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.

[afantiques]

Pitney Bowes has changed my original shipping method on 3 different occasions to the cheaper mode

They say  International Priority SHIPPING, not post. This is in  fact a meaningless catch all term and does not specify any  particular mode of shipping at any stage.

What they really mean is 'International Shipping'. This is what they did. To be fair, USPS Priority International does not take priority over anything either.

Rule of thumb,  ALL positive adjectives in advertising are there to make you buy, not because they have any truth in them.

[00nevermind00]

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@afantiques wrote:

Pitney Bowes has changed my original shipping method on 3 different occasions to the cheaper mode

They say  International Priority SHIPPING, not post. This is in  fact a meaningless catch all term and does not specify any  particular mode of shipping at any stage.

What they really mean is 'International Shipping'. This is what they did. To be fair, USPS Priority International does not take priority over anything either.

Rule of thumb,  ALL positive adjectives in advertising are there to make you buy, not because they have any truth in them.

---

I can't help but feel that the International Priority Shipping wording was chosen deliberately to make it look like the USPS Priority International service. It's obvious that the confusion exists and seems to be widespread.

I'm sure that there are buyers like the previous poster who feel cheated when they see their purchase arrive through a cut-rate service after paying for "priority". It's not a good idea to make your paying customers feel cheated.

[softgad]

I have been a member since 2000, have many purchased and sales.  But I am really really unhappy with the exorbitant cost now of this shipping cost to canada.  For instance shipping a camera lens that is value at $630 will cost $20 + $93 of import charges.  You do not want to hear what it will cost in canadian dollars.  Ebay has do work on this otherwise, Canadian will be force to buy only canadian products.  Funny enough it is also more difficult to sell to USA, if we do our price are below what they will sell in USA even in Canadian dollars.  THis need major revisions

[xeposter]

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@softgad wrote:

I have been a member since 2000, have many purchased and sales.  But I am really really unhappy with the exorbitant cost now of this shipping cost to canada.  For instance shipping a camera lens that is value at $630 will cost $20 + $93 of import charges.  You do not want to hear what it will cost in canadian dollars.  Ebay has do work on this otherwise, Canadian will be force to buy only canadian products.  Funny enough it is also more difficult to sell to USA, if we do our price are below what they will sell in USA even in Canadian dollars.  THis need major revisions

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This is not true. There will always be American sellers who will not use the GSP to ship their items.

Alex

[00nevermind00]

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@xeposter wrote:

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There will always be American sellers who will not use the GSP to ship their items.

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Indeed. But Canadian buyers who do not want to buy GSP items are still forced to sift through all the GSP items that clutter their search results, which is tiresome. Those who are looking for easy to find items sometimes prefer to shop elsewhere in order to avoid this.

[irie_chickie]

Contact the vendor using GSP before making your purchase, ask them to use an alternative shipping method...USPS registered is equally as effective as the GSP and you cut out the 3rd party middle man and subsequently the kickback $ that ebay receives.

I had an in-depth conversation with an American vendor that was automatically signed up with the GSP and they were completely unaware of the negative impact it has on doing business with Canadian customers.  Had I purchased the item without contacting the vendor....GSP would have charged me near $25 to send me a STICKER!!!! yes, you read that correctly....something that would fit inside a normal letter sized envelope, they wanted $25 to ship...

After speaking with the vendor, they revoked their participation in the GSP completely, and only charged me $1.50 for shipping, to cover the cost of the stamp. She then advised me that her cost remained basically the same, as she would have to put a stamp on the item to mail it to Pitney Bowes in Kentucky anyway...

It's a good money making gig that Ebay has created with the GSP...and it's shameful!

Speak up people...don't just accept the shipping costs forced upon you by EBAY...communicate with the vendors, most will be very accommodating...

[afantiques]

Contact the vendor using GSP before making your purchase, ask them to use an alternative shipping method...USPS registered is equally as effective as the GSP

USPS Registered is a domestic only service, once the item leaves USA it is treated as either a large letter of a parcel depending on weight.

Other USPS sevices are just as effectve, and do not waste that registration fee.

