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

bobenis · ‎04-03-2017

USPS never posts or shows who is shipping items with them, not sure why you think an item coming from GSP would be different? Either the sender drops off the item and they do the initial scan or they post that electronic info has been received, as in this case with PB sending them info to expect an inbound item for shipment to Canada via small packet, and then the scan outbound and while it is on the way. Why would you think USPS would include that the GSP or Pitney Bowes is sending the item?

I have provided clear and precise screenshots from ebay and USPS to unequivocally prove to all that PB is 100 percent indeed forwarding items that SHOULD, under the ebay agreement and info written in the GSP on their site, be forwarded to the buyer via Priority International shipping (which really is USPS's TM method) via PB's private courier of choice. All my previous purchases were always done this way with no waits at Canada Customs, since the paperwork was done prior to shipping, thus the process was quick and streamlined and once the item passed over into Canada it was handed off to Canada Post and transferred to me ALWAYS via Xpresspost 2 day delivery.

As it stands now, my headphones are still sitting in Canada Customs awaiting inspection 7 days after arriving and according to Canada Post's tracking info, with an "Expected Delivery of 3-7 business days" hence NOT Xpresspost because it was sent to Canada via USPS small Packet and NOT USPS Priority.

bobenis · ‎04-03-2017

Haha wow my original post showed up 3 hours later, this forum has some weird quirks. Disregard the post above as it was a rewrite after my original post vanished for hours. 😃

marnotom! · ‎04-03-2017

@bobenis wrote:

I have provided clear and precise screenshots from ebay and USPS to unequivocally prove to all that PB is 100 percent indeed forwarding items that SHOULD, under the ebay agreement and info written in the GSP on their site, be forwarded to the buyer via Priority International shipping (which really is USPS's TM method) via PB's private courier of choice. All my previous purchases were always done this way with no waits at Canada Customs, since the paperwork was done prior to shipping, thus the process was quick and streamlined and once the item passed over into Canada it was handed off to Canada Post and transferred to me ALWAYS via Xpresspost 2 day delivery.

As it stands now, my headphones are still sitting in Canada Customs awaiting inspection 7 days after arriving and according to Canada Post's tracking info, with an "Expected Delivery of 3-7 business days" hence NOT Xpresspost because it was sent to Canada via USPS small Packet and NOT USPS Priority.

You are confusing the USPS's "Priority Mail International" service with the GSP's "International Priority Shipping" moniker for its network of subcontracted delivery agents and logistics companies.

And you have no evidence that your items are still in customs. That may simply be the last scan your headphones have received. Meanwhile, they may be on the move and the tracking information may catch up with it later.

bobenis · ‎04-04-2017

marnotom! wrote:

You are confusing the USPS's "Priority Mail International" service with the GSP's "International Priority Shipping" moniker for its network of subcontracted delivery agents and logistics companies.

And you have no evidence that your items are still in customs. That may simply be the last scan your headphones have received. Meanwhile, they may be on the move and the tracking information may catch up with it later.

How can you declare that I have no evidence that the headphones are not still sitting in customs, exactly?

How do you know what I have or do not for that matter?
I suppose my phone call to Canada Post yesterday and having them tell me it is still sitting in customs was a lie then?

Up until the last 2 purchases on ebay via the GSP, the items arrive into Canada and are processed within an hour via customs and on their way to me via Xpresspost as they enter into the country via a priority service and thus taken over via CP with the same level of service hence they arrive to my doorstep within 2 days of reaching Canada.

I am sure the proof I will provide in the image below will be refuted and excuses given along with my phone call but whatever makes you happy.

Not sure what my agenda would be in all of this but it is what it is and ebay and the GSP are a joke for it being handled like this.

afantiques · ‎04-04-2017

as they enter into the country via a priority service and thus taken over via CP with the same level of service

They do not enter the country via a priority service. The GSP just call it International Priority shipping but the word Priority means nothing, just advertising puffery.

The GSP usually use the cheapest final leg carrier they can find. Canada is the only country where the delivery is commonly by a national postal service, although in Australia Fedex sometimes hand items off to Auspost for delivery.

