@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:
If you look at the coles notes for EIS there are a number of benefits for sellers to use EIS but as for buyers that is very well disguised. (Like reduced fees for shipping.)
There isn't much that can be done to "sell" a shipping method to a buyer. It's either fast, slow, or in-between; and it's either cheap, expensive, or in-between. I guess you could include how the item is handled by customs, but that would fall under both speed and cost.
@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:
IF we had something like that in Canada to say level the playing field, how much longer would it take for our shipments to arrived compared to what we have now? Not ready to imagine that.
Don't forget the added cost to the buyer if this Canadian service relied on sellers sending their items to the consolidation hub by mail or courier. The model that would likely have to be used would be a drop-off system if this service had any chance at all to be competitive with direct mail shipping which would likely make the service a no-go for many rural/remote sellers.
@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:
A good percentage of US shipping to Canada is 1 of 2 choices. Either a consolidator or EIS. The USPS direct to Canada with a actual shipping service are few and far between. Puts Canadian buyers between a rock and hard place. From a personal perspective, if I order something from the USA I want to know how it is arriving with no unexpected surprises or it walking away off my front steps because the seller is using some mysterious arrangement.
A lot of sellers in the past have sent my wife and me stuff that's been handled by mail consolidators of the seller's choice, independent of eBay. I'm not sure if that's the type of "consolidator" you're referring to here. Those sellers tend to use USPS descriptors in their listings, so even going by the listing page is no guarantee that you're going to get "USPS direct to Canada" from them.
As for "unexpected surprises," I had no idea that surprises could also be expected. 😜
@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:
I've pretty much given up on trying to find economical shipping for anything I need from USA to Canada. If they happen to use an actual USPS service it's become like looking for a needle in a haystack. The Canadian buyers I have spoken to recently are in complete shock at the insane shipping that now is showing up on majority of listings (US). They will only buy from a US seller as a very last last resort. Due to GSP and now EIS a get a major thanks from buyers looking for something that I happen to have to fill their needs.
Even USPS isn't really all that "economical" now. At current exchange rates, it's about C$20 to send something by First Class Package to Canada that weighs less than half a pound. Many Canadian sellers have already discovered the benefits from using services such as Chit Chats or Stallion for their shipments to the US. Can you blame our US cousins for trying to find similar but different solutions?
Yes, eIS is showing some pretty wack pricing for some items/listings right now. From what I can see, it seems to be mostly seller error causing this problem. Besides, what I observed in the furor over Managed Payments seems to hold true here, too: When has the rollout of anything new by eBay gone completely glitch-free? I'm content to wait until the dust settles before I purchase anything through eIS, and I hope that most buyers are also capable of taking a long-term view of this situation.
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