Thr best substitute is First Class International with transit insurance from a third party. This is as cheap as it gets and just as much 'protection' as the GSP.

[trekkiebigtime]

I totally agree that the GSP drives Canadian buyers away. I am lucky and have a friend in the States where I can have items shipped and he brings them over later or I go and pick up if I am visiting him. I would say 90% of the items shipped from the States do not have custom fees put on them. The only time I have ever been charged was when I started buying a lot and it was noticed and even then I am sure it was probably cheaper and faster to pay my local post office. I just asked a seller what the costs without the GSP charges would be and he said he couldn't ship any other way. This doesn't seem right and buyers should be able to opt out of paying these fees. I certainly have cut down on what I purchase from the States and as a seller, I would never join one of these systems as I am sure I would lose customers as well. As the saying goes 'Let the buyer beware' and if I am charged later for customs so be it, if my customers are, then that is their problem, not mine as the seller. Get rid of this system please.

[dmil8030]

Hello 'trekkiebigtime', 

<< I would say 90% of the items shipped from the States do not have custom fees put on them. >>

You knew, didn't you, that the one to 'put the charges on'  items coming in to Canada was the Canadian gov't:

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

Low-priced items coming directly through the post do not always get assessed because it costs more to process the 

charges than the piddly little amount that is taken in.  

But because our government wants a share of anything over $20 in value, couriers and shipping companies like 

the GSP are required by law to add these charges.  

If you have not often had to pay charges it is because the items were of low value, . . . and you have been fortunate.

<< I just asked a seller what the costs without the GSP charges would be and he said he couldn't ship any other way. >>

That may depend how the seller defines "couldn't", -- if that was what he said.  It is a seller protection policy and many 

sellers really like it and indeed, won't ship any other way internationally. 

Yes, they can opt out of the GSP, or even just take out a single listing on request, but if they choose not to do so, 

that is their decision.  After all, it is the seller and not the buyer who stands to lose if there is a problem.  

In future, rather than ask a GSP seller what it costs to mail the item directly, perhaps you might like to get to know what 

items cost to mail, so that you can instead sweetly ask the seller if he would be willing to mail the item to you via USPS 

First Class International.  You can point out that this is a tracked, Delivery Confirmed service, and even offer him this 

link.  He still, however, has every right to refuse you:

https://ircalc.usps.com/?country=10054

<< buyers should be able to opt out of paying these fees.>>

The way to do that is set up your Search properly.  When you type your Search terms, be sure the View option beneath 

the Search Bar is set to List (not Gallery).

After you click to 'go', (because setting up a search takes 2 steps) you can choose from the left side of the page the 

Item Location.  Why not try Canada Only?  Always good to keep our Canadian dollars up here where they belong. 

If you cannot find what you want by choosing Canada Only, try North America but as you scroll though the listings 

train your eyes to pass by all those listings which whisper in pale grey, 

Customs services and international tracking provided

That is a GSP item.  And of course, if you are serious about conscientious shopping, then do your purchasing from a 

real computer and not a phone.  All that GSP information is not visible when using a mobile device.  Whether or not 

you think that means it is 'hidden' from the ever-impulsive phone user, . . . . .

<< Get rid of this system please.>>

It'll never happen.  Read these boards, -- the GSP is getting increasingly sneaky about how it presents itself and how

it  "redistributes"  those fees.  Ebay will only endeavour to make the system more palatable to international buyers, but 

will never get rid of it.  Therefore, as with everything else in life that we don't like and don't want, we must conduct 

ourselves according to what best suits our own needs.  

Begin by shopping from Canada.  No Customs' delays, no import charges, no GSP,  . . . 

[reallynicestamps]

A couple of notes about GSP charges.

Most of the charges are actually Sales Taxes (GST/PST/HST) rather than duty. Sales tax also applies to used goods while duty does not.

And the GSP includes a ~$5 USD (~$6.50CDN) service charge for wrangling your purchase across the border.

That useful note

Customs services and international tracking provided

does not show up if you are Searching on a mobile device or if you are in Gallery Search.

As dmil says, they are getting sneakier.

It's still all legal though

[dmil8030]

<<Sales tax also applies to used goods while duty does not.>>

Please post a link, -- an official link --  demonstrating your continued assertion that there is no duty on used goods.

