Ebay Global Shipping is horrible, slow and overpriced

[chupa_chips]

For the amount that eBay charges on this farce of a program, they should be ashamed.  What a scam.  Ordered a product that was shipped from Minneapolis where the journey began.  It bounced accross the US going from Ohio to Kentucky.  It finally gets to customs.  Package clears customs in one day and has now sat in one place for more than a week.  Any other shipping service from Minneapolis to here is 7 days at most and USPS is way cheaper than the inflated fees eBay milks people for.  Who knows when or if this will actually show up but 30 days to get to a location that's only 450 miles away is a joke.  From everything I have read lately on this, it is not new and if you are in Canada, the only thing you can do is not buy from someone who uses eBay Global Shipping.  Ebay should be ashamed of this program.

[jackal314]

Yup, I won't be making anymore purchanse transactions with sellers using the Global Shipping Program from USA to Canada. An absolutely brutal customer experience compared to USPS/FedEx/UPS/etc.!!!

Auburn WA to Calgary AB is 700miles by road - 12 hours.

GSP road route: Auburn WA to Erlanger KY - 2,332 miles over 7 days, 2) Erlanger Ky to Toronto ON - 700 miles in 12 hours, and Toronto ON to Calgary AB - 2,131 miles (estimated since the package has been stuck for 4 days after clearing customs in Toronto).

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

---

@femmefan1946 wrote:

The GSP is a Seller Protection Program aimed at US and UK sellers who are reluctant to ship outside their borders.

Once the shipment arrives at the GSP plant in Erlanger KY, the seller's responsibility for delivery ends.

It has few if any advantages for buyers, because it is not designed or intended to have any advantages for buyers.

It is a Seller Protection Program aimed at US and UK sellers who are reluctant to ship outside their borders.

---

Tucking this along. Some reverse interesting perspectives of US sellers and dealing with problem returns using GSP.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Returns/An-international-return-request-INAD-through-ebays-global/m-p/...

Ahhh learning how the other half lives and deals with problems!!

-Lotz

[marnotom!]

---

@chupa_chips wrote:

For the amount that eBay charges on this farce of a program, they should be ashamed.  What a scam.  Ordered a product that was shipped from Minneapolis where the journey began.  It bounced accross the US going from Ohio to Kentucky.  It finally gets to customs.  Package clears customs in one day and has now sat in one place for more than a week.  Any other shipping service from Minneapolis to here is 7 days at most and USPS is way cheaper than the inflated fees eBay milks people for.  

---

That "bouncing around from Ohio to Kentucky" isn't the Global Shipping Program's doing.  That's the work of the shipping service the seller used to send the item to the Global Shipping Center in Kentucky.  It wasn't even in the hands of the GSP for that leg of the journey.

As for the expense that you're still very vague about, it really depends on what you buy and the cost of the shipping service the seller used to get the item to Kentucky.  I was recently looking at getting some wheel covers for my Asian compact, and I didn't find any examples of non-GSP shipped wheel covers having cheaper shipping costs than those forwarded by the GSP.  It's not going to work out that way in all cases, but if you're interested in saving a bit of money, it doesn't hurt to do some homework first.

[darak10]

yeah, not exactly carbon footprint friendly is it.  

[marnotom!]

---

@darak10 wrote:

yeah, not exactly carbon footprint friendly is it.  

---

If all these packages were going on solo road trips, then, yeah, it wouldn't be carbon footprint friendly.  But packages hitch rides on large trucks with other packages that have something in common when it comes to their destination.

My wife once purchased something from SE Asia that was shipped by FedEx.  It didn't go directly to our small town on Vancouver Island, but instead went to Alaska first, then Washington state, then Richmond/Vancouver, before going to a small FedEx hub on the Island before heading to us.  It likely didn't take a more direct route because the volume of merchandise travelling between the seller's location and Vancouver Island wasn't great enough to justify having a dedicated air route which would have added to FedEx's carbon footprint.

[reallynicestamps]

having it repackaged there,
Piffle.

The GSP plant is handling thousands of parcels going all over the world every day.

How much would it cost them to unwrap every single one of those packages and carefull rewrap them in worse packaging before sending them on their way?

The minimum wage in Kentucky is $7.25 an hour.

How many packages could the average line worker handle in that hour? Four? Six?

This is one of those urban legends spouted by people who have never seen a shipping plant.

Piffle.

The GSP is a Seller Protection service and has no noticeable benefits for buyers. It is slightly cheaper than using USPS/Canada Post if only because the service charge is $4,95 less.

All shipping companies use spoke and hub shipping. Including the postal services.

[elgato963]

I'm doing my best to do the same thing.....avoid sellers who use GSP. Hopefully, sellers will pick up on this and stop using this as a delivery method. 

[marnotom!]

---

@elgato963 wrote:

I'm doing my best to do the same thing.....avoid sellers who use GSP. Hopefully, sellers will pick up on this and stop using this as a delivery method. 

