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.

[brandeentertainment]

The program is good for expensive items bad for cheap item.. All in all Amaazing for Canadian sellers bad for Canadian buyers whom purchase low end items ... NEW or USED have nothing to do with it ...

Also and don't take this the wrong way .. This is the Canadian boards you need to put your post of the US boards as Canadians do not have a GSP

[i*m-still-here]

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@marnotom! wrote:

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@roadrunners123 wrote:

Well I have read so many comments, mostly negative and yet GSP lives on, and will live on so long as there is profit to be made..

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I know my one GSP purchase went well.

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That's just it.

This board is as much an opinion board as it is a help board and you've previously posted that you didn't even complete the one purchase you made from your friend.  (That is, you cancelled before it was ever shipped.)

No wonder I have different views on the program than you do marmo/afantiques.

I've had a handful of GSP purchases and none was positive.

Moreover, and much more relevant:  I now buy more items listed via the GSP than otherwise but these are all shipped the normal way.

My hands on experience with the program several times a day means that my views are at the grass roots level.

It's no wonder that our views on the program are very different.

[rick31797]

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@i*m-still-here wrote:

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@marnotom! wrote:

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@roadrunners123 wrote:

Well I have read so many comments, mostly negative and yet GSP lives on, and will live on so long as there is profit to be made..

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I know my one GSP purchase went well.

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That's just it.

This board is as much an opinion board as it is a help board and you've previously posted that you didn't even complete the one purchase you made from your friend.  (That is, you cancelled before it was ever shipped.)

No wonder I have different views on the program than you do marmo/afantiques.

I've had a handful of GSP purchases and none was positive.

Moreover, and much more relevant:  I now buy more items listed via the GSP than otherwise but these are all shipped the normal way.

My hands on experience with the program several times a day means that my views are at the grass roots level.

It's no wonder that our views on the program are very different.

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Thats why for me i dont give much  thought to what marmo/afantiques. post, as they seem to have most of the answers here but have never actually used GSP.

[i*m-still-here]

A lot of the advice etc. is offered up from an American's point of view.

The issues for Canadians are not the same.

I know who I am!

Although we have to be sympathetic to the problems faced by Americans when shipping out of the States, it's hard to really get into it.

For one thing, as Canadian sellers we face the same shipping issues all the time and we deal with them in a way that is sympathetic to our buyers' concerns.

Imagine, for example, shipping to the States via a GSP type program.

They never or rarely pay taxes even though their laws state they should on items over about $200 and if they were suddenly zapped with GSP type charges they'd go NUTS.

The bottom line is that our concerns are CANADIAN and the program is clearly not in our best interest........ EVER!

[marnotom!]

For the benefit of Rick, who seems to have missed my earlier posts, with my usual ID I bought a Smartphone that was a GSP listing.

I have no quibbles with the shipping or import charges.  (The import charges are, in fact, less than what I'd pay in GST and PST if I could purchase the item in BC.)  The item arrived in the stated time frame.  The tracking worked.  Yes, the package was opened but it was put back together fine and still protected.  And, yes, the seller was quite aware that they were using the Global Shipping Program.

Maybe the program isn't in the best interests of Canadian buyers, but I think that those who do their research, homework, and number-crunching can make a drama-free GSP purchase that works reasonably well for them.

Was I lucky?  I don't think so.  "Luck is when preparation meets opportunity."  -- Seneca

[i*m-still-here]

marmo:  It's not about what you buy via the GSP.

Understanding the system is about what you DON'T buy via the GSP.

That is because you've either passed or lost out on a good item because the GSP was in there, or because you had to spend valuable time emailing with sellers to eliminate the GSP.

That said:  The latter is easier all the time as sellers are beginning to catch on (finally).

[marnotom!]

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@i*m-still-here wrote:

marmo:  It's not about what you buy via the GSP.

Understanding the system is about what you DON'T buy via the GSP.

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Says who?  Can't it be about both?

[kxeron]

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@bennett4612 wrote:

Hi cosmicwaiter. 

Just wanted to chime in here, regarding GSP usage. 

We do not typically recommend the GSP for items priced below $50. GSP is not a "one size fits all" program, and the $50 guideline is pretty general. More detail can be found at the following links:

http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/shipping/globalshippingprogram/update_faqs.html

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

Not trying to talk you into anything. Just thought I would provide a little more info around how the program works. 

----Bennett

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That FAQ is meaningless until it is put into action, quoting it again and again will not benefit anyone.

Under that FAQ, by rights the eBay website software should be rewritten to implement this recommendation and to discourage people actively from using the programme if the sticker price is $49 or under. Just a single simple "if" statement on the item value in the form processor will do it.

If someone is writing up a listing and sets the "Buy it Now" price or auction start price to $30 with the GSP enabled on that listing, a red error box should be displayed warning them that the item is not recommended to be listed through the GSP and educating them on what kind of items the GSP could be used on.

If a seller isn't interested in shipping internationally, they're not interested in shipping internationally even with the GSP.

