eBay

kalvin@ebay.com · ‎09-26-2013

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.

~Kalvin
eBay.ca Community Manager

kalvin@ebay.com

ehanson22 · ‎08-25-2016

Does GSP explicitly use Canada Post for deliveries in Canada? Or do they use couriers for certain type of products based on value/weight/etc? I had to use GSP to get what I wanted, but I'd like to have some idea if the potential postal strike will do me in since the item is slightly time sensitive.

Thanks,

E

marnotom! · ‎08-28-2016

The logistics company that processes the GSP item once it reaches Canada is the party that determines what carrier will be used on the Canadian leg of the item's transport. (Freight carriers generally transport GSP items from Kentucky to Canada.)

Since these logistics companies are based in Canada, they will be keeping tabs on the labour issues with Canada Post pretty darned closely and making carrier choices accordingly.

femmefan1946 · ‎08-28-2016

At the moment however, management does not seem to want to lock out the workers which would close down the postal system.

The union is muttering about work to rule, which means refusing overtime mostly, but since that also affects the workers' paycheques, they seem to be saying that the work to rule actions would be rotating.

So the guys in Winnipeg might be refusing overtime, but otherwise working normally, while the guys in Mississaugua and Vancouver are taking all the overtime they can get in case they are next to work to rule.

All of which leaves the postal system slightly slowed, the union members with fairly normal paycheques and a bit more leisure time , and management frothing at the mouth.

On September 16, Parliament reconvenes. There may be some settlement then.

billybishop72 · ‎08-29-2016

With respect to the GSP....just do yourself a favour and avoid it like the plague. Ignore it completely!. It will save you time, money and stress. Don't even think about it. Just bypass any GSP seller and move on. Your item will come back again soon enough at a cheaper price. Eventually Ebay might get the message and end it's contract with Pitney-Bowes....

reallynicestamps · ‎08-30-2016

I have purchased exactly one item that used the GSP and that was after careful shopping. It was postage+ duty+ sales tax + service fee+ shipping still cheaper than any other available on eBay or Amazon. (A copy of a coffee table book relating the the cancelled SF show Firefly).

I agree with most of your post, except the last sentence:

Eventually Ebay might get the message and end it's contract with Pitney-Bowes....

The GSP was not set up to help the buyer.

It is a Seller Protection program aimed at increasing the number of paranoid and xenophopbic US sellers who will sell outside the lower 48, because they feel comfortable in it's embrace .

How important was that to eBay?

The program worked well enough that it has been extended to the UK, where sellers would not even ship to Europe.

It is not buyer friendly and Canadians should avoid it as much as possible. Especially on low priced items.

cerebus · ‎09-06-2016

If the goal of eBay's Global Shipping Program (GSP) was to dramatically reduce the number of auctions I participate in at eBay (whether regular style or 'Buy It now' listings) AND to reduce the value (top winning bid) of the items I do decide to bid on, well, congratulations! Well done! My eBay purchases are probably half of what they were pre-GSP, and that's a conservative estimate. Also, when I take the time to contact some eBay sellers about this program and remind them of its negative consequences for their potential international customer, they are often insulted and encourage me to look elsewhere for the same item instead of considering the fact that they've just lost a sale. Maybe the GSP has increased international sales for some USA-based sellers who would have not shipped outside of the States under pre-GSP conditions... I don't know, I obviously don't have access to those numbers, but this video and its comments at YouTube does not bode well:

GSP

All I know is that eBay itself has lost a LOT of money from me, personally AND that they don't seem to particularly care about my concerns or the concerns of any of their other non-American customers. There, I had my rant for the day. Thanks, folks!

elegantlady7 · ‎09-06-2016

Comments from a 16 year Ebay shopper

I will no longer buy from any seller using GSP for the following reasons:

1.The cost includes two shipping bills; shipping to a central point and then shipping to Canada at a very high rate. When I am tempted by a seller who uses global shipping I always ballpark the cost on USPS using the given location of the seller , and that usually ends the deal. For example - $60. for shipping a $16. item???? The differences are astronomical, even given the major USPS increases.

