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,

[newlifejianming]

I am in canada and bought an item from US on Ebay which was shipped by the GSP. So anyone has the experience knowing which carrier will deliver my item in Canada.

[newlifejianming]

I am in canada and bought an item this week from US on Ebay which was shipped by the GSP. So anyone has the experience knowing which carrier will deliver my item in Canada.

[pjcdn2005]

Either Canada Post or Can Par. I have no idea how they decide which one they are going to use. It might depend on where you live.

[newlifejianming]

Thanks, I am in Montreal and really don't like the GSP

[mpit7628]

Hello.  I do believe that once your item comes across the border it will be shipped to you by Canada Post.  Unless the seller states that they ship by a specific delivery service such as U.P.S. or  the like then Canada Post will do the delivering.

[migu.jaco]

Hi ! I recently bought a new Graphic card for the price of 180$ USD.
When they shipped it to me and came to my house I had to pay 70$can (I'm in Canada) to receive it.
Thankfully , they sent back the item and I got a complete refund which is great.

Last week, my old tablet broke ... and I need a new one. I want to buy one which is around 160$ + 10$ shipping + 10$ import charges with No additional import charges at delivery!

But , I read that some people still get fees to pay while buying from the global shipping program. Is it true ?

I am in Canada , residential home and I buy from someone in the U.S

[migu.jaco]

Hi ! Last time I bought something I did not use global shipping program.

Now I read that even if you use it you can still have import charge to pay.

I'm in canada and I live in a residential house. Tyvm

[pjcdn2005]

If the seller sends the item through the global shipping program, you shouldn't have any fees to pay when the item arrives as you have already paid them. As far as I know the only time that people have had to pay fees at delivery with gsp is because the seller did not understand how the system worked or didn't realize that that they were in the gsp so they sent the item directly to the buyer and bypassed the program.

It sounds as if the graphic card you bought was delivered by courier rather than through the postal system. Couriers always charge tax and duty when applicable plus they add on a service charge for collecting the custom fees. When an item is sent to you you directly by a non gsp seller and is delivered by mail  rather than courier, you are less likely to have to pay taxes or duty although Canada customs does have the right to charge them for any item over $20.

[migu.jaco]

but if the seller dont understand it and send me it without the program , I can send him a bill of lets say 50$ for import charge right ? 

[pjcdn2005]

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@migu.jaco wrote:

but if the seller dont understand it and send me it without the program , I can send him a bill of lets say 50$ for import charge right ? 

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No, the seller doesn't have to pay the import charges. 

It isn't something that happens very often but if you have paid gsp fees and it wasn't sent through the program, you should be able to get a refund of the import fees and international shipping fees from ebay.

[femmefan1946]

Yes.

If your purchase* is over $20 CDN ($18 US approx.) duty may be applicable and sales tax will be applicable. Canada Post will also charge you $9.95 as a service charge for dealing with this.

That being said, CBSA and CPO have generally ignored postal imports under $100 and those which may be more but are not bulky. Basically it costs more to collect the duty and sales tax than could possibly be collected. Common sense decision on the part of public servants.

The Harper Government has not changed the level at which the fees apply. After years and years in power.

* No, if you paid for it is NOT a gift. And there are import charges on gifts too, in any case.

[femmefan1946]

Most come by Canada Post, but some come by CanPar.

The shipper (Pitney Bowes) doesn't seem to use any other couriers than CanPar.

If you live in a rural or isolated area it will come by Canada Post.

Don't worry about it. It will arrive. Remember that this past week included both Canada Day and Independence Day both slow down shipping.

If the item does not arrive in 20 days from purchase, let the seller know as a courtesy.

If the item does not arrive in 30 days, open an Item Not Received dispute and close it as soon as possible. You will be refunded.

You have up to 45 days for a Dispute, but there is no reason to wait that long. The GSP only ships from the USA and 30 days is generous.