The reason this topic is of interest is that there are so many unusual aspects to the shipping.

bobenis · ‎04-04-2017

marnotom! wrote: You are confusing the USPS's "Priority Mail International" service with the GSP's "International Priority Shipping" moniker for its network of subcontracted delivery agents and logistics companies.

Regardless of what you think is the confusion, the info in ebay is what should be followed.

marnotom! · ‎04-04-2017

@bobenis wrote:

How can you declare that I have no evidence that the headphones are not still sitting in customs, exactly?

Because you don't.

@bobenis wrote:

I suppose my phone call to Canada Post yesterday and having them tell me it is still sitting in customs was a lie then?

Unless the person you spoke to actually went down to the warehouse where your headphones are and found the headphones, all the CSR was likely able to do was make an educated guess based on the last scan of the package.

@bobenis wrote:

I am sure the proof I will provide in the image below will be refuted and excuses given along with my phone call but whatever makes you happy.

I don't see the word "customs" anywhere in the image that you provided. Just sayin'.

@bobenis wrote:

Regardless of what you think is the confusion, the info in ebay is what should be followed.

The term "International Priority Shipping" is simply a catch-all term that Pitney Bowes (administrators of the GSP) uses to describe its network of subcontracted shippers and logistics companies. If the seller followed the proper procedures for a GSP shipment, you got what it says on the tin.

afantiques · ‎04-04-2017

I wonder what would happen if the item was sent on the final leg by USPS and customs fees were required?

The buyer has already paid the GSP these fes but the GSP will not be at the doorstep if the postman demands the customs fees and of course the Canadian Post $10 charge for collection.

The bulk shipmenst of packages from Kentucky will have a designated customs broker to pay any fees levied and these will be reimbursed by the GSP organisers, PB Inc.

Individual packages sent through the USPS do not have this arrangement for collecting the tax.

It is this situation with customs and tax collection that makes the described route of some items so improbable.

Maybe the items are being held in customs while someone tries to sort it all out?

bobenis · ‎04-04-2017

@marnotom! wrote:
@bobenis wrote:

How can you declare that I have no evidence that the headphones are not still sitting in customs, exactly?

Because you don't.
@bobenis wrote:

I suppose my phone call to Canada Post yesterday and having them tell me it is still sitting in customs was a lie then?

Unless the person you spoke to actually went down to the warehouse where your headphones are and found the headphones, all the CSR was likely able to do was make an educated guess based on the last scan of the package.

@bobenis wrote:

I am sure the proof I will provide in the image below will be refuted and excuses given along with my phone call but whatever makes you happy.

I don't see the word "customs" anywhere in the image that you provided. Just sayin'.

@bobenis wrote:

Regardless of what you think is the confusion, the info in ebay is what should be followed.

The term "International Priority Shipping" is simply a catch-all term that Pitney Bowes (administrators of the GSP) uses to describe its network of subcontracted shippers and logistics companies. If the seller followed the proper procedures for a GSP shipment, you got what it says on the tin.

You obviously have no idea about Canada Post and when an item from a foreign country arrives in Canada and it claims "Sent for further processing" that means is being inspected and held by customs.

Once it clears customs there will be another scan that will state exactly this "customs clearance" followed by "processed through facility" which means it was sorted and passed onto Canada Post for the final leg of its journey but hey, claim you know what is what because your mind says so and therefore you will never be wrong, right? 😃

bobenis · ‎04-04-2017

@afantiques wrote:
I wonder what would happen if the item was sent on the final leg by USPS and customs fees were required?

The buyer has already paid the GSP these fes but the GSP will not be at the doorstep if the postman demands the customs fees and of course the Canadian Post $10 charge for collection.

The bulk shipmenst of packages from Kentucky will have a designated customs broker to pay any fees levied and these will be reimbursed by the GSP organisers, PB Inc.
Individual packages sent through the USPS do not have this arrangement for collecting the tax.

It is this situation with customs and tax collection that makes the described route of some items so improbable.

Maybe the items are being held in customs while someone tries to sort it all out?