---

It's not an easy thing for US sellers to find out how much the GSP charges their international buyers.  Many of them are quite surprised when potential buyers message them with the details.

The US market is so much larger than the Canadian market that I'd say the majority of US eBay sellers do comfortably on domestic sales alone.  Canadian and other international buyers are sold to more out of consideration rather than it being an important part of US sellers' business plans.  They're not going to "pick up" on anything by us not buying from them.

The GSP has been around since 2013, so I think the only thing that's going to do it in is if Pitney Bowes ceases or restructures its operations or else something happens that leads to the termination of Pitney Bowes business relationship with eBay.

[peclem38]

Sellers please note that you are losing sales if you use the GSP.
Many a time I have wanted an item, but the GPS is a ridiculous amount, charging import charges where there are none.
I just won’t pay it, so afraid you lose my custom. It is just as easy to just use international shipping.

[byto253]

Sellers do not care, and GSP has resulted in so many US sellers shipping internationally that eBay is happy with it.  GSP gives them an easy, limited downside, way to sell abroad and that will still be a small fraction of their sales.  Sellers who do a LOT of Canada or overseas volume were likely set up for that before GSP and are still operating outside of it. 

It is a program for sellers, and particularly for smaller items, it is expensive and inefficient for Canadian buyers.   I avoid it as well, but it is not going anywhere since the downside from those who avoid it are not significant enough.   

[marnotom!]

---

@peclem38 wrote:

Sellers please note that you are losing sales if you use the GSP.
Many a time I have wanted an item, but the GPS is a ridiculous amount, charging import charges where there are none.
I just won’t pay it, so afraid you lose my custom. It is just as easy to just use international shipping.

---

Unfortunately, the chances of a US seller seeing your message are pretty slim as this discussion board is part of the eBay Canada site, but you're free to post your concerns on the eBay.com discussion boards where US sellers hang out.

Just remember that the GSP "bot" calculates import charges based on information provided by the seller, particularly the item's category.  If the seller messes up on listing the item, that can sometimes affect the import charges.  Usually, though, the GSP import charges are an estimate based on the buyer's postal code, a processing charge of around US$5, and GST or HST if the item is valued at more than C$40, and duty (if the item is subject to duty) if the item is valued at more than C$140.  Items sent by mail have a lower tax and duty-free limit of C$20, but as Canada Border Services is pretty lax about enforcing it, it leaves some Canadians with the impression that their items are tax and duty free.

[Anonymous]

Omgosh what a mess.....never buying anything that is shipped by ebay's global shipping nightmare. Sure the program is great while it travels through the US but once it crosses the border into Canada....let the nightmare begin! They use the WORST courier on planet earth UniUni. I can't track my package now because when  my new label was created my information was not entered properly. The phone number is incorrect and I have no idea if the address is correct because UniUni told me they can't locate my package and I have to wait 2 weeks even though it says it's out for delivery. Sorry but this will fall back on ebay, my package is guaranteed or give me my money back. The sellers may want to rethink how they ship or lose business.

[marnotom!]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

They use the WORST courier on planet earth UniUni.

---

Wow, gotta say that thanks to the GSP, I've learned about so many new non-postal carriers.  This is another new one on me.

---

@Anonymous wrote:

 The sellers may want to rethink how they ship or lose business.

---

I don't think most US sellers do enough business with Canadians or other non-US buyers to make the possibility of losing business from them lead to a big hit to their bottom line.  Anyway, there isn't much for them to rethink here.  The Global Shipping Program is currently being phased out in favour of a new international forwarding program.  It's certainly got enough perks to make it attractive to sellers, but it's too soon to say whether there's going to be any improvements on the buyers' end.

[reallynicestamps]

Just a late note about "bouncing from Ohio to Kentucky".

The two states share a border.

And Erlanger KY, home of the GSP, is the location of the airport that services Cinncinnati OH.

Like complaining that your parcel to Hull QC went to Ottawa ON, or one to Halifax went to Dartmouth.

[a6rxv3]

I agree. Purchases from the US are not an option. I work out of the country and it so long to get an item a few hundred miles away I forget I had bought it. It went to my PO Box and was returned to the seller. I ate t he shipping and got nothing in return. I tried once more to buy a unique item from NYC and it sat for weeks bouncing around America like it was on a bus tour. I finally gave up on it, not sure if I will every see it but I deleted Bull**bleep** eBay from my iPhone. Thank God China knows who to ship an item!!

[a6rxv3]

Very well said. eBay is an
American company and works well selling to buyers a state or two away form the purchase point. Imagining that the company could operate as a International entity like Amazon does is a kin to asking my 4 year old to solve algebraic equations. Stick to what you can do eBay. Of course sellers in the US lose more than 1/2 their revenue during a global recession, but hey, I here Walmart is hiring in almost every state in the lower 48!

[fh991586]

ZOMBIE THREAD

[kh-phdan]

Hello Everyone,

Due to the age of the thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue discussing this topic.

Thanks for your understanding!