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,

[afantiques]

Open an Item Not Received claim, and follow the process through.

[meliciousness]

I have ordered 2 separate items from 2 different ebay sellers on this global shipping program. Both have been sitting in Erlanger for close to a week as the status says arrived at global shipping center. I am really worried about why it is just sitting there, 

These items are just 2 dresses each. This is the first time in using this program that i have experienced the items sitting in Erlanger for almost a week now. I am in Asia so i dont know how i can contact the shipping center. 

Anyone been through this before?

[pierrelebel]

File a claim for non-receipt .

[afantiques]

No tracking does not mean no movement. Just do something interesting till they arrive. Tracking is notoriously hit and miss.

[marnotom!]

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@josa.ca.wcyuu7y6rz wrote:

I bought an item and the seller shipped with GSP. The package was missing the street address name but all other information was given.

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How would you know this?

[pjcdn2005]

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@afantiques wrote:

I still refuse to buy anything that ships through this program but am I correct in thinking that auction items cannot be combined?

I'd say this is correct.

What has always seemed strange is the obsession with 'combined shipping'  Royal Mail charges by weight, above a small minimum, twice the weight is twice the price. And on a practical note you cannot practically pack a flat object and a lumpy one together and do a good job on both. Not without making a far larger parcel than you need for either one.

I know the USA has a number of flat rate shipping options, in its flat rate boxes, but as a British seller I had to explain that in general there was no cost advantage in shipping things together because the gross weight was the same.

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Combined shipping with the gsp can save quite a bit as you only pay one service charge for the order rather than a charge for each package.

Someone mentioned that the .com cart has to be used for gsp combined shipping....any eBay cart can be used except for the UK cart.

[femmefan1946]

items sitting in Erlanger for almost a week now. I am in Asia so

Easter Weekend.

If your items arrived in Erlanger on Thursday,

Friday was Good Friday a very important Christian holy day, and a statutory holiday in the USA.

Then came Saturday, usually a slow day, and Easter Sunday another important Christian holy day, when many staff are likely to take a holiday.

Easter Monday is a statutory holiday in Canada but not in the USA.

But your seller's tracking with USPS stops when the PO delivers to the GPS plant.

It is very probable that your purchase is on a truck or airplane headed for you now. The GSP has internal tracking but it is difficult to access.

In any case, you can open an Item Not Recieved dispute any time up to 30 days after the estimated date of arrival with eBay.

I'd allow 30 days for delivery from USA to Asia.

And you have 180 days for an INR dispute through Paypal.

So you're covered/

[splattii]

How can you calculate Import Charges for a BIN item with offers?

There is an item I'm interested in, it's $25 bid or BIN for $65.  It says import charges would be $20.44 + $24 for shipping, making it close to 3x the sale price.  I assume the $20.44 import charge is based on BIN price of $65.  How can I calculate the charges if the auction ends at $25, or even gets bid up a bit to $35?

Thanks

[pierrelebel]

Approximate calculation:

Import charge $20.44 - $5.00 handling fee (incorporated in Import Charge) = $15.44 for duty & taxes = 24% ($15.44/$65.00)

24% x $25 = $6.00 + $5.00 handling fee = $11.00 "import charge"

24% x $35 = $8.40 + $5.00 handling fee = $13.40 "import charge"

24% x $45 = $10.80 + $5.00 handling fee = $15.80 "import charge"

Please keep in mind those are approximate calculations.  eBay will advise the exact amount of "import charge".

As you may have read on this thread, GSP is not "Canadian buyer friendly" and should be avoided by most Canadians in most instances.  It is best to find a Canadian seller offering the same item or an American seller willing to ship to you directly through USPS without using the Global Shipping Program.

[splattii]

Thanks for the help.  I never buy anything that uses GSP out of spite.  The only reason I'm considering this auction is the current value is very low compared to average retail price, but even considering it makes me feel like I'm giving in lol

[maggiebvintage2010]

Good Friday is not a public holiday in the US - it is a state holiday in 13 states, for state and many municipal employees.  Financial markets are closed, as are public schools and universities.  Many businesses choose to close.  However, postal services are in full swing.

[meliciousness]

Quick update : 

So i had no choice but to call Pitney Bowes to check on my packages that were held up. This is a pain because i am calling from Asia and so you can imagine the phone charges.  Also i would suggest going on their facebook if you need help. 

