eBay International Standard Delivery (ISD)

[marnotom!]

Just found out about this service today:

https://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/shipping/ebay-international-standard-delivery.html

I’m guessing that in time it will lead to the GSP being phased out unless eBay and Pitney Bowes work out how to integrate the GSP with Managed Payments.

As it deals with postal services, it means that taxes, etc. will be dealt with by CBSA and not “pre-paid” the way they are with the GSP.

However, as it seems (at first glance, anyway) to be a mail consolidation scheme, those who aren’t happy with the transit time for a GSP-forwarded item aren’t likely going to be much happier with this option as mail consolidation tends to slow down international mail.

Sellers appear to have up to $100 in indemnity for shipments sent this way, FWIW. I need to look at the protections section more closely at some point.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

@marnotom! 

Thanks for the specifics. I heard about that recently in reading some posts on dot com or from a US seller. At this point it's all a blur. If it turns into another automagic default system it could get to the point where it just won't be worthwhile to order from the USA. Especially if you want something either quick or cheap. The cheapest options are hidden at the bottom which most sellers refuse to make available. As it is right now very few US sellers are offering multiple choices for shipping to Canada or the alternative, using GSP. Not sure which is the lesser of 2 evils?

-Lotz

[marnotom!]

There’s a lengthy thread on the ISD on the .com discussion boards that dates back to February but is still active (I made sure of that 😁):

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Shipping-Returns/Just-tried-new-international-shipping-program-here-s-...

It’s an interesting discussion (including a great post from our own @pjcdn2005) but, of course, it’s focused mostly on the sellers’ ends of things.

I could be wrong, but a quick eyeball of one seller’s listings suggests that the ISD’s shipping charge for a very lightweight First Class International item is about 38% (US$5) more than what the seller is charged, and, as with the GSP, there’s no discernible benefit to the buyer unless the buyer is looking forward to extra transit time for their item. (In fairness, this may be a Covid-19 complication.)

I’m not clear on whether additional shipping options can be offered in listings where the ISD is offered as a shipping method. As PJ points out, sellers can change their stated shipping method to the ISD after the buyer has committed to purchase, and that’s worrisome.

[dannyw1975]

I told all of you about this change coming several months ago, but of course, all the GSP cheerleaders called me a liar.

[ypdc_dennis]

ISD does not replace GSP

Both can be used with Managed Payments.

https://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/shipping/ebay-international-standard-delivery.html

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

ISD does add a new way for US sellers to have the opportunity to save on shipping. It would be nice if there was some negotiating by eBay on behalf of Canadians sellers(Strength in Numbers) to level the playing field.

-Lotz

[marnotom!]

Thanks for that info, @ypdc_dennis. When Managed Payments was first rolled out, it didn’t support the GSP. That’s obviously changed. 🤨

[ypdc_dennis]

---

@marnotom! wrote:
When Managed Payments was first rolled out, it didn’t support the GSP. That’s obviously changed. 🤨

---

It's a very recent change in the last couple of months for Managed Payments. 

[marnotom!]

“ISD does add a new way for US sellers to have the opportunity to save on shipping. It would be nice if there was some negotiating by eBay on behalf of Canadians sellers (Strength in Numbers) to level the playing field.”

Maybe the sellers won’t be paying USPS as much to have their items shipped internationally, but I’m not sure if buyers using the program are saving anything. I do need to do some research on this, though. I’m also not sure if sellers are paying FVF on the ISD shipping with this scheme (as they’re shipping to a US address) or on their lowest posted domestic shipping charge.

Seeing as buyers pay the shipping charge, how do sellers “save on shipping,” anyway?

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

@marnotom! 

Any difference between actual postage when the seller ships and what the customer paid is profit after you take off the fees. With a discount the amount going into the sellers pocket increases. Not to forget any handling charge.

-Lotz

eBay dot com:  USPS, Stamps, OrangeMailer, Pitney Bowes, Shippo, PayPal, eBay Labels...

eBay.ca: Canadapost Small Business Account, Counter Price, Purchasing stamps at discount

https://pages.ebay.com/carriers/index.html

https://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/shipping/shipping-options.html#labels

[marnotom!]

But that’s not “saving on shipping” as I define it, at least. To me, what you’re describing is the potential for sellers to keep a greater portion of their shipping and handling charge. I may be splitting hairs. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

@marnotom! 

I guess it all depends on the choice of the seller if they give back any difference to their buyer. For me Flat Rate Shipping or building shipping into my selling price is not an option so I depend on Calculated shipping.  When/if shipping options displayed accurately (the lowest you can get away with) the better it does as a tool to drive sales.

As a side note, when I search in eBay the first sort I choose is Price + Shipping(Lowest First) filtering out GSP, followed by Canada Only. The vast majority of US sellers use extremely inflated postage to Canada while on the flip side  they can "get away with" Free shipping or next to nothing for all their US customers.

-Lotz

[reallynicestamps]

US sellers use extremely inflated postage to Canada

I suspect this is partly the fault/responsibility of USPS.

When we look on Canada Post's website the first price we see for a parcel is the lowest ( Small Packet-Air-USA which is not tracked) rising to Priority Post at triple the rate.

When a US seller looks at the USPS rate card he sees Priority Mail envelopes and boxes first with the most expensive rate at the top of the list of prices.

Only if he looks at Size and Shape does he see any other service than Priority Mail and then the cheapest (Delivery Confirmed) rate  (First Class International Package) is at the bottom of the list

https://postcalc.usps.com/Calculator/MailServices?country=10054&ccode=CA&oz=90210&omil=False&dz=v8r%...

To add insult to injury, the seller is tempted with that "free" Priority Post box or envelope. Seems silly, but we all love "free" stuff.

[pjcdn2005]

I would be surprised is most sellers go to USPS to figure out their pricing when they are listing. I find that most use calculated shipping, especially for international. It's easier for them as any international service they use can be used for all countries...they don't have to use different services for different countries like we do.   I haven't really noticed a ton of overpriced shipping by US sellers other than when they use a flat rate box for something that could be sent first class. I know that some do overcharge but it's not something that I find is true of the majority.

[pjcdn2005]

I believe the difference between international standard and usps first class is a couple of dollars although I could be wrong.  And that would only keep the extra amount if their listings said first class but then they used int'l standard.  Anyway, you could certainly add a couple of dollars as a handling charge if you wanted to. 

We aren't ever going to have the same postal prices here are the same programs that the US sellers have mostly because there are not enough of us . I have no idea how many US sellers or how many Canadian sellers there are but its likely they we have 1/10 of the sellers that they do in the States so any programs here are either going to be more expensive or not feasible because there wouldn't be a large enough customer base.