eBay Global shipping program?

[worldwandering]

Anybody else get invited to this?

They deal with all customs forms, etc by shipping to a US address?  Feedback is protected from low ratings etc?

What the heck are they talking about?

I said yes, and now they are going to revise all my listings.  I don't understand this nebulous program.  Can anybody sum it up gracefully?

Thank you!

[i*m-still-here]

when I emailed the seller about it, she had no idea about the extra charge.  She was going to decline this method of the global shipping from now on.

That was my experience as well.

It seems like sellers don't see the extra charges.

I worked closely with one seller who is an A1 seller and together we worked through it.

I was able to let her know what I saw and vice versa.

The way the charges are split up on paypal is wonky too.

I think that some sellers think that it's the answer to their international shipping issues but don't really know that it can't do anything but cause more problems on the whole.

What a Bizarre program!

[eeesixty]

The global shipping program forces Canadian buyers to pay import charges on US purchases at checkout. For example, I paid a whopping 37% rate of duty on a $23 purchase(part of which undoubtedly goes to ebay!). As inexpensive items (under  $100) almost always clear Canada Customs with no duty!, a US seller using this program is probably going to eliminate the majority of potential Canadian bidders on their items (we are not idiots who like to give away money!) It astounds me that so many US sellers are now using this program. Kudos to ebay for finding another way to fee its members, I thought the "final value fee on shipping" was their lowest point, but the GSP is the new bottom!

[pierrelebel]

"As inexpensive items (under  $100) almost always clear Canada Customs with no duty!"

The Canada Customs rules for importing by mail are fairly simple:

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/postal-postale/duty-droits-eng.html#c1 

Yes, some parcels may go through Canada Customs without collection of taxes. It is difficult to expect civil servant to do their job properly 100% of the time! 😉

[eeesixty]

Absolutely right!, the GSP  also forces Canadian buyers to pay inflated duty on items that would not even be charged duty by Canada Customs,if sent via USPS. If US sellers want to reduce Canadian bidders, then they should sign up to the GSP program. I for one will never patronize a seller using this program.

[eeesixty]

It is difficult to expect a Canadian civil servant to do their job 1% of the time. The fact that I have received hundreds of packages from the US without ever paying duty attests to that!

[pierrelebel]

"I have received hundreds of packages from the US without ever paying duty"

It may be a local thing in Whitby (and/or Oshawa).

In Belleville, on parcels valued at $20 and more arriving by mail, I generally have to pay tax (and brokerage fee) on half the parcels, unless the tax was prepaid with the American exporter..

[pierrelebel]

About ten years ago, I received a gift - it was truly a gift, not something I paid for - valued at $35 "gift" on the Customs Declaration.

I had to pay tax and brokerage fee as "gifts" are not eligible to the exemption, even if valued at less than $60, when sent by a corporation (business). 😞

And life does go on.

[bb_cool_stuff]

I guess i've been very lucky.

I've only been charged three times on purchases in nearly eight years of buying & selling. Two of the charges have occured in the last three weeks, the other one probably five years ago.

Maybe they are watching a little more closely now.

[westernstargifts]

I have had many packages pass through customs with no duty or taxes over the years.  Although I have paid for a few they are in the minority.  One small box with over $400 value arrived with no extra charge.  Usually I find that a bubble envelope will slip through while boxes will not.

This is not including the larger items I imported from the U.S. years ago for which I was always charged.

[eeesixty]

"In Belleville....".     I'm glad someone is doing their job!  I have little doubt Canada Customs (hence Canada's hapless taxpayers) are missing out on billions of dollars in duty and tax revenues each year, despite Belleville Post's, Ebay/Paypal's, and Pitney Bowes's best efforts.

[pierrelebel]

"missing out on billions of dollars in duty and tax revenues each year"

Billions ????

I do not think so.

According to a report from the auditor general, an estimate of Non-commercial postal imports was $1.2 billions.

If ALL these shipments came without tax being charged, it would represent a loss of $120 millions (using a 10% average GST/HST across the country).  Now, we all know that most imports with a high declared value are properly processed and many of these imports go to GST/HST registered businesses..

