eBay

1number1buyer · ‎08-15-2020

Please be aware that the Global shipping program is a full scam. We all know that when a seller sends items using USPS directly to you, shipping cost is paid to USPS and it takes 1 week or so to arrive. The border does not charge taxes up to about 200.00 from my past orders and experiences. Now that Pitney Bowes is in the picture, Canadians now have a "middle man" grabbing cash on your shipping. I was victimized by this program and have learned from it. I am sharing this here. I ordered an item from an Ebay seller who is just over the border from me. Due to Covid, I could not ship it to my US address depot and just go over and pick it up. If that was still available, I would have it in 3 days. My item was sent to me using USPS or so I thought. My item shipping cost was more than triple the cost in the USA. In the past, using USPS directly, it was around 30% more to Canada. Now I find my item went across the USA and is in some depot in Kentucky. The shipping time is now 3 weeks. There were "new" fees that were added to the item over and above the shipping fees . Some kind of "export" fees that nobody seems to be able to understand where this is going. So lets see how it worked before. To USA 2-3 days, and to Canada 1 week. Shipping paid to USPS and item cleared border with no charge. Now, with the new scam global shipping program, shipping fees triple, added "export" fees and 3 weeks delivery time. It seems to be a great Canadian Rip Off. I can have items sent to me from China withing two weeks with shipping charges kess than 5 dollars and never been charged tax at customs. This is a WARNING TO CANADIANS. You will be ripped off with thie new Pitney Bowes scam with Ebay. I will boycott any and all Pitney Bowes products and if stuck using Ebay for anything, I will have to clearly get an answer from a seller as to who will be shipping their item. The best way is to stay away from sellers using this system. If you have any friends or family in the US, ship it to them and have them forward it to you with USPS. The scam is an incredible slap in hte face to Canadians from Ebay and Pitney Bowes. Thanks and good luck.

marnotom! · ‎08-15-2020

I think I've just taken a ride in the Delorean back to 2013 when the Global Shipping Program was first unleashed on unsuspecting eBayers. This program is nothing new. Many of us have figured out how to use it to our best advantage. It doesn't work well for most Canadian buyers because of the value of the items we purchase from the United States, our physical proximity to the US and our established trade relationship with the that country. Some buyers in the 100-odd other countries served by the GSP actually like the program because it bypasses their problematic postal systems or customs operations.

The Global Shipping Program is a forwarding service. It works in a manner similar to you having your US-based item sent to a friend in the United States who then mails it up to you in Canada. It costs your friend money to mail the item, just as it costs Pitney Bowes money to have somebody ship the item up to you from the Global Shipping Center in Kentucky.

What you're probably not accustomed to, having imported your items into Canada yourself on trips to the US, is that the tax and duty-free thresholds for items imported by mail or courier are much lower than it is for items acquired during weekend shopping trips across the border. Sometimes items valued outside of that threshold are given a free pass by CBSA anyway, but not always.

https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/postal-postale/menu-eng.html

The GSP may be a pain below the tailbone, but it's not a scam. It may seem that way to people who haven't done their homework prior to purchasing an item forwarded through the program, but it's pretty legit. It's just not terribly transparent, and it relies too much on the seller giving accurate information on the nature of the item they're exporting. GSP-forwarded items with outlandish shipping and/or import charges are usually the result of the seller not categorizing the item properly on eBay or else not providing accurate information on the item's country of manufacture and/or its shipping size/weight.

brettjet38 · ‎08-15-2020

...it's like the neverending story. You would think that after all these years people would already know or read about what it is and is not before making a purchase...

BDR

But, it's always fun to read a new rant on the subject, one thumb up from me!!

ypdc_dennis · ‎08-15-2020

The GSP is not new, it has been around since 2013. It's a glorified forwarding service.

The "import fees" cover duty, sales tax and a handling fee. The new trade agreement (July 2020) for USA or Mexican goods, exempts purchases under $150 for duty (if any). Sales tax applies to purchases over $40 sent via GSP.

If you buy through the eBay.CA website GSP is easy to spot and avoid.

GSP is generally not a good fit for Canadians, but it is not a scam. Works best for those buyers in countries outside of North America.

-..-

reallynicestamps · ‎08-15-2020

USPS and it takes 1 week or so to arrive. The border does not charge taxes up to about 200.00 from my past orders and experiences.

I've been selling by mail order since the 1970s and in my experience shipping anywhere in North America takes around 21 days.

Sometimes it's less, rarely it's longer.

EBay gives you a window for delivery, if the seller's contracted shipper misses that date you can open an Item Not Received dispute in the Resolution Centre at the bottom of this page.

The GSP is insured against this and doesn't bother to fight. They just refund and when the item finally arrives, they don't want it back. Which gives the complainant free stuff.

That CSBA officials decided that it cost too much to assess and collect duty and sales taxes on low value postally shipped goods, Canadians have had a "tax holiday".

With the new NAFTA and the rise in the duty free allowance from $20Cdn(~$15US) to $150Cdn (but only $40 for sales taxes), we can expect to see more postally shipped imports with duty, SALES TAXES, and the $9.95 Canada Post service charge being collected on doorsteps and at PO counters.