2. The shipping is far slower than directly by the seller. The few times I used it out of necessity for some needed gift items, the GSP items arrived well after the items shipped by other sellers using USPS.

3. I have looked at a few items on Ebay.uk and discovered that GSP was the only way on all the items I was interested in. It literally doubled or more the price, and I have not bothered to even look again. It used to be a favorite shopping location.

4.There is no combined shipping available, so I would have to pay three times for the shipping for three items that would be shipped together. Yes,I queried the seller before I bought and found out that all the items would be in one box and but I would be charged in three separate transactions...I was appalled, and nixed that sale.

5. I have yet to pay duty on any item sent directly by the seller as I buy mainly used inexpensive items; many of these items are exempt according to customs, and yet GSP charges on all? So just who is pocketing that invalid duty charge....

6.As far as I can see this is only enriching Pitney Bowes and maybe Ebay.

Sorry Ebay. Unless I happen to be in the US or UK, chances are I won't be shopping with you any more. I just can't justify the excess costs.

cerebus · ‎09-07-2016

I agree 100%... but wait, there's more! The fact that the Global Shipping Program (GSP) uses a third-party shipper means there is a much greater chance of damage to your item or that somebody will misaddress your shipment along the way... or both! And let's not forget that the GSP also relinquishes the seller of their responsibility to know ALL of the details of THEIR OWN listing, INCLUDING their shipping fees. However, almost every time I take the time and energy to contact a US seller about their international postage charges and extra import fees, they are usually either completely unaware of those amounts or they bluntly tell me to go away. Sigh...

marnotom! · ‎09-07-2016

@elegantlady7 wrote:

Comments from a 16 year Ebay shopper
I will no longer buy from any seller using GSP for the following reasons:

1.The cost includes two shipping bills; shipping to a central point and then shipping to Canada at a very high rate. When I am tempted by a seller who uses global shipping I always ballpark the cost on USPS using the given location of the seller , and that usually ends the deal. For example - $60. for shipping a $16. item???? The differences are astronomical, even given the major USPS increases.

You're probably comparing the GSP's shipping rates to rates for oversized international letters (First Class International). I'm not sure what bearing an item's value has on its shipping rate, but an item sent by mail can cost US$60 to ship if it's heavy and the seller uses a Priority large flat-rate box to ship it.

My guess is that the most expensive component of a GSP item's shipping is the Canadian leg, where the item can't be shipped as an oversized letter either because of Canada Post's more restrictive size limits on domestic oversized letters, or the use of carriers other than Canada Post once the item is in Canada.

@elegantlady7 wrote:

2. The shipping is far slower than directly by the seller. The few times I used it out of necessity for some needed gift items, the GSP items arrived well after the items shipped by other sellers using USPS.

Interestingly enough, my experience buying cell phones from sellers using the GSP and cases for those phones from sellers not using the GSP has been the opposite, although in fairness one of those cases seemed to be from a seller who was drop-shipping and not advertising that fact.

@elegantlady7 wrote:

3. I have looked at a few items on Ebay.uk and discovered that GSP was the only way on all the items I was interested in. It literally doubled or more the price, and I have not bothered to even look again. It used to be a favorite shopping location.

How has this compared to other sites where you've found similar items?

@elegantlady7 wrote:

5. I have yet to pay duty on any item sent directly by the seller as I buy mainly used inexpensive items; many of these items are exempt according to customs, and yet GSP charges on all? So just who is pocketing that invalid duty charge....

Any "casual import" with a declared value of over C$20 (and some items don't even have this threshold, such as books) are subject to being charged taxes (HST or GST), not just duty.

On your behalf, the GSP pays the taxes owing on the item and then you pay them back plus various other processing and customs clearance fees.

If in the past you haven't had to pay taxes and a ten dollar processing fee owing on an item sent by mail that's valued at over C$20, you've simply been fortunate.

billybishop72 · ‎09-07-2016

marntom! wrote...

