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,

[ypdc_dennis]

???

What does USPS have to do with a seller's shipping choice?

[ypdc_dennis]

Taxes DO apply to most used goods.

The exemption limit for mailed items remains unchanged at $20.

Stuff being brought across the border by you, with you -- that was given a higher exemption limit a while back.

[pierrelebel]

"...we do not pay import taxes for used items and under 100.00"

Yes, we do.

The law allows postal import of Cdn$20 without paying duty or tax (GST/HST/PST), regardless if an item is new or used.

For more information, please refer to the official Government of Canada website on the subject:

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/postal-postale/duty-droits-eng.html

Now, quire often Canada Customs may let a parcel through without charging tax (GST/HST/PST) even if the value is above Cdn$ 20.00

"Why is Ebay charging import tax..."

Actually eBay does not charge tax.  An import charge (which may include duty (if applicable), sales tax (GST/HST/PST) and a handling fee) is charged by Pitney Bowes for goods valued at more than Cdn$ 20.00 and paid through PayPal on shipments from the USA where the seller uses the Global Shipping Program (GSP).

It is generally best for Canadian buyers to avoid those listings.

[ht707red]

thank you for the clarification as the information i got from canada post was no import on used clodes - YES to new items.(Fedex etc.)

Non the less I rather pay in Canada where I see the Canadian Invoice.

[reallynicestamps]

USPS does no such thing. They offer First Class International Parcel which carries up to four pounds of product and includes Delivery Confirmation.

EBay offers sellers the choice* of using the Global Shipping Program. Under the program, if the seller sends your purchase to a plant in Kentucky, with cheap USPS Delivery Confirmation, the GSP takes all further responsibility for collecting and remitting duty and tax as well as delivering the parcel to the buyer.

EBay does not encourage sellers to use GSP on items that are valued under $50USD.

Sellers can choose the service they want to use for shipping. It is totally* the seller's decision. Including on items under $50

*When the GSP was first introduced new sellers were signed up automatically. Even those who did not want to ship internationally. This has mostly been corrected. Mostly.

[pierrelebel]

"Why does U.S. postal service insist seller use Global Shipping. Item manufactured in Canada."

The US Postal Service (USPS) has nothing to do with it.

Sellers decide to use the Global Shipping Program.

The fact the item was manufactured in Canada has nothing to do with it.  If the item is currently located in the USA and the seller ships to Canada, Canadian taxes (GST/HST/PST) apply at time of Canada Customs clearance.  No duty will be levied of course if the shipper indicates the item was manufactured in Canada.

[femmefan1946]

It doesn't.

The choice is the seller's.

USPS has almost nothing to do with the Global Shipping Program.

Most sellers using the Program ship via USPS to the GSP plant in Kentucy with cheap domestic Confirmation of Delivery. That's the total extent of USPS involvement.

[sgilbert1281]

How do we track an item once it has been dispatched through the GSP? What happens if it's been delivered to your distribution centre and then does not make it to the buyer?

[mater721]

"Why does U.S. postal service insist seller use Global Shipping. Item manufactured in Canada."

They don't.

Seller chooses method of shipping.

[darc-amyo]

How can I track a shipment through global shipping? It says I'm supposed to receive an email once shipped and it's been delivered to ebay like 3 weeks ago **bleep** is going on???

Personally I think it's pathetic......been waiting for a stupid muffler tip since Oct 14. And AutoTrends whom I bought from can give a rats ass.....they got their money and they say it's delivered and washed their hands of it.

I'm **bleep** off.....how can I install muffler tips when I only get one?

Sorry for the rant I apologize 🙂

[reallynicestamps]

You can't.

Any information beyond the USPS delivery to the GPS plant in Kentucky is internal tracking and not really open to the public. (Intermittently it may be, but never count on it.)

Anyway as a buyer you don't need tracking. You only need your Buyer Protection.

In my experience it is not unusual for a parcel from the US to take 20 days to arrive.

If more than that have passed open an Item Not Received dispute up there in the Resolution Centre under Help& Contact.

If the GPS can't show that your item has been delivered, you will be refunded in full.  This could be in two runs, one for the price and shipping and one for the import fees, so don't get too worried about that either.

If the item shows up later, the GPS doesn't want it, and the seller has been paid, but you could mark it Return to Sender just to mess with them.

The usefulness of tracking is for the seller. If a bad buyer makes a false claim of non-delivery, tracking proves that the seller did nothing wrong. 

[kotonline]

What does this mean in the listings then "Customs services and international tracking provided" international tracking is really not tracking, it only tell's us when the item has arrived which we would already know.

[maureenr5700]

agreed! What on earth is going on?

[reallynicestamps]

It is misleading, however, the seller (who needs tracking) is covered by the Global Shipping Program, provided she uses Delivery Confirmation to ship to the GSP plant in Kentucky. Thereafter the GSP/Pitney Bowes is able to track the item. The buyer has no need for tracking,except emotionally. He has Buyer Protection. If the GSP cannot prove delivery, the buyer will be refunded when he files a Dispute. So yes, the item is tracked as advertised. It's just that the buyer doesn't have access to that information. Nor does he need it.

[chimera148]

Wikipedia

[00nevermind00]

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@online2u2012 wrote:
What does this mean in the listings then "Customs services and international tracking provided" international tracking is really not tracking, it only tell's us when the item has arrived which we would already know.

---

After making the GSP all peachy for sellers, the good folks at PB needed to "sell" the program to buyers as well. But with all the added fees, there was precious little to use. So they came up with this tracking thing. So what if it's a lie? They made it blatantly obvious from the start that buyers didn't matter one bit in this scheme.

A more honest blurb would have been "Overpriced shipping and customs services provided." Or "Rough handling at the hub and customs services provided."

[solihull66]

Hi,

I want to purchase a craft pattern, so basically a leaflet, from a U.S. seller using the GSP. Her ad says she does not make profit on shipping. However, Ebay is saying the shipping charge is $18.32 which is clearly way too high because this item is only a couple pieces of paper and shouldn't cost more than say $5.00. The seller says Ebay sets the price. If this is the case then this GSP is really limiting the ability of U.S. sellers to sell to Canadians.

Can you please advise?

[pierrelebel]

" The seller says Ebay sets the price. If this is the case then this GSP is really limiting the ability of U.S. sellers to sell to Canadians."

American sellers have been advised by eBay NOT to use GSP for items averaging less than US$50

Many sellers unfortunately do not bother to understand the system.  It is easy for them: they ship domestically and the system (GSP) takes care of the rest.

It is unfortunate but there is nothing a Canadian buyer can do unless the seller agrees to relist the item for direct shipment using USPS - not GSP.

[johnnysquatch]

TOTAL SCAM third party shipping . I had an item go from California to Ohio to Kentucky then back to the west coast . Pitey BLOWS is **bleep** canadians !!