E-bay announces " expansion of international selling to Puerto Rico " ?
Puerto Rico is PART OF THE UNITED STATES ! It is under the U.S. Postal system with zip codes just like the 50 states and Washington D.C.-i've shipped items to Puerto Rico many times in the past 15 years...why does E-bay consider this something new ?
44 comments
robbie31415
·2 years agoI don't think it's necessary to remove PR if you have EIS enabled.
I really can't think of any actual reason to do so, unless it's based on some personal racial discrimination.
Shipping to PR via EIS doesn't require additional costs, it's not harmful to the seller in anyway.
Literally makes no sense to want to turn it off.
EIS is fine to all the other locations, BUT NO GOING TO PR? That's so horrible! 🤣
As long as you will be able to offer direct shipping and EIS doesn't remove it then I see no issue.
Yeah, EIS showing as an option with direct shipping is very harmful to sellers.
tobaccocardyahoo
·2 years agoThere was a long period of time that addresses on Ebay orders to Puerto Rico were not formatted properly to mail.
I do not know whether it was ever fixed or when it was fixed.
I almost never get orders from PR.
mybigsale
·2 years ago@juggernaut4444
...why does E-bay consider this something new ?
Can't wait until Alaska and Hawaii are added!
Buyer: "Why is shipping so high and why is my item being sent to the eBay Shipping Hub?"
Seller: New "eBay Geography" qualifies you for eBay international shipping. Instead of the $8.00 and 7-day direct shipping you now qualify for the $30 eBay international shipping with 21-day delivery! Your package is first sent to the eBay hub and then shipped to you! eBay and I are very excited to bring you this new feature! 🙄
.... three months later in the forums.
Seller: Why did my sales to Puerto Rico stop? My $20.00 item with the $30 eBay international shipping (instead of the direct $8.00 USPS shipping) isn't selling anymore.
Response: Nothing to do with eBay. Nobody in Puerto Rico wants that type of item anymore.
chevymontecarlo88
·2 years agoSellers still have the ability to ship direct to these areas outside of the lower 48 if they choose to. If you are a seller and are not aware of that, you may want to promote yourself to a customer. 😂
I do agree with you that in 3 months there will be some juicy posts complaining about it. 😂
mybigsale
·2 years ago@chevymontecarlo88
Sellers still have the ability to ship direct to these areas outside of the lower 48 if they choose to.
I was not aware of that. I am already part of eBay international shipping program. How do I force it to continue to use calculated shipping for PR after implementation on July 29th?
If you are a seller and are not aware of that, you may want to promote yourself to a customer.
You are obviously much smarter than me. I did not see how to opt out of including PR. Please send me the eBay link/directions for doing so. Did eBay fix this from being hard coded instead of being rule based? Please send me the link how this can be turned off/on for specific listings as well. After over 20 years on eBay, it is good to find someone with all the answers... oops, I should probably wait for your response before jumping to conclusions.
not aware of that, you may want to promote yourself to a customer.
I am also obviously a little slow. Was that an attempt at a dig or insult? If so, I missed it. I am also a buyer. Can't say I have anything bad to say about 99.9 % of buyers or sellers I've dealt with while buying and selling on eBay 🙄.
I do agree with you that in 3 months there will be some juicy posts complaining about it.
Complaining, Praising, Indifferent, confused... you name it, the board has it. 🙄
chevymontecarlo88
·2 years agoIt was not directed at you but its ok if you want it to. I even agreed with you. 😉 I was just poking fun on how much drama over a silly issue that if some took the time to read the earlier posts, would understand. Not a big deal and hopefully you can find the humor in the post. These posts are going to be fire over the next couple of days. Enjoy it and i would not take anything on these boards to heart.
bluestardiecast
·2 years agoFYI - at least as of now - I talked to a CS Rep today about how to set this up so we could keep PR as normal since we ship a lot of Hot Wheels / Matchbox there. The current process has the Seller exclude PR from the EIS with your Account Shipping Settings, you also have to uncheck the "Expand your reach...." button. I was told this would allow PR to stay out of EIS and still could ship as normal so we could still use USPS services. After implementing these changes all it did was completely block PR with "Does Not Ship to Puerto Rico" I put the USA zip code in the box and it did not matter - it was still blocked.
The only option I can see right now is to check the Add Other Shipping Services in the listings to give the Buyer an option to select EIS or the other options you have then entered as available. There are some issues with this option:
1 - This would allow any Buyer from outside the USA to select options other than EIS - For us, we are happy with the EIS service and would not want Buyers in other countries to select a service other than EIS. It would be even better if eBay could ever get combined shipping discounts working.
2 - There is no Ground Advantage option - since now PR would be classified as an International Shipment - we would have to select USPS First Class Package International as the most affordable; so maybe keeping in EIS would still be cheaper than this option even with the double shipping of the item from Seller to eBay to Buyer.
3 - The cost for the Buyer - Any of us Sellers that have been selling here long enough know you can't just have this large of a total price increase and the consequences not be felt with loss of sales. Even if eBay kept the costs to PR (and upcoming AK / HI) as low as possible, it is still an increase with effects.
