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.

[scarab138]

I think it is unfair to punish buyers outside of the U.S.A. with extra shipping fees disguised as import fees with the Global Shipping program.  I have had to pay double the shipping fees and I find it unfair.  Someone obviously made a deal to force us to pay PBI extra money.  If I sell an item to an american do they have to pay these extra fees?  If not, then why do I have to pay them.  I feel that I am being punished for not living in the U.S.A..  I understand that some items require import duties to be paid, but those should be paid to the post office if required.  Most of the items That I have been charged double the shipping fees would not require duty charges. If this is the way of the future, I will no longer buy items from the U.S., I will buy cheaper items from China, with free shipping and I will wait a little longer for the items to arrive. When I singed up for ebay, at no point was I told that , as a Canadian, I would be charged extra "import fees".  It is ridiculous. I bought an item yesterday, for $20.00.  I was charged $10.00 for shipping and an extra $8.35 because of this Global Shipping program.  I will never pay PBI a cent in the future.  If you value customers in different countries I would suggest you go back to doing things like you used to.

A very unhappy customer,

scarab138

[reallynicestamps]

If I sell an item to an american do they have to pay these extra fees?  If not, then why do I have to pay them.

Yes.

If you sell an American an item valued over $200, he will pay duty on it (unless it was manufactured in a NAFTA country).

The USA has no federal sales tax like our GST. I'm unclear what happens with state and municipal sales taxes. (Yes, New York City has a sales tax on items sold in the city.) I am also unaware of how much USPS or couriers in the USA charge for collecting and remitting these government fees.

The Canadian government puts the maximum that can be shipped into Canada at only $20 CDN (currently about $18USD). Any private shipper, like Pitney Bowes or UPS or FedEx MUST collect and remit duty on these items. They MUST also collect between 5% and 15% in sales tax depending on province. For this service Pitney Bowes/GSP charges about $5 on average.

The duty and tax go to the Canadian government.

When items are shipped by USPS, the Canadian Border Services Agency has taken it upon itself to ignore that $20 import limit. This is based on the sensible decision that they would be spending more money collecting these tiny amounts than they would collect. CBSA usually does charge duty and sales tax if the import is valued over $100 CDN or is bulky. Then Canada Post delivers the imported parcel and charges $9.95 as their service fee.

If you think Canadians should be allowed a higher duty free import limit write to:

The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, MP

East Block

House of Commons

OTTAWA ON  K1A 0A6

You don't have to put a stamp on the envelope. Instead 'free frank " it by marking the envelope OHMS.

[bobbybeeme]

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@reallynicestamps wrote:

If I sell an item to an american do they have to pay these extra fees?  If not, then why do I have to pay them.

Yes.

If you sell an American an item valued over $200, he will pay duty on it (unless it was manufactured in a NAFTA country).

---

Yes, that is the US law, but I have yet to hear of an American having to pay taxes on an eBay purchased item.

In Canada they rarely collect when items are shipped via the USPS and without the GSP regardless of item cost,  but in the States one gets the impression that they NEVER collect.

Has anyone ever heard of an American having to pay "import fees?"

---

[afantiques]

Has anyone ever heard of an American having to pay "import fees?"

I shipped thousands of packages from the UK to USA, no one ever mentioned any customs fees but I did make sure every item had a very modest value on the label.

[pjcdn2005]

Has anyone ever heard of an American having to pay "import fees?"

Yes. If an item is shipped there by courier and it is over their import limit, they will be charged duty and brokerage fees.

[bobbybeeme]

Yes, Thank you PJ. for clarifying that.  That's very important and I'm so sorry to have missed it in my first post.

It's very important to be precise.

There are also some companies which pre-charge import fees along the lines of the GSP.

I'm not referring to those companies or couriers.

So, I'll try again.

The US law states that items over about $200 should be charged import fees, but I have yet to hear of an American having to pay taxes on an eBay purchased item.

In Canada they rarely collect when items are shipped via the USPS and without the GSP regardless of item cost,  but in the States one gets the impression that they NEVER collect.

Has anyone ever heard of an American having to pay "import fees when items are shipped via the Post Office?

[pierrelebel]

"Has anyone ever heard of an American having to pay "import fees when items are shipped via the Post Office?"

