eBay

kalvin@ebay.com · ‎09-26-2013

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.

~Kalvin
eBay.ca Community Manager

kalvin@ebay.com

jean-philippe.vert · ‎04-01-2014

Pretty sure it will get blocked in Kentucky as weight and dimensions are way over eligibility.

I have asked seller if this item http://www.ebay.ca/itm/FRONT-REAR-KIT-ELINE-DRILLED-SLOTTED-Disc-Brake-Rotors-CERAMIC-Pads-R110463-/...

could ship with GSP. They tried and were not able to list it because of excessive weight.

arlene_v · ‎04-01-2014

The seller with that listing for the tub has many listings then that are well over the limit.

You can just imagine the extent of it ...over 350 000 listings, and it would seem no quality control re what is eligible and what isn't.

See, stuff like this makes me think the GSP is really out of control at this point, and totally polluting this site.

Buyers come here with certain expectations. Predictability (by that I mean shipping costs that make sense) and reliability (by that I mean listing items that will actually ship to the buyer, and not be held up in KY) being big components of the shopping experience.

On so many levels the GSP just fails.

arlene_v · ‎04-01-2014

LOL, you can even buy an island now through the GSP!

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Rave-Sports-Activity-Island-/400687321514?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5d4a...

But it's only a small one .... 142 lbs.

ace_4420 · ‎04-01-2014

I guess Gov't of Canada feels this is a better way to generate more revenue rather than raise taxes. Perhaps to cover weight watcher fee's for Wallen, Ford and Duffy. Lots of Gov't wasted revenue Now this post will be pulled for sure!!...

mpit7628 · ‎04-01-2014

Hi every one.. I thought I would come onto the discussion forum and talk about the experience I just had buying a doll from a seller in Florida. A few days ago I saw a listing for a doll that I was interested in. I found the doll on eBay.com and so I contacted the seller to see if they would ship up into Canada which they were totally ok with. I asked if they wouldn't mind shipping just regular mail instead of the global shipping which they were fine with. After a few days I bought the doll but the seller messaged me to tell me they were having a hard time updating the invoice because global shipping kept popping up. Well, the seller finally figured it out and sent me a new invoice which i paid right away. This morning I received a message from the seller who is now totally angry with eBay. Seems that because she used just regular mail she is being dinged a $10.00 fee which apparently she wouldn't have been charged if she had used global shipping. Also, even though she had been an eBay for some time but not a lot of sales, the funds she made from selling me the doll are being held for 21 days. She has been told if she used Global shipping the funds would have been released right away. It seems not only buyers are having problems with global shipping but it appears that sellers are practically being forced into it by making it totally inconvenient to ship by any other means. What has happened to eBay! It just doesn't seem to be a very good place to shop any more!

attaindee · ‎04-01-2014

I am writing to express how VERY dissatisfied I am with this GSP. I have now been dinged three times with extra (and excessive) charges levelled after I have won and item and agreed to the shipping charges stated in the initial transaction. This is not fault of the seller, but of ebay's GSP system.

When I give myself a certain limit to my combined bid and shipping cost and win an item, I do not appreciate a note from the seller saying there is an extra charge by Pitney Bowes on my item. From now on, I will only purchase items sent USPS. Good grief, to be forced to do business with a third party for shipping is beyond the pale. Most Canadians who use ebay know to avoid items that are shipped by UPS because of the excessive charges, but now any item not specifically designated as shipped via USPS is a risky transaction.

This is not the fault of the sellers, but of ebay. I am very dissatisfied with this GSP policy. What a rip! I can tell you it will most certainly negatively effect my activity on ebay and I will think twice and thrice about purchasing or bidding on items listed by US sellers.

Is think ebay should seriously consider alternatives to this program, or scrap this step altogether. Either way, these extra charges should be stated openly and out-right in the shipping notes (which is only honest, but unfortunate for the sellers who will bear the brunt of the impact on their sales).

