Global shipping program Canada current local carrier?

[hello.hammy]

Which local carrier it’s the GSP currently using in Canada and will they leave my parcel out in the rain if I’m not home?

[reallynicestamps]

Usually it's Canada Post. Sometimes CanPar or another courier.

Do you not have a secure, dry place to leave parcels?

You should consider marking your parcels DO NOT SAFE DROP or HOLD FOR PICKUP. With those the courier will return to parcel to the PO (or their own terminal) and leave a Notice telling you where and when you can retrieve it.

Bring government-issued photo ID.

Or you could sign up for Canada Post's FlexDelivery which holds your parcels at the PO rather than making any attempt to deliver. Unlike a PO Box, this is a free service.

It is however the buyer's responsibility to provide a secured (dry/theft proof/ easily spotted) place to leave parcels, not the seller's and not the carrier's. 

[nuvistors]

I have seen several different couriers deliver GSP items.

[hello.hammy]

Thanks. Usually it’s not an issue but I’ll be away and I have some parcels that still haven’t arrived by GSP (of course the tracking on Pitney Bowes is next to useless and shows them having left the distribution Center over a week ago with no new updates or information on the local carrier)
I’m away next week and there will be nowhere to leave the parcels safely. I’ve paid for a mail hold with Canada post (hopefully if they have them they will hold them) but if it’s another carrier I’m out of luck. Do you think if I leave a note for the delivery person they will just take it back to their depot. If I knew the exact carriers for each package I would contact them directly. I usually use flex delivery in these circumstances but didn’t realize GSP would be so slow.

[reallynicestamps]

A mail Hold does not hold packages.

So the FlexDelivery is your best better bet.

Odd that the older Hold is a paid service, while FlexDelivery is very new and free. How times change.

We see the "other" carriers mostly because of failed deliveries. Canada Post seems to be the most reliable and likely cheapest.

The only problem with a note on the door is that anyone on your stoop can read it. If you are in a rough neighbourhood, that could mean encouraging a porch pirate. But for most homes and apartments, it's no big deal. Most people are honest.

Do you have a neighbour who could take in any mail/deliveries while you are away?

[hello.hammy]

I usually use flex delivery but was trying to avoid the trip to the post office and didn’t realize GSP was going to be so slow. (Now the packages are shipped I can’t fix it) I think I’ll try a little sign on the gate saying not to leave any parcels. I don’t want to trouble my neighbors, they’re older and I don’t want to expose them to covid.
Thanks for everyone’s advice. It’s really helpful.

[nuvistors]

GSP is slow because  the  package stops at the GSP headquarters where it is  assessed for  tax and duty.  It is then shipped to Canada where it  still has to go through Canada Customs   ( Checking PB ? )   before it can be shipped to the buyer.

[ypdc_dennis]

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@nuvistors wrote:

... then shipped to Canada where it  still has to go through Canada Customs   ( Checking PB ? )   before ...

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For prepaid taxes/duty, Canada Customs usually just waves the container of packages through, but they can also do an audit inspection.  For an audit, they pick a couple of packages for a detailed inspection to make sure contents and declared contents match.  If they match, the rest go through.

-..-

[nuvistors]

They may  wave the container through but that is after they keep it for a couple of days.

The  GSP items I have purchased  have always taken around 2 days to clear customs.

[nuvistors]

The GSP item that arrived today was delivered by Purolater.

[hello.hammy]

In case anyone is interested in what happened. I left a note asking for any deliveries to be taken back to the depot and it was ignored. The parcel was thrown on my driveway where it sat in the rain. (I have the whole thing on video) The packaging got soaked. Fortunately the seller had put the item in a huge ziplock bag before boxing it (so lucky) when I called eBay they were unable to tell me who the local carrier was. From the label I could tell it was Apple Express. I managed to find their tracking and it said safe drop at my door. What a joke. I’m never using GSP again. Horrible experience.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

@hello.hammy 

Hello tyler@ebay ,

If Apple Express and other couriers are going to be involved by the Global Shipping Program/ the other optional shipping programs from the USA, it might be very helpful that these couriers are properly noted(In the listing) so customers in Canada will have an idea how they can expect delivery of their purchases. Like the expression goes, the best surprise is no surprise.

-Lotz

[femmefan1946]

Oh lord-- Apple Express is already notorious.

We had a spate of complaints about them around this time last year and understood GSP/PB had dropped hem as a sub-contractor.

They are bad news.

Not just one office either, there were complaints from both BC and ON as I recall.

tyler@ebay 

I think it would be useful to rope in a GSP rep to chat about the new duty and sales tax standards and field complaints about poor sub-contractors.
Perhaps a few explanations about how pre-clearance works too.

[marnotom!]

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@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:

If Apple Express and other couriers are going to be involved by the Global Shipping Program/ the other optional shipping programs from the USA, it might be very helpful that these couriers are properly noted(In the listing) so customers in Canada will have an idea how they can expect delivery of their purchases. Like the expression goes, the best surprise is no surprise.

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Unfortunately, I don't think that's a realistic proposition.  If it were possible, that would require a lot of complicated computer algorithms based on information provided by the seller and the buyer.

The big problem with the GSP is that nobody involved with the program gets to see the item or how its packaged when its listed.  A bot has to use information provided by the seller to calculate the shipping charge, and that information isn't always accurate or complete.  Since the item's destination isn't finalized until checkout, having accurate carrier information on the listing page is pretty much impossible on that basis, anyway.

