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.

[pjcdn2005]

- As a seller All these fees the GSP incurs increase the finel cost of the item to the buyer , there for increasing the amount ebay gets on the finel value 

The seller is not charged fvf on the international portion of the shipping charges or on the import charges so ebay does not get a larger fvf on gsp items and it does not cost the seller more.

I refuse to use The GSP and if ebay makes so I gotta use it I will find a way around it even if it means breaking  international laws .

I wouldn't worry about it. There is no reason for them to make it available to Canadian sellers as most already sell internationally.

To ebay from what I understand is that unless the seller is a Linced seller businessness owner in their country , then all items no matter what the price are non taxable , even says so under international law.

Any item that is taxable within Canada may be taxable when entering from another country regardless of who the seller is. There is no international law making cross border sales non taxable. You may be referring to the fact that sellers who are in Canada do not have to collect taxes from Canadian buyers unless the seller has a gst/hst number.

I know every trick in the book on how to buy products and not pay not pay taxes or charge taxes .

It's probably not a good idea to advertise that on a public message board.

[marnotom!]

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@slyh92 wrote:

Here is why Ebay should eliminate the GSP

- Brokerage Fees that are sometimes higher then the product its self ,  a lot of Buyers will not buy from US or other Over seas  Sellers that us USP  DHL or FedEx  . because they add high Brokerage fees .  and I as a buyer/Seller  Want  the cheapest Rate on I can get on shipping

- Taxes are added to non taxable Items , USPS is famous for doing this a shoe that is size 24.5 or less is considered to be a Childrens size , in Canada  yet USP  FedEx and GSP classify them as adult boots or shoes .    The same happens with medical suppies such as adult diapers Restraints and Special needs Clothing  as they are all non taxable in Canada yet taxes are added

-GSP also dose not allow for you to send items standard letter or large letter post ,  there by over charging for shipping  same with UPS FedEx and so on

- GSP Like FedEx and USP's  Brokerage charge is based on the Value of the item  so your getting screwed .  and it doesn't allow the seller the option to ship via a cheaper shipping method 

- As a seller All these fees the GSP incurs increase the finel cost of the item to the buyer , there for increasing the amount ebay gets on the finel value  .

The GSP is just as bad if not worse then ebays brainless idea of including the cost of shipping in their cut of what an item sells for . 

If ebay wants to know why they are loosing money and sellers are now selling on other sites such as Kijiji  and ioffer , well you know why .

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Keep in mind  that eBay owns Kijiji and that iOffer's offerings (no play on words intended) seem to be somewhat more limited that eBay's.  I couldn't find the Smartphone that I bought last month on iOffer, for example.

Many of your issues with the GSP could likely be mitigated with better seller (and even buyer) education.  I'm not sure how you're defining "brokerage fees", but in many instances, over the top "import charges" are due to sellers not specifying an item's country of manufacture in the listing's "Item Specifics" section, leading to higher than normal charges of duty.  I suspect the "taxes that shouldn't be added" that you're referring to are in many cases erroneous duty charges, not tax charges.

I will grant you that the GSP treats all "health and beauty" listings the same way when it comes to calculating tax and duty due on an item, whether it's adult undergarments, mascara or hearing aids.  I believe the GSP suits are aware of this shortcoming.

Once again with the issue of "brokerage fees," I'm not sure what you regard as "brokerage fees".  Taxes and duty due will certainly increase with the value of an item, but most of the $50-200 items I've done number crunching on seem to have charges of around four to five bucks after the tax and duty calculated are subtracted.

[arlene_v]

Actually I think that if the GSP were available to Canadian sellers this might be useful under certain limited circumstances. 

A local seller that I know takes items on consignment to  sell on eBay. Recently he sold a fairly expensive item ...over $3000, to a buyer in China.  After paying, the buyer requested this dealer lower the value of the item on the customs declaration ....this dealer refused to do so ..the usual dance. 

Sent the item out. Now he waits with bated breath. The tracking shows the item is in China, but undelivered. 

This seller is very concerned ... lots of worry, and the consignee is chomping at the bit.

Seems to me there is a small space in the .ca universe for the  GSP.

