eBay

cflfan · ‎08-08-2023

Why do so many American sellers use the global Shipping program. Its a rip off for the buyer . Just go to your post office and send it. It arrives way faster and is way more cheaper. Will not buy from American sellers who use this anymore . Can they not figure out how to use normal international post. Its not rocket science.

msau4301 · ‎08-08-2023

Yes it is more expensive and takes longer that's for sure but for most of the sellers using it that is the only way they would ship outside of the US. They are quite content to just ship to other fellow Americans, eBay put the Global Shipping Program (now called EIS EBay International Shipping) for all those sellers who were worried about shipping internationally, filling out customs forms etc. Many don't even know they are part of the program, they don't see our address, only the address for eBay in Kentucky.

As a long time collector I've bought from the US before either program was in place and there were many, many sellers who just wouldn't ship here. I even had one say "sorry I don't ship overseas"! At least this way eBay makes sure that everyone can buy, no matter where they live.

Some sellers can chose to opt out of it and sell normally but for most if they are selling anyways they prefer the easiest route and leave it as is. If you want US sellers to see your post (in the hopes they get the message) you need to post it on the .com site. This one is the Canadian only board.

fh991586 · ‎08-08-2023

You know you have to fill in custom forms when you ship across a border, right? And deal yourself with returns if there's a problem? Most sellers don't want to be bothered with that, hence the reason why such a program was created. It's being phased out by the end of this month, but the replacement program isn't better for us buyers.

Just don't buy from sellers that use such programs if you're not happy. They won't know it, since this is a Canadian board and US sellers aren't looking around...

And since I've used the GSP a couple of times, I can vouch for its necessity for anything heavier than a pound or worth more than $100, as you usually get a better deal without worrying about the customs. But it was overkill for small and/or low value items...

marnotom! · ‎08-09-2023

As has been pointed out already, the Global Shipping Program has been phased out in the US (It’s still a thing in the UK) and has been replaced by eBay International Shipping. EIS has a lot of hard-to-pass-up benefits for sellers associated with it that are not available with direct international shipments, or domestic shipments for that matter. See the sales pitch here:

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/shipping-items/setting-shipping-options/ebay-international-shippin...

reallynicestamps · ‎08-09-2023

The GSP and the eIS which is replacing it, are Seller Protection Programs.

They offer no benefits to buyers and are not intended to.

While you can contact a seller and ask that they ship directly, there is a very good chance that they will not only refuse, but add you to their Blocked Buyer List as a potential scammer.

marnotom! · ‎08-09-2023

@reallynicestamps wrote:

While you can contact a seller and ask that they ship directly, there is a very good chance that they will not only refuse, but add you to their Blocked Buyer List as a potential scammer.

Besides, it appears to be impossible for sellers to make “one off” exemptions if they’ve opted into eIS.

reallynicestamps · ‎08-09-2023

That's annoying.

I understand that US sellers can exempt specific countries, but then we run into the problems of small market and fear of the foreign.

pin460737 · ‎08-13-2023

EBay’s global shipping program is utterly incompetent. I have ordered 2 dozen items from the USA and only 2 have shown up. Completely and utter garbage. Must be nice to make enough money that you can afford to simply hemorrhage it back out in refunds

marnotom! · ‎08-13-2023

@pin460737 wrote:

EBay’s global shipping program is utterly incompetent. I have ordered 2 dozen items from the USA and only 2 have shown up.

What's probably "incompetent" here is the program's inability to communicate that it's unable to forward used chainsaws and used chainsaw parts that may contain fuel residue.

@pin460737 wrote:

Must be nice to make enough money that you can afford to simply hemorrhage it back out in refunds

Must also be nice to be able to liquidate the items in question and possibly get more money from the sale than for shipping them.

reallynicestamps · ‎08-13-2023

I have ordered 2 dozen items from the USA and only 2 have shown up.

Should we assume that you opened Item Not Received disputes on all of those and been refunded?

The GSP was notorious for being easy about refunds. I guess PitneyBowes who ran the program had really good insurance.

In many cases, they refunded for late deliveries and the buyer got both the item (eventually) and his payment refunded.

More importantly.

Where were the orders disappearing?
Were they not shipped from the Erlanger KY plant?

Did the Canadian carrier not complete delivery?

Is your neighbourhood infested with porch pirates?

I suppose from eBay's point of view, that import fees were prepaid with GSP, the new eIS that has replaced it will make it more important that the carrier confirm delivery, since the carrier will be collecting duty and /or sales taxes on the buyer's doorstep.

No more unattended parcels.

marnotom! · ‎08-14-2023

@reallynicestamps wrote:

I suppose from eBay's point of view, that import fees were prepaid with GSP, the new eIS that has replaced it will make it more important that the carrier confirm delivery, since the carrier will be collecting duty and /or sales taxes on the buyer's doorstep.

No more unattended parcels.

Well, no more unattended parcels with declared values of over C$40, I suppose.

I'm starting to run into more listings where the taxes on the sale are paid at checkout, however. I went through the initial stage for Checkout for one as an experiment, and while the calculations for GST and BC PST seemed a bit off, added together the total tax charge seemed close enough to chalk up the difference to currency exchange. Tax was charged on the shipping, though.