[i*m-still-here]

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@marnotom! wrote:

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@i*m-still-here wrote:

marmo:  It's not about what you buy via the GSP.

Understanding the system is about what you DON'T buy via the GSP.

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Says who?  Can't it be about both?

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NO!  It is not and it cannot be about both IF you are a regular buyer here.

[stringerian]

ONE Coffee Mug: US $7.19 Approximately C $7.97 (Buy It Now)

Shipping:US $27.79 (approx. C $30.79) International Priority Shipping to Canada

Hope US Sellers figure out how many bids they're missing from Canadians and other international bidders soon.

[afantiques]

Hope US Sellers figure out how many bids they're missing from Canadians and other international bidders soon.

Spend some time on the US seller Central board telling them.

They do not see what the international buyer sees, so tell them to go to their shipping and payments tab on an item page and select another country, then hit 'get rates'.

They will then see just how much is being added to the buyer's costs. This is something they simply don't know about and are very unlikely to come across accidentally.

[kxeron]

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@afantiques wrote:

(snip)

This is something they simply don't know about and are very unlikely to come across accidentally.

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... as it requires an external perspective on the item (e.g. country and postal code) to see these, and until a buyer submits a postal code for the seller to enter, they can't possibly know how much the GSP software is going to charge on the item.

... Just like many sellers are unlikely to come across the FAQ eBay set up in an attempt to to pacify us who are affected wrongly by the GSP but have no recourse against the programme or to dispute the programme's operation, calculations or findings.

... Just like many sellers are unlikely to see material that isn't delivered into their email/eBay inboxes or displayed as they log in.

... Just like many sellers are unlikely to see material that isn't a shiny advertisement promoting the programme as a gift from their diety.

... Just like many sellers are unlikely to see the GSP charges

... Just like many sellers are completely unaware they're opted into the programme

... Just like many sellers are completely unaware that PBI is levying separate charges against the buyers

The problem is that the bets have been made and we already have lost as eBay/PBI has rigged the house rules against international buyers. They hold the mass communication tools to eBay members, they hold the advertising templates issued to sellers about the programme, they hold the FAQs and how importantly they're placed on the site, they make the forums nothing but a footnote on the site, they attempt to compact all GSP discussion into minimal threads possible on their forums in an attempt to reduce the appearance of complaints under the guise .

Take note how impossible it is to have decernable conversation in this thread, this thread has essentially between 2 and 6 conversations going in it at any one time and has devolved into a cacophony of noise, no doubt what eBay management has hoped to accomplish to make it impossible to get any valid conversation done or to coordinate effective action against the programme. This is why people keep posting new threads about the GSP, because these very threads are no longer communicative or conductive and are just patterned nosie of the same stuff being repeated over and over and over and over.***

The cornerstone of communication in these issues is ensuring you're able to affirmatively communicate in an effective way to spread information quickly and efficiently to the target group and get feedback on the matters, the difficulty here is since eBay holds the cards of most of those tools and they're unlikely to use those tools for the "good" of International buyers in this matter. We need to be more inventive in our communications than approaching sellers one by one as such is not going to effectively damage the GSP's effectiveness numbers that eBay management uses to determine the direction of the programme. For every 1 seller anyone here communicates to, eBay has used their tools to get ~20 or more new members into the programme. New members who will be tomorrow's power sellers.

One can't seriously expect a seller who has a life outside of eBay to be as knowledgeable about eBay, PBI, the eBay website or any of its programmes as the various eBay aficionados on even this very forum, I'd hazard to say most sellers on eBay aren't professional sellers, they just have some extra stuff they have they want to convert to cash in an easy manner without the risks of a pawn shop, eBay is easy for them or they sell through eBay to supplement their dayjob. eBay currently is too complex for the average seller to be aware of all of the policies and how various programmes work in full, or even to be aware of how the website itself works.

Footnote: *** Every time I look at this thread I feel a sense of de-ja-vu, I ask myself "Hasn't this stuff already been talked about 5.. 10 pages back?" Why? Because a thread like this simply cannot be navigated and people most likely are forgetting this very stuff has already been talked about to great extent. If this thread were a meeting, its minutes would be impossible to write up.

[rick31797]

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@marnotom! wrote:

For the benefit of Rick, who seems to have missed my earlier posts, with my usual ID I bought a Smartphone that was a GSP listing.

I have no quibbles with the shipping or import charges.  (The import charges are, in fact, less than what I'd pay in GST and PST if I could purchase the item in BC.)  The item arrived in the stated time frame.  The tracking worked.  Yes, the package was opened but it was put back together fine and still protected.  And, yes, the seller was quite aware that they were using the Global Shipping Program.

Maybe the program isn't in the best interests of Canadian buyers, but I think that those who do their research, homework, and number-crunching can make a drama-free GSP purchase that works reasonably well for them.

Was I lucky?  I don't think so.  "Luck is when preparation meets opportunity."  -- Seneca

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One sale i would not think would qualify you as am expert buyer using GSP..I am sure there are sales everyday that turn out fine..Its all the bad sales that are concerning people.. and there seem to be alot..