[Anonymous]

I noticed when I purchased an item (heavy item) with $25.01 for shipping costs and when I checked my PayPal account and noticed that $15.11 out of $25.01 go to Pitney Bowes, while the rest goes to the seller.  It makes me wonder are we paying for the shipping costs twice???

If directly from seller only, it would be $9.99!!  Something wrong with this picture that we have to pay twice with GSP??? 

When purchased from US sellers directly, I usually always see XpressPost stickers slapped on parcels but with GSP, I NEVER see XpressPost stickers slapped on them, apparently GSP is just a bogus scam for Pitney Bowes maybe even eBay to make extra $$$ that way???

Anyone on eBay can answer that??

[Anonymous]

Wouldn't you believe it?  I just got a message from this same seller asking for additional $64.00 for shipping.  I was like "are you fricking kidding me?"!!

I would say $25.01 was sufficient for shipping costs, even it is more higher than normal and here he is asking for additional $64.00!!  That item is not that heavy to warrant for additional shipping costs.  I hope it is not going to become a new trend for sellers to want additional $$$ for shipping after the auctions ended!!

[reallynicestamps]

Well, not exactly.

As I understand it, the seller charges the buyer enough to carry the purchase to Kentucky, and the rest is duty, sales tax and a fee from Pitney Bowes which covers their costs (and profit) to forward the purchase to Canada.

The $9.99 would be the seller part, the $15 the PB/duty/tax part.

[reallynicestamps]

I just got a message from this same seller asking for additional $64.00 for shipping.

Is this a new seller?

I would not be surprised if he doesn't understand that all he has to do is ship the purchase with Confirmation of Delivery to Kentucky and there his responsibility ends.

Let him know.

[arlene_v]

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@reallynicestamps wrote:

I just got a message from this same seller asking for additional $64.00 for shipping.

Is this a new seller?

I would not be surprised if he doesn't understand that all he has to do is ship the purchase with Confirmation of Delivery to Kentucky and there his responsibility ends.

Let him know.

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I agree, you need to "educate" the seller, there is absolutely no need to send extra for  shipping, all the seller has to do is pop this in the mail and get it to Kentucky.  The seller is obviously confused. 

I've only bought two items listed through the GSP and in both cases no extra charges were ever due.

You mention in your opening post that you've received items through the GSP before, and I would guess that in those cases the seller offered free US shipping and therefore you didn't get charged for the US leg of the shipping., and so never saw the shipping charges for getting  the item to the Pitney Bowes Shipping hub in Kentucky.

If free US shipping is not offered, the shipping cost for this segment of the journey appears in the portion payable to the seller, along with the actual amount for the item itself. 

This can be confusing! 

[arlene_v]

Here is what one typically sees with a paid GSP invoice in  transactions in Paypal:

This line indicates that two payments are made for the GSP purchase: One to the seller - in this case USD 56.00 and then a separate line for Pitney Bowes

Now this is what you get when you click on the seller details, a breakdown of the amount paid for the item and any US shipping, paid to get the item to the Pitney Bowes hub in Kentucky for processing. 

Now this is what appears if you click the details for the Pitney Bowes amount.  "Import charges" paid if the item is more than Can$20, and the shipping cost to get the item to you in Canada from KY. 

One can be left with the impression that this is being charged double for shipping, but what is happening is that different amounts are owed to different parties for each segment of the item's journey. This is radically different to what we are used to. 

[Anonymous]

Why the heck did  Lizzie eBay moved this message to a different place??  I prefer it to stay in one place as not to clump it with other GSP issues which has way toooooo many pages already!!  Thanks eBay, leave it alone where it should belong in the first place.

[pierrelebel]

"....moved this message to a different place??"

The folks at Lithium are paid by eBay and follow eBay's instructions.  eBay wants everything relating to GSP to be controlled within two threads. End of story.

It does not really matter if we like it or not.  eBay will do what eBay wants to do.  If we do not like it, we do not need to participate in discussion board activities.