Has GSP (Global Shipping Program) been renamed in listings for items shipping to Canada?

Your friendly but cornfused Canuck here.

 

Has eBay renamed the shipping method in listings that use GSP? In the past I could have sworn that it actually said GSP or Global Shipping Program. Now it appears that these eBay listings show "International Priority Shipping to Canada" and if you click on the ? beside the shipping method you see:

 

This amount includes seller-specified domestic shipping charges as well as applicable international shipping, handling, and other fees. This amount is subject to change until you make payment. For additional information, see the Global Shipping Program terms and conditions

 

Did the GSP create such a bad taste that this renaming was done?

 

 

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Answers (10)

Answers (10)

@one2 

 

Now, I understand it is a service to sellers in that they don't have to fill out customs forms.

While that is true, the GSP is a Seller Protection service.

It protects sellers against false Not Received disputes and the "stuck in customs" scam.

It neither has nor promises any value to buyers.

  • It is not faster (although it does not seem on average to be slower either).
  • It does not prevent damage in transit (although the GSP plant will not accept damaged shipments when they arrive from the seller.)
  • It does not prevent Not As Described items which remain the responsibility of the seller.

 

It seems to me that the costs should go to the benefactor. And at the very least the buyer needs a choice in how his/her money is spent.

You have a choice.

When a listing is clearly marked as GSP- @marnotom!  gave an example, you can CHOOSE not to buy it.

 

...their inability to combine shipping costs properly perplex me.

This is an ongoing problem.

It might have something to do with GSP taking responsibility for paying duty and sales taxes for the buyer. Maybe.

 

In the event that the shipping charges exceed the actual shippng cost the overage is returned to the seller.

Sorry. Where did you get that idea?

The seller sets her shipping cost to the GSP plant. Some will choose cheaper services than others.

Some sellers set Flat Rate shipping which may or may not correspond with the postage on the package.

Some use Calculated. Some use "free" shipping which just means the cost of shipping (domestically) is included in the asking price.

 

Anyways it irritates me to the utmost that Ebay pushes GSP towards sellers,with little or no alternative for sellers to change once they have opted forGSP.
Most sellers using GSP would not be shipping internationally at all without the GSP.

Read any thread on the dotCOM Seller Board about freight forwarders. The paranoia and xenophobia is striking.

EBay has introduced a new service for International selling which does not  include the prepaid import fees.

By all reports it is awful, but we see the bad news first and, of course, it was introduced just in time for the pandemic to make a mess of all shipping.

 

EBay haI buy more than I sell and I am tired of the excessive shipping costs and Ebays attempt to thwart reasonable relation between buyer seller by not easily allowing choice. 

Shipping is a Seller Choice.

Sellers choose the services that give them the most protection.

 

It is all about choice today, isn't it??

It's all about the illusion of choice.

Like learning that Christie's cookie plants make President's Choice cookies. And No Name cookies.

To the same recipe.

I am old and cynical.


@theoldestfart wrote:

Your friendly but cornfused Canuck here.

 

Has eBay renamed the shipping method in listings that use GSP? In the past I could have sworn that it actually said GSP or Global Shipping Program. Now it appears that these eBay listings show "International Priority Shipping to Canada" and if you click on the ? beside the shipping method you see:

 

This amount includes seller-specified domestic shipping charges as well as applicable international shipping, handling, and other fees. This amount is subject to change until you make payment. For additional information, see the Global Shipping Program terms and conditions

 

Did the GSP create such a bad taste that this renaming was done?

 

 


tyler@ebay 

 

Hello Tyler,

 

See additional post. More of the same from Intelcom. Even if you check for Intelcom site for other deliveries(sellling sites) very rarely are they inputted. Buyers rely on tracking to A make sure they will be home when goods arrive and B to prevent porch pirates which is a thing in Canada

 

-Lotz

one2
Community Member

I wouldn't doubt it. I absolutely detest GSP. Now, I understand it is a service to sellers in that they don't have to fill out customs forms. It seems to me that the costs should go to the benefactor.  And at the very least the buyer needs a choice in how his/her money is spent. The rates that show up on GSP are all over the map and their inability to combine shipping costs properly perplex me.  In the event that the shipping charges exceed the actual shippng cost the overage is returned to the seller. Now that makes a lot of sense. Anyways it irritates me to the utmost that Ebay pushes GSP towards sellers,with little or no alternative for sellers to change once they have opted for GSP. I buy more than I sell and I am tired of the excessive shipping costs and Ebays attempt to thwart reasonable relation between buyer seller by not easily allowing choice. It is all about choice today, isn't it?? 

They can call it what they want but you'll know it's GSP when you see the so-called "import charges". Just lipstick on a pig.

marnotom!
Community Member

This is how the listing you posted a link to on Wednesday looks on my desktop computer.  Yes, this is on the .ca site rather than the .com site:

Untitled.jpg

 

GSP listings have had references to the program buried more when viewed on my phone, and I would imagine it would be similar if viewed on a tablet.

marnotom!
Community Member

"International Priority Shipping" has always been the descriptor used in the "shipping" portion for listings where the GSP is being used.  The GSP is the carrier that offers the "shipping method" and on the desktop version of eBay it's mentioned in a box above the "shipping method" (that box that proclaims "No additional charges at delivery!')

 

I remember when the GSP was first unleashed there was some confusion because of the GSP's "method" bearing a name very similar to USPS's "Priority International" mailing method.

 

I think we've just become accustomed to referring to the GSP as a shipping method as it doesn't offer any alternative "shipping methods" as stated on the listing page and doing so keeps it distinctive from the USPS service.  Also, the term "international priority shipping" is about as meaningless as "priority international mail" as neither take priority over any other shipping method used by their respective carriers.

I contacted eBay via chat regarding my GSP purchase and why tracking has not been updated for 5 days since it cleared Canada Customs. Well, apparently this delivery is being handled by IntelCom Express whom I never heard of before.  As of October 25th their website shows no tracking for a tracking # that ebay provided for me by email.

 

This is why I have soured on eBay. They seem to off load shipments no doubt to the lowest bidder whose infrastructure is lacking.


@theoldestfart wrote:

Your friendly but cornfused Canuck here.

 

Has eBay renamed the shipping method in listings that use GSP? In the past I could have sworn that it actually said GSP or Global Shipping Program. Now it appears that these eBay listings show "International Priority Shipping to Canada" and if you click on the ? beside the shipping method you see:

 

This amount includes seller-specified domestic shipping charges as well as applicable international shipping, handling, and other fees. This amount is subject to change until you make payment. For additional information, see the Global Shipping Program terms and conditions

 

Did the GSP create such a bad taste that this renaming was done?

 

 


Definitely looks like GSP based on the link you provided below. Clicking on the see details link disguises it even more.

 

-Lotz

To be honest I don't know if it is different as Priority International Shipping has always been mentioned.  But  .com and the .ca  do show it differently on the item page and on the search page. I don't know if that is a change or not.

EBay introduced a new program called International Shipping but it did not replace GSP.

 

It looks cheaper because, unlike GSP, import fees are not included in the buyer's payment.

But when the International Shipping parcel arrives, the buyer will be paying those import fees, plus the courier's service/customs brokerage fees.

 

Avoid it.

There have been many complaints here about slow delivery , many more than the GSP, which has had a couple of years to work out the kinks.

 

BTW- about import fees. With the last NAFTA treaty, the Canadian duty-fee allowance rose to $150 and the tax-free allowance rose to $40 for items purchased in the USA and Mexico.