It takes alot of time and effort to find a good deal using the GSP... people that buy alot of the same items and have a chosen USA seller, that will agree to send USPS, would be the best way to go.

But most people buying are buying random items and like i said before when you start looking for specific items as to condition , color , brand name.. the Gsp is in your face all the time..

Question.......

If you continue to buy using the GSP, and say you get an item that has been damage or you don't get the item at all, will you continue to use the GSP...........as if this happens, maybe you just got unlucky .

[afantiques]

as it requires an external perspective on the item (e.g. country and postal code) to see these, and until a buyer submits a postal code for the seller to enter,

Minor note, you only need a postal code for Canada, and even then it will give a figure without it, which I assume is some default setting. For the rest of the world, just the country will do it.

[afantiques]

One sale i would not think would qualify you as am expert buyer using GSP..I am sure there are sales everyday that turn out fine..Its all the bad sales that are concerning people.. and there seem to be alot..

There are plenty of reports of sales to study, without actually throwing away money by using GSP in those circumstances where it makes no sense.

And BTW  'a lot' is two words, this solecism is perennially jarring. It can't be a typo all the time.

[reallynicestamps]

 by rights the eBay website software should be rewritten to implement this recommendation and to discourage people actively from using the programme if the sticker price is $49 or under.

Absolutely.

EBay has a Warning set up for Native American products, for Stamps, and for Nazi memorabilia, that I have run across while listing. Adding a similar Warning when the asking price of an item that is listed with GSP is under $50 would help both sellers and international buyers.

For Canadian buyers, it would also be useful to write your MP and the Minister of Revenue

Hon Kerry-Lynne Findlay

Minister of National Revenue
Canada Revenue Agency
OFFICE OF THE MINISTER

555 MacKenzie Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario  K1A 0L5

and suggest that the duty-free limit for shipped imports be raised to $200 to match the cross-border shopping limit.  Whether the provinces would agree to waiving their sales taxes is another question.

You do not need to put a stamp on the envelope. The usual method of noting this is a Free Franking is to put OHMS where the stamp would normally go.

[i*m-still-here]

Well said rick.

There is no way to balance all the negatives of the GSP with an occasional success story now and then once in a while hardly ever.

The GSP has been around for almost one and a half years now, and the problems are escalating by the week according to this thread.

What i see is that ti's appearing in an ever increasing number of listings.

If this continues where will this thread be in a year from now?

Nothing has happened to ease the situation for Canadian buyers and since Canadians buy most of their items from the US something has to break sooner or later.

I would also like to add:  Those who have the mistaken belief that the GSP is acceptable for items over $50 must be buying items under $50.

That's why I keep pointing out:  ALL of the issues associated with GSP purchases under $50 are amplified for more expensive items.

Since I buy alot that way I have a very good understanding of how it works.

[kxeron]

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@reallynicestamps wrote:

 by rights the eBay website software should be rewritten to implement this recommendation and to discourage people actively from using the programme if the sticker price is $49 or under.

Absolutely.

EBay has a Warning set up for Native American products, for Stamps, and for Nazi memorabilia, that I have run across while listing. Adding a similar Warning when the asking price of an item that is listed with GSP is under $50 would help both sellers and international buyers.

For Canadian buyers, it would also be useful to write your MP and the Minister of Revenue

Hon Kerry-Lynne Findlay

Minister of National Revenue
Canada Revenue Agency
OFFICE OF THE MINISTER

555 MacKenzie Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario  K1A 0L5

and suggest that the duty-free limit for shipped imports be raised to $200 to match the cross-border shopping limit.  Whether the provinces would agree to waiving their sales taxes is another question.

You do not need to put a stamp on the envelope. The usual method of noting this is a Free Franking is to put OHMS where the stamp would normally go.

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While I agree here, if such a raise of the duty-free limit was to be done, it would be unlikely that PBI would immediately comply and it could be months or even a year after where PBI gets their information updated in regards to Canadian tariffs since their tariff schedule in the eBay website has been notoriously inaccurate since earlier in this thread, it was debated whether PBI should charge duty on a watch when it had gold in it, PBI implied yes (through reverse calculations of their "Import Charge"), but CBSA said no when called.

I think along with the request to raise to $200, it should be also encouraged in a separate letter to look into PBI and the GSP and determine if Canadians are adequately being protected under consumer protection law when purchasing from eBay under the programme. The encouragement could be done in the same vein as the Privacy Commissioner being asked to look into Facebook's operation with complaints of lack of transparency.

If there's one thing Government likes to do, it's push people around, and if we as Canadians give a nudge to ours, they may find interest in making an investigation against PBI.

[marnotom!]

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@i*m-still-here wrote:

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@marnotom! wrote:

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@i*m-still-here wrote:

marmo:  It's not about what you buy via the GSP.

Understanding the system is about what you DON'T buy via the GSP.

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Says who?  Can't it be about both?

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NO!  It is not and it cannot be about both IF you are a regular buyer here.

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Because ... ?