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.

[mater721]

"Combined shipping is not possible with GSP items. The full shipping price for each item is the only way."

If this is true, that's just brutal. Another way to drive up costs, as many sellers split up groupings and auction off one at a time. If shipping must be paid for each item individually, there goes economies of scale. I may end up spending the same amount of money over a year, but... sellers will be getting a smaller piece of the pie as $$ goes to shippers and Pitney Bowes. Actually, I'll spend less over the year as it becomes harder and harder to find reasonable deals. Ugh!

[jinglekell]

Combined shipping is possible with GSP.  

I was surprised when a Canadian bidder purchased three items -- for a total shipping weight of 29 pounds -- and order printed one ticket to Kentucky.  This experience taught me that when a bidder buys the items in the shopping cart, GSP combines the order and prints one ticket.

Posting ID.

[mater721]

"Combined shipping is possible with GSP."

Well, finally some good news. There is light in the dark world of Canadian ebay shopping.  Do the transactions need to fall within a certain time period?  Or is it up to seller and that seller waits until all transactions are done before printing the shipping labels?

[marnotom!]

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@afantiques wrote:

I contacted a seller re shipping on multiple items, ball caps. He quoted me $1 extra per extra item.

Combined shipping is not possible with GSP items. The full shipping price for each item is the only way.

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GSP sellers also can't make quotes like that.  The dollar extra per item may have been for the domestic leg of shipment.

Sounds like another instance of a seller using the program without a full understanding of how it, or perhaps they are unaware that they're using it.

[marnotom!]

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@jinglekell wrote:

Combined shipping is possible with GSP.  

I was surprised when a Canadian bidder purchased three items -- for a total shipping weight of 29 pounds -- and order printed one ticket to Kentucky.  This experience taught me that when a bidder buys the items in the shopping cart, GSP combines the order and prints one ticket.

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Keep us posted on how this works out.  I'm skeptical.

[i*m-still-here]

While the general consensus here is that the GSP was introduced as a cash grab for eBay, I disagree with that.

The GSP was introduced to alleviate some of the problems sellers were having with international shipping and the constant related "tiffs" between sellers and buyers along with related CSR costs.

EBay is the Wild West of on-line venues, and the GSP was introduced in an attempt to quiet the site down a little.

However, it has only added to the chaos and now it's worse than ever.

EBay is an International venue, but in reality it's an American game and they are just do not play well with others.

The GSP is only widening the gap.

Now, it's taken on a life of its own and being pushed on all US sellers and one does not have to look beyond this board to see how that's working out for them.

[afantiques]

Now, it's taken on a life of its own and being pushed on all US sellers and one does not have to look beyond this board to see how that's working out for them

Actually, if you do look beyond this board (I only monitor UK, US, Canada and Australia ) you see GSP related problems with buyers bewildered about what they have got into.

Advice given is often inappropriate for GSP situations because regular board posters don't understand the ins and outs of the GSP process.

[rick31797]

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@afantiques wrote:

Now, it's taken on a life of its own and being pushed on all US sellers and one does not have to look beyond this board to see how that's working out for them

Actually, if you do look beyond this board (I only monitor UK, US, Canada and Australia ) you see GSP related problems with buyers bewildered about what they have got into.

Advice given is often inappropriate for GSP situations because regular board posters don't understand the ins and outs of the GSP process.

Ebay and PB actually thought that shipping GSP would  make it easier on the seller, when in reality, no seller is going to take the time to educate themselves on using this program, they put in enough time listing there items and packing them and transporting them to be shipped, and really what incentive would they have, saving a buyer a few dollars.Sellers want to sell, they dont care what happens at customs and why should they.

[brandeentertainment]

Just had my first positive experience with GSP ... not say I would of paid import fees  but either way i did not get overcharged or wrongfully charged like before in the past ...

just thought i would post because it is my first positive experience ever with this programs..

FYI they opened my box and when it came it was holding on by a thread so to speak but other then that .. AWESOME

[i*m-still-here]

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@afantiques wrote:

Advice given is often inappropriate for GSP situations because regular board posters don't understand the ins and outs of the GSP process.

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But you see, that is a point of contention between a few posters and the rest.

Regular posters tend to be primarily sellers.

There is no way for them to fully grasp the effect the GSP has had on buyers who purchase regularly in substantial amounts and yet they continue to offer advice which falls on deaf ears and frustrates buyers because it is so far off the mark.

[wushuliu]

Here's a comment: I have no intention of ever using it ever again. 

[marnotom!]

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@rick31797 wrote:

Ebay and PB actually thought that shipping GSP would  make it easier on the seller, when in reality, no seller is going to take the time to educate themselves on using this program, they put in enough time listing there items and packing them and transporting them to be shipped, and really what incentive would they have, saving a buyer a few dollars.Sellers want to sell, they dont care what happens at customs and why should they.

