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.

[s-a-]

This is terrible.

The kind of bad idea that could motivate users to find other ways for selling / buying stuff.

Terrible, terrible, terrible.

Terrible

Yup.

[rick31797]

Where is the original post , that this actually happened, i would like to read about it.. do you have a link..

[rick31797]

I would like to see the original posts about guitars getting confiscated by GSP.. do you have a link, so i can read about it....

[laneaorr]

Not impressed with the shipping at all. Purchased an item on Oct 14th.....shipped to a few towns and ended up in Erlanger. Data was transmitted to Canada Post on the 20th and merchandise is not trackable.

Paying extra fees for a slower service just doesn't work for me. I will avoid sellers using this service in the future.

[chimera148]

A search for "confiscated guitars" on both the .ca and .com discussion boards brings up some situations. 

[afantiques]

So this is handled via PP or ebay and doesn't matter the route chosen for the claim?

It should be a PP claim, the reason for this is that some GSP eligible countries do not have an ebay claim route.

[victoria6320]

Just felt it should be brought out that someone is certainly lining their pockets with this newly created money grab.   When you purchase something from the seller and notice it says Global Shipping Program, you are undoubtably getting duped.   The ad will say a low fee, but when you go to pay for it you're then going to find an extra HUGE fee tacked on.   This is not known at the time of purchase.   I ended up getting charged $40 to ship a $20 item plus Global Priority International is Global Delay Route international really.   The buyer ends up paying at least double what was posted and it goes to a central sorting station rather than straight through to you as would be if shipped USPS.  Postal service is fine.   NEVER again will I buy any item ever that is posting Global Shipping Program.  Be very careful to check that.   My item was much closer to me by far, and would have arrived much faster the other way instead of being shipped away from my geographically to a much further location so it could be remailed with a new sticker on it to me.  That's all they did.  For that the shipping doubled fees.   What was supposed to be 20 shipping as advertised quickly changed to over 40 when I went to pay for the 20 dollar item.  Unbelievable .. extremely bad service with deceitful methods of collecting of overcharges to the buyer.  You end up paying (and I was told this when talking to ebay) for the service to ship it to the Global Shipping Center, then paying again to ship it again.  Yup you got it, double shipping and double time.   No relief at all when you call Ebay about this, just more headache, and bull is being fed back.   Be careful to not use Global Shipping Program.  The seller is unaware this happens, they don't know what happens at checkout and they do not get the extra money, it's quickly lining other pockets of the Ebay and Pitney Bowes CEO's pockets.   

[joh-rainf]

Why does global shipping charge import fees on used clothing when canada customs does not levy any I have been importing used mayor cycling parts from the usa via e-bay for years and as long as the package is marked used there is no duty charged

[afantiques]

Why does global shipping charge import fees on used clothing

Used or new, they are still liable to import sales tax if over Can$20 declared value.

You may not have been charged this because it seems the collection of small amounts of tax is not worth while on postal imports but non postal importers have to pay.

[joh-rainf]

Just the kind of answer one expects from e-bay As of now I will search locally for my needs I no longer wish to be a member of such a money grabbing organisation one that absolutely no concerns for its clients John rainford A DiSGUSTED CANADIAN

[strumstick0_1]

This is another cost that is not needed. A way for someone to make a lot of money without providing a service. There is no need for an import charge by global. I am Canadian and I have to pay sales tax to my Govt. The NATA agreement exempts us from having to pay import charges. Global doesn't have to be involved at all. It's obvious their involvement is only for the money. They serve no purpose what so ever. Prior to July 1, 1913  I could purchase from the US . Who changed the rules?

[highland.2112]

"Customs services and international tracking provided".

It's nearly Halloween.

Why not unmask this malarky and call it for the palaver that it really is?

A cash grab by eBay and associates (PB).

[zarkano]

If I want something that a GSP-using seller has, I just click the 'Contact Seller' button and send them an email. In it I inform them about the program's hidden costs and some of the issues I've encountered. Please feel free to use the following as a template to request a seller remove the GSP. It has worked reasonably well for me.