That is possible too however this is the second purchase in the past 2 months and both have gone this exact route.
Someone somewhere is either screwing up to trying to cut corners and/or save a few bucks.
I am also starting to notice that random items on ebay via the GSP will have customs charges and others do not.
Some just have a shipping price while others will have the shipping and duty charges.
I wonder if ebay is starting to experiment as I was sent a survey and petition recently from ebay that was to be sent to Trudeau to ask for Canada to raise the allowed limit of goods to $200.

afantiques · ‎04-04-2017

That's a blast from the past. I had to check to see if they had dug up and re-animated Pierre, who I remember from the 70s.

Customs charges used to appear on every item that seemed to be liable. Then rhyme and reason seem to have departed.

marnotom! · ‎04-04-2017

@bobenis wrote:
You obviously have no idea about Canada Post and when an item from a foreign country arrives in Canada and it claims "Sent for further processing" that means is being inspected and held by customs.

Once it clears customs there will be another scan that will state exactly this "customs clearance" followed by "processed through facility" which means it was sorted and passed onto Canada Post for the final leg of its journey but hey, claim you know what is what because your mind says so and therefore you will never be wrong, right? 😃

It's been a while since I've had to consult Canada Post online tracking for an item sent to me from out of the country. I came to the conclusion quite some time ago that all tracking does is confirm what I already know, that I either have or don't have my item. Knowing the last place it was scanned doesn't usually do me much good.

My recollection was that items being processed through customs have a tracking message along the lines of "item sent to customs for further processing". I've just checked the tracking for an item my wife received directly from the US a couple of months ago and it appears that customs now doesn't get mentioned until the item leaves customs, so either my memory is faulty or the message associated with the scan has changed slightly.

Anyway, from what I've seen, I'm in agreement with AF. If your item has gone through USPS or through an international mail consolidator of some sort, your item may be sitting in a CBSA warehouse while someone figures out how it's supposed to be handled.

My wife's item arrived today and it appears as though the seller's original box was used as I see a New York address under the label with her name and our address on it. The box is technically small enough to be an international oversize letter (small packet / First Class Mail International) but it appears to have gone through the usual GSP channels. Canada Post delivered it to our door as an Expedited Parcel from Mississauga, and the return address is Canada Post's Mississauga sorting facility. There's no customs form on the parcel. There's no mention of any mail or other shipping services anywhere in the online viewable tracking information, though there is an option to "track item on carrier's website" which takes me to the Canada Post website to view the tracking for the Canadian leg of the item's journey.

For what it's worth, this is one of those GSP sales where the import charges were lumped in with the shipping charge. I'm not sure if that makes any difference, but I'm putting that information out there.

bobenis · ‎04-04-2017

The GSP should auto send you a proper tracking number a day or two after it has arrived in Canada from their main facility. Weird thing is, with my last two parcels that they decided to use USPS, I got a USPS tracking number sent to me via ebay the moment it was scanned and initiated in Chicago, which is a bonus perhaps. So I could track it from there (well, once it leaves to the international destination there is nothing until it arrives in Canada of course) however the only time you get real time scanning from Canada Post is via Xpresspost and sometimes Expedited. Regular mail tracking is pointless other than to know it has hit the sort facility close to you and then out for delivery. Canada Post is well known to "forget" to outbound of customs scan the item and then everything gets messed up and you get no tracking until it is out for delivery.

marnotom! · ‎04-04-2017

@bobenis wrote:

The GSP should auto send you a proper tracking number a day or two after it has arrived in Canada from their main facility.

Not sure what one would gain from this.

The Pitney Bowes all-carrier tracking number appears to have worked for the Kentucky to British Columbia leg of my wife's item, although I don't know when it originally appeared on Pitney Bowes' tracking system.

For what it's worth, she received an email when the item was scanned as delivered today, again, confirming what we already know: the item has arrived.

bobenis · ‎04-04-2017

Oh nice, good to know! Have a link by chance for that site? Appreciate it from a fellow BCer

marnotom! · ‎04-04-2017

@bobenis wrote:

Oh nice, good to know! Have a link by chance for that site? Appreciate it from a fellow BCer

Oh, whoops! Sorry, was going to include the link but forgot because I put it on the other GSP megathread instead. 😄

Here ya go. Enter your "UPAA" number into the parcel number field at:

https://parceltracking.pb.com

As I cautioned, I have no idea how often it updates as I just looked at my wife's item today, but her item does show as delivered and it was indeed delivered today.