Questions about the Global Shipping Program

[kalvin@ebay.com]

Do you have questions about the Global Shipping Program? Please post here & I'll do my best to track those answers down for you!

If you have any comments about the program, use this forum instead.

Thanks,

[canozzie57]

Ebay is charging duty on items which Canadians buy in the US. I have never had to pay duty on regular items which I buy on eBay. It sounds like a scam to me and I won't play the game. I will be restricting my purchases to Canada and China which has free shipping.

[personalitygoesalongway]

I received a paypal confirmation with and American shipping address(I live in Canada) and an extra $25 USD charged to my order. At the very least, there should be some kind of warning that there is a third party involved in a purchase... 

Also the seller had no idea what was going on either. We nearly scrapped the whole order thinking Paypal was messed up. What's the deal?!

[pierrelebel]

The listing for your purchase showed both the shipping charge and the import charge (taxes and administration fee):

Shipping:

$22.70 International Priority Shipping to Canada   | See details

Item location:

Flushing, New York, United States

Ships to:

United States and many other countries | See details

Import charges:

$15.77 (estimated and based on current bid)

This is the result of your seller using the Global Shipping Program (GSP) offered by eBay and Pitney Bowes:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/shipping-globally.html

As you can see from other threads, most Canadian buyers do not favour nor use GSP due to the extra charges.

To answer your other question, Pitney Bowes is a large International company, based in the USA, (capitalization over US$3 billion) providing - among other things - forwarding parcels from US sellers to buyers around the world - under contract from eBay - and arranging for Customs fees (taxes and duty if applicable) prior to arrival.

[personalitygoesalongway]

I have had this happen to me. My final check out page said 'no other charges on package when it arrives in your city'.... Nasty little surprise of an added $25 USD to my already paid shipping.... On an item that was only $34 and rather light... 

[femmefan1946]

Was the $25 charged by Canada Post or by a courier?

Did you pay the $25 on your doorstep or at the PO?

Is it possible that your seller misunderstands the Global Shipping Program and, after you had paid the GSP fees (made up of Canadian duty, sales tax and a $4.95 service fee for PitneyBowes) sent the parcel directly to you, instead of to PB in Kentucky for trans-shipment.

Contact your seller and ask.

With the GSP, all the applicable postagee, duty, sales taxes and service fees are paid by the buyer before the seller ships to PB. At their facility in Kentucky, they calculate the money owed to the Canadian government, and re-ship your parcel, with hundreds of others, to the appropriate Canadian address.

When you receive the parcel there would be nothing owing.

[00nevermind00]

I don't actually expect to ever get an answer to these questions, but I have to ask anyway: why is eBay enrolling sellers into the GSP without their knowledge or consent, under false pretenses such as a new "user agreement"?  And why does eBay put their items back on the program after they have selected to opt out?

I'm sure that I'm missing some pieces of the puzzle but from where I stand, the most logical answer to those questions is: there wouldn't be very many takers in the long run otherwise.

[rocan123]

Today is my first experience with the "NEW" (not improved) GSP and I am not pleased. I bought two separate items from a seller from the US. During negotiating offers, I asked for a discount for combined shipping. He said no problem. After winning the items, he said he could not combine shipping because it was an international transaction. It originally sais 30$ per item. When I got to checkout, it rose to 76.86$. Thats just a money grab. If the shipper says 30$ per item then thats what it should be as in the past. I can live with the import fees on this transaction. Anyway, in the future I will NOT be buying from any sellers that particpate in the GSP for any purchases. If I have to, I will seek somewhere else, maybe Amazon. At least thet are up front with their shipping rates.

Thanks a lot Ebay, you just lost another member.

Roger

[bennett4612]

hi rocan123. I just wanted to jump in here with a couple pieces of info on the Global Shipping Program. 

First off, and as stated by the seller, the GSP does not allow for combined shipping at this time. Apologies if this contributed to an overall shipping cost that was more than expected. 