Dear Seller,

This is a nice item but I'm hesitant to bid on this because of the Global Shipping Program.

Not only does it add an escalating import cost based on bid price (that the seller does not get to see), but they repackage everything at the Kentucky shipping center to fit the smallest package with minimal packing. This causes a lot of mishandling, breakage and loss of items. And it's a nightmare trying to recoup money when they botch things.

The GSP adds 9 different charges:
1. U.S. Shipping Fee
2. International Shipping Fee
3. Fuel Surcharge
4. Transportation Fee
5. Parcel Processing Service Fee: Customs and Duty
6. Distribution Center Management Fee
7. Loss Management Fee
8. Transportation Risk Premium Fee
9. Referral Fee - a variable fee paid by Pitney Bowes to eBay Inc. for referring you to the program.

I vowed I would no longer buy from GSP sellers but I'd love to have this item. Would you consider dropping the GSP off this one?

respectfully,

International Buyer

[femmefan1946]

Just felt it should be brought out that someone is certainly lining their pockets with this newly created money grab.  

Yes.

It's the Canadian taxpayer.

Canada Post and CSBA have been ignoring their legal duty to collect taxes on small and cheap imports for years. Under Canadian law, any import valued over $20CDN (about $18 USD)  is liable for duty and tax. CPO and CBSA decided not to bother when the cost of collecting would be higher than the amount collected.

Couriers and commercial shippers can't get away with that, including Pitney Bowes who run the GSP.

On the bright side, your GSP payments help reduce the provincial and federal deficits and debt.

Everything's shiny, Cap'n. Not to fret -- Kaywinnet Lee Frye

[francoeurdavid]

TLDR: Bought a package on eBay, it was never delivered but was marked as delivered by the shipping company. I lost my money and I don't have what I paid for.

Hi there,

I got screwed over eBay & PayPal and it looks like there is nothing I can go for it. Let me explain what happened and I hope one of you will be able to provide me with something I could try to do in order to get my money back, or get my package.

I bought a gift for a friend on eBay. I'm Canadian and the gift was originally located in the U.S.. I bought it and paid for everything right away: the gift + the shipping + a cost regarding customs.

About two weeks later, I received an email telling me my package as arrived (2014-09-09), I found it kinda odd because I was sitting home when I got the email. So I went out to check if my package was in the mail box. It wasn't. (I live in an appartment, my box is locked)

The notification was from CanadaPost so I looked up on their websitee to see what to do when you have a package marked as delivered but that is not. The website says to allow 24h in order to ensure the package really didn't made it.

24 hours later, still nothing. So I called, and asked about it. They told me they couldn't do anything if the package receiver is calling, it must be the sender that calls to open up an investiguation.

So I reached for my seller, tel lhim the whole story. He explains to me that he sent the package to a specific address (which is not mine) and that it was successfully delivered. The address is located in Erlanger, KY. I asked him to contact CanadaPost to open an investiguation so everything could be fixed. The problem is that even him couldn't open a investiguation because he never shipped a package himself with CanadaPost.

After further discussions with the seller, I understand what happened there : a thrid party company was included in the transaction and acted as a middle man in the shipping process to ensure that you have no extra custom to pay.

So I opened up a ticket on PayPal but it was quickly closed as the package is marked as delivered. It looks like they didn't even read the story I wrote there to explain what happened.

The weird thing is that a couple of days later I looked up the tracking of my package on CanadaPost and there was an update. After being marked as delivered, new information was added and my package is now located in Gaspé, QC according to them.

I also sent an email to the third party company (PB Cross Border, with a shady website), but I have yet to hear back from them.

The problem is not the seller, he sent the item I paid for. The problem is either the shipping company CanadaPost who didn't successfully delivered the package to me or the third party company that acted as a middle man that did not ship the package to the right address.

In all case, I got no gift, and my money is gone. Nobody can help and PayPal, eBay or CanadaPost...

What can I do? Should I put pressure on CanadaPost to force them to open an investiguation even if I'm not the seller?

