GLOBAL SHIPPING NOT COMBINING ORDERS.

[deanngillingha0]

THIS IS GETTING REALLY SAD...Canadians are being taken advantage of by ebay and global shipping.today i wanted to buy 5 hot wheels cars that were all same seller but 5 seperate listings,when the check out was done it was asking me for $430 global shipping fee on my $300 order because they dont combine and wont combine shipping.also the expected wait times are so long that the item arrives almost 30-90 days after ordering it because it gets shipped twice before it gets to me,once to kentuky from the buyer(at my expense) then in kentuky (global shipping center owned by ebay) re bills me and ships it again.and all this time that extra shipping charge is hidden untill its automaticly taken from my paypal then i get the invoice.so short version is this...ebay holds my item ransom till they reach into my pocket without me looking and take what they feels good for them then they ship it to me the slowest way possible,and its never the same amount they take...$430 shipping for 5 hot wheels cars>>>>>>>>sounds like sombody is scamming...oh wait! thats right if you google ebay scams global shipping is the first ten pages.

[reallynicestamps]

Global Shipping is a Seller Protection program aimed at getting xenophobic and paranoid US sellers to ship internationally.

It has never been designed to benefit the buyer in any way.

That being said, GSP never did make allowances for combined and discounted shipping.

My best suggestion is to work with your seller, who probably is unaware of the problem.

Ask to cancel all the purchases. She can do this without hurting her selling account by using Buyer Request.

Ask her to make a private listing of all the cars just for you at your agreed price and with a more sensible shipping cost. (As you know, a bulky package will cost more that shipping a single item-- but not $400 more.)

The seller's best shipping price is probably First Class International Package, but she may prefer Priority.  Some polite negotiation needed there.

She needs to use Shape and Size to get the FCIP rate .
https://postcalc.usps.com/?country=10440

Then set up the listing as Fixed Price/Immediate Payment Required.

When I do this, I like to use the buyer's name as the title of the listing, since it is unlikely to be found in Search.
She lists, you buy, you pay, she ships.

She is covered by Delivery Confirmation, which is the great worry of US sellers, who are, as mentioned, xenophobic and paranoid. 

Be very polite and soothing.

Leave appropriately positive feedback when your items arrive.

Those "extra charges" are Canadian duty and sales taxes and on a postally delivered shipment, you will still be paying them. Actually GSPs "import fees" include a ~$5 service charge, half that of Canada Post's service charge which is $9.95. You will pay duty, Sales Tax, and service charge when you recieve your parcel.

[marnotom!]

What can I say?  @reallynicestamps pretty well has it covered.

I think the really sad part about all this is that buyers and sellers don't take the time to educate themselves on the quirks and weaknesses of the Global Shipping Program before they make a purchase.  Yes, the terms and conditions are pretty long, but the "find" function on your browser can be your friend.

Here are a couple of suggestions that may help you bypass this particular quirk of the program:

• Some users have had success using the "shopping cart" feature of eBay with Global Shipping Program purchases, particularly if they purchase off the .com site rather than the .ca site.  Can't hurt to try it.
• Consider having your items sent to a US address (friend, relative, post office box if the seller ships to PO boxes, etc.) and have the item forwarded from there or pick it up from that location when we're allowed to travel there again.

Good luck!

[dannyw1975]

Do not listen to these people who are constantly defending this program. It is nothing but a fraudulent scam to steal money from buyers.

[darak10]

"Global Shipping is a Seller Protection program aimed at getting xenophobic and paranoid US sellers to ship internationally.

It has never been designed to benefit the buyer in any way."

hahahahahaha

It's absolutely 100% true.  But I would add one thing:  it removes a significant amount of work for sellers in the GSP as its just send it to Erlanger and let someone else do the job.  The buyer pays for all of it so what do they care about process?  Its work they dont have to do, and Americans love finding cheaper and more effortless ways of doing things, they will go out of their way to save $5 or 5 minutes.  

Will they jump thru Canadian hoops for a $300 sale?  I dunno, depends on how busy they are.  Even if the seller will understand this I'm not sure it will convince them - "some pernicious sneaky Dudley Doright trying to rip me off huh?" - but it would be interesting if it ends up being a go.   It might also help to educate them a bit re: Canadian customs, if they really want to make sure you are dinged for the full amount, all she needs to do is fill out the customs declaration form and write the amount of sale on it.  It doesn't need to go thru Pitney Bowes for customs to do their jobs.  

[pjcdn2005]

That being said, GSP never did make allowances for combined and discounted shipping.

@reallynicestamps 

Actually they have been giving combined shipping discounts on the international shipping portion and on the handling charge for quite a few years now.  However, the system isn't set up to also combine the domestic portion of the shipping cost so in some cases that can result in higher shipping charges.