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,

[reallynicestamps]

Your first step is to try to contact the seller, and ask how he will help. He may not be helpful. So:

Go here:

http://resolutioncenter.ebay.ca/

And choose the correct option.

You may be required to return the whole purchase with Delivery Confirmation. Ask the seller (who will be part of the mediation) if he will accept pictures of the damage instead of expensive return.

Paypal will refund you but the duty and taxes you paid are a separate payment and will take longer.

Your part is simple, there's just a lot of stuff going on backstage.

[reallynicestamps]

Technically it is still  'customs' making the decision. CBSA sub-contracts assessing and charging duty and tax to many commercial bodies around the world. LL Bean and UPS are two I'm familiar with, the first as a retailer and the second as a shipper.

The commercial bodies are required to follow the letter of the law, which makes duty and tax applicable on any item valued at $20CDN. *

But with Canada Post, also a government department (sortof), CBSA tends to overlook low value and light weight items, perhaps figuring that it costs more to charge the applicable duty and tax than can be collected. A show of common sense.

*And that's going to be a new source of pain as the loonie drops. Instead of $19CDN=$19US as has been the situation for a few years now, $19.00 US = $20.90CDN and the purchase becomes taxable. In addition, shippers who usually don't apply a service charge when the item is not dutiable, will be adding it. Pitney Bowes charges $5 or so. UPS charges $25 or so.

[justliven16]

I have a buyer that wants me to ship to canada from usa, I want to ship it through the international shipping center. I heard that is cheapest. The item I want to ship is a toy and is only about 2 pounds in weight and has a value of $65. Any suggestions how to ship it cheap from WA state to BC Canada?

[lisatfs87]

I made a purchase on an ebay item through GSP. The item was worth under $5 USD and the costs of shipping is enormous ($28 USD to ship).

The seller thought that quoted GSP shipping price was just an ebay "estimate" and he would refund me the difference once he calculated the shipping costs separately. He told me to pay and he would refund me the difference later when he ships it. So I paid.

And now we both just learned about how the GSP system works as he asked me why he had to ship it to Kentucky when I lived in CANADA!

Now we both understand that it goes to Kentucky to get reshipped again! That is a waste and a hassle of time and money for a small item worth less than $5.

The seller has not shipped the item out to Kentucky yet as we are discussing what to do as the GSP is too much money and a hassle for a small item.

What can we do to cancel and get my money back from (Seller and Pitney Bowes)?

[c4smike]

Good day Kalvin,

Please bear with me as I have not purchase an item through GSP nor spent much time on these forums so this may be a rehash of a topic.

On three occasions I have asked sellers of a GSP item to use their domestic shipping fee instead of their more costly international fee as they are shipping to Pitney Bowes (Kentucky) not my residence (Ontario, Canada). Their response was that they could not.

I've made this request based on what I understood from the GSP Sellers Terms & Conditions - Section 3, Item d.  As follows:

• Payment Split.  PayPal will split your Buyer’s payment of the Program Fees between you and Pitney Bowes in the following manner:
  1. Payment to you: PayPal will transmit to your PayPal account that portion of your Buyer’s payment consisting of the GSP Item price and the amount (if any) charged by you to ship the GSP Item to the U.S. Shipping Center. Payment would be subject to applicable payment holds, if any, as further described in the eBay.com User Agreement.
  2. Payment to Pitney Bowes:  PayPal will transmit the balance of your Buyer’s payment to Pitney Bowes’s PayPal account.

In regards to the wording in red, it raises two questions.

- Is my understanding correct that the fee to ship a GSP item from Pitney Bowes to my residence is charged to me by Pitney Bowes and not the seller?

- Is my understanding correct that the amount the seller charged - not what they actually spent but what they charged - me for shipping to Pitney Bowes will be transmitted by PayPal back to the seller's PayPal account?

If I am incorrect in my understanding then it might be wrong for me to ask sellers to use their domestic shipping fee.  I look forward to your response.

Thank you.

[toby_le_pue]

There is no GSP charges on this item.

The $28.00 is what the seller is charging you.

Shipping:

US $28.18 (approx. C $31.20) International Priority Shipping to Canada  

This amount includes seller specified US shipping charges as well as applicable international shipping, handling, and other fees. This amount is subject to change until you make payment. For additional information, see the Global Shipping Program

Item location:

Cedar Hill, Texas, United States

Import charges:

US $0.00 (estimated and based on current bid) To be provided at checkout  

[femmefan1946]

I believe you are thinking of the Global Shipping Program. If so, you were misinformed.

For a two pound $65 item, use USPS First Class International Shipping. This will handle up to four pounds and is Delivery Confirmed.

The GSP charges your buyer both duty and tax before allowing you to ship. We pay duty and tax on items valued over $20. This compares with your $200 limit. So we are sensitive about it. USPS/Canada Post shipping usually avoids these costs on items under $100. Usually. It's a gamble we enjoy.

