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.

[marnotom!]

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@vintage_charlie_123 wrote:

I read through quite a lot experience reports on the GSP - enough to be sure i will never use it. Many people report that Pitney Bowes open every package (instead of x-raying it), take the packaging materials out, crush or repackage the packaging boxes in order to save weight and volume. when the items arrive damaged, which is no surprise after such a "treatment", it turns out that the package wasn';t even insured and the buyer is totally screwed - one has absolutely no control over the process. I'm surprized that this is still offered, as there are many points that are dubious at best and by the laws of many other countries pretty much illegal.

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The other side of the coin is that PitneyBowes (or more accurately, its agent) claims that packages are only opened in specific instances, mostly when the item's country of origin can't be determined by the seller's documentation or else the seller's packaging is suspect in the first place.  More information here:

http://blogs.pb.com/ecommerce/2013/07/17/global-shipping-program-faqs/

This 21 kg item must be pretty fragile if you're concerned about it getting damaged in transit.  If it's a sculpture or a large piece of pottery, it's not eligible for shipping through the Global Shipping Program anyway.

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/shipping-globally.html#restricted

I don't recall reading any accounts from buyers who were out of luck and unable to receive a refund because an item sent through the GSP was damaged.  As Bennett suggested in an earlier post, buyers should have protection against damage.  It may well be that proper procedures weren't followed by the buyer (or possibly the seller) in the instances you read.

[rick31797]

I have a message for Kalvin, the GSP is here to stay, even though i feel it does nothing to benefit Canadians, but it would be nice if in the Custom setting there was an option to search for ebayers not using the GSP, that would give something back to Canadians, that we feel has been taken away...

[rick31797]

This would be great, to have the option, but i have a feeling there will be no option someday. US seller will have to apply GSP to sell.

[pierrelebel]

"US seller will have to apply GSP to sell."

????

eBay tells US sellers they should not use GSP for goods averaging less than $50 or goods shipped through lettermail (or equivalent).  I do not see why they would force all American sellers to use GSP as there is nothing to gain for eBay.  These guys are not as stupid as some posters make them to be.

For Canadian buyers wanting to identify US sellers offering GSP, they should change the default of a search result page to "list view" and sort by price and shipping (not Best Match).

Listings requiring GSP are clearly identified by "Customs services and international tracking provided"

It is then easy for Canadians (and other foreign buyers) to avoid those listings.

[rick31797]

Alot of items 40.00 and under CUSTOMS doesn't charge but GSP does, i wonder why your so for it, and what you get from it, for me and a million others , we will not buy from US sellers that support GSP, its pretty simple English.

[rick31797]

you dont think GSP is a good idea but everytime there is an negative comment your there defending the GSP

[rick31797]

Ebay needs to have the GSP Option in the ADVANCE SEARCH , so they we can filter out US sellers using this..

[bennett4612]

Hi Vintage Charlie. 

I don't mean to belabor the point, just trying to make sure you have the correct info. 

All items are NOT opened at the US Shipping Center. For a list of situations where a package might be opened, see question #2 on this list:  http://blogs.pb.com/ecommerce/2013/07/17/global-shipping-program-faqs/

It is also important to know that Buyers are actually quite well protected against any loss or damage during international transit. These protections are outlined in a couple of the links in my previous post.

Again, not trying to belabor the point or talk you into anything. 

Thanks.

---Ben

[vintage_charlie_123]

Thanks for the info!

The guidelines actually say it quite explicitly that pretty much any package can be opened and repacked. It is said very clearly here:

"The original parcel is too large for the commodity – and then a replacement carton will be used of smaller dimensions".

If a seller chooses a slightly larger package in order to protect the contents, it then will be simply repackaged into something that GSP see fit (in order to save $ on shipping themselves, not for the buyer).

[pierrelebel]

"i wonder why your so for it"

????

Have you read any of my posts?

I have always clearly stated, over and over, that GSP is not workable or beneficial for most Canadian buyers most of the time.

That does not mean that all the objections raised by a few posters are valid.  For example, citing NAFTA to show how bad GSP is does not make sense as NAFTA has nothing to do with taxes.

And yes, many shipments with a value of $40 (or whatever) go through Canada Customs without any tax being levied.  The Customs officers - employed by the Canadian government and paid by us taxpayers - are not administering the letter of the law.  However, Pitney-Bowes, UPS, Fed-EX, DHL, etc... have no choice but to follow Canadian laws or they would lose their license.

The rules are simple and well understood: http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/postal-postale/duty-droits-eng.html

Imagine a police officer in a cruiser watching traffic go by on the Trans-Canada Highway where the speed limit is 100k/h.  Does he stop everyone speeding?  No.  Generally he will only stop those doing 20k/h over the limit or 15k/h on a slow day.  What if the rules were set up in such a way that everyone doing over 100k/h were fined?

[marnotom!]

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@rick31797 wrote:

I have a message for Kalvin, the GSP is here to stay, even though i feel it does nothing to benefit Canadians, but it would be nice if in the Custom setting there was an option to search for ebayers not using the GSP, that would give something back to Canadians, that we feel has been taken away...

---

I think if used (and functioning) properly, the GSP has the potential to be beneficial to Canadians.  I posted a few days ago about my findings comparing the number of listings available to Canada for a particular Android smartphone now versus the end of June.

