eBay

wmlkelley · ‎05-22-2019

IT makes packages take more than 5 days longer to get to Canada from the US. I have had more than 3 shipments over the last 3 months to me go lost AFTER the GSP put their hands on them, It makes items cost MUCH more to ship to Canada.

It's a good concept, but it is just horrible from my end. I'd love to go back to shipping roulette where we could actually get things shipped into Canada and save on the tax and duty. Now, we get to pay tax and duty on everything the GSP touches.

I truly despise and hate this program. If it were properly implemented it would be on thing, but they take 3-5 business days to process a package when that package would have already been at my door without the GSP.

marnotom! · ‎05-22-2019

I think the Global Shipping Program would have been more easily accepted and understood by the buyers who pay into the program--and possibly by sellers, too--if it had been more clearly marketed as a forwarding service, because that's basically what it is. Expectations of the program would have been more easily managed and more realistic.

That's why items take a little longer to reach their destination and cost a little more: You're paying for (and getting) two legs of shipping: One under the seller's control to the Global Shipping Center in Kentucky, and one under Pitney Bowes' control to the item's final destination.

In the old days of eBay, if you found an item located in the US that you wanted to purchase and the seller would not ship it directly to you in Canada, you would have had to work out some way to get it to an address in the United States for you to pick up at your leisure or have it forwarded to you from that address. The GSP is just another means of accomplishing that task.

While the program can be a pain below the tailbone for a myriad of reasons, I don't think that a little extra transit time or paying the equivalent of taxes and duty (and processing/handling charges more reasonable than even Canada Post's) on qualifying items makes the program a "disaster". Keep in mind that the GSP serves 100-odd countries. It's because of the trade relationship with have with the US and our close geographical proximity that make it often less than ideal for Canadian buyers. Many buyers in countries with iffy postal systems or customs bureaux actually don't mind the program.

pjcdn2005 · ‎05-22-2019

You've had packages arrive from the US in 5 days or less? Anytime I've ordered from the US and the seller has sent directly, it's taken about 10 - 16 days.

femmefan1946 · ‎05-24-2019

I allow 21 days for delivery from anywhere in North America, and am usually pleasantly surprised, and 30 days from Asia, and am usually on the nose.

After that, there is the possiblity of an Item Not Received Dispute, but in GSP is involved be sure to mention that in the Dispute.

jdj53 · ‎05-24-2019

I don’t buy from any seller using GSP. So far this year, I have not had one purchase stopped by customs, from either the US or UK. Most items were over $100 dollars in value, but, touch wood, I have not paid customs or tax on any purchase off eBay this year.

wmlkelley · ‎05-30-2019

I can't really remember having packages go lost before the GSP i my case. Since the GSP I have had at least 4 go lost. I don't buy a lot on Ebay anymore, I use it to buy very hard to find items. Last package they lost for me had an item I may not ever see again on Ebay. Furstrating is not the word for it.

It serves a purpose, but in my opinion, has been implemented poorly.

dannyw1975 · ‎05-30-2019

It is nothing but a rip off. Pitney Bowes opens and **bleep**s around with packages. They are not customs, and it is illegal for them to do so. They will attempt to reduce weight of the package, and then pocket more money. Their "customs and duties" charges are inflated beyond belief. I bought a brand new, very high end amplifier, which was sent using this program. This package weighed 62 pounds. The amp itself is 53 pounds. These **bleep**s at Pitney Bowes hacked into the box, and completely ruined the packaging, and they ruined the manual it came with. Thankfully, the amp itself, as well as the remote, ended up not damaged. I am still **bleep** off today about this garbage. Don't ever buy anything from any seller who uses this scam of a program.

nuvistors · ‎06-02-2019

Even though it takes a few days longer and costs a little more it does make it possible for buyers to purchase from US sellers that otherwise would not ship to a foreign country.

reallynicestamps · ‎06-03-2019

They are not customs, and it is illegal for them to do so.

Nope.

They are acting as "customs brokers" just like UPS or FedEx.

They will attempt to reduce weight of the package, and then pocket more money.

Nope.

The minimum wage in Kentucky is $7.25US /$9.06Cdn an hour. How much do you imagine it costs to unpack and repack thousands of parcels going worldwide every day? How many workers do you imagine this would take?

This would be a money loser for them.

GSP does examine parcels that do not clearly give the origin of the item being sent. The repacking is done quickly and

sometimes carelessly.

Pitney Bowes hacked into the box, and completely ruined the packaging, and they ruined the manual it came with.

Did you open a Not As Described dispute through eBay and ask to be referred to a GSP specialist?

The general response from GSP has been to refund the buyer without demanding the return of the unacceptable item. (Because what would they do with a broken doohickey?)

GSP has been known to intercept items they believe to be unshippable, notabley guitars made with rare woods that cannot be sold under CERTES regulations. Those are apparently then sold at auction and the buyer refunded.

marnotom! · ‎06-06-2019

@wmlkelley wrote:

I can't really remember having packages go lost before the GSP i my case. Since the GSP I have had at least 4 go lost. I don't buy a lot on Ebay anymore, I use it to buy very hard to find items. Last package they lost for me had an item I may not ever see again on Ebay. Furstrating is not the word for it.

It serves a purpose, but in my opinion, has been implemented poorly.

I'm going to hazard a guess that your "lost" items actually dead-ended at the Global Shipping Center and were deemed unforwardable because they were deemed problematic to ship outside of the United States based on the limited and inflexible guidelines the workers at the Center have to follow when processing items.