Second, with the GSP, as a buyer you see estimated shipping costs on the listing. You then see final costs on the checkout screen. 

For a more thorough explanation of fees, please visit the Seller Terms & Conditions page:  http://pages.ebay.com/shipping/globalshipping/seller-tnc.html

Hope this helps. 

---Ben

[96virago]

I recently purchased an item from a US buyer and paid for International Priority Shipping to Canada, the item will be shipped through the Global Shipping Program ,I checked the USPS tracking number the seller sent me and it is for First Class Shipping. I contacted the seller to ask why the shipping change, he said it is out of his control how the item is shipped through the global shipping program. He says that Ebay charges the buyer for the shipping and he just delivers the package to a depot and has no control over the shipping cost or what priority service the package is shipped. Any help would be appreciated.

[marnotom!]

What you're likely seeing is the shipping method the seller chose to ship the item to the Global Shipping Center in Kentucky before a GPS contractor takes over shipping of the item.

Keep in mind that "International Priority Shipping" is just a generic term used by the Global Shipping Program that could cover any number of commercial carrier services.  It's not USPS's "Priority Mail International" service.  The Global Shipping Program doesn't generally use the postal service to transport the item from the Global Shipping Center to the hub in the destination country.

[96virago]

Can you explain to me why I am able to check the tracking number on the USPS site and the the results say it is a First Class package? here is the USPS shipping number 9400109699937959292484 check it out.

[marnotom!]

Because that's U.S. domestic First Class package service, not international.  That's the service being used to send the item to the Global Shipping Center in Kentucky.

[afantiques]

http://community.ebay.com/t5/Weekly-Chat-with-eBay-Staff/Weekly-Chat-with-the-eBay-Global-Shipping-T...

Worth looking through.

[knock88]

Hi,

The seller has agreed with the cancellation. I clicked I agree this. Then when can I get my money back. I think the purchase is made through paypal but from my visa directly because the visa card are tied with paypal. I.e., paypal is just a bridge. B.T.W, the seller said he can refund me. but for the shipping and import charges,  he did not charge me. I noticed the shipping and import chages are made to Pitney Bowes, Inc, which should be a delivery compary. 

The item is not shipped out and therefore shipping chareges and import charges should be invalid. I think I should get all refound including the part made to Pitney Bowes, Inc. Right? And when can I get all back?

Thanks,

[pierrelebel]

Once your seller initiates the refund through PayPal, Pitney Bowes will also refund the shipping and "import" charges.  It may take a day or two.

[pierrelebel]

If you want more confirmation about refunds and how they are processed, please take a look at this thread from yesterday (Oct 9) on GSP:

http://community.ebay.com/t5/Weekly-Chat-with-eBay-Staff/Weekly-Chat-with-the-eBay-Global-Shipping-T...

[oakpiffer]

I suggest an option to allow buyers to remove sellers that use Global Shipping from search results so we don't bid on those listings by mistake!

Purchased 2 auctions from the same seller for approx $50.00 and got charged $50.00 shipping because the system could/would not combine. NEVER again!  Worst system ever!  Never again!

What a shame!

[slickemslick]

1. how can I tell if my listing use the GSP?

2. can we get a visible tag on all GSP listings so we can avoid them?

3. What happens if I Send a buy an invoice for the actual cost of the item to ship and work around the GSP, then close the listing as paid?

[afantiques]

AS a Canadian seller you cannot use the GSP. Stuff you list  on ebay.com is not eligible for GSP shipping. I assume this is what you were asking about.

Buying stuff is another matter. Just look out for the words import charges, and back away

[maggiebvintage2010]

If you paid the seller extra for priority shipping, and they sent it by a less expensive service to the GSP facilities, you should request a refund from the seller for the difference in shipping costs.  If they are still offering international expedited services along with the GSP program, they should remove these services from their listings.