MORE INFO: The third party company's website: http://pbcrossborder.com/

EDIT: This is what was used: http://blogs.pb.com/ecommerce/2013/07/10/global-shipping-program/

You can read the comments from the program itself here are not pretty good:https://www.facebook.com/PitneyBowes/posts/10151729835497556

Update : I was told to put pressure on CanadaPost since PB was so inactive and I did so. They finally opened a ticket concerning my package and I should be updated within 5 open days. I'll let you guys know what is going on.

[mater721]

" I was told to put pressure on CanadaPost since PB was so inactive and I did so. They finally opened a ticket concerning my package and I should be updated within 5 open days. I'll let you guys know what is going on."

LOL - when you opened the ticket, I suggested putting pressure on Canada Post. Someone said I was wrong...

[francoeurdavid]

Well, I called them, told them the whole story and when I said: "I'm pretty sure you can see it yourself that the package is in Gaspe and not in my house...". She told me : "Yeah, I can see that, I'll open a ticket and write the whole story down" and that was it.

Thanks for the advice, I was on the edge of giving up...

[bobenis]

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@rick31797 wrote:

Where is the original post , that this actually happened, i would like to read about it.. do you have a link..

---

About the banned woods?

[bobenis]

---

@afantiques wrote:

Why does global shipping charge import fees on used clothing

Used or new, they are still liable to import sales tax if over Can$20 declared value.

You may not have been charged this because it seems the collection of small amounts of tax is not worth while on postal imports but non postal importers have to pay.

---

Perhaps however these "import fees" that go to PB are not 100% clear that they are indeed the taxes we pay.

This fee goes to PB and they forward the parcel on thus we are paying PB for the 'paperwork' & they forward this to Revenue Canada or Customs or one would think that is the case.

For all we know PB is registering our items worth $15 and pocketing those fees.

This is right from ebay's terms on the GSP:

i. Exclusions. You alone are responsible for any customs duties, taxes, surcharges, fines, penalties, or other charges which may be imposed on you by customs or tax officials after a GSP Item has successfully cleared customs and been delivered to (or made available for pickup at) the delivery address specified by you.

But then, within an auction when you click on the "?" next to 'Import Fees' it states this:

"This amount includes applicable customs duties, taxes, brokerage and other fees. This amount is subject to change until you make payment."

So if these so called 'Import Fees' cover taxes, duty, and brokerage then WHY would Canada Customs charge for that again?

It is totally contradictory and the only way I can see this happening is if PB is making errors on declarations which why should we, the buyer, be responsible for those errors?

[bobenis]

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@femmefan1946 wrote:

Just felt it should be brought out that someone is certainly lining their pockets with this newly created money grab.  

Yes.

It's the Canadian taxpayer.

Canada Post and CSBA have been ignoring their legal duty to collect taxes on small and cheap imports for years. Under Canadian law, any import valued over $20CDN (about $18 USD)  is liable for duty and tax. CPO and CBSA decided not to bother when the cost of collecting would be higher than the amount collected.

Couriers and commercial shippers can't get away with that, including Pitney Bowes who run the GSP.

On the bright side, your GSP payments help reduce the provincial and federal deficits and debt.

Everything's shiny, Cap'n. Not to fret -- Kaywinnet Lee Frye

---

Haha what a crock, you cannot be serious?

Have some proof these fees we are paying are 100% reducing "the provincial and federal deficits and debt."?

Worth noting that not all items over the $20CDN ideology are charged duty.

Items under NAFTA are 100% duty exempt among other specified items.

Also regarding the 'legal duty' comment; the amount of items that customs has to deal with daily via checking every item for illegal substances under x-rays, sniffers, etc delays things so much that they cannot allow each item to also have paperwork filled out for duty, taxes, etc.

If you want them to then perhaps you should write your MP or PM and ask them to hire more Canada Customs agents or you would just have to wait an additional 2 months to get your item. 😃

However, since you seem to be so pro on the GSP, then one would assume you would never complain about receiving an item months later and you most certainly would never file a "item not received" claim within 45 days since Customs would be doing their legal duty in taking the time to be certain all items are charged taxes.

Correct?