There is a list of items that are restricted or prohibited from shipping through the GSP, but unfortunately it's not exhaustive. It's on this page as well as elsewhere:

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/shipping-items/setting-shipping-options/global-shipping-program?id...

amcdc79 · ‎06-07-2019

Yes the GSP is despised by most Canadians, so please don't use it for cheap, lightweight or small items. You can always ask the seller if they will use another method, if they see you normally leave glowing feedback, they might use First class which is still tracked, but a lot cheaper.

The GSP is a freight forwarder that is great for expensive, heavy and bulky items, everything else can go another route. The GSP benefit is for the seller, who normally would not ship outside of the US if it was not available. Many US sellers got tired of INR's from buyers not in the US, so they switched over to it.

As far as opening the items in Kentucky, they do open a lot more than the seller in the UK who visited a GSP centre there said they did. They pay minimum wage, and I have heard from friends who use it quite a bit, and they are fed up as their repacking is not good at all. It may not be 100% of the items, but more like 50%, which is still atrocious. They also damage many of the items, which may explain why they never made it to you, along with prohibited items being stopped.

The cost is excessive due to four parties needing to make money on the transaction,

1-USPS

2-ebay

3-Pitney Bowes

4-Destination carrier

I just got a package from China, the e-packet took less than 2 weeks, faster than normal, of course, ymmv.

15westcoast · ‎06-08-2019

I avoid the temptation of buying anything from sellers that

use the GSP. It is a very flawed system. Several of my experiences

have been bad including a "lost in transit " item and many extra days

in receiving the shipment. I resent paying the extra charge to Pitney Bowes,

which most of the US sellers do not seem to be aware of.

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎06-08-2019

@wmlkelley

The main problem with the GSP concept is a buyer using it for the first time and discovering exactly how it works or doesn't for them. It appears to be poorly explained and difficult to understand exactly what happens when someone so chooses. In speaking to numerous US sellers, when asked if they would ship with USPS directly to Canada they had NO idea how to bypass it but would be willing if they could. A few have said they were opted in and couldn't figure out how to opt out. Not sure if that is still the case? (Seems the easiest way but very annoying to a seller is just create a new listing excluding it.) The balance of US sellers using it just say they can't be bothered shipping to Canada. They figure it's not worth their time other than to use GSP. Secondly, they had no idea the amount of grief it causes for Canadian buyers when it is used. A few have been very shocked when I've explained the routing used, especially for an item sold on the west coast of the USA to a Canadian buyer also in the west. Sadly, use once.....Live and learn or see one of the recurring posts on here from a disgruntled first time user.

-Lotz

My system for GSP:

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎06-08-2019

For your viewing pleasure: From the eBay archives: 2013

https://community.ebay.ca/t5/Buyer-Central/Comments-about-the-Global-Shipping-Program/m-p/149059

There seemed to be a lot of the same concerns in the beginning as there is now.

wmlkelley · ‎06-08-2019

Just bought a subwoofer off a person in Texas. They used the GSP. The shipping cost on their end was horribly wrong and they still shipped anyways. Classy seller, but they lost money on the sale. I am working with them since they shipped anyways, but it sucks on both ends.

marnotom! · ‎06-08-2019

@wmlkelley

If the seller messed up in calculating their shipping rate for the subwoofer to Kentucky, they would likely have messed up calculating the shipping rate to a buyer in the US.

What you appear to be describing is not an issue with the GSP.

Another possible read of your scenario is that your seller isn't up to speed on the workings of the GSP and thinks that they should have received the full shipping amount you saw in the listing.

This is not the case. The seller will receive what they asked for in shipping the sub to Kentucky. Pitney Bowes gets the rest to cover shipping the item to you.

xenotime · ‎06-11-2019

I must have bought over 100 items using GSP and I've never had an issue. There are times when I bought items (mostly stuff over $100) for crazy low shipping and custom rates, which make me wonder if someone lost money.

I recently bought a new stereo component which was being sold by two sellers. Seller A was not using GPS and his shipping is $113.95 USPS Priority. Seller B was using GSP and his shipping was $19.29 US plus $52 US customs. Oddly on certain days the customs would be sliced in half and would come up as $24 US. I purchased it from Seller B on one of those days. Not bad for a $350US item.

Not everything is rosy for me with GSP. Some items that cost far less and weigh less (than the above item) are more money. And then there are small/low priced items, like a $2.00 sticker, that costs $16US to ship. (I'm looking at this right now...crazy!)

marnotom! · ‎06-11-2019

@xenotime wrote:

Not everything is rosy for me with GSP. Some items that cost far less and weigh less (than the above item) are more money. And then there are small/low priced items, like a $2.00 sticker, that costs $16US to ship. (I'm looking at this right now...crazy!)

Consider how the GSP bot calculates Pitney Bowes' portion of the shipping cost. It can't see the listing, it can't read the listing description. It can only go by what the information the seller has provided on the item's dimensions and weight, and for something like a sticker that's likely being shipped as a letter, it's not going to have that information as the seller will have opted for flat-rate shipping within the US.

As a result, the bot will apply a category average or calculated guess that ensures that Pitney Bowes won't lose too much if the sticker actually weights a couple of kilos. (That may also be why your heavier items shipped through the GSP have great shipping rates: averages at work again.)

Also consider that GSP shipping rates are designed to be competitive with parcel services, not letter mail services. If that sticker were mailed to Canada in a Priority small flat-rate envelope, the shipping cost would be US$26.

pek63 · ‎01-03-2022

Yep.. it’s horrible if you’re in Canada.
I see deliveries through the tracking come right up to the border near me and then swing south for another week or more.
If the package had a mind to it would just walk across the border to me when it was within sight of my place. >> This system might be taking advantage of transport that is already cycling through this route but in all likelihood it just puts more trucks on the road travelling father than necessary.