Sincerely,

Kat

femmefan1946 · ‎04-01-2014

. Predictability (by that I mean shipping costs that make sense) and reliability (by that I mean listing items that will actually ship to the buyer, and not be held up in KY) being big components of the shopping experience.

I agree with the second part of this, but not with the first.

Unfortunately, most people don't send parcels. The last few wedding gifts I sent, the most likely shipping to others for the general public, were sent directly from the store to the bride. I paid for shipping, but whatever it was was hidden in the selling price.

As a result most people have no idea how much shipping is, how much it should be, how quickly or slowly it will arrive.

They make up their own little fantasy about how they think it should go.

Which is why we often see new sellers upset that they will be charging more for shipping than for the actual item. And buyers complaining that it cost $10 to receive their $5 item.

And the speed of delivery (OT I understand) leads to naive buyers patiently waiting months for items to arrive from China, that likely were never sent, because they don't understand that Air Mail from China is as fast as Air Mail from Florida.

arlene_v · ‎04-01-2014

Femme I wasn't clear in my post ...what I meant by predictability is that there is no consistency within the GSP, costs are all over the place and don't seem to make sense. At least not to me!

So under the gsp, a light weight widget costs $16 to send, for example, and yet a 32 lb item only $21.

It just means that it is very different to what I am used to ie the heavier and bulkier the item, the higher the shipping cost.

With the GSP that level of predictability is not there anymore.

I think for buyers this makes it frustrating because this is not what we are used to, and it has not been explained. "Shipping charges" appear random and do not correlate with the item in terms of weight and size.

femmefan1946 · ‎04-01-2014

Tomorrow is Wednesday and the Pinks (eBay employees) hold an Open House around noon for questions and comments.

If you have time, submit your experience.

Include the transaction number, but not the seller's name.

Actually, if the Board is already open,you may be able to submit your question in advance.

marnotom! · ‎04-01-2014

@ace_4420 wrote:

Thanks for your response but I'm not making myself clear. The US sellers that I buy from DO NOT use the GSP.

No, I'm obviously not the one who's making himself clear, because I read your post as how you described above and that's how I responded to it.

To rework my point from many posts ago, of the items my wife and I purchased online and had mailed to us from the late 1990's to around 2007, I'd say that 70% of them were hit with charges for taxes and processing, and in one case duty as well.

I don't think I've paid taxes on a personal import shipped by mail for about three years now, but then, we're not buying nearly as much from outside Canada as we used to largely because the shipping cost makes it a losing proposition.

ace_4420 · ‎04-01-2014

I see Marnotom, thank-you for your response. Okay, I get what you're saying. BUT! I am a collector. I collect vintage south west Zuni, Hopi, and Mexican hand made silver jewelry. I also collect vintage horse figurines. Mainly Lefton, Norcrest, Enesco, Hagen Renaker, Josefs originals (American distributors from the 60's). I got "pegged" duty last week for some sw jewelry BUT today I picked up my Lefton horse figurine from a US seller, I won the auction. Final bid was 52.66 US which is 58.12 Cdn. US shipping on US sellers site said 15.86 S&H, Import Charges 10.12. When I picked up the parcel. I was expecting to get "pegged" again for HST and Handling fee but none?. I asked my post office clerk and she doesn't know why either? She did say that Customs track you by your name. If they feel you're buying to much they (Customs) will pull packages at random and charge accordingly. If this is true then it's a bit insidious. I do buy more from Canadian sellers when it comes to other things I like, which is good, as I want to sell again one day.
But, Alas, Canadians don't have much to offer in the way of SW authentic Hopi, Zuni & Mexican cuff bracelets, squash blossom necklaces etc or Japan Horse figurines from the 60's. I have all the gloss bay Beswicks I need...Ace

marnotom! · ‎04-02-2014

@ace_4420 wrote:

