eBay

sicierni · ‎08-02-2018

I ordered a package from the US using ebay's global shipping program, and the timeframe I was given for it's arrival was from July 30th-August 1st. It's already a day late and the last update I got was that it "Shipped from the Global Shipping Center to International Destination" in Ehrlanger, Kentucky at about 2pm yesterday. How long does it usually take for this step in the shipping process? (Package is going to Toronto)

2nd-time-around-jewelry · ‎08-02-2018

I find that it usually takes twice as long to get a package to Canada when the seller uses GSP. It includes an unnecessary second stop in Kentucky to repackage. I find the timeline given usually isn't correct.

marnotom! · ‎08-02-2018

I'd say that because there's a long weekend coming up, your item will arrive Tuesday, Wednesday at the latest.

The first part of a GSP item's handling is largely in the seller's hands. Unless your item spent considerably longer than a couple of days in the Global Shipping Center in Kentucky, the delay was either due to the seller taking longer than expected to ship the item out, or else their choice of shipping method to Kentucky wasn't as efficient as predicted by eBay.

marnotom! · ‎08-02-2018

@2nd-time-around-jewelry, the stop in Kentucky is a crucial component of the GSP. The item can't get forwarded to the destination country and go through the customs pre-clearance process without it.

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎08-02-2018

The most important thing to always remember with packages coming from either the USA or Internationally(with GSP or not) is there can always be a chance of it being delayed during its final clearing with Canada Customs. Caused by errors/omissions in customs paperwork, package backlogs or increased random screenings. Factors that are never easy to predict or control. Best thing a buyer can do is just continually monitor tracking and try to remain patient and return to cutting the grass or having another coffee!!!

-CM

reallynicestamps · ‎08-02-2018

there can always be a chance of it being delayed during its final clearing with Canada Customs.

True, but technically GSP is handling the 'brokerage' of the product.

CBSA is not really involved, the company (Pitney Bowes) is, like UPS and FedEx and LLBean, a trusted sub-contractor.

What does the tracking show as the arrival date at the GSP plant?

It's been my experience over the years that shipping from the USA takes about 20 days no matter the method on average. Usually a bit faster.

Caused by errors/omissions in customs paperwork,

This would be the biggest problem at the GSP plant, I imagine. Sellers who indicate an item as 'made in the USA' which was only 'sold in the USA".

In this case, since the item did not show arrival at the GSP plant until

reallynicestamps · ‎08-02-2018

an unnecessary second stop in Kentucky to repackage.

First, the stop is where packages are assessed for customes, so not an unnecessary stop.

Second, all delivery organizations including USPS and Canada Post use 'hub and spoke' distribution systems, which are counter-intuitive but more efficient than one by one handling.

And, 'repackage'?

Really?

Thousands and thousands of packages are arriving at Erlanger every day.

How would GSP/Pitney Bowes make any money at all if they were paying even minimum wages ($7.25 hour in Kentucky) to remove and repack items?

Never mind pay to take the original packaging to the landfill and buy new packaging.

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎08-02-2018

My 2 most recent "experiences"(several months ago) with GSP it took approx. 5 days to get from the Erlanger to its first point in Canada. As the Google crow flies, something that should only be an 8 hours to drive. After that it took another week to get to Calgary. Definitely did NOT seem efficient or very priority-like. Maybe why I try to avoid GSP at all costs. The actual posted delivery estimates were not even close to accurate at that point in time.

-CM

retroman_studios · ‎08-02-2018

A few items are re packed, but even then they don't do nothing pretty.

I ordered a bunch of mechanical watch movements and seller had them in a small box. They put in a large box after opening smaller box and everything rattled about. Luckily seller did a first rate of packing them in bubble wrap.

So, with GSP, you results are about as good as quality control in China.

marnotom! · ‎08-02-2018

@retroman_studios wrote:

A few items are re packed, but even then they don't do nothing pretty.

I ordered a bunch of mechanical watch movements and seller had them in a small box. They put in a large box after opening smaller box and everything rattled about. Luckily seller did a first rate of packing them in bubble wrap.

So, with GSP, you results are about as good as quality control in China.

I visualize GSP items being shipped in somewhat haphazardly-arranged shrink-wrapped pallets from Erlanger to MIssissauga.

This means that smaller boxes stand a good chance of being crushed by larger, heavier ones while in transit. I suspect the watch movements were transferred to a larger box so that the additional air space in the package would act as a cushion of sorts. Because the movements were already wrapped in bubble wrap, the issue of them "rattling about" in transit wasn't as much of an issue as the entire works being crushed.

What sort of condition was the larger box in when you received it, @retroman_studios?

retroman_studios · ‎08-02-2018

It was fine. It was about the size of a cell phone return box or a big coffee mug box, depending on what you are familiar with.

