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,

[bennett4612]

Hi larissa4500. 

Well, there are certainly a lot of Canadian eBay customers who share your opinions. The issues you raise, and the sheer volume of same, are certainly well known within eBay and do help shape changes to the program (for instance there have been frequent requests for additional detail around how fees are determined and distributed; this is something we are currently working on providing.)

The Program was designed (in part) to provide a convenient service for Sellers, and to broaden the marketplace for Buyers. There are fees associated with the Program, which are outlined here:  http://pages.ebay.com/shipping/globalshipping/buyer-tnc.html

Not sure if this will provide you with the info you are looking for, but hopefully it will help.

---Bennett 

[pierrelebel]

Ben.

You wrote:  "There are fees associated with the Program,"

OK - We get that.

The question is : since eBay/PayPal benefits from the program and American sellers benefit from the program why are ALL the fees paid by buyers?

Would it not be fair to have sellers - who get more sales from the program - share in the PB fees?

[bennett4612]

Hi dasia143.

Combined shipping is currently not possible within the GSP. Each transaction has to ship separately. 

---Bennett

[bennett4612]

Hi DMH. 

As stated previously once the Seller gets the item to the US Shipping Center they have essentially "done their duty". 

If the item was damaged during international transit the Seller will keep his/her money and all refunds will come from eBay/Pitney Bowes. If the Seller is found to be at fault ("not as described", etc.) the refund will come in part from the Seller (purchase price) and in part from eBay/Pitney Bowes (GSP Program Fees). 

Either way the process should happen automatically. No further action is needed by you or the Seller, unless requested by eBay. In any event it sounds like you have set the wheels in motion by initiating a claim. 

Hope that clears things up a bit. 

---Bennett

[bennett4612]

Hi gkl-account. 

With an active listing you can change the shipping method. But I also believe there is some "lag time" for the change to take effect. I believe it's 24 hours. 

Shipping method cannot be changed after an auction has ended. The only way to change anything after an auction has ended is if buyer and seller both agree to cancelling the sale. The item can then get re-listed in whatever method the buyer so chooses. 

Hope this helps. 

---Ben

[bennett4612]

Hi pierrelebel. 

Obviously FEES are a very hot topic. And yours has not been the only outcry for additional details regarding how all the program fees are determined, applied, and distributed.

Believe it or not we ARE working with Pitney Bowes to provide additional information in this area. I wouldn't describe progress as "speed of light" but there has been progress nonetheless. 

As far as having the seller share the program fees, that's the first time I have heard that suggestion. And although I'm sure it wouldn't be all that popular on the US seller boards ... I will bring it up internally. 

---Bennett

[dasia143]

---

@bennett4612 wrote:

"Combined shipping is currently not possible within the GSP. Each transaction has to ship separately."

Thanks for making that clear, Bennett. A very disappointing answer I must say though! Saving money through combined shipping has been one of my favourite things about eBay. For that reason and others I have posted in the comment thread, my buying from the USA will be drastically curtailed. I will limit myself to non-GSP sellers, but since I don't have unlimited time to scroll through all the listings, I will just not be looking as much in general. Unfortunately, sellers considerate enough NOT to use GSP will lose out too unless a mechanism is put in place to filter out GSP sellers.

[mater721]

"Maybe it's the types of items for which I tend to search"

This is what I've been trying to emphasis.

For each buyer, the experience is different. For some of us (who have posted about frustrations on GSP) we are finding it more difficult to find sellers who 1) sell the items we want and 2) are not using GSP.. It also takes more time to filter out those using GSP. Ebay really needs to add that as a filter for us buyers. I may not use it all the time,  but at least give me the option to use the filter.

[mater721]

"A very disappointing answer"

I agree 100%. My time spent searching for suitable sellers will go up and my bidding will go down.  It's lose-lose. fewer bids means lower price for sellers, and more GSP sellers means fewer items for (many) Canadians to bid on.

Actually, some sellers may come out ahead - they may have more Canadians bidding on their item if not using GSP. Bad for us, as more bidders and fewer (relevant) sellers = higher bidding = more money out of our pockets.

[gkl-account]

First of all, how does the seller change an active listing from GSP to USPS?  There is an item that I am interested in, and the seller is willing to ship via USPS, but doesn't know how to go about changing the shipping.

Secondly, if the only option to change the shipping method post-auction is to cancel the sale and re-run the auction, then that means that I would stand a good chance (especially with a hot item) of losing out on an item that I had previously won.  Correct?  Unless there is some sort of protection that I am missing out on?