I see Marnotom, thank-you for your response. Okay, I get what you're saying. BUT! I am a collector. I collect vintage south west Zuni, Hopi, and Mexican hand made silver jewelry. I also collect vintage horse figurines. Mainly Lefton, Norcrest, Enesco, Hagen Renaker, Josefs originals (American distributors from the 60's). I got "pegged" duty last week for some sw jewelry BUT today I picked up my Lefton horse figurine from a US seller, I won the auction. Final bid was 52.66 US which is 58.12 Cdn. US shipping on US sellers site said 15.86 S&H, Import Charges 10.12. When I picked up the parcel. I was expecting to get "pegged" again for HST and Handling fee but none?. I asked my post office clerk and she doesn't know why either? She did say that Customs track you by your name. If they feel you're buying to much they (Customs) will pull packages at random and charge accordingly. If this is true then it's a bit insidious. I do buy more from Canadian sellers when it comes to other things I like, which is good, as I want to sell again one day.
But, Alas, Canadians don't have much to offer in the way of SW authentic Hopi, Zuni & Mexican cuff bracelets, squash blossom necklaces etc or Japan Horse figurines from the 60's. I have all the gloss bay Beswicks I need...

I think it's simply a combination of the volume of mail being too great for customs to stop every single package and assess taxes (and duty, if applicable) owing on them, and the fact that it costs more than the taxes collected to do so on lower-valued shipments anyway.

If an item is sent as a parcel (i.e. Priority International, Priority Express), it's probably more likely to be hit with a tax charge than if it's sent as an oversize letter (First Class International) because they travel in separate mailstreams and the volume of international parcels is smaller than that of oversize letters. Besides, parcels probably look more "taxable" than oversize letters anyway.

However, it appears that the shipment you're referring to this time around was a GSP shipment if it had "import charges" of $10.12 stated in the listing. This is item 261425443005, right?

I would suggest to you that if any Canadians sold the type of items you're looking for online, they'd likely be sellers who are registered to collect sales taxes, so you'd still be paying taxes on those items. You just wouldn't be paying Canada Post's ten dollar processing charge on top of that.

ace_4420 · ‎04-02-2014

Ahhhh! Got it Marnotom:smiley happy: I think it's simply a combination of the volume of mail being too great for customs to stop every single package and assess taxes (and duty, if applicable) owing on them, and the fact that it costs more than the taxes collected to do so on lower-valued shipments anyway....That fits with what my Canada Post lady tried to Explain to me last week when I got "pegged" with the HST and 9.95 Handling fee!

Poor Gal! I was so mad about this blind-side I lost reason LOL!

However, it appears that the shipment you're referring to this time around was a GSP shipment if it had "import charges" of $10.12 stated in the listing. This is item 261425443005, right?..Yes! Just picked up this afternoon.

I would suggest to you that if any Canadians sold the type of items you're looking for online, they'd likely be sellers who are registered to collect sales taxes, so you'd still be paying taxes on those items. You just wouldn't be paying Canada Post's ten dollar processing charge on top of that...Got it! Alberta has no sales tax applied to us. Yet I do pay taxes to Provinces that do, so that's a no issue as far as Albertans are concerned. In fact I just purchased this afternoon some items from Winnipeg and Ontario and paid provincial taxes,no problem.

Thank-you M, for your calm insight and patience. I'm trying to get back into selling and buying on eBay after a 4 year hiatus. My husband took his own life by shotgun and I'm trying to get back to the land of the living. I don't fair well with blindsides so when I got this extra "customs" charge after being away for 4 years, it was unnerving. Thanks Kindly for your considerate and helpful response. Alberta Hugs, Ace.

arlene_v · ‎04-02-2014

Ace, I'm sorry to read about your husband. I hope all goes well with your sales on eBay and that you can find your "balance" again.