"On your behalf, the GSP pays the taxes owing on the item and then you pay them back plus various other processing and customs clearance fees."

In other words...

"On your behalf, the GSP pays the taxes you never had to pay in 16 years plus various other processing and customs clearance fees that you never had to pay....in 16 years"

My situation is somewhat different. In 15 years I have bought over 1000 items from US sellers from $5.00 to about $300. Not once in 15 years...did I pay taxes, processing fees, clearance fees, customs fees, administrative fees or any miscellaneous fees....not once!

But it's soooo nice to see Potney Bowes adding to the coffers of Canada Post. This will be reflected in massive decreases in mailing costs next year....

billybishop72 · ‎09-07-2016

On it's own website....There are nine....NINE!, fees associated with the GSP...and Ebay takes it's cut on the last one...

1.U.S. Shipping Fee

2. International Shipping Fee

3. Fuel Surcharge

4. Transportation Fee

5. Parcel Processing Service Fee

6. Distribution Center Management Fee

7. Loss Management Fee

8. Transportation Risk Premium Fee

9. Referral Fee - a variable fee paid by Pitney Bowes to eBay Inc. for referring you to the program.

marnotom! · ‎09-07-2016

@billybishop72 wrote:

"On your behalf, the GSP pays the taxes you never had to pay in 16 years plus various other processing and customs clearance fees that you never had to pay....in 16 years"

My situation is somewhat different. In 15 years I have bought over 1000 items from US sellers from $5.00 to about $300. Not once in 15 years...did I pay taxes, processing fees, clearance fees, customs fees, administrative fees or any miscellaneous fees....not once!

That's pretty impressive. As I just noted on another thread, when my wife and I first started buying items from the US and UK on eBay, over half of them with declared values of over C$20 were assessed and charged taxes (and duty, if applicable).

One time, the CBSA agent who inspected the pocket watch that my wife bought for me disagreed with the declared value (believing it to be fudged, I guess) and assessed taxes based on the higher "market value" for the item. We had to appeal that one.

Of course, you don't mention if the sellers of your items often "got creative" on the customs forms for the items you purchased. That could make a difference.

@billybishop72 wrote:

But it's soooo nice to see Potney Bowes adding to the coffers of Canada Post. This will be reflected in massive decreases in mailing costs next year....

I'm confused by this assertion. How is Pitney Bowes improving Canada Post's bottom line?

marnotom! · ‎09-07-2016

@billybishop72 wrote:

On it's own website....There are nine....NINE!, fees associated with the GSP...and Ebay takes it's cut on the last one...

1.U.S. Shipping Fee

2. International Shipping Fee

3. Fuel Surcharge

4. Transportation Fee

5. Parcel Processing Service Fee

6. Distribution Center Management Fee

7. Loss Management Fee

8. Transportation Risk Premium Fee

9. Referral Fee - a variable fee paid by Pitney Bowes to eBay Inc. for referring you to the program.

One could argue that an item sent by mail has many of those charges as well. They're just not itemized on your receipt.

Depending on the nature of the items you're looking for, if you shop around--particularly from US sellers who offer "free" shipping within the US--you can actually get some pretty good shipping rates from the GSP. And if your item is subject to "import charges," the amount that doesn't go toward taxes and duty is less than the processing fee Canada Post charges for collecting taxes/duty charged by CBSA, and less than any other carrier, for that matter.

Hey, did you ever go through with the purchase you mentioned on this thread?

https://community.ebay.ca/t5/Buyer-Central/GSP-Am-I-Gonna-Be-In-For-a-Nasty-Surprise/m-p/349423

femmefan1946 · ‎09-08-2016

But it's soooo nice to see Potney Bowes adding to the coffers of Canada Post.

I guess because PB uses Canada Post as its usual sub-contractor -- sorta like USPS does.

So really, no change there.

The coffers PB does add to (along with every courier, UPS, FedEx, etc.) are those of the Canadian government (duty and GST) and the provincial /territorial governments (PST /HST).

