eBay

teenytrinkets · ‎02-27-2021

I won't know for sure until tracking updates, but I think something I purchased through GSP from the US was shipped USPS first class international instead (even though I was forced to pay for "priority international shipping" and $10 in Import Fees through the GSP upon check out. The tracking number is not a GSP tracking number).

I'm curious... can you even get your money back if you ended up paying more for shipping, or are forced pay import fees a second time upon delivery? Ebay notes "no additional import fees at delivery", but that's only if it's actually shipped with the GSP. I've read some conflicting answers on this group about that.

I wonder if some sellers just pick the cheapest shipping option, and don't see that we've prepaid for import fees through the GSP?

marnotom! · ‎02-28-2021

I know there have been possible explanations given in the past, but I still can't fathom why sellers would send a GSP shipment directly to a buyer when the address they're given to ship the item to is the Global Shipping Center in Kentucky. Maybe somebody can refresh my memory as to why this may happen.

You should be able to check the tracking number on the USPS website right now. If it's in their database as "shipping information received" you should be able to find out the shipping method used.

First Class International shipments usually have tracking codes that start with "LZ" or "L" something, followed by a mess of digits and then "US" at the end. (I found one page that suggests that "UA" prefixes are also a possibility.) USPS domestic shipments have tracking codes similar to Canada Post domestic tracking codes which are just numbers. If you have a tracking number like that, what you might have received is the tracking number for the seller-to-Kentucky leg of the item's trip to you. If you have a tracking code that doesn't seem to match any of this and it doesn't have a "UPAA" prefix, your seller may be using a shipping method other than USPS to get your item to Kentucky.

Keep in mind that the only money the seller will have received from you is for the item plus the amount they're charging for shipping to Kentucky. They don't see the GSP charges (and some sellers aren't even aware that their listings have the GSP applied to them). You can find out the domestic shipping method and the amount they're charging for that by going to the listing page and changing the shipping destination to US ZIP code 41025, the ZIP code for the Global Shipping Center.

Anyway, to answer your question, my understanding is that it is possible to get a refund for the charges that Pitney Bowes levied on your shipment, but it involves a call to customer service.

femmefan1946 · ‎02-28-2021

Look at that tracking number on the USPS tracking website.

If the destination is Erlanger KY, you're fine. That is the GSP plant.

Once it has pre-cleared customs, a UPAA.... number will be given to it and it will bounce around until it gets to you.

marnotom! · ‎02-28-2021

For what it's worth, my experience has been that I've been given the UPAA number right off the bat in a notification email from eBay. However, depending on the shipping tools the seller is using, I may receive additional emails via the seller with tracking information specific to the US shipping leg.

pjcdn2005 · ‎02-28-2021

Yes you should be able to get back the gsp fees if they didn't use that although I doubt that there is a straight forward method to do it. But I've always been under the impression that the only address the seller would see is the Kentucky address since they don't need your Canadian address. Why do you think that it wasn't sent through the gsp? It's been quite a while since I ordered anything through the gsp so I don't remember if the gsp tracking number was usually given to me right away or not until the package was in Kentucky.

bearlover69 · ‎03-02-2021

My Experiece with Purchasing an Item - which the Seller used GSP:
It went from N.Y to Kentucky -Approximately 700 miles in the Opposite Direction from it's Destination in N.S. and didn't have an update for a Very Long Time!

I ended up Cancelling the Order and it arrived a Long Time Afterwards and I did not pick it up at the Post Office.

If you have a Similiar Experience, That's how you will Probably be able to tell if it's GSP!