Can't wait for those posts.

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎08-15-2020

@1number1buyer

From a buyers perspective...especially a first time buyer, they discover the perils and pitfalls of this program after the fact. As many have stated, it's designed for the seller that really doesn't want to ship internationally. Now if a buyer had more information before hitting the commit to purchase button and knew what they could expect with a GSP purchase(compared to a USPS...Canadapost purchase) maybe we would see less of the type of posts that hit the boards constantly. It might also help if eBay would do a better job responding directly to those unsatisfied buyers that pass through here. One bad experience is all it takes for a buyer to become 1 and done, never to be heard from again. As for the buyers that show up to relay their recent experience, it's not that they are plagiarizing. More like they just had an identical experience.

-Lotz

esclyons · ‎08-15-2020

++i also believe many USA seller's don't even know they are enrolled in the program, I can't count how many times I see, seller's state that they only ship to the USA, but the global shipping option is enabled.. eBay has to be getting a kick back from this program, otherwise why would it be auto -checked for USA sellers..

femmefan1946 · ‎08-15-2020

The "kick back" may simply be more international sales and more FVF.

There is no reason to believe that eBay gets part of the ~$5 Pitney Bowes service fee, it is equally likely that PB gets a fee from eBay for sales made through this Seller Protection program.

But I think there is a pretty universal agreement among Canadian members that the GSP is not a good fit* because USPS International First Class Package rates allow for tracking and Confirmation of Delivery, which is the greatest concern of US sellers.

*Although with the rise of our duty-free allowance from $20 to $150 (but $40 for sales taxes) I think we will see slightly fewer screams and wails.

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎08-16-2020

@esclyons

Re: many USA seller's don't even know they are enrolled in the program,

I've spoken to numerous sellers that a) did not know when they were enrolled in the program and what it entailed/the grief it caused for "some" Canadian buyers and b) that it was possible to either opt out of the program or to opt out for a single transaction. The procedure is covered on an older link regarding details on the program on dot com but very well hidden on the revised edition of the link. After speaking to some sellers prior to a purchase I have been able to ask them to update a listing for me to ship USPS which they had no issue to do when I explained how it was possible. My motto, it never hurts to ask. It's been asked in the past if GSP could be added to search options. Believe answer was it would be passed down the line. Will it ever happen? Probably not. Mainly for the reasons you mention.

-Lotz

theoldestfart · ‎08-16-2020

As someone who purchased 2 items one via GSP and another via eBay Send these services are something that Canadian should avoid using. GSP items are easy to spot however eBay Send items are camouflaged with the following as shipping method:

"USPS First Class Mail International / First Class Package International Service"

they also currently indicate delivery times of 1 to 2 months to Canada. You can confirm with the seller if indeed they are using eBay Send and if so avoid purchasing. It has been 3 weeks since I purchased an item and eBay tracking still shows it sitting in Carson CA for the past 2 weeks and eBay could not care less since the 2 month wait time is not exceeded.

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎08-16-2020

@theoldestfart

I recently found a seller in the USA that carries the dvd mailers at a reasonable price 2.78 US per pkg of 10. Free shipping for the USA. 4.99 + 4.49 per additional pkg for USA. Update the shipping to Canada and shipping jumps to 33.26 with GSP for 1. Update to 2 pkgs and it jumps to 92.22 in 12 to 19 business days. 95.06 for 3. (Fortunately no import charges.) I would like to say this is an exception vs the rule with anything being shipped with GSP but is something I see regularly. Why this comes back to order from any seller using GSP once and you will learn your lesson avoid it going forward at all costs.

-Lotz

marnotom! · ‎08-16-2020

@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:
@theoldestfart

I recently found a seller in the USA that carries the dvd mailers at a reasonable price 2.78 US per pkg of 10. Free shipping for the USA. 4.99 + 4.49 per additional pkg for USA. Update the shipping to Canada and shipping jumps to 33.26 with GSP for 1. Update to 2 pkgs and it jumps to 92.22 in 12 to 19 business days. 95.06 for 3. (Fortunately no import charges.) I would like to say this is an exception vs the rule with anything being shipped with GSP but is something I see regularly. Why this comes back to order from any seller using GSP once and you will learn your lesson avoid it going forward at all costs.

Or you could do some research and figure out when it makes sense to use the GSP and when it doesn't.

A listing offering free US domestic shipping probably has no information that the GSP bot can use to factor in the item's packaged weight and dimensions when calculating a shipping cost, so a category average has to be applied instead.

The cell phones I've purchased from sellers using the GSP have also had free domestic US shipping, but as there's far less variation in the packaged weight of a cell phone than for shipping supplies, I've paid no more than US$15 to have them shipped to me. I'd say this is a far better deal that having the item sent by a courier service that may see me paying crazy brokerage charges on top of the taxes possibly owing on receipt.

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎08-16-2020

@marnotom!

I refuse to buy from sellers that use GSP. There is no rational reason to use it for anything of low value. I was just trying to relay the fact that for other buyers, whenever doing a search the vast majority of items some up with GSP or International Standard Service. which is not really well explained eBay to anyone who is not familiar with it. With no actual filters you are forced to tunnel your way through listings that skip those methods.

