

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adamcarlseventyfive wrote:

Yes, that's it. If you offer tracking, then track it! If you can't do that, then don't bother offering the service at all. 

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Absolutely ... and don't charge an arm and a leg for service that is woefully inferior and expect buyers to  simply accept this dismal state of affairs.

Your basic assumption is wrong.

You seem to believe that tracking benefits the buyer.

It doesn't.

The purpose of tracking is to protect the seller against unwarranted claims of non-delivery.

Does the buyer pay for it? Yes.

Does it benefit the buyer? No, except emotionally.

And that 'emotionally' is important. The advertising is meant to give the buyer the warm fuzzies about the transaction although the benefit is minimal to non-existant.

Like gluten-free watermelon.

If the item doesn't arrive in good time, the buyer is protected by the eBay and Paypal and his credit card. Not by tracking.

And all those protections are both real and free.

[pjcdn2005]

I rarely ever check to see where a tracked package is as I'm the when it gets here, it gets here type of person but that doesn't mean that I don't understand a buyers irritation when ebay promotes something and doesn't follow through.

When a buyer is told that their item has international tracking of course they are going to expect that they can check on it occasionally to see where it is.  It doesn't matter if in the long run, that tracking is of any benefit to them.  As long as they feel that service is important to them, then it is important. It's not up to any of us to judge what is important to someone else.

[walker0017]

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Your basic assumption is wrong.

You seem to believe that tracking benefits the buyer.

It doesn't.

The purpose of tracking is to protect the seller against unwarranted claims of non-delivery.

Does the buyer pay for it? Yes.

Does it benefit the buyer? No, except emotionally.

And that 'emotionally' is important. The advertising is meant to give the buyer the warm fuzzies about the transaction although the benefit is minimal to non-existant.

Like gluten-free watermelon.

If the item doesn't arrive in good time, the buyer is protected by the eBay and Paypal and his credit card. Not by tracking.

And all those protections are both real and free.

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While all your points are valid, as a buyer I have found that having a tracking number that works is a valuable tool. For example there was a model kit I had purchased and the seller supplied me a tracking number that worked but after 5 days it showed it still at the originating post office awaiting the packages physical arrival( They had gotten an electronic notification of the packages imminent arrival). I contacted the seller and they were able to discover it had not been physically sent to the post office due to an error, problem solved package arrived no fuss. If a seller is going to give me a tracking number I will check the packages progress every few days for my own piece of mind after all I have paid for it so I think I have a vested interest in the whereabouts of my property.

[femmefan1946]

Like I said, tracking has emotional value to the buyer.

The Resolution Centre is much more useful -- and free.

[arlene_v]

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femmefan1946 

And that 'emotionally' is important. The advertising is meant to give the buyer the warm fuzzies about the transaction although the benefit is minimal to non-existant.

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Exactly. In your words. Yes,  it IS important  to give buyers the warm and fuzzies.

And guess what .... the GSP fails miserably with false advertising.

Hence, folks come here and complain when the tracking advertised SUCKS. No surprise.

Blame all these complaints re tracking on Pitney Bowes, since PB made it such a "selling point"

[winddancersfancy]

I have sent a similar message to my favourite American sellers. They all seemed shocked, and had no idea of the increased cost of buying through this program, as well as the longer delivery time. This has hurt American sellers and e-Bay because many Canadians are buying less. I am, much less...

I wonder whether you have noticed less Canadian and international buyers?  Almost every comment on ebay.ca about this program is very negative.  First of all, we have to wait longer because the item goes to a second party for shipping; secondly we are forced to pay Priority shipping which doesn't make sense for small or inexpensive items; thirdly, we rarely pay any import taxes on small-value items yet the Global program charges import tax on everything over $15 or $20.00. My international customers have made the same comments.  Usually I watch out for and avoid the Global Shipping program. I just thought that you might want to know.

My wish is that the Global Shipping Program would be cancelled. I don't know that e-Bay is ahead with more shipping fees when balanced with losing Canadian and International customer final fees.