I am not a fan of this program one little bit, but I  suspect that had the GSP been available to sellers here in Canada, my seller friend would have likely chosen a GSP style listing for this item.  Of course the selling price would have been much lower, it is likely ...so ? 

[arlene_v]

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@arlene_v wrote:

 and the consignee is chomping at the bit.

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oops, make that consignor. 

[1bonehead1]

Import charges and high shipping charges are preventing me from bidding or buying many items on ebay. I will not buy on ebay anymore with these import charges?

[reallynicestamps]

You only pay import charges when you import something over $20. If you would like that raised contact:

The Right Honourable Stephen Harper

Prime Minister

House of Commons

OTTAWA ON K1A 0A6

You don't have to stamp the envelope. Just write OHMS where the stamp normally goes.

[pjcdn2005]

You could purchase from Canadian sellers. There are also U.S. sellers who do not participate in the global shipping program so they would not have the import charges when you purchase the item. But there is always the possibility that Canadian customs will charge you when the item crosses the border.

[jimh3893]

$41 global shipping charge on a used $79 item.....what a ripoff!!!!!!!!

[femmefan1946]

To put this into perspective.

The actual postage cost of shipping has no relation to the value. A pound of lead may cost less to ship than a pound of feathers because they have different dimensions.

Used or new makes no difference in most dutiable categories.

Used or new makes not difference in sales tax.

Sales tax can be up to 15% of the value of the item, depending on province. ( $11.85)

The Pitney Bowes handling charge seems to be about $5.

Duty varies :  http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/postal-postale/duty-droits-eng.html

These might also be useful:

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/postal-postale/menu-eng.html

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/resolution-eng.html

[cindy-2367]

I agree with you Jim. The GSP to Canada is ridiculous. Any US seller that chooses to use it, I won't go near. Pitney Bowes are disgusting. I bought an item that cost US $20.00 and was charged a total of CDN $23.51 in shipping costs. The item was small and shipped in a bubble envelope. I can't believe Ebay started using the GSP. It SUCKS!!!

I now only look for items, regardless of where they're from, that use 'normal' shipping. If I'm looking State Side, I only buy if the seller uses USPS.

[arlene_v]

As has been said so often here, the GSP was set up to help US sellers, not to benefit international buyers.  

US sellers  have a huge market and our business is a mere hiccup.

 I frequent the US jewelry board and know this to be true. Bottom line ... many are very distressed by the constant hoops eBay sets in place with each new "update" and the GSP is one program that actually seems to benefit them. 

Unfortunately many sellers  can't figure out that their international  sales could increase significantly without this program .... but, logic goes when fear comes knocking. 

eBay has created a fairly hostile environment ..... with defect rates, sellers being purged and kicked off this site in the thousands,  best match etc. etc.

So any "added protection" sellers can get they will likely take. And anyway, their sales are overwhelmingly US.

The only way this program will end is if people  just stop buying items listed under the GSP.  It will then be a money loser for PB, and hopefully go away.

Sellers are not going to opt out of it, and most likely more will be opted in over time. 

It is up to buyers to reject this program with their wallets. 

[pjcdn2005]

As has been said so often here, the GSP was set up to help US sellers, not to benefit international buyers.  

US sellers  have a huge market and our business is a mere hiccup.

 I frequent the US jewelry board and know this to be true. Bottom line ... many are very distressed by the constant hoops eBay sets in place with each new "update" and the GSP is one program that actually seems to benefit them. 

Unfortunately many sellers  can't figure out that their international  sales could increase significantly without this program .... but, logic goes when fear comes knocking. 

eBay has created a fairly hostile environment ..... with defect rates, sellers being purged and kicked off this site in the thousands,  best match etc. etc.

So any "added protection" sellers can get they will likely take. And anyway, their sales are overwhelmingly US.

Well said. I've seen similar things expressed by sellers on other boards. I suspect that the new spring update with the new 'defects' count will only convince more U.S. sellers to use the GSP. 

[claymate4391]

Not that this is ebays fault or any sellers fault at all - but now factor in that the canadian dollar is at 85 cents USD - so the actual cost of the product goes up, plus the shipping plus the import fees = goodbye international buyers. 

Those of us who can would rather take our chances at the boarder rather than be forced to pay all duties upfront. 

before this program was in place I bought many things that were not charged duties. Id rather still take this chance.