Keep in mind that CBSA officials have been turning a blind eye to low value and small imports which legally should be assessed when they are valued at $20CDN (~$16USD) or more. As far as I can figure,someone had a flash of common sense and decided not to collect duty and sales tax (mostly sales tax) when the cost of collecting it was higher than what could possibly be collected.

marnotom! · ‎09-08-2016

@femmefan1946 wrote:

Keep in mind that CBSA officials have been turning a blind eye to low value and small imports which legally should be assessed when they are valued at $20CDN (~$16USD) or more. As far as I can figure,someone had a flash of common sense and decided not to collect duty and sales tax (mostly sales tax) when the cost of collecting it was higher than what could possibly be collected.

My understanding is that a directive from the Harper government allowed CBSA to be a bit more slack in its assessment and collection of taxes and duty owing on casual imports by mail.

And while the cost of collecting those taxes and duty may be more than the amount generated by this tax and duty collected, we also have to keep in mind that some of that cost also goes to keeping the retail playing field a bit more level for Canadian merchants. How many posts have we seen from people irked by the GSP who say that they'll now be sticking closer to home for their eBay purchases?

femmefan1946 · ‎09-08-2016

But but but but

That implies that the Harper government did something right!

Two words.

Im. Possible!

Actually, if they were willing to go far enough to issue a directive, why not just raise the duty-free allowance on shipped imports?

So they didn't do something right.

My world is not shattered after all.

marnotom! · ‎09-08-2016

I suspect that the thought process of the other PM with nice hair was along these lines:

"Hmm. Whenever Canadians get a tax bill for something they've had mailed to them from our buddies in the States, they're going to blame it on me, or at least wonder where all that HST is going. But if I raise the tax/duty-free threshold, I'm going to catch so much flack from my friends in Big Business. Best thing to do is just quietly give my blessing to those overcompensated drains on the public purse working for CBSA not to knock themselves out so much."

damain123456789 · ‎09-10-2016

Ebay should scrap the GSP (but they won't because they are making money off it). I bought my item on Sep 2 2016 and the seller shipped it the next business day, but 7 days later, ebay notifies me that my package has arrived at their global shipping centre. So it took a week just for ebay to receive it, and my estimated delivery date from ebay is Sep 20. If the seller didn't use this slow program, my package would already be a week in and I'd get it within the next few days.

If they dont scrap it, the only solution is to not purchase from any seller who uses the program. Maybe then they will get rid of bay's latest cash grab.

marnotom! · ‎09-10-2016

@damain123456789 wrote:

Ebay should scrap the GSP (but they won't because they are making money off it). I bought my item on Sep 2 2016 and the seller shipped it the next business day, but 7 days later, ebay notifies me that my package has arrived at their global shipping centre. So it took a week just for ebay to receive it, and my estimated delivery date from ebay is Sep 20. If the seller didn't use this slow program, my package would already be a week in and I'd get it within the next few days.

Be fair, here. How is the GSP's fault that the seller chose a less than expedient domestic shipping method for getting the item to Kentucky?

Also keep in mind that there was a long weekend during the item's transit to Kentucky.

reallynicestamps · ‎09-10-2016

If the seller didn't use this slow program, my package would already be a week in and I'd get it within the next few days.

Personally, I allow 20 days for delivery from the USA or Canada, GSP or not. This is based on about 35 years buying and selling by mail order.

I am usually pleasantly surprised, but often need the full three weeks.

If they dont scrap it, the only solution is to not purchase from any seller who uses the program.

Yep.

And tell the seller why you are not buying. Many still do not know they are enrolled.

Maybe then they will get rid of bay's latest cash grab.

Most of the money goes to Canadian duty (if any) and Sales Taxes (almost always) which are applied to any purchase over $20CDN (~$16USD). The GSP/Pitney Bowes service fee is about $5USD.

There is probably a tiny finder's fee in there for eBay, but most of eBay's take would be seller fees from increased international sales (the reason the program was introduced, BTW).