Shipping Cost

[darcimayer-0]

Does anybody else seen this Global Shipping Program?

[marnotom!]

I’ve seen it on some listings from the US for the past seven years and some UK listings for the past five(?) years.

It’s a way of forwarding items that sellers may be uncomfortable shipping directly to a non-US/UK destination.

It serves about 100 other countries in addition to Canada but in many cases doesn’t fit well for sales to here. However, its charges are legit. It is what it is.

Do you have any questions about it that the eBay information pages haven’t answered for you?

[reallynicestamps]

It's a Seller Protection program for sellers in the USA and UK.

Canadian sellers cannot use it.

Buyers are paying import fees (Canadian duty, Canadian sales tax, and a small service fee) on purchase, which does mean faster progress through customs, but also means the purchase goes to a central plant before it comes to Canada.

Canadians pay duty on imports valued over $150Cdn (~$112.50USD) and sales taxes on imports valued over $40. 

Whatever the carrier - Canada Post, UPS, etc- the carrier is allowed to charge a service fee/customs brokerage fee on top of duty and Sales Tax.

Sales taxes are generally the most expensive part of import fees.

[ypdc_dennis]

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@darcimayer-0 wrote:

Does anybody else seen this Global Shipping Program?

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GSP has been available since 2013 for sellers shipping from the USA.

Also available for sellers shipping from the UK (since 2015). Not available anywhere else.

GSP collects sales tax and any duty in advance from the buyer, so there will be no extra charges to the buyer at the door. 

Often not the best method for Canadians buying from the USA. Different story for buyers from other countries.

-..-

[reallynicestamps]

Complaints about the GSP seem to fall into three groups:

• Businesses buying for resale who can't get a breakdown of the import fees for their GST reports.
• Buyers who object to paying duty .... well I could end there, but... on low value goods because GSP is required to charge on any item valued over $20Cdn/$15US
• Buyers who can't work out how to track their purchase.

The first is not going to change.  The GSP specifically says that it is not for business use.

The duty-free allowance has been raised from $20 to $150 dollars which should help a lot, especially since many products will  be duty-free under one Free Trade agreement or another (Canada now has free trade with the TPP and EU which helps a lot).  Sales taxes will be charged on items valued over $40Cdn($30US) which is going to be the new hysterical ranting point.

And tracking is an ongoing problem, which will not be bettered if Canada Post is right and we go into a frantically busy holiday season with more online buying during the pandemic .  If Biden and the Democrats get in, there could be more lockdowns of Main Street and the malls to control the spread of COVID. If Trump gets in,  a lot of people will be dying.

[nuvistors]

The GSP allows Canadian buyers to purchase items from US sellers who normally would not sell to a foreign country.  It  is not perfect but it is better than nothing.