All my information suggests that there IS duty on used goods, -- and not just my personal experience of having 

to pay duty on used goods that came by courier or were sufficiently expensive to warrant it, even when sent through 

the post.  This link for example:

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/dm-md/d13/d13-10-1-eng.html

"Where used goods are sold . . . the price paid or payable for the goods is to be used as the basis for

determining the value for duty." 

The following may be of assistance for those wishing to estimate duty and taxes, but there is nothing there to 

imply used goods are exempt.  Nowhere have I ever read that used goods are exempt, and certainly it has not been 

my experience when I have been charged duty on used goods made outside a NAFTA country. 

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/pdt-pdt-eng.html#_s3

Items coming through the post are often not assessed for duty because to ascertain precisely where the item 

was made requires inspecting the item, thus opening the parcel, - less common with items in the mail.

The GSP,  however, charges duty on used goods where applicable, as required by law.  

[i.am.vivian]

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@softgad wrote:

shipping a camera lens that is value at $630 will cost $20 + $93 of import charges.  You do not want to hear what it will cost in canadian dollars. 

---

The import charges you pay are done on the Canadian converted amount not on the listed US dollar value, plus the Pitney-Bowles handling fee. It depends on the province so a buyer in Ontario pays 13 percent, but that is then in US dollars.  Very maddening. 

You would still pay tax on a camera mailed USPS plus $9.95 Canada Post but at least it is in Canadian dollars. 

[xiv811]

i have been an ebay user since 2007 and the ebay global shipping program is hands down the biggest con and fraud i have seen for us canadians.

even buying a little piece of string for $200 ebay will try to charge you "import fees" of around $60. 

i have bought items from the USA, probably over 300 items, and i've never been charged customs or duties, so why is ebay implementing this global shipping program with these wonderful charges.. ebay is collecting the money themselves thats why. this is the biggest BS program i have heard of, i dont even buy items from sellers who use the GSP 

[xiv811]

actually you are 100% wrong. customs and border officers RARELY EVER charge customs/duties/taxes on things that come from the USA. they will always charge me on things from other countries like UK, New zealand, etc. but i have never in my life (purchased over 300 + items in my lifetime from USA to canada) been charged customs/duties/taxes for any of these things. 

don't post false information, there is way to much items coming into canada from the USA for border to enforce duties/taxes on so they just allow them through. and for the 1 out of 100 situation where they do impose it, i'm fine with that. let me take the chance of being charged the fees. 

[00nevermind00]

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@xiv811 wrote:

actually you are 100% wrong. customs and border officers RARELY EVER charge customs/duties/taxes on things that come from the USA. they will always charge me on things from other countries like UK, New zealand, etc. but i have never in my life (purchased over 300 + items in my lifetime from USA to canada) been charged customs/duties/taxes for any of these things. 

don't post false information, there is way to much items coming into canada from the USA for border to enforce duties/taxes on so they just allow them through. and for the 1 out of 100 situation where they do impose it, i'm fine with that. let me take the chance of being charged the fees. 

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You cannot deduct from your own, pretty limited experience (300 items isn't all that much) that everyone else's experience will be the same as yours.

Any item worth more than $20 CAD can be assessed for taxes (GST/HST/PST... whatever) and duties (if any) at the border. Where they are being shipped from doesn't matter. Neither does where they were made when it comes to collecting sales taxes, although it does matter when it comes to duties being assessed or not.

In real life, Canada Post lets many packages worth more than $20 go through untaxed because collecting on those packages would cost more than what they would bring in. But private outfits (which is what Pitney Bowes, the GSP operator, is) don't have that luxury. They are obligated to collect taxes (and duties,if any) on any package that is even a mere penny over the tax-free limit.

There is no scam here, just a badly designed and needlessly convoluted program. As Pierre has rightfully repeated often on these boards, the GSP is best avoided by most Canadian buyers in most instances. And if you must buy from a GSP seller, it is advisable to read up on it before proceeding.