[claymate4391]

I found this on a different website, but the same should apply on ebay:

No Import Duties

Because of the Free Trade Agreement between the US and Canada, you are able to order up to $2,500 CAD without incurring any import duties. However, your package may be subject to additional taxes and fees (most commonly GST [Goods & Services Tax] and processing fees) that will be charged by the shipping carrier upon delivery.

Why is this not the way that ebay also operates?

[marnotom!]

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@claymate4391 wrote:

I found this on a different website, but the same should apply on ebay:

No Import Duties

Because of the Free Trade Agreement between the US and Canada, you are able to order up to $2,500 CAD without incurring any import duties. However, your package may be subject to additional taxes and fees (most commonly GST [Goods & Services Tax] and processing fees) that will be charged by the shipping carrier upon delivery.

Why is this not the way that ebay also operates?

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That statement seems to be assuming that the package will be delivered strictly by mail.  Items delivered by commercial carrier (courier) or--as seems to be the case with Global Shipping Program shipments--by freight usually have duty and taxes advanced and paid by an agent on behalf of the importer at the border.

Even with shipments by UPS or FedEx Ground which bill you on (or after) delivery, the taxes have technically already been paid.  All you're doing is paying the carrier back for amounts that were pre-paid, and then some.

In other words, the post is the only shipping method that technically has the capacity to charge taxes and duty upon delivery.  GSP items are not sent by post between the Global Shipping Centre and the Canadian receiving hub.

[claymate4391]

GSP items are not sent by post between the Global Shipping Centre and the Canadian receiving hub.

Then maybe they should start using the regular post where they can. at least with smaller items, which is everything i ever order. 

[jean-philippe.vert]

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@slyh92 wrote:

Here is why Ebay should eliminate the GSP

- Brokerage Fees that are sometimes higher then the product its self ,  a lot of Buyers will not buy from US or other Over seas  Sellers that us USP  DHL or FedEx  . because they add high Brokerage fees .  and I as a buyer/Seller  Want  the cheapest Rate on I can get on shipping

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No, Ebay should educate sellers about the GSP. I know, now, how to use GSP and found that it is cheaper than anything else for some items.

[claymate4391]

If it is cheaper for some items, that is probably very few items. To pay $30 between import fees and shipping for something that only costs $20 is ridiculous. and ive come across it many times. I go onto the listing as it looks cheaper, only to find out that no, its not.

Ebay needs to add a feature that says "Price+shipping+import fees = lowest first"

[marnotom!]

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GSP items are not sent by post between the Global Shipping Centre and the Canadian receiving hub.

Then maybe they should start using the regular post where they can. at least with smaller items, which is everything i ever order. 

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I can't see this being very advantageous.  Keep in mind that for smaller items, what can drive up the price of GSP shipping is the seller's own domestic (U.S.) shipping rate as that gets tacked onto what the GSP charges for shipping from Kentucky to the item's final destination.  And then the GSP would add insurance and probably a few other fees onto that, so I doubt the buyer would come out ahead over a GSP freight shipment.

Also keep in mind that oversize letter mail (i.e. First Class International) isn't trackable to all destinations and the GSP would likely want to use something that's pretty much guaranteed trackable, at least on their end.  That would mean using parcel post which can be even more expensive than the GSP, as J-P V suggests.

[chemical_x_96]

I would say that my buying on ebay has decreased significantly since this new program came out. I am not interested in paying duty on items that I would not normally have to.

Further more I can not find any information on what happens if I want to return an item that I paid duty on through the GSP. I have never previously had problems with returns, but now that I have an item that I paid duty on through this GSP system, will I get the duty back?

Why should they profit off of a seller's good customer service?

Will paypal stick to their 100% buyer protection? 

And who will the refund come from? I don't want they duty and brokerage fees to be refunded by the seller, I didn't pay the duty, taxes and import fees to the seller. I paid duty and taxes to my government and when I get a refund for something they don't get to keep that for instore purchases! And this Pitney bowes sounds like a load of **bleep**, what are they doing in all of this that wasn't being done by Canada Post and USPS. Maybe we should be paying our ACTUAL postal services. ugh.