I shop from Canadian sellers whenever possible. US sellers as a very last resort. As for that example given there was no reason why it couldn't be shipped with standard USPS shipping with a more economical service and in the process avoiding those bot driven customs charges. For my example and those other sellers using GSP, it's a missed opportunity with their lack of shipping flexibility.

-Lotz

marnotom! · ‎08-16-2020

@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:
@marnotom!

I refuse to buy from sellers that use GSP. There is no rational reason to use it for anything of low value.

I haven't purchased anything of low value where the GSP is used, either. I'm not that crazy. 😂 But then again, I don't purchase anything of low value where the shipping price makes it uneconomical to purchase. Some things just aren't meant to be sold as casual imports.

@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:
@marnotom!
I was just trying to relay the fact that for other buyers, whenever doing a search the vast majority of items some up with GSP or International Standard Service. which is not really well explained eBay to anyone who is not familiar with it. With no actual filters you are forced to tunnel your way through listings that skip those methods.

Let's be fair here; making personal imports by mail, courier, or freight forwarding is a learning curve for just about anybody and eBay doesn't provide much in the way of guidance in that department. (And why should it, really? The job of eBay Canada is to promote eBay.ca listings, not eBay.com listings.)

And there have been periodic posts from users who had difficulty with importing items that weren't forwarded through the GSP. I suspect there's a lot more instances of situations like this than are brought to the attention of the discussion boards. Remember all those surprised Canadian buyers a decade or so ago who were slugged with unexpected charges from the likes of UPS and FedEx for items shipped by those carriers' ground services? It was up to us boardies to edjumicate them. eBay did nothing.

I'm curious on what grounds you think a GSP filter could be implemented. I have a feeling that "Canadians don't like the program" or "Canadians don't understand it" would not be regarded by the suits as sufficient reason for a filter.

@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:
@marnotom!

I shop from Canadian sellers whenever possible. US sellers as a very last resort. As for that example given there was no reason why it couldn't be shipped with standard USPS shipping with a more economical service and in the process avoiding those bot driven customs charges. For my example and those other sellers using GSP, it's a missed opportunity with their lack of shipping flexibility.

If you're objecting to the "bot driven customs charges," would you have purchased that item from a Canadian seller charging taxes if it were available from one? Just curious.

No question it would be nice to have the GSP as part of a list of shipping options if we have to purchase from the US (or UK), but international shipping has been so vilified on the .com discussion boards that I suspect most sellers knowingly using the GSP would not offer such a choice. It's simply not worth the effort to accommodate a small proportion of non-US buyers when you've got such a large domestic market already on your doorstep.

reallynicestamps · ‎08-16-2020

I'm afraid buyers are poor at researching costs.

rant/

I sold a book on AZ today, $12.99 and the lowest price offered* on Amazon.ca. The buyer will also pay $6.49 for shipping because that's how AZ works.

I took the same book down from my eBay account, where it was also listed at $12.99-- with Free Shipping to anywhere in North America.

I suspect the buyer may have paid $99 for "free shipping" under Amazon Prime, but I still get the extra money.

Eventually.

AZ waits about a month to actually turn the money over to me.

Anyway, my point is, many believe AZ has free next day shipping by drone which is a paid service, arrives when it arrives, and is delivered by UPS or Canada Post.

AZ is really really good at convincing customers of obvious and repeated untruths. /rant.

*Also sellers. About 1/3 of the time my books are the lowest price offered on AZ but they still sell faster on eBay.

noguffay0117 · ‎08-17-2020

Here it is in a nutshell. I have an item stuck with Pitney Bowes now for 16 days at Kentucky.

noguffay0117 · ‎08-17-2020

"I suspect the buyer may have paid $99 for "free shipping" under Amazon Prime"

You mean the AZ Prime price that gives you full Media streaming for a year and is the price that is also divided over the multitudes of item one buys with free prime shipping to Canada, which literally works out to pennies a shipment and the videos....etc. That AZ Prime? Humm I might have to reconsider that, I guess. lol

noguffay0117 · ‎08-17-2020

I am probably mostly done with eBay now. I have three items still stuck with the eBay GSP. Hopefully, I'll get them eventually. Had one seller rip me off by not even ever shipping the item to the global shipping center, using FedEx with tracking. They literally never received or scanned the item. Some scammy sellers are a bit stupid, yes. I got my money back, that's the only good thing about the program I can honestly say at the moment.

15westcoast · ‎08-17-2020

There have been so many posts on here about the negative of buying from sellers that use

the Global Shipping Program. I am amazed that Canadian Buyers keep on buying from these

sellers. The program is flawed and penalizes sellers from out of the US or UK. Longer delays in

shipping---items lost in transit---items refused for shipment to your country--higher postage

charges. Why do buyers keep using this service from sellers and then complain after the fact ?

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎08-17-2020

@15westcoast

What has boggled my mind since first using the program and then seeing the neverending stream of complaints is how no one from eBay has ever attempted to address those concerns.

-Lotz