GSP and paying taxes (of up to 15% or a further $10.75CDN) we don't much care for.

Keep your stick on the ice.

[femmefan1946]

EBay does not suggest that sellers use the Global Shipping Program for items valued under $50.00 .

Your seller is .... odd.... to insist on using a service that includes insurance and confirmation of delivery on an item that would not even require assessment for duty or tax (which starts at $20 CDN value.) And quadruple the value of the item.

Ask for a Mutual Cancellation. The seller is clueless. Find someone competent.

[lisatfs87]

PayPal shows 2 payments (Seller and PIB).
Isn't it cheaper just to send it off to me (Canada) then go through GSP?
The item is small 10"x10"x3" and under 1 pound and the cost of shipping should be ~$15.

[lisatfs87]

I asked in the "Answer Center" and my question was merged here.

How can I cancel the transaction. The seller and I have come to an understanding to cancel because the GSP hassle.

If he refunds me, will I get the PIB portion back automatically? I searched the Internet for an answer but some posts say I would have to contact PayPal for that refund.

[pjcdn2005]

---

@c4smike wrote:

Good day Kalvin,

Please bear with me as I have not purchase an item through GSP nor spent much time on these forums so this may be a rehash of a topic.

On three occasions I have asked sellers of a GSP item to use their domestic shipping fee instead of their more costly international fee as they are shipping to Pitney Bowes (Kentucky) not my residence (Ontario, Canada). Their response was that they could not.

I've made this request based on what I understood from the GSP Sellers Terms & Conditions - Section 3, Item d.  As follows:

• Payment Split.  PayPal will split your Buyer’s payment of the Program Fees between you and Pitney Bowes in the following manner:
  1. Payment to you: PayPal will transmit to your PayPal account that portion of your Buyer’s payment consisting of the GSP Item price and the amount (if any) charged by you to ship the GSP Item to the U.S. Shipping Center. Payment would be subject to applicable payment holds, if any, as further described in the eBay.com User Agreement.
  2. Payment to Pitney Bowes:  PayPal will transmit the balance of your Buyer’s payment to Pitney Bowes’s PayPal account.

In regards to the wording in red, it raises two questions.

- Is my understanding correct that the fee to ship a GSP item from Pitney Bowes to my residence is charged to me by Pitney Bowes and not the seller?

- Is my understanding correct that the amount the seller charged - not what they actually spent but what they charged - me for shipping to Pitney Bowes will be transmitted by PayPal back to the seller's PayPal account?

If I am incorrect in my understanding then it might be wrong for me to ask sellers to use their domestic shipping fee.  I look forward to your response.

Thank you.

---

When you pay for an item that is to be shipped through the GSP, the seller receives the price of the item AND the price that they charge to ship from their location to the PB center in Kentucky. So if they offer free shipping within the U.S., you receive that same free shipping to Kentucky.If they charge $5 for domestic customers and the international portion of the shipping is $20, $5 goes to the seller and $20 goes to PB. The GSP seller does not enter ANY price for international buyers, they only enter a domestic price.

The seller has absolutely no control over the international shipping amount that PB charges and they do not receive any of that amount. So it doesn't make sense to ask them to charge you the domestic shipping fee as that is already what they are receiving from you.

Does that answer your question?

[pjcdn2005]

---

@justliven16 wrote:

I have a buyer that wants me to ship to canada from usa, I want to ship it through the international shipping center. I heard that is cheapest. The item I want to ship is a toy and is only about 2 pounds in weight and has a value of $65. Any suggestions how to ship it cheap from WA state to BC Canada?

---

It would definitely be less expensive for you to first class international with delivery confirmation. If you went through the GSP then the parcel would go from WA to Kentucky back to BC. The shipping would cost more and the import fees would likely be more.

[pjcdn2005]

---

@lisatfs87 wrote:
I asked in the "Answer Center" and my question was merged here.

How can I cancel the transaction. The seller and I have come to an understanding to cancel because the GSP hassle.

If he refunds me, will I get the PIB portion back automatically? I searched the Internet for an answer but some posts say I would have to contact PayPal for that refund.

---

When you file a claim for an item not received and the seller refunds you, then you will automatically be refunded the PB portion as well. I don't think that the same thing would happen (but I'm not positive) if a case wasn't filed. Probably the best thing would be to phone ebay and ask to speak with a GSP specialist.

Just so you know....before you paid and if the seller agreed to ship the item directly to you, they could have sent you an invoice through Paypal with the item cost and their shipping cost.

[reallynicestamps]

PayPal shows 2 payments (Seller and PIB).
Isn't it cheaper just to send it off to me (Canada) then go through GSP?
The item is small 10"x10"x3" and under 1 pound and the cost of shipping should be ~$15.

Maybe yes maybe no.