Turns out that one item was already shipped but because they had a glitch in their system tracking was not yet updated. The customer service staff gave me the fedex tracking info so that was settled. The other item was held up because it contained some strips of suede (not sure if real or not but trust me the item was below US$50 so i dont think so) and it was held up but supposedly they were in the process of shipping. 

I called back the next day about the item with suede. They told me it had been sent to Fedex but they did not have the tracking info yet. I saved myself the bull**bleep** and just called fedex and gave them my name and shipping address. Fedex provided me with the shipping info. My item will be in Singapore on Thursday. 

During this entire time ebay customer service was useless and did not reply to my emails. On Facebook they gave me some rubbish answers about system errors..as a customer i dont care i just want my tracking info because the global shipping program is a service provided by ebay and therefore ebay should exercise some responsibility at least. 

To be fair, this is the first time i have experienced problems with the GSP and i truly hope this does not persist and they get their act together with whatever "system glitches" because i actually prefer using the GSP because they use Fedex to ship and i find the shipping charges somewhat reasonable.

[00nevermind00]

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@meliciousness wrote:

i actually prefer using the GSP because they use Fedex to ship and i find the shipping charges somewhat reasonable.

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Glad to know the GSP works for you. Here in Canada, the program is generally viewed with about as much fondness as catching the flu.

[meliciousness]

haha only because they use Fedex. If they stopped then i probably would stop buying from sellers using GSP , 

[sylviebee]

The GSP is definitely mixing it up.

I noticed several weeks ago that a lot of items priced over C$20 were showing no import fees on the listing, but I thought that would be at the checkout.

Yesterday I won an item for 45 US dollars listed via the GSP.  (Seller had agreed to ship the normal way before I bid.)

There are no import fees for the purchase and shipping is $21.43.

I have several theories, but all in all:

What's up with that?

[marnotom!]

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@sylviebee wrote:

The GSP is definitely mixing it up.

I noticed several weeks ago that a lot of items priced over C$20 were showing no import fees on the listing, but I thought that would be at the checkout.

Yesterday I won an item for 45 US dollars listed via the GSP.  (Seller had agreed to ship the normal way before I bid.)

There are no import fees for the purchase and shipping is $21.43.

I have several theories, but all in all:

What's up with that?

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The next time you run into a listing like that, do a keyword search for it.  Compare the shipping price in the search result to the shipping price on the listing page.  I bet they're going to be different, and that difference is likely due to the "import charges" being added to the shipping price on the listing page.

[femmefan1946]

I suspect some of the angry posts about unexpected Import Fees are from mobile shoppers who never see the Global Shipping Program information, and that this may include the import fees/no import fees dichotomy.

[conundrumz15]

I purchased a BIN item that specified the GSP, but the seller has not sent any communication, nor has My Ebay indicated it has shipped. It's "only" been 7 days, but the seller has left feedback for other buyers from the same time, but not mine.

I checked previous listings, most specify US shipping only, but a few do specify the GSP.

Should I be concerned this seller is not going to follow through? Do I really have to wait until the end of the "expected delivery window" to file a dispute?

I am in Canada, but I have had good dealings with the GSP in the past. A lot of sellers wouldn't even let foreigners bid without it. Including apparently, this one, after the fact.

[pjcdn2005]

You should ask the seller when they are going to ship.

You can file an item not received claim on Paypal at any time...you don't have to wait until a specific date.

You should receive a refund for the amount you paid to PB at the same time you get a refund from the seller but if

you don't receive it. you might have to call Paypal.

[sylviebee]

This new technique being used by the GSP where they don't charge import taxes even when items sell for much more than C$20 raises ? after ?.

I realize that there's some difference of opinion, but what I know for sure is that I rarely pay import tax regardless of item cost.

That's one of the many things that makes the GSP unattractive to me when I buy.  

I wonder how other countries do things?  A lot of European nations are like Canada and only allow about $20 free of import taxes but maybe they actually do charge their citizens when applicable. 

If they do, then that would make Canada a special case scenario and perhaps we're being given special treatment because of it.

Perhaps the way they're now doing away with and/or hiding import fees  is a test and their way of dealing with one type of complaint on this board?

In any case:  Makes me so suspicious.  Have ZERO trust for the GSP.  Sleazy Weasels that they are.