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,

[knmonaghan]

This same thing happened to me. Bought an item October 2nd, estimated to arrive by October 20th not yet received Nov 21, tracking hasn't been updated since october10th. Last identified location Halifax I'm on Newfoundland, when I tried to get refund today ebay protection only good if you make claim within 30 days of expected delivery. Oh my

[00nevermind00]

Did you fund your Paypal payment with a credit card? If so, try doing a chargeback.

For the future:

• Think long and hard before buying anything that is being shipped through the GSP; the program is riddled with problems.
• Keep an eye on your deadlines if your item is taking a long time to arrive, in order to make sure that you're not to late to file if you need to.

[mater721]

"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 !!"

It's best for Canadians to avoid GSP listsings unless...

1) Total price including GSP costs are cough * reasonable * cough

or

2) You really, really want the item and can't get it anywhere else.

AND...

You are not in a hurry to get said item

[cblo7296]

I initially sent the seller pictures of the damaged item and he suggested to open a case in the resolution center. The case has been ruled in my favor and I have been issued a refund. I have not seen anything requiring me to return the broken item in the email exchange or in the resolution center. Who would pay for shipping?

[afantiques]

Damaged GSP items do not need to be returned.

[tvango123]

I'm a canadian and I bought an item from the USA and found out after reading the many post here that the eBay Money Back Guarantee exclude 1) shipping (other than one collected by the seller - i.e. it excludes what Pitney received) and 2) import fees collected by the Global Shipping Program for my "an item that is significantly not as described" return.  This is all new to me as this is the first time I had an issue and had to return an item...  I was also surprised that for "an item that is significantly not as described" eBay or seller does not need to provide domestic shipping label only because my case involves international shipping - I would not have had to pay return shipping, if say, I lived in the USA...  None of this outlined in the eBay Money Back Guarantee I believe (maybe I'm wrong)...

My question is in regards to the import charges... Seeing that CBSA (Canada Border Services Agency) requires that we have a CBSA import receipt number and the import document to claim a refund for the import fees paid on my purchase that will be returned - Is there a way to get this information?  I threw away the box that was shipped with the item - bad practice, I know now...  

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Would be good to hear from those who went through the refund process with CBSA as well.

[pjcdn2005]

You do not get compensated for import fees and international shipping if you return an item because of buyer's remorse, it doesn't fit, you don't like the color, you thought it was something else,changed your mind etc.

But if the item is not as described and you file a claim and win, you should be compensated for all money that you paid for that transaction. If the item was damaged in shipping, PB/eBay will pay you back the import fees and international shipping portion and the seller pays what he received from you.  I believe that in most cases, the item does not have to be sent back in a gsp/ not as described situation.

You can not claim anything from Canada customs because your purchase would have been declared to them with a group of other items...not as an individual item.

[greenstonecarver]

I want to eliminate items listed with eBay's Pitney Bowes GSP ( Global Shipping Program ) from my searches? How do I do this?

GSP is transparent to neither buyer nor seller, and inexplicably and unaccountably charges extra fees for shipping, handling, duty and taxes.

[femmefan1946]

Have you filed a claim through the Resolution Centre for Not As Described?

If you don't, you won't get anything back.

If you do, you will. 

Whether that includes the sales tax and import fees -- I've understood that it does , but that they arrive later. Pitney Bowes /GSP also usually does not require the return of the item, because: what would they do with it? They seem to take these claims as a cost of doing business.

I'd be interested in hearing your experience when the Claim is completed.

[tvango123]

My situation is one item purchased from one seller in the USA.

I did win the claim but I had to pay shipping back to the USA from Canada in order to get my refund. Once tracking shows that it arrived to destination - they said I will get my refund within 48hours. The person reviewing mentioned that they could not force a seller to pay for shipping back for a mistake that the seller made. I thought it was odd that I had to pay shipping back as they agreed it was a seller's mistake so I called customer service they said that they or the seller usually provide a shipping label if it was domestic. So I said point blank that if I lived in the USA would shipping label have been provided to me. They said Yes. I concluded me that eBay Protection Policy does not apply to international shipping completely.

When I paid for this item there was two amount showing for my paypal to 1) the Seller 2) Pitney Bowes (PB)

After clicking on the "case details" for this item purchased, the total amount showing is only the amount paid to the seller for the item plus what the seller received for shipping. There is no where in the case details showing the amount paid to the PB (their fee + the import fee)

Are you saying that although the amount paid to PB is not showing in my case details I will get that paid back? My interpretation of what is showing in the case details is that I am out of luck in terms of the Pitney amount. Hence, triggering my need to pursue the imports/customs fee on my own....

[afantiques]

Are you saying that although the amount paid to PB is not showing in my case details I will get that paid back? My interpretation of what is showing in the case details is that I am out of luck in terms of the Pitney amount. Hence, triggering my need to pursue the imports/customs fee on my own....

Normally well experienced posters do not always get it exactly right.

No, you will not get anything more back on a seller fault return. The GSP Terms and conditions specifically exclude seller fault returns.

Damage in transit is covered 100%, and this is causing posters some confusion.

To put it briefly, seller fault, sellers portion only is all you can expect, and you'll be paying return costs.

Damage in transit, 100% refund and the seller does not contribute to this, PB through the GSP cover the full refund. No return of the damaged item is needed and I have never heard of a case where any inspection was needed either.

Lost in transit, if it reached KY, 100 refund. Seller does not contribute.

Lost in transit before it gets to KY.

This last is tricky. Seller is liable for item price and domestic shipping, and in theory the GSP portion is refundable because it was never used. However, there does not seem to be any formal patrhway for this process and it is just a matter of being a nuisance for a long time, of getting lucky.