The official answer to your question is available here:

http://www.ebay.com/gds/Canada-USA-Import-Export-Shipping-Guide-/10000000000067340/g.html

Import to USA

Mailing Gifts and Purchases from Abroad

Gifts mailed from abroad to people in the United States can be received by them free of duty if the value of the gift does not exceed $100. Gifts for more than one person can be consolidated into one package. To be eligible for this waiver, each recipient's name must be clearly marked on the package. Non-gift purchases mailed to the United States will pass duty-free if their value does not exceed $200. The outer wrapping must be marked with the fair retail value of the contents; a description of the contents (e.g., shirts, belts, watch, figurines, etc.); and whether the package is a gift ($100 exemption) or for personal use ($200 exemption).

==================================================================================================

It is impossible to compare the Canadian and American situation when it comes to postal imports. 

Retail prices in Canada are generally higher than the USA for a multitude of reasons and Canadian retailers (who are required by law to charge GST/GST/PST) and their millions of Canadian employees need basic protection against imports if they were allowed to come in free of tax.

American retailers need no protection against Canadian sellers.

[stratcatgenius]

Hi - I think this GPS is a cash grab for somebody. I have been buying the same items for years from the US without paying import fees. Now all of the sudden I am supposed to pay for fees which MIGHT be charged on imported items? No thank you, I now unfortunately AVOID items with GPS charges noted. If eBay is trying to get less business for their sellers, congratulations, they have succeeded.

[bobbybeeme]

Thank You Pierre for another link.  These details are very important to all.

However, the official position is well known and that information is readily available.  There is no mystery there.

Moreover,, already covered in my previous post and in femme's post above as well.

I was wondering how that translates into the real world which is an entirely different question.

Also, much more meaningful and therefore interesting IMO.

[bobbybeeme]

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@afantiques wrote:

Has anyone ever heard of an American having to pay "import fees?"

I shipped thousands of packages from the UK to USA, no one ever mentioned any customs fees but I did make sure every item had a very modest value on the label.

---

Have to say....... I'm surprised to see you post that ""here."""  (A touch of reality perhaps?)

I'm surprised no one has commented (yet?).

[pierrelebel]

"how that translates into the real world which is an entirely different question."

For an answer to that question, you should contact American buyers who import "stuff" worth more than $200.

I do not think anyone here has that personal experience.

The largest difference between Canada and USA on the subject is that Canada has a national consumption tax (GST/HST) and, since the federal government collects the federal tax, they have an agreement with the provinces to collect the provincial tax (if applicable) at time of Customs clearance.

In the USA there is no such national tax.  So the federal government does not have any tax to collect and, as such, have no reason to collect state tax.

It is impossible to compare the situation in both countries.  The simple reality is that Canadians in general pay more taxes than Americans and life does go on.  Increasing the exemption on postal imports from $20 to $200 will not solve any problem. Far from it.  It would create more situations where Canadians buy from US retailers to "save the tax", resulting in:

1) layoffs of Canadian workers by retailers operating in Canada

2) lower tax collection by the federal and provincial governments resulting in fewer services or higher income tax to make up the deficit.

Everybody loses

[bobbybeeme]

But  as you see above:   I have opted to ask here.  My American friends inform me they "never" pay duty or taxes for eBay items.

Pierre:  You are missing the point entirely.  This is not a discussion about politics and taxes.

The issue is the way the GSP collects on behalf of our government while our government, with a few rare exceptions,  has opted not to do so even though the law is on the books.

If the Canadians were to collect for the Americans via a GSP the way they do for us they'd go ballistic.

That is the point.

Discussing the politics of the way taxes are levied is way beyond the scope of this GSP focused thread.

Two very different issues.

Be careful not to confuse the two.

KIS .............

[afantiques]

The issue is the way the GSP collects on behalf of our government while our government, with a few rare exceptions,  has opted not to do so even though the law is on the books.

GSP imports are freight, all taxes have to be paid.

Postal imports are treated as individual items and discretion is used to avoid collecting tax that does not cover the cost of collection.

It is essential to understanding the GSP process to understand the difference in treatment is fundamental to the system, and works the way it does because freight imports are handled with paperwork and not an army of men rummaging through containers.