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I think you mean "no poor seller is going to take the time...."  The good sellers will do due diligence.  My lone feedback on this ID is from a seller who was (and still is) doing experiments with the Global Shipping Program to find out what non-U.S. buyers see and how best to use it.

Having said that, it does appear that PBI and eBay may have overestimated the knowledge and common sense of a lot of potential buyers and sellers who might use this program.

[pjcdn2005]

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@jinglekell wrote:

Combined shipping is possible with GSP.  

I was surprised when a Canadian bidder purchased three items -- for a total shipping weight of 29 pounds -- and order printed one ticket to Kentucky.  This experience taught me that when a bidder buys the items in the shopping cart, GSP combines the order and prints one ticket.

Posting ID.

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That's my understanding as well. The buyer has to be shopping on the .com site, not on .ca, put each item in the cart and purchase all at one time. I'm not sure if that works if the seller charges for the domestic portion of the shipping and hasn't previously set up rules for combined shipping.

Did you have combined shipping rules set up?

[arlene_v]

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@pjcdn2005 wrote:

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@jinglekell wrote:

Combined shipping is possible with GSP.  

I was surprised when a Canadian bidder purchased three items -- for a total shipping weight of 29 pounds -- and order printed one ticket to Kentucky.  This experience taught me that when a bidder buys the items in the shopping cart, GSP combines the order and prints one ticket.

Posting ID.

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That's my understanding as well. The buyer has to be shopping on the .com site, not on .ca, put each item in the cart and purchase all at one time. I'm not sure if that works if the seller charges for the domestic portion of the shipping and hasn't previously set up rules for combined shipping.

Did you have combined shipping rules set up?

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I've just tried this by using the cart on the .com site - put three items into the cart  listed by the  same seller - and the shipping costs reduced dramatically on each item as a new item was put in the cart. The shipping cost on the item with the highest shipping price stayed the same.

Very, very interesting. Thanks for sharing this info.

[arlene_v]

And yes, these were all listed by a seller enrolled in the GSP.

[i*m-still-here]

When was the GSP introduced?  Was it about a year and a half ago or maybe longer?

In spite of all the issues and complaints from all non-American buyers, the program is showing up in more listings than ever.

The problems can only get worse.  For a short time they included a link where buyers could email sellers for shipping cost without the GSP and that was a very nice fix, but after a very short time it disappeared.

Now it's back to walking every seller using the GSP through the steps on how to ship without it as virtually all very happily agree to do.

Sellers have no problem shipping the usual way, so something is clearly very twisted about the way the GSP is getting pushed by eBay:  Hard to understand why the push for something so problematic for buyers and sellers alike.

[pierrelebel]

"complaints from all non-American buyers,"

???

I posted a few months ago on the subject.  Most complaints seem to come from Canada, not the rest of the world, based on a look at discussion boards in Europe, Australia and the UK.

[i*m-still-here]

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@pierrelebel wrote:

"complaints from all non-American buyers,"

???

I posted a few months ago on the subject.  Most complaints seem to come from Canada, not the rest of the world, based on a look at discussion boards in Europe, Australia and the UK.

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I am so sorry I missed your post but I can't read everything here.

Of course most of the complaints are coming from Canada.

It only makes sense that we'd be hit the hardest because we buy more from the US than the rest of the world does.

In any case.............. it's of no significance and I'm happy to limit my comments to Canadian buyers if that helps you out.

[mastiff519]

The Global Shipping Program is an absolute RIPOFF to the buyer.  I recently bought a large airplane model from a U.S. seller. Global wanted $24.03 postage PLUS $9.33 "import charges". The seller shipped via USPS First Class for $18 and there were no "import charges".  Sellers need to realize that LOWER shipping costs allow the buyer to BID HIGHER. The seller makes MORE MONEY by offering lower postage costs. I will NEVER buy anything listed as "Global Shipping".  We Canadians keep getting shafted by ebay. First ebay scrapped Kickitback. Then they dumped ebay bucks. Now we are ripped off by Global Shipping. What next?

[i*m-still-here]

mastiff:  For serious buyers the GSP "can" work out well if it's used correctly.

When you see an item you want to buy or bid on contact the seller and ask that it be shipped without the GSP.

It's been my experience that the vast majority don't even know of its existence and have no idea that their items are listed via the GSP, and I can't recall one who has ever refused even when they are aware of it.

The benefit to you as a buyer is if the item is listed via auction, then that item will close at a substantially lower amount.

It's a huge nuisance and it adds a lot to your shopping time, but there are benefits as well.