Getting back into eBay takes some getting used to, that's for sure, so keep asking questions on the community forums they are great.

marnotom! · ‎04-02-2014

@mpit7628 wrote:

Hi every one.. I thought I would come onto the discussion forum and talk about the experience I just had buying a doll from a seller in Florida. A few days ago I saw a listing for a doll that I was interested in. I found the doll on eBay.com and so I contacted the seller to see if they would ship up into Canada which they were totally ok with. I asked if they wouldn't mind shipping just regular mail instead of the global shipping which they were fine with. After a few days I bought the doll but the seller messaged me to tell me they were having a hard time updating the invoice because global shipping kept popping up. Well, the seller finally figured it out and sent me a new invoice which i paid right away. This morning I received a message from the seller who is now totally angry with eBay. Seems that because she used just regular mail she is being dinged a $10.00 fee which apparently she wouldn't have been charged if she had used global shipping. Also, even though she had been an eBay for some time but not a lot of sales, the funds she made from selling me the doll are being held for 21 days. She has been told if she used Global shipping the funds would have been released right away. It seems not only buyers are having problems with global shipping but it appears that sellers are practically being forced into it by making it totally inconvenient to ship by any other means. What has happened to eBay! It just doesn't seem to be a very good place to shop any more!

What is this ten dollar fee for?

21 day holds are not unusual. eBay has been employing them for a few years now, but if your seller hasn't sold much--if anything--internationally recently, they may not be familiar with this development.

marnotom! · ‎04-02-2014

@arlene_v wrote:

Ace, I'm sorry to read about your husband. I hope all goes well with your sales on eBay and that you can find your "balance" again.

Getting back into eBay takes some getting used to, that's for sure, so keep asking questions on the community forums they are great.

I'm sorry about your husband, too, Ace. I know a few people who have experienced sudden losses like that and they're definitely life-changing events. I like Arlene's words about finding your "balance". It takes a lot of time and it's unlikely that things will be exactly the same as they were before, but a balance can be found. Stay strong but don't be afraid to be honest with yourself when it's difficult to do so. That's where and when we grow the most.

mcollins3369 · ‎04-02-2014

I won a vacuum tube (very small package) for $9, but shipping it from New York to Ontario, Canada (just across the border) will cost $20. Plus, I'll have to drive to a neighbouring town to pick it up from Canpar which delivers while I'm at work. That seems very unfair, if not predatory gouging. Hopefully the seller will go with USPS which will use Canada Post, so I can get the tube delivered to my mailbox as usual. The shipping calculator shows $9.50, but when I go to pay....$21 Can. This isn't the first time this has happened, so I'm wondering if it is worth doing any business with anyone using the GSP, or eBay at all. Is eBay losing customers over this?

marnotom! · ‎04-02-2014

Your post is likely going to get relocated to the "Comments about the Global Shipping Program" thread which you might want to skim through if you have an hour or so to kill. In the meantime...

How were you able to use the shipping calculator for this listing? The shipping rate for a GSP listing should be stated right on the listing itself. Were you using eBay Mobile, which can be problematic when used in Canada for .com listings?

Yes, the GSP seems to irritate a lot of people who are used to purchasing lightweight, modestly-priced items from the United States. But there are other shipping methods out there that are also inappropriate for these sorts of items, such as FedEx Next-Day Express and Priority Mail International. The problem seems to be that a lot of sellers are accidentally opting themselves into the Global Shipping Program and not realizing how their listings appear to non-U.S. buyers until they get one who's purchased one of their items or who has inquired about changing the shipping method prior to committing to purchasing.

If your seller is one of the ones who doesn't know what's going on with the GSP, you may need to do a lot of coaching and reassurance.

For what it's worth, I see that you recently purchased a C$30 vacuum tube with C$1 shipping. In both cases you're paying about $30 for a vacuum tube. Just thought that was interesting.

mcollins3369 · ‎04-02-2014

The $1 shipping was stated in the ad but not the reality, which the seller's add also stated (please read it all). That tube cost $14 to ship within Canada, but Canada Post is another story. I got a tube shipped cheaper from Germany around the same time as the tube you mention. The seller of the current tube has informed me that eBay will not let him send me a corrected invoice with the $9.50 shipping charge using USPS. Why is the seller bound? Pitney-Bowes and Canpar have one heck of a deal going on here!