In effect the items are inspected and assessed for tax by the shipper at the point of shipment, and a cargo manifest submitted to the customs of the relevant country. If the shipper fudges the paperwork, and is caught, that shipper is out of the shipping business, which is the incentive to get it right.

[afantiques]

Have to say....... I'm surprised to see you post that ""here."""  (A touch of reality perhaps?)

I'm surprised no one has commented (yet?).

My philosophy that the best CN22 is one that most nearly describes the item as 'Utter Rubbish'  valued at 'Not Worth Stealing' is something I have been propounding since the first time I ever saw a CN22, and thought at once, "That's the ideal way to take the lucky dip aspect out of stealing mail"

[00nevermind00]

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@afantiques wrote:

Have to say....... I'm surprised to see you post that ""here."""  (A touch of reality perhaps?)

I'm surprised no one has commented (yet?).

My philosophy that the best CN22 is one that most nearly describes the item as 'Utter Rubbish'  valued at 'Not Worth Stealing' is something I have been propounding since the first time I ever saw a CN22, and thought at once, "That's the ideal way to take the lucky dip aspect out of stealing mail"

---

This is so simply sensible and logical that, of course, it flies way over the head of many sellers, as can be seen everyday on the .com boards. Depressing...

Isn't this discussion about how often (or not) US buyers pay tax on their imports taking us away from the topic of this thread, namely the GSP? As a Canadian buyer, I don't really care how much someone in Iowa pays to buys stuff from abroad. The US government has chosen to borrow heavily from the Chinese instead of taxing their own people. This choice may blow up in their faces one day or it may not. I don't know. I'm glad that Canada hasn't followed the same course of action. That said, the $20 tax exemption is ridiculously out of date and totally unenforcable, and should be raised.

Raising the exemption wouldn't make the GSP any more palatable to Canadians, but it may help make the charges seem just a little less outrageous on low-priced items. Maybe...

[surfingjennie1965]

I feel ripped off.  I wasn't aware of an extra cost that would be deducted from my credit card.  I will not be buy international again.  I will stick with purchases from folk in the UK only.  That way I have recourse to being ripped off by legal loopholes taken advantage of by the unscrupulous and greedy fronting as big company!!!

You robbed me and you know it!

[surfingjennie1965]

UK BUYERS BEWARE - BUY BRITISH!

[surfingjennie1965]

I will also be leaving comment with my purchase feedback regarding international additional costs on the sellers pages from whom I have bought and subsequently become the victim of this new-fangled rip off. Maybe ebay will reconsider inviting third party rip offs into what was believed to be secure purchases and payments!!!!!

[bobbybeeme]

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@afantiques wrote:

My philosophy that the best CN22 is one that most nearly describes the item as 'Utter Rubbish'  valued at 'Not Worth Stealing' is something I have been propounding since the first time I ever saw a CN22, and thought at once, "That's the ideal way to take the lucky dip aspect out of stealing mail"

---

I'm not saying it's not done.

I'm just saying I'm surprised you'd post it here.  Normally they'd jump all over that here. 

I'd also like to point out that sellers all over the world are very sensitive to declarations and put buyers first and that US sellers stand out as different.

That's one big reason why the GSP sticks as it does.

A lot of Canadians are wanna-be Americans when it comes to eBay.

[femmefan1946]

 I will not be buy international again.  I will stick with purchases from folk in the UK only. 

Umm. Okay.

But the UK is a different country than Canada, so... whatever.

The GSP is only available as an option to sellers in the USA who are terrified of shipping outside the Lower 48. There are constant posts about shipping to Puerto Rico on the dotCOM boards, for example.

And eBay does not encourage sellers to use the GSP when the value of the item is under $50USD. They are not real good about reminding sellers of this however.

As long as you avoid purchasing from US sellers whose listings sport these words:

Customs services and international tracking provided

You will avoid the GSP.

For the record though, sometimes the GSP seller does have the lowest prices when all costs are totalled. Those nervous US sellers sometimes are charging ridiculous amounts to ship with tracking and insurance and signature confirmation, when all they need is to use either GSP (over $50) or First Class International (under $50).