I suspect the selection of carrier for a GSP item is made by a human being at the Global Shipping Center at Kentucky once they get a better sense of the item's size, the nature of the item, and how much the bot's shipping estimate is.  My wife regularly makes purchases from another major e-commerce site.  We live in a semi-remote location on Vancouver Island and have found that that site uses one of at least four different carriers to get items to us.  I have yet to figure out any rhyme or reason as to why a particular carrier was selected.

Also consider that the Global Shipping Program serves about 100 other countries in addition to Canada.  While sales to Canada likely make up the largest proportion of US GSP shipments, they're probably still well under half of the GSP's total volume of shipments.  A cost/benefit analysis would probably suggest that it's not worth it to provide this information to Canadian eBay buyers.

Sorry to be a wet blanket.

[marnotom!]

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@femmefan1946 wrote:

Oh lord-- Apple Express is already notorious.

We had a spate of complaints about them around this time last year and understood GSP/PB had dropped hem as a sub-contractor.

---

Ironically, the biggest reported problem with Apple Express last year seemed to be that of items supposedly unable to be safe-dropped being returned to some mysterious depot that nobody knew anything about.  Perhaps the contracted carrier in this case figured it would be better to "wet safe drop" the item because the alternative would be more infuriating for the recipient.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

@marnotom! 

My hope for personkind......Well besides the US election stuff to be resolved is that eBay would show some clarity for US sellers using these programs and the buyers it affects. Maybe they would think twice before choosing to use.

In the past you went to an eBay listing you could see what services were going to be offered and you chose the one that worked best for you....Was in your budget and delivered it in the time you required? It hasn't helped one iota that many US sellers were opted into these programs with a limited explanation as to what were the mystery consequences for the buyer.

Now it has become a quagmire of generic terms with no specifics including a very vague delivery window. IF/WHEN another courier is involved you risk an Apple/Infocom nightmare for delivery. IF a courier like DHL/UPS/FEDEX are involved and the buyer is responsible to pay any customs charges it becomes a case of major unexpected sticker shock something that US sellers have no understanding of when they choose to use these programs.

The vast majority of Canadian sales to the USA DO NOT include any of the above noted perils and pitfalls. Seems to be a major double standard as far as it goes for buying on eBay. These are your shipping options. These are the costs. Choose. Done.

-Lotz

[femmefan1946]

The thing with GSP is that it is a Seller Protection Program.

The buyer doesn't get to tell the seller than she cannot protect herself.

The basic protections are against INR claims (delivery to the KY plant is all that the seller is responsible for) and that customs scam (claim INR get refund pick up item at customs office) and of course the existential terror of Americans of anything outside the lower 48.

When we as buyers choose among named services, the seller has already decided which he is willing to offer.

So the choice is more limited than you might think.

Now it has become a quagmire of generic terms with no specifics including a very vague delivery window.

A lot of this is actually non-US sellers listing on dotCOM.

We Canadians (and Germans and Chinese and Sri Lankan)  listing there are limited to Flat Rate Shipping  and to choosing from a few generically named services (Economy/ Express etc) because the form we fill out has to serve some 100+ countries with variable naming conventions.

a case of major unexpected sticker shock something that US sellers have no understanding of when they choose to use these programs.

If the seller is shipping by courier, he does show a named company.

But.

It is up to the buyer to know what duty and sales taxes his own country (see 100+ countries, above) charges for imports.
It doesn't help that US residents almost never pay duty because they have an $800 duty-free allowance, compared to our $150 one.

I'm not disagreeing with you but as Rachel Bloom says "It's a little more nuanced than that."

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

@femmefan1946 

My concerns are those unknowing buyers receiving something left on their driveway in the rain example because of these inept couriers(Apple's, UPS,s & DHL's of the world). Throw in the surprise customs charges not being clearly expressed. This is just eBay dropping the ball.

When eBay tells a customer, "Just guess" or adds the frustrations of jumping though hoops to track , it ends up leaving a bad taste in their mouth or a customer that goes away, never to be seen or heard from again. In other words, basically another case of the Poutine without the Frites (details) eBay transaction .

eBay purchases should includes ALL factors involved. The original sale, any handling in between and final delivery.

-Lotz

Not to steal your quote, but I refuse to defend poorly thought out business practices.

[tyler@ebay]

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@femmefan1946 wrote:

Oh lord-- Apple Express is already notorious.

We had a spate of complaints about them around this time last year and understood GSP/PB had dropped hem as a sub-contractor.

They are bad news.

Not just one office either, there were complaints from both BC and ON as I recall.

tyler@ebay 

I think it would be useful to rope in a GSP rep to chat about the new duty and sales tax standards and field complaints about poor sub-contractors.
Perhaps a few explanations about how pre-clearance works too.

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Hi @femmefan1946 - this is a good idea, I'll see if anyone is available to come by!

[reallynicestamps]

Throw in the surprise customs charges not being clearly expressed.

With GPS, there are NO surprise customs charges, no matter who the GSP sub-contractor is.

Those charges are covered by the import fees the buyer pays before the seller even ships to KY.

However, sometimes the seller messes up and manages to send the purchase directly to the buyer. How they manage this when (I understand) the seller never sees the buyer's postal address is a mystery to me. But if the seller ships by UPS /et al , there will be charges, since UPS doesn't know about GSP and never saw the import fees that went to GSP.

The GSP has never been clearly run. The sellers who were roped into it without knowing they were plus the shock of Canadians being charged duty and Sales Taxes on $20 items, plus the confusing tracking system.  Oh, and business buying for resale and being told GSP doesn't support B2B transactions. Aaargh, she said quietly, sipping her tea.