[sylviebee]

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@00nevermind00 wrote:

In real life, Canada Post lets many packages worth more than $20 go through untaxed because collecting on those packages would cost more than what they would bring in. But private outfits (which is what Pitney Bowes, the GSP operator, is) don't have that luxury. They are obligated to collect taxes (and duties,if any) on any package that is even a mere penny over the tax-free limit.

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That point are exactly the reason the way the GSP is now operating doesn't add up.

The percent of GSP listings in my category which don't charge import fees is growing every day.

In general, total GSP costs are still al little higher than First Class rates, but not much higher.

Yet again I'm looking at an item which costs $65 via BIN and shipping cost his $22.65.  This particular seller charges $6 to ship within the States, so that leaves $16.62 for the GSP.

That $16.62 has to cover Expedited shipping from the Canadian hub plus a handling fee for P.B.

There simply is no room to pull out the $8.45 for tax, but as pointed out above:  "They are obligated to collect taxes (and duties,if any) on any package that is even a mere penny over the tax-free limit."

Again:  It just doesn't add up. 

[carnac111]

I have increased my purchasing every year on eBay for 14 years, this year Global shipping has made me STOP PURCHASING ON EBay as I'm completely fed up, I refuse to be scammed like this.

you win eBay I'm sourcing other online sites to spend my $ at.

[marnotom!]

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@sylviebee wrote:

I'm looking at an item which costs $65 via BIN and shipping cost his $22.65.  This particular seller charges $6 to ship within the States, so that leaves $16.62 for the GSP.

That $16.62 has to cover Expedited shipping from the Canadian hub plus a handling fee for P.B.

There simply is no room to pull out the $8.45 for tax, but as pointed out above:  "They are obligated to collect taxes (and duties,if any) on any package that is even a mere penny over the tax-free limit."

Again:  It just doesn't add up. 

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What shows up as the item's shipping rate in the search results when you do a keyword search for it?

[marnotom!]

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@marnotom! wrote:

What shows up as the item's shipping rate in the search results when you do a keyword search for it?

---

So I found a similar listing in your category.  The item price is US$65.00 and the GSP shipping price in the listing is US$23.65 (C$30.45 at the eBay exchange rate).  The seller's charge for shipping the purse to Erlanger is US$6.99, which makes the GSP's overall cut US$16.96.

When I do a keyword search for the item, the shipping price that comes up for it is C$20.45, which converts to US$15.88 at the exchange rate eBay is currently using.  This leaves US$1.08 surplus for Pitney Bowes after the shipping charge.

Found another listing for a US$65 purse with a GSP shipping price of US$22.81, with PB's cut of that US$10.82 (not including import charges which are listed separately).

The difference between the PB shipping rates in the two listings is US$6.14, or C$7.91.  Add in that US$1.08 surplus and you get US$7.22.  Not quite enough to cover Ontario HST, but certainly enough to cover GST in provinces where the GSP only charges for that.   (I found no differences in shipping charges for the "no import charge" purse between BC and ON.)

My calculations don't factor in any possible shipping weight differences between the two purses, though, so take them with a shaker of salt.

[trekkiebigtime]

• What has worked well for you with the Global Shipping Program?

As far as I can see there is no advantage to this programme to Canadian Buyers. The only advantage is to Pitney Bowes.

• Any ideas to help improve the experience for Canadian buyers?

Get rid of it or give people the choice to use it or not. I just purchased something from a US buyer and he was not able to bypass the GSP. I then decided to have him ship it to a friend in the States and I was informed that he couldn't change the invoice but could change the ship address. I am trying to find out if that means I still have to pay the full rate to Canada, even though he is shipping to the States.

• What has deterred you from buying items offered using the Global Shipping Program?

Most items I purchase do not get charged and taxes and at the most it is a handling fee and the GST. I am sure it is much cheaper for me to pay it here than through the GSP.

• How have you managed to search for items outside the program?

It doesn't seem to matter what items I look at, I am ending up having to pay it. All US sellers seem to be using it. If I didn't want this last purchase so badly, then I would cancel the transaction which the seller is willing to do. I think I will start looking at Canadian sellers only, which is detrimental to your US sellers. This seems to be the concensus, so why don't you listen and scrap the programme.

Trekkiebigtime