One of the many system design faults.

[tvango123]

This last is tricky. Seller is liable for item price and domestic shipping, and in theory the GSP portion is refundable because it was never used. However, there does not seem to be any formal patrhway for this process and it is just a matter of being a nuisance for a long time, of getting lucky.

One of the many system design faults.

Yeah, I never expect seller to return more than what they received - item amount plus domestic shipping.  I thought the eBAY Buyer Protection policy covered the PB portion somehow but I was wrong in interpreting the policy.  That PB amount does not show up any where when I review my case detail.  The case which I won for "item not describe"...

The other supprise on the eBAY Buyer Protection policy was the return shipping on international shipping.  Point blank I asked If I lived in the US return shipping would have been provided to me for free (seller in USA, I am in Canada) - they said yes.  So being outside USA I have to pay return shipping in a case that I won - again I don't see that in the eBAY Buyer Protection Policy.

I am going after the PB amount outside of eBAY as a result, I convince myself the handling fee portion is lost - will never see that back.  I am now left looking to recoup the IMPORT fee.  Which is why, going back to my original question, how can I get the CBSA (Canad Border Service Agency) imports document with the import receipt number so that I can file a claim with the CBSA for the item that was never used / returned to USA.  This number and document is required according to the b2g CBSA INFORMAL ADJUSTMENT REQUEST form so I get back my customs/taxes paid on import this item i purchased on eBAY.

It would not have been a problem if I kept the box with the document on it, stupid me...  This is my first time returning anything.  First case as well.

Anybody had to do this?  Any advice?  I'm assuming PItney???   Help!?

[afantiques]

I am now left looking to recoup the IMPORT fee.  Which is why, going back to my original question, how can I get the CBSA (Canad Border Service Agency) imports document with the import receipt number so that I can file a claim with the CBSA for the item that was never used / returned to USA.  This number and document is required according to the b2g CBSA INFORMAL ADJUSTMENT REQUEST form so I get back my customs/taxes paid on import this item i purchased on eBAY.

There is no possible way for you to reclaim import taxes paid as you did not pay them. The importer of record was PB Inc. You provided them with money to cover these fees but you did not actually pay them over, PB or its brokers did. It's all in the terms and conditions. You just have to read them and understand all the implications of what they say, which is quite a task. Nothing about the packaging you received would have helped you.

The documentation involved was a freight manifest generated in Kentucky covering possibly 100 or even 1000 packages sent as a container full of cargo.

[tvango123]

Awesome, even though as a Canadian we indirectly paid for the Import taxes for items we imported from the US, we can never get back any refund on that taxes and customs upon returning the item back to the U.S. even though we won a case.  The eBay Buyer Protection does not provide refund on whatever was paid to Pitney to handling the shipping / import taxes no matter what.

Wow, that's great for Pitney and CBSA as well!

So this is why it is better to buy from a USA seller that does NOT participate in the Global Ship Program!...  Well, at least I learned something, thanks!

[tvango123]

As an International (Canadian) Buyer who purchased something from the USA, under eBay Global Shipping Program - Buyer Terms & Conditions it is pretty clear you will never ever get back the payment made to Pitney (shipping, taxes, customs you paid indirectly to them) even if you win a case in any scenario it seems:

----------

eBay.ca Global Shipping Program Buyer Terms & Conditions

...

12. International Returns. The returns policy specified by your Seller in his/her listing description of a GSP Item will apply to your purchase of the GSP Item. For GSP Items located in the United States that you purchase under GSP and that you return to your Seller, you will not be eligible for, and you will not receive, a refund of any Program Fees that you paid to Pitney Bowes and Pitney Bowes will not be responsible for shipping the GSP Item back to your Seller. Your rights under local law will not be affected.

----------

There is no way to get back the Customs & Taxes fee from CBSA (Canadian Border Services Agency) back as you never paid them....  It was Pitney and whoever they hired the cross boarder shipment it seems that paid for that, not the buyer...

[afantiques]

You seem to have the gist of it now.

It would,of course, be very wrong for all buyers who had a seller fault problem to simply claim the item was damaged in transit, as a way of getting the 100% refund and keeping the item, and it is very unlikely that they would even know that this was the very wrong but possible, indeed by some terms optimum, route to follow.

After a while, though, it may occour to more and more people that the only way they are going to avoid being massively out of pocket is to lie about the reason for the claim.

[Anonymous]

I didn't buy a item today because the seller uses GSP. I bought it from B & H photo instead. The item was only $30 so Canada Post would waive the taxes and duty on such a low cost item. I have found this in the past. GSP wanted around $7 in taxes and duty on this $30 item. I have never bought any small items from sellers who use GSP due to the extra unecessary cost.

I also read GSP will not send to a PO Box.

Unusre why sellers use GSP as parcels coming to Canada are covered with international tracking.

Canada is a good market for US sellers but not if they use GSP on items with a cost less than $50.

[onyxcat16]

How come there is no longer combined shipping? I recently bought a few very expensive, delicate items off of a US seller ... They were all from the same seller, purchased within a day or two. They were charged individually for each item at a Priority Shipping rate and now I have to worry about the items being damaged by being sent separately and with more time in transit.

[onyxcat16]

I also would like to know how the rate is calculated ... I was looking to buy some remote control helicopter bodies (just the plastic bodies) and shipping with import/taxes/"service fees" are more the items themselves. They weigh nothing, are smaller than the palm of your hand and cost over $20 to ship?!?

[onyxcat16]

Hello, how can I contact eBay and PB regarding an item that was shipped directly to me? The seller did not realize that they were part of the GSP. Thanks!