Mechanical movements don't like being shocked, so it would have been better to reseal the original box and put packing material in the bigger box. That's right, no packing material in big box. At least put some crumpled paper. Oh well. They arrived just fine.

sicierni · ‎08-02-2018

That's completely ridiculous. I googled the drive too and I don't understand how someone could stretch that trip an entire 5 days. I wish I did more research before buying, cause this is abysmal.

2nd-time-around-jewelry · ‎08-02-2018

I am just not a big fan of GSP & my comment was on how unnecessary the whole thing is to me to have 2 stops. Just send it by USPS with tracking & it is cheaper & gets here faster.

Also I have received packages that were opened & repacked by them before.

reallynicestamps · ‎08-03-2018

Also I have received packages that were opened & repacked by them before.

So have I.

The new box (which included a note about being opened) was about 25x15x4"-- around a book that was about 20x15x1/2". So it certainly was not to make the package more compact. It could have gone in a very large envelope.

Just send it by USPS with tracking

Yes that would be more sensible. But USPS and eBay do not make it easy to find the cheaper tracked solutions.

The seller had not noted where it was printed (USA) and many books of the type are printed in Hong Kong.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoke%E2%80%93hub_distribution_paradigm

USPS and Canada Post both use the hub and spoke system.

If I send something from Victoria up island to Nanaimo, it first takes the ferry over to Vancouver, before returning for the last 90 km of the trip.

marnotom! · ‎08-03-2018

@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:

My 2 most recent "experiences"(several months ago) with GSP it took approx. 5 days to get from the Erlanger to its first point in Canada. As the Google crow flies, something that should only be an 8 hours to drive. After that it took another week to get to Calgary. Definitely did NOT seem efficient or very priority-like. Maybe why I try to avoid GSP at all costs. The actual posted delivery estimates were not even close to accurate at that point in time.

My hypothesis is that your item sat in a warehouse or sorting facility for a few days before being scanned as being received in Canada. It looks like GSP items bound for Canada are now being sent directly to Canada Post's Gateway facility in Mississauga instead of being dealt with by logistics companies. It's a little cheaper, but that cost savings comes at a bit of a price in terms of time.

Five days transit time from Mississauga to Calgary doesn't sound all that unusual to me for an item that was likely handled as an Expedited Parcel once in Canada. Was a weekend involved?

marnotom! · ‎08-03-2018

@2nd-time-around-jewelry wrote:

I am just not a big fan of GSP & my comment was on how unnecessary the whole thing is to me to have 2 stops. Just send it by USPS with tracking & it is cheaper & gets here faster.
Also I have received packages that were opened & repacked by them before.

I really wish those marketing the GSP weren't so cagey about the fact that it's really just a forwarding service. I think it would really help clarify the program's operations for buyers and sellers alike.

The thing is, international shipping is perceived by many American sellers as a steep learning curve oozing with risk and scams. Once people get a notion like that stuck in their heads, it's very hard to extract it. The GSP does a lot to mitigate that perceived risk. Unfortunately, buyers are the one paying for it.

If you don't want the GSP opening and repacking your items, you need to be either buying from sellers who know that they're offering the GSP and know how to list items properly with the information Pitney Bowes requires for customs purposes, or else you need to get a US address to have your items shipped to and have them sent to Canada under your own steam.

By the way, a few months ago my wife ordered something from Southeast Asia that was shipped by a FedEx air service. It first went to Alaska and then down to Seattle and then Vancouver before making its way over to Vancouver Island.

2nd-time-around-jewelry · ‎08-03-2018

I've found that most sellers in the US do not even know they are opted into GSP. When I have mentioned it to many sellers, the most common answer is I don't know what GSP is & don't remember signing up for it. And when some sellers try to work around it & try to send a seperate invoice they can't do it.

marnotom! · ‎08-03-2018

@2nd-time-around-jewelry wrote:

I've found that most sellers in the US do not even know they are opted into GSP. When I have mentioned it to many sellers, the most common answer is I don't know what GSP is & don't remember signing up for it. And when some sellers try to work around it & try to send a seperate invoice they can't do it.

Yup. Several years ago, there was an update to the eBay.com User Agreement that had a "click-through" button at the bottom that users were supposed to click if they agreed to having the GSP on their listings. Many users thought that was a button to click if they agreed to the UA update, but it wasn't.

In addition, the current user agreement contains a passage that suggests that users can have the GSP automatically applied to their listings if they don't set up their listings with international shipping options and rates.

If you do find a seller willing to ship directly to you without the GSP, the seller will have to relist the item with an international shipping method and rate. As you have found, they can't send an invoice at sales end for an item listed with the GSP that has their own shipping method and rate on it.