So, at most, we are looking at a loss of $50 millions, give or take a few.

That is still a lot of money.

If the federal government were to transfer 1,000 non-productive employees from whatever they are not doing to tax collecting, we would be well ahead. 🙂  

[eeesixty]

"As long as it doesn't turn buyer's off ebay altogether.."  I often have the same fantasy! 

[pierrelebel]

""As long as it doesn't turn buyer's off ebay altogether.." "

Actually it may turn many of them off buying from American sellers! 

They will have more money in their pocket (or available on their credi card) to buy other "stuff" from Canadian sellers.

At the end of the day it comes down to how much money Canadian buyers have to spend on eBay.

[recped]

So, at most, we are looking at a loss of $50 millions, give or take a few.

That is still a lot of money.

If the federal government were to transfer 1,000 non-productive employees from whatever they are not doing to tax collecting, we would be well ahead.

1000 federal employees to collect $50M in taxes? That's a money loser for sure (even if they suddenly became productive).

[i*m-still-here]

  One small box with over $400 value arrived with no extra charge. 

[pierrelebel]

"That's a money loser for sure (even if they suddenly became productive)."

🙂

OK - those civil servants are not very productive.

Still, one should be able to check the declaration on the parcel and assign the tax at the rate of one parcel every five minutes.

Do nine parcels and take a short 15 minute break. Do nine more and another 15 minute break.  Repeat till the end of the seven hour shift (including seven 15 minute breaks!). 

Assuming most boxes are relatively low value, let's say the tax averages $10 per parcel.  That would be new collection of $90 hour or $630 day. The Post Office take of $9.95 brokerage fee would be in addition to that (an extra $50 million for the PO, they need it!)!

Considering lost production through paid vacations, paid holidays, paid sick days, etc... our newly appointed Customs inspector should work 220 days a year (paid for 261 days).

$630 day x 220 days = $138,600 a year.

At that rate we only need 361 reassigned employees to recover $50,000,000 in lost tax (assuming there is that much lost). 🙂

PS - I love playing with numbers! 🙂

[i*m-still-here]

"As long as it doesn't turn buyer's off ebay altogether.."  I often have the same fantasy! 

To re-quote myself  🙂 .............  Yup...... I'm pretty much turned off the experience of buying from the US now.

I'm still buying an item here and there but I'm pretty much done.  99% finished.

""""I've only been charged three times on purchases in nearly eight years of buying & selling. Two of the charges have occured in the last three weeks, the other one probably five years ago.""""

Somehow I don't think that's by chance.  I too am getting nailed too like never before.

There are so many factors now coming together all at once and all introduced during a very short period of time which are making it very unappealing to buy US ebay items.

I'll bet all the Americans who used complain about us are gonna miss us.

Has it helped Canadian sales for anyone?

[goodbeta]

Another problem with the Global Shipping program is that the tracking system doesn't always work properly. I'm currently waiting for a package but can no longer access the tracking info on my ebay page. I've tried three different browsers on three different computers (PC and Mac) and none of them work. So you can't rely on the tracking, you have to pay high brokerage and shipping costs, and it takes forever for a package to arrive. I do hope the folks at eBay monitor these discussions and understand how bad this new system is for Canadian customers buying from the US.

[bilge21]

If I can't find a Canadian seller that has whatever I am looking for, my second choice is a U.S. seller. However, if I see the "International items may be subject to customs processing and additional charges" under thier shipping cost, that seller just lost a potential sale.

Sooner or later U.S. sellers are going to notice thier sales go down because thier Canadian customers will no longer be buying from them due to GSP.

TigerDirect.ca and Newegg.ca also ship from the U.S., but there's no brokerage charges even though they do collect Canadian taxes. The other difference? TD and NE orders generally arrive within 2 days (for me anyway), unlike shipments from many U.S. eBay sellers where they arrive in a week or so.

[recped]

The other difference?

The most important difference is that Tiger, NewEgg, LL Bean etc. DON`T use Pitney-Bowes. PB is well known worldwide for their incompetence.

Somebody at PB must have some dirt on eBay or something, no other explanation why they went with PB over any one of dozens of long established logistics companies who offer this type of service.