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,

[1bluepolkadot]

I have bought reverse painting on glass. It arrived broken. It seemed to be packed  well. and box was not broken so I think it had to be handled very roughly. It was send using "Global Shipping Program" . How do I complain?

[reallynicestamps]

The usual way. Go to the Resolution Centre. Offer to show pictures of the broken item.

The RC will guide the complaint to the right people and you will get your refund.

From the few posts about such refunds, the GSP does not seem to want the damaged items back. (Well , what would they do with them?) So it is actually easier for the unhappy buyer.

Let your seller know, politely, about the problem. Make sure he understands that you do not blame him for the damage. It may be useful information for him.

[reallynicestamps]

WHY do you do this, ebay?  And WHO can I open a complaint with to ensure you guys REFUND ME the damages your repacking (read, REMOVAL OF PACKING MATERIALS) caused?

The remedy is simple. Open a not as described case stating items were damaged in transit, and you will be refunded, the seller will keep the money he got, and you get to keep the damaged items, no return to sender required.

It's a good thing no crooks or scammers ever read these threads, because while I don't think I have a criminal mind, I can see an easy way to get lots of neat stuff and full refunds without hurting my sellers at all.

 We're not thieves. Well we are thieves. Point is, we're not taking what's his.-- Captain Malcolm Reynolds

[reallynicestamps]

WHY do you do this, ebay?  And WHO can I open a complaint with to ensure you guys REFUND ME the damages your repacking (read, REMOVAL OF PACKING MATERIALS) caused?

The remedy is simple. Open a not as described case stating items were damaged in transit, and you will be refunded, the seller will keep the money he got, and you get to keep the damaged items, no return to sender required.

It's a good thing no crooks or scammers ever read these threads, because while I don't think I have a criminal mind, I can see an easy way to get lots of neat stuff and full refunds without hurting my sellers at all.

 We're not thieves. Well we are thieves. Point is, we're not taking what's his.-- Captain Malcolm Reynolds

[eugenedn76]

I have too have had a surprisingly large amount of duties tacked on to my shipping VIA GSP and pitney bowes.

66 dollars duty on a $250 item seems very rich to me considering BC taxes are 12.5%. It is almost double what the taxes and fees should be.

Is there any recourse at all? I called ebay  and they told my they can't deal with third parties like pitney bowes. I won't be using ebay at all if this continues. Where is a consumer advocator ombudsman  for this type of theft.

Regards,

eugene.

[nubian_treasures]

Have you contacted the seller yet? That's that first step. When you go to Ask A question, select "other" and then let the seller know the problem. If they don't come up with a solution, file a not as decribed dispute.

[misha-x]

A seller sent me an item a few days ago. The seller is in the US, I am in Canada. When I track the item on ebay, it says that it was delivered this past Friday. But I have not received the package.

I can't figure out what carrier to contact to inquire about this. The package has a USPS reference number:

9400111899560880946358

when I put that in the USPS site, it tracks the package to cicinatti, but then stops. When I put the same number into the Canada post site, it tells me that the number is invalid.

I'm not sure if the Canadian portion of the shipping was handled by Canada post, or another Carrier. Is there a way to find out?

Thanks!

[portfelt]

Yes the GSP is a joke. The first time you unwittingly make a purchase from a seller using the GSP is usually the last purchase you ever make from a US seller on eBay. I experienced the same rude awakening some time back when it was first rolled out. Since then I've only made sporadic purchases from south of the border from smart non-GSP sellers who know it closes the door to Cdn buyers. I believe the main reason for this program was to allow US sellers more secure transactions when crossing international borders. But why Canada was included does not make any sense whatsoever. Our respective economies are closely dependent upon each other and we both have secure and reliable postal systems unlike countries like Nigeria or Italy.  Having a middle man make a commission on trans-border shipments without adding any value to the purchase is very regressive and does not work in a free market system.

[pierrelebel]

The boots were priced at US$255 (about Cdn$ 280 or so)

There is no duty on US made shoes

Only GST/PST should be payable plus a small brokerage fee (total about $40)

Looking at the listing, it appears there is a mistake in the "import charges" as if it included duty (whatever the reason for the error).

Had you seen the "import charge" prior to purchasing the item?  Have you paid for your purchase? 