Why isn't GSP being run like Fedex / UPS / USPS used to be?  In the past, I have seen sellers offering multiple options for shipping that the buyer could choose from.  The GSP seems to be an all-or-nothing sort of thing where you are either in or out and no middle ground.  Doesn't make a lot of sense...

Thanks.

[pjcdn2005]

I'm not sure how a seller can opt out of GSP on an active listing (they could probably ask on the U.S. sellers message board) but once they listing is over they should be able to bill you through Paypal without going through the gsp.

[pjcdn2005]

---

@bennett4612 wrote:

Hi dasia143.

Combined shipping is currently not possible within the GSP. Each transaction has to ship separately. 

---Bennett

---

Bennet, I'm sure that I have seen U.S. gsp sellers state that they have been able to combine items when the cart was used. Can you confirm whether that is true or not?

[marnotom!]

---

@mater721 wrote:

"Maybe it's the types of items for which I tend to search"

This is what I've been trying to emphasis.

For each buyer, the experience is different. For some of us (who have posted about frustrations on GSP) we are finding it more difficult to find sellers who 1) sell the items we want and 2) are not using GSP.. It also takes more time to filter out those using GSP. Ebay really needs to add that as a filter for us buyers. I may not use it all the time,  but at least give me the option to use the filter.

---

Okay, but the point I was making was:

I find very few sellers using the GSP who also ship to countries that aren't on the list of GSP-supported countries.  Sellers who are serious about shipping internationally wouldn't eliminate that unsupported chunk of the globe if they were switching from other international shipment methods.

This was in response to your contention that there are many sellers using the GSP who shipped internationally prior to its inception.  I've provided my reasoning why I don't think this is necessarily so.  

While I can appreciate your rationale for a GSP filter, it doesn't seem justified given that we can't filter search results based on other shipping methods that may be used inappropriately, such as Express mail or UPS Standard.

[mater721]

"it doesn't seem justified given that we can't filter search results based on other shipping methods"

What's wrong with progress? To make buyers happy? Happy buyers might spend more money?

[marnotom!]

What's your rationale for believing that many if not most sellers using the GSP have likely ditched using the postal system for their international sales?

If there's any "ditching" of shipping services going on, I would suggest that it's carriers such as UPS and FedEx for high ticket items.

[mater721]

"What's your rationale for believing that many if not most sellers using the GSP have likely ditched using the postal system for their international sales?"

Never said that. Could be 50/50... all i know is there used to be more sellers using First Class. Now, not as many, and i see lots of GSP.

"If there's any "ditching" of shipping services going on, I would suggest that it's carriers such as UPS and FedEx for high ticket items."

It's all guessing - for both of us.  But I have seen many small-ticket items using GSP.  $5 items with $16 shipping.

If you have issue with UPS, maybe campaign for a filter.  But to suggest there should not be a filter for GSP because UPS does not have one makes no sense. At this point in time, GSP is broken.

[ace_4420]

Hi..I'd like to buy from Canadian sellers only.  I've been away from eBay for 4 years. I purchased from 3 USA sellers using this GSP.  It's been a horrible experience. Is there a way to set my buying preferences to Canadian sellers only. Thanks..Ace

[pjcdn2005]

Your question was answered here

http://community.ebay.ca/t5/Buyer-Central/How-do-I-block-USA-advertising-on-my-site/m-p/198297

[marnotom!]

---

@mater721 wrote:

It's all guessing - for both of us.  But I have seen many small-ticket items using GSP.  $5 items with $16 shipping.

If you have issue with UPS, maybe campaign for a filter.  But to suggest there should not be a filter for GSP because UPS does not have one makes no sense. At this point in time, GSP is broken.

---

Think about it.  eBay is under contract with Pitney Bowes for the operations of the Global Shipping Program.  If you were a suit from Pitney Bowes, would you appreciate your service having the option of being filtered out or blocked, while the perceived competition doesn't have a similar filter?

I've seen many low-ticket / high shipping cost listings with the GSP, as well.  My contention simply is that many of those items likely wouldn't be available with shipping to Canada by more conventional means if the GSP suddenly went "poof".

[mater721]

"My contention simply is that many of those items likely wouldn't be available with shipping to Canada by more conventional means if the GSP suddenly went "poof""

As I've said before, there were a lot of ~ $5 items available with First Class shipping pre-GSP.  I guess we just have differing opinions on this.