eBay

lori*ada · ‎08-12-2021

Anyone uses eBay Global shipping ?
How did you guys handle return shipping ?

I want to step into Global shipping but if buyer has any issue, I want my item back for refund.
Does eBay Global shipping allow sellers to issue prepaid return shipping label ?

kensgiftshop · ‎08-12-2021

@lori*ada wrote:

Does eBay Global shipping allow sellers to issue prepaid return shipping label ?

No, you have to send the buyer the funds to ship the item back, if they file an INAD.

Have a great day.

lori*ada · ‎08-12-2021

Oh, O ... that's high risk business though.

Big loop hole for international buyers to scam.

cstpos · ‎08-12-2021

@lori*ada We use ebay's Global Shipping program for all of our listings we sell internationally. We have had only 2 cases where an international buyer wanted to return an item, we were told we were only responsible for the cost of shipping to and from our location in Illinois to the ebay shipping center in Kentucky.

Make sure that whatever you're selling is worth it to you if there is a return. Factor in how much your shipping costs will be. The GSP not only calculates the shipping to the final international destination, they also calculate and charge the buyer any related customs, duties, taxes, or fees for each country. They also determine if an item is restricted or banned in the destination location. We sold a $4000 networking switch using the GSP. We received a message that the item was restricted in it's destination country and that they (ebay) had erroneously processed it anyway. Ebay refunded the buyer, we kept our total payment, and ebay kept the item.

lori*ada · ‎08-12-2021

Thanks so much for this helpful insight.

On the 2 return cases you mentioned, how did you proceed ?

Did you issue return shipping label covers only the cost of shipping to and from our location in Illinois to the ebay shipping center in Kentucky for buyer to return items ?

Did you actually get the items back ? or you simply just issued refund ?

pjcdn2005 · ‎08-12-2021

I'm not sure what happened in your case but if the buyer uses a non eBay forwarder then the seller only needs to have a return label from where they originally sent the purchase. But with the GSP, a not as described return would require the seller to pay for postage from the buyer's location. The exception is if the item was damaged in shipping after it left the Kentucky depot..then the gsp would be responsible for refunding and would not require a return.

lori*ada · ‎08-12-2021

"with the GSP, a not as described return would require the seller to pay for postage from the buyer's location."

The thing is, for international shipping, this is almost impossible for sellers to do.
How can you in USA to generate and paid for a prepaid return shipping label from Italy back to USA ?

pjcdn2005 · ‎08-12-2021

That's answered in post 2. You have to send them the funds through PP or use a service that does allow you to print a prepaid label from their country....if such a thing exists. I've seen ebay reps say that it can be done with a courier but that would probably cost a fortune and I haven't heard of anyone doing that.

It can definitely be a problem as you need the cooperation of the buyer to give you a cost estimate or you need to go to that country's postal site. But that's what ebay requires and if if the return is deemed to be the seller's responsibility, you have to provide the funds or refund without a return. I do think that in the majority of sales, there's no need to worry about it as long as you are describing your items properly.

kensgiftshop · ‎08-12-2021

@lori*ada wrote:
"with the GSP, a not as described return would require the seller to pay for postage from the buyer's location."

The thing is, for international shipping, this is almost impossible for sellers to do.
How can you in USA to generate and paid for a prepaid return shipping label from Italy back to USA ?

You can't.

You have to send the funds to the buyer so they can purchase the return shipping.

Have a great day.

cstpos · ‎08-13-2021

@ You're welcome. We responded that we would accept the return and just clicked to have ebay supply the return label. I had contacted ebay to determine what shipping cost we would be expected to pay, and I was told only the shipping to and from Kentucky. Neither person responded or returned the item, and the cases timed out. We have temporarily changed our international listings to No Returns because of shipping delays and limited customer service from carriers and ebay.

If you google ebay gsp and returns, you get a bunch of contradictory information. The latest I saw was from 2020 that said that the buyer needs to open a case (not just message you that they want to return). As with any return, don't issue a refund until you have the item back. You can add a line to your shipping policies along the lines ... We are only responsible for the cost of return shipping from the ebay Global Shipping Center to our address. Any other costs and fees are the responsibility of the buyer.

I am going to submit this question on a thread or podcast. It would be really helpful if ebay added this info to both their Returns and GSP FAQ's.

Oh, also payments originating from an international buyer also result in a foreign currency additional charge. If I find out more, I'll post it here. Good Luck!

lac358232 · ‎08-13-2021

@lori*ada wrote:
"with the GSP, a not as described return would require the seller to pay for postage from the buyer's location."

How can you in USA to generate and paid for a prepaid return shipping label from Italy back to USA ?

You don't; eBay never shared the Italy address with you at Checkout: All you got was the GSP address in Kentucky, and there's where you shipped the item.

So it's not your problem, you're only issuing a return label from Kentucky.

pjcdn2005 · ‎08-14-2021

Again, that's not true for gsp shipments. The Money Back Guarantee covers buyers the same way as if the seller had shipped to the buyer directly. If the buyer uses their own forwarder, then the situation is different.