If not I suggest you contact the seller and ask him to ship it directly to you by mail.  If he agrees, he can send you an invoice through PayPal and you pay through PayPal. While the shipping cost may be a bit more than listed on eBay, you would only pay tax (GST/PST) at time of receiving the boots together with a $9.95 Canada Post fee.

[femmefan1946]

It has been delivered-- to the GSP plant in Kentucky.

Don't worry it is on its way to you.

Any number you get cannot be tracked. It is an internal bookkeeping number.

In any case, you don't need tracking. Except emotionally.

If the parcel does not arrive by Day 20, let the seller know. She can't do anything, but it is polite.

If the parcel does not arrive by Day 25, open an Item Not Recieved dispute and get your money refunded. Unless the Global Shipping Program can show that the parcel is delivered, you will win the case.

But frankly, 'a few days' is wildly optimistic.

[femmefan1946]

If the shoes were made in the USA.

I don't think I own any that are. Brazil , China, Canada (boots), Italy, but not USA.

If the package was opened and the shoes were not made in the USA , there is your duty.

Sales tax and service fees cover about $36 of the fees charged.

[femmefan1946]

I believe the main reason for this program was to allow US sellers more secure transactions when crossing international borders. But why Canada was included does not make any sense whatsoever.

That's right.

Our respective economies are closely dependent upon each other and we both have secure and reliable postal systems unlike countries like..

It's not the postal systems. It's impatient and sketchey buyers who are the problem. Perhaps more percieved than real. For example, Italian customers are lovely, in my experience, although the postal and customs systems are horrible. French customers are very entitled although the postal system is great. And worst of all are US buyers, who don't believe there is any other country on earth but the USA.  And that Hawai'i is a small town in Kenya.

[arlene_v]

@femmefan1946 wrote:

If the shoes were made in the USA.

I don't think I own any that are. Brazil , China, Canada (boots), Italy, but not USA.

If the package was opened and the shoes were not made in the USA , there is your duty.

Sales tax and service fees cover about $36 of the fees charged.

---

It would appear that these boots were indeed made in the USA, as the listing clearly states in the title, and item specifics.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/251514315440?var=550423630907&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2...

As for the statement "If the package was opened and the shoes were not made in the USA, there is your duty", this is not how the GSP works. The program calculates the charges that the buyer prepays and no further charges are applied when (and IF) the package is opened.  LOL, this is one of its "selling points" for buyers, no surprises! 

I recently bought a t-shirt through the GSP, and the listing clearly stated place of manufacture as USA. the GSP "import charges" were totally in line with what you would expect  with the addition of HST, and  a small program fee. 

Actually, the t-shirt was made in Nicaragua, and I had to laugh when I opened it the parcel, looked at the t-shirt and and saw the label.

There was Pitney Bowes tape all over the parcel, so I suspect they checked as well.

The GSP relies 100% on the seller info provided in the listing to calculate charges for the buyer which are prepaid at time of purchase. 

As Pierre says  re Eugene's boots "it appears there is a mistake in the "import charges" as if it included duty (whatever the reason for the error)." 

A *possible*  reason for the error is that the GSP automated calculator appears to have difficulty identifying the new item specific "Country/Region of Manufacture" which replaced the old "Country of Manufacture" earlier this year. I have noticed this on dozens of GSP of listings lately, and have mentioned this here. These boots appear to be yet another example. 

Eugene, here's what I do with this program, I look carefully at the import charges and shipping, see if they make sense, and avoid items that look like a great deal,  until you add up all the additional charges, then the deal goes out the window.

This program is notorious for this, so it is buyer beware. 

If you have the time and inclination contact the seller and ask to ship outside the program. 

[afantiques]

Have you contacted the seller yet? That's that first step. When you go to Ask A question, select "other" and then let the seller know the problem. If they don't come up with a solution, file a not as decribed dispute.

With a GSP item there is nothing the  seller can do or need do. Your only redress is a claim through resolution center channels, although it may be an idea toi let the seller know what is happening. The seller will have the payment frozen for a while but will not lose it.

[reallynicestamps]

The seller sent the package by USPS to the GPS plant in Kentucky. That is what you see delivered.

Don't worry.