The advantage to the seller would be that with the GSP he has Delivery Confirmation, insurance against damage and loss in transit, and doesn't have to handly any exportation paperwork.

Usiing GSP for the seller is identical to shipping domestically. (Because he is shipping domestically).

If the seller were shipping with Global Priority, to get DC and insurance his parcel would cost about $20-25. (The service that costs about $15 does not include DC.)

If the seller were shipping with First Class International which includes DC your parcel would cost about $8.

BUT

With GSP the buyer pays applicable tax and occasionally duty before the seller ships to PBI. The buyer cannot complain about the cost of tax and duty since it was given before the buyer paid.

Without GSP the buyer may get sticker shock on his doorstep when the postie won't hand over the parcel without further, unmentioned payment.  The seller then may suffer the wrath of negative feedback and trashed DSRs, which can be devastating to his business and are difficult to have removed.

Keep in mind that this is not a Buyer -oriented program. It was designed to protect US sellers from poor results in selling internationally and thus to encourage them to sell outside the Lower 48.

[reallynicestamps]

PayPal shows 2 payments (Seller and PIB).
Isn't it cheaper just to send it off to me (Canada) then go through GSP?
The item is small 10"x10"x3" and under 1 pound and the cost of shipping should be ~$15.

[reallynicestamps]

Maybe yes maybe no.

[reallynicestamps]

The advantage to the seller would be that with the GSP he has Delivery Confirmation, insurance against damage and loss in transit, and doesn't have to handly any exportation paperwork.

[reallynicestamps]

Usiing GSP for the seller is identical to shipping domestically. (Because he is shipping domestically).

[reallynicestamps]

If the seller were shipping with Global Priority, to get DC and insurance his parcel would cost about $20-25. (The service that costs about $15 does not include DC.)

[reallynicestamps]

If the seller were shipping with First Class International which includes DC your parcel would cost about $8.

[reallynicestamps]

BUT

[reallynicestamps]

With GSP the buyer pays applicable tax and occasionally duty before the seller ships to PBI. The buyer cannot complain about the cost of tax and duty since it was given before the buyer paid.

[reallynicestamps]

Without GSP the buyer may get sticker shock on his doorstep when the postie won't hand over the parcel without further, unmentioned payment.  The seller then may suffer the wrath of negative feedback and trashed DSRs, which can be devastating to his business and are difficult to have removed.

[reallynicestamps]

Keep in mind that this is not a Buyer -oriented program. It was designed to protect US sellers from poor results in selling internationally and thus to encourage them to sell outside the Lower 48.

[demoralize]

Perhaps this is a completely dumb question, but I recently made my first purchase which uses this new service and I have a few questions (after the fact, of course)

Within the Terms and Conditions, I have read the following statement:

Exclusions.  You alone are responsible for any customs duties, taxes, surcharges, fines, penalties, or other charges which may be imposed on you by customs or tax officials after a GSP Item has successfully cleared customs and been delivered to (or made available for pickup at) the delivery address specified by you.

Does this mean that, in theory, I could be charged taxes again by Canadian customs regardless of those taxes being paid PB?  I have no way to prove this, therefore have no way to dispute it with Canadian government, right?  Or have I completely misunderstood something here? 

I don't care about this with my most recent purchase (though I'm certain I would never have had to pay any taxes if shipped without this service), but should I make any substantial purchases in the future, this is something I would need to keep in mind.

Thanks.

[arlene_v]

I think that's a great question. I read that and wondered about it as well, 

Good for you for  reading the "small print", and asking before making any substantial purchases through the GSP.  

I look forward to seeing what answers you get. 

[demoralize]

Sadly, not the case.  Like so many I only looked at it after the fact.  Ha!  Way to go me.

[demoralize]

I just re-read your post and realized you meant good for asking BEFORE making a big purchase...sorry, it's been a long day.

[afantiques]

I think that clause is boilerplate stuff with no real likelihood of practical application.

I can think of an example, where the seller sends $10000 worth of diamonds in a pot of face cream shipped through the GSP declared as $20. The customs people have eye on the sender, and come to your house to greet the package, and charge you tax on the undeclared diamonds. This is a bit exotic but I think this is the sort of contorted situation that that clause is in there to cover the shippers from.

[bennett4612]

Hi demoralize. 

afantiques has this figured about right. The term "boilerplate" seems applicable enough. And certainly applies to most "legalese" in that it has to be there to make sure every possible scenario is covered. 

The Buyer Terms & Conditions page also contains the following sentence, which is the more applicable scenario:

"However, subject to your compliance with these Terms, your payment of the GSP Item price and quoted Program Fees during checkout represents the total amount of Shipping and Import charges for a GSP Item to be purchased, shipped to the delivery address specified by you, cleared by customs, and delivered to (or made available for pickup at) the delivery address that you specify."

(http://pages.ebay.com/shipping/globalshipping/buyer-tnc.html)

Hope this helps. 

---Bennett