While the number of listings that showed up on .com had increased by only 7%, the number of listings available on .ca had increased by over 60%.

Of course, there's lots of ways to interpret this increase and difference, such as the possibility of more sellers on eBay.ca selling this particular phone, or the possibility of the search algorithm changing.  However, another possibility is that more U.S. sellers have adopted the GSP for use in selling cellphones rather than sticking to domestic-only sales.

[afantiques]

A lot of items 40.00 and under CUSTOMS doesn't charge but GSP does,

'A lot' is two words.

The GSP charges because the legal tax free limit is $20, not $40.

I wonder why you are so for it, and what you get from it

A small number of people prefer facts and reason to bluster and misconceptions. They are not pro-GSP as such, just anti-nonsense published as factual information. What they get from it is integrity.

[rick31797]

The GSP charges because the legal tax free limit is $20, not $40.

This is very true and this is why Canadians do not want anything to do with the GSP, leave it up to Canada Customs, and we will save money ... There are SOME, NOT ALL US sellers that also Inflate the shipping cost to make more money, why should a piece of Computer Ram cost me 25.00 shipping when i know the true cost is 5.00..so with there inflated shipping costs and GSP they will not be getting any business from me..

[marnotom!]

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@rick31797 wrote:
 

why should a piece of Computer Ram cost me 25.00 shipping when i know the true cost is 5.00..?

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What do you mean by "true cost" in this context?

[rick31797]

true cost is the actual charge USPS charge Ebay sellers to ship an item to Canada, in the eg, of Computer ram, it would be sent Small Packet, and i have did enough shipping to know when sellers inflate there shipping costs,and then  there are some that just dont fill out there Ebay ad proper, or they inflate the size numbers and weight of the item they are selling so they make some money on shipping also..

[pierrelebel]

"true cost is the actual charge USPS charge Ebay sellers to ship an item to Canada,"

Then it is quite possible that the seller is paying USPS $25 or more to mail the item to Canada, depending on the type of service used.  Many American sellers prefer to ship outside their country using expensive service offering them protection. 

The seller decides what method of shipping will be used.

[rick31797]

If i used the most expensive method of shipping , i would sell, Nothing... they are not shipping diamond, in my case they are shipping a piece of computer ram, worth 12.00, shipping 25.00, you don't see this as a problem..If you think this is a fine way to do business, then you cant see passed your nose.

[marnotom!]

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@rick31797 wrote:
If i used the most expensive method of shipping , i would sell, Nothing... they are not shipping diamond, in my case they are shipping a piece of computer ram, worth 12.00, shipping 25.00, you don't see this as a problem..If you think this is a fine way to do business, then you cant see passed your nose.

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It's a "fine way to do business" if people are willing to pay what the seller asks.  So many buyers don't seem to understand that the best way to encourage sellers to engage in dodgy selling practices is to buy their merchandise.

If buyers simply passed on these sellers, those sellers would soon pack their e-bags and shuffle off this website.

Back to the points you were (sort of) making earlier, keep in mind that the GSP shipping charges are actually two shipping charges.  If a seller ships by an overkill shipping method within the United States, that's going to boost the price of the GSP's shipping charge by whatever they charge domestic buyers.  If a seller offers "free" domestic shipping, it's going to make the GSP's shipping price more reasonable for that same item.

Yes, the GSP shipping charges can seem over the top for small, lightweight and modestly-priced items, but that's because they're up against international letter post (i.e. Small Packet / First Class International) shipping which was devised for those sorts of items.  If we only had parcel post or express mail as postal options to Canada, GSP would seem a lot more competitive for those sorts of items.

Keep in mind that one reason some U.S. sellers (and Canadian buyers) fall into the trap of offering (and accepting) UPS/FedEx ground services for shipping to Canada is that at first glance, the rates are often better than USPS parcel post (Priority International).  It's only once the item gets to Canada and the COD charges kick in for the buyer do they see that the "savings" come at a price.

Oh, and one last point:  The least expensive USPS shipping method for a one ounce packet now costs US$6.19.  Most merchandise from the U.S. can't be sent as a true "letter" anymore.

[rick31797]

6.19 is a far cry from 25.00, i know quite a bit about the shipping methods, for one thing, its cheaper for me to send an item to the USA then it is Canada,USA shipping is cheaper then Canada, our postman says thats why the USPS is going broke..and a good eg, is i had a small motor sent to me from California, it cost the company 12.75..it was warranty issue, i was to send the defective motor back in the same box, 25.62 to ship it back, that was the cheapest method by canada post. I also know waht fedex and UPS Charge, your right they seem competitive , but then you get there brokers fee.... i always look for seller that send item USPS,and have had no issues, some items were rare and expensive, as long as they are packed right, which is not always the case...as again another issue on ebay is people not aware of how to pack for shipping across the border.

[marnotom!]

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@rick31797 wrote:
6.19 is a far cry from 25.00, i know quite a bit about the shipping methods, for one thing, its cheaper for me to send an item to the USA then it is Canada,USA shipping is cheaper then Canada, our postman says thats why the USPS is going broke..

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The big reason why it's less expensive to mail a fairly small item to the U.S. than it is to mail it within Canada goes back to the ol' letter post versus parcel post distinction again.  The specifications for a domestic letter are different than they are for an international one (i.e. small packet/light packet).  The item sent to a Canadian destination is more than likely being sent by parcel post, while the one to an American destination is by letter post.