Pitney Bowes who run the program will now add your parcel to hundreds of others, run them across the border and ship it on to you from Canada.

They use internal tracking numbers that are not useful to anyone but their own employees.

The entire process from your seller's house to yours will take about 20 days.

This is why I tend to discourage buyers from looking for Delivery Confirmation and tracking. First, as in this case, it causes needless worry when the item moves from one shipper to another.

And then, tracking only benefits sellers who can use the number to prove that a scamming buyer has falsely filed an Item Not Received dispute. If tracking shows an item delivered anywhere, the buyer loses the dispute.

If the item does not turn up by Day 30, open an Item Not Recieved dispute. You will be refunded by Pitney Bowes/GSP in full.

[pjcdn2005]

---

@femmefan1946 wrote:

It has been delivered-- to the GSP plant in Kentucky.

Don't worry it is on its way to you.

Any number you get cannot be tracked. It is an internal bookkeeping number.

In any case, you don't need tracking. Except emotionally.

If the parcel does not arrive by Day 20, let the seller know. She can't do anything, but it is polite.

If the parcel does not arrive by Day 25, open an Item Not Recieved dispute and get your money refunded. Unless the Global Shipping Program can show that the parcel is delivered, you will win the case.

But frankly, 'a few days' is wildly optimistic.

---

As the poster stated, the package was delivered to a location in Ohio by USPS. It has nothing to do with the gsp.

misha, I would write the seller and ask them to confirm the tracking number...explain to them that it shows as being delivered in Ohio.  It that is the correct number they will have to contact USPS to find out what is going on. If you don't have the product or any resolution after 25 days or so from the day of shipping, you should file an item not received claim as Femme suggests.

[pjcdn2005]

They use internal tracking numbers that are not useful to anyone but their own employees.

That's odd as some buyers have been able to track their purchases.

[arlene_v]

Pjcdn, this has been my somewhat limited experience, I  have only bought two items through the GSP, and in both cases the tracking numbers worked perfectly ...no problem. 

[bennett4612]

Hi porfelt. 

Quick couple points of clarification, if I may. 

First off GSP fees are seen by the buyer on the listing (as an estimate) and then on checkout (actual fees). We have made some changes to the way "Global Shipping Program" is called out specifically; but the charges themselves are apparent before and during purchase. 

Second, there is certainly no shortage of posts on these boards regarding GSP items traveling to Canada. And while there may be times where this still makes sense (certain categories and/or heavier and/or more expensive items), there are also plenty of times where it does not. WIth this in mind we made some changes to the program earlier this year, allowing for additional customization. For instance a seller can use GSP around the globe but then set up preferences to ship directly to Canada without the GSP. 

You can read more about that here: 

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/shipping-globally.html#offering

When these changes were rolled out we realized that we had maybe not done the greatest job educating the sellers around these types of customization options. Which is why we have created more content in this area, to let customers know what's available. And to help sellers make the best choice for what they are selling. 

Ok that's it. Hope this helps. 

---Bennett

[afantiques]

we realized that we had maybe not done the greatest job educating the sellers around these types of customization options.

Masterly understatement. Evidence is that there are very may sellers who do not even know they are offering GSP items.

The fundamental problem is that any sellers wise enough to understand fully the use and implications of the GSP are usually sellers quite wise enough to handle their own international sales.

The GSP is targeted specifically at sellers too ignorant to handle international shipping, not a good client base for a complicated process that takes a lot of reading and comprehension skills to understand.

[dasia143]

Quoting Bennett,

"First off GSP fees are seen by the buyer on the listing (as an estimate) and then on checkout (actual fees). We have made some changes to the way "Global Shipping Program" is called out specifically; but the charges themselves are apparent before and during purchase."

This is almost an answer to one of the things I've been wondering about with the GSP: does the buyer know ALL the charges before committing to buy? I've seen posts that suggest some people didn't, that the full charges only showed up after they won an auction or committed to a buy-it-now and were more than they expected. But other posters have said those people must just not have read the listing carefully. Which is it?

I have never asked to cancel a bid or a buy and I don't want to. But if I can't know the full charges until after the deal is sealed, I feel I should be able to.

Bennett, I would really appreciate a clarification on this. Many thanks in advance!