I do understand the Sellers that have PR currently as a "blocked" ship to location, this will be a good thing with only an upside addition for any new sale to PR. The Sellers that just use UPS / FedEx would also see the same benefit. I would argue that there is a much greater number of Sellers that have a majority of light weight / low value items this will negatively affect. When you are selling items like this, an increase of even less than $1.00 to the total sale price is a big factor.
I'm not bashing the option, just think there needs to be a way Sellers can keep the status quo since it does work. We have been shipping to PR since 1998 without major issues - of course there are the occasional late deliveries and navigating some address issues / translations, but with Delivery Confirmation and the Shipping Center doing a better job applying correct information, it has only gotten easier to ship to PR the past couple of years. This to me is a step backwards for many, and even if eBay makes more $$$ moving packages themselves, I would debate they could lose more in lost sales FVFs because of higher shipping cost / total sale cost.
mybigsale
·2 years ago@chevymontecarlo88
@bluestardiecast
FYI - at least as of now - I talked to a CS Rep today about how to set this up so we could keep PR as normal since we ship a lot of Hot Wheels / Matchbox there. The current process has the Seller exclude PR from the EIS with your Account Shipping Settings...
Don't understand why eBay doesn't just make eBay International Shipping a shipping preference (like the eBay Global Shipping Program was). That way sellers could decide on shipping down to the item level. "Hard coding" the international shipping is a disservice to sellers.
From eBay:
The update will override Seller exclusions to US protectorates. Listings for Puerto Rico will now be included in the United States. Sellers will still be able to exclude by country for international locations. If you are unable to sell to Puerto Rico for any reason, you can go to Shipping Preferences in your Account Settings and opt-out of eBay International Shipping.
chevymontecarlo88
·2 years ago😂+1 Customer service rep
On a serious note, thank you for the update.
Kudos
bluestardiecast
·2 years agoThe issue is as I see it - PR and when added AK / HI simply are not "International" - the basic USPS rates apply just like if I were shipping next door. The only roadblock we have encountered over the years is when we ship heavy items that normally go UPS of course can not ship to PR / AK / HI as normal. We would offer USPS Priority Mail service to those destinations as an option.
The way I think it should be implemented is an option for those that currently block to PR / AK / HI to add them to EIS if they are already opted in for that service. Why remove / change a currently working option for a more expensive alternative (for the Buyer) if you still want to ship there as it is now? My PR / AK / HI Buyer pays the same flat rate now as any other Buyer in the lower 48 on any item which we have a flat rate and not calculated - there is no way eBay will give them the same price if we ship to eBay hub and they ship to Buyer.
Hopefully I will be way off base and eBay will have a proper work around for us Sellers that are VERY comfortable using USPS Ground Advantage or other basic USPS options for shipping to USA addresses of which PR & other protectorates are included. We ship to those as well as GUAM and US VI just as easy as sending a package anywhere within the lower 48. If something changes with the USPS rate increase, then all of my points could be moot.....
mybigsale
·2 years agoSorry I mistook the message to me as directed at me. Take anything on these boards to heart? I am mainly hear for entertainment and to relieve the stress of selling... certainly not for answers. 🙄
I guess having to opt-out of eBay international shipping if you don't want to ship to PR using eBay international shipping is a silly issue (see from eBay below) 🙄
You still haven't told me the method all experience sellers can use to block PR from eBay international shipping and use calculated shipping after July 29th (eBay implies below you need to opt out of eBay international shipping completely - talk about silly).
From eBay:
The update will override Seller exclusions to US protectorates. Listings for Puerto Rico will now be included in the United States. Sellers will still be able to exclude by country for international locations. If you are unable to sell to Puerto Rico for any reason, you can go to Shipping Preferences in your Account Settings and opt-out of eBay International Shipping.
robbie31415
·2 years agoIf seller already offers direct shipping, then the buyer will get the options to choose between EIS or direct shipping. So I'm not sure how this will hurt your PR sales?
The only real change for this is that sellers who DON'T already have reach to PR because they have it deslected, will now offer their items to PR customers if they have EIS turned on.
But like your entire scenario is incorrect because if you have EIS turned on then your buyer will be able to select between the two. If you are offering low rates directly, they will most likely always choose that option.
mybigsale
·2 years agoBut like your entire scenario is incorrect because if you have EIS turned on then your buyer will be able to select between the two. If you are offering low rates directly, they will most likely always choose that option.
Interesting Assumption on your part. This new change is not being released until July 29th and you already know that eBay is going to allow PR to qualify for domestic and eBay International shipping at the same time. eBay still has eBay international shipping "hard coded" instead of controlled through settings, so I will need to see to believe.
How can I exclude "PR" from my eBay International Shipping (without dropping eBay international shipping ie: continue to use calculated shipping only)?
'
From eBay:
The update will override Seller exclusions to US protectorates. Listings for Puerto Rico will now be included in the United States. Sellers will still be able to exclude by country for international locations. If you are unable to sell to Puerto Rico for any reason, you can go to Shipping Preferences in your Account Settings and opt-out of eBay International Shipping.
robbie31415
·2 years agoWhy would you need to drop PR from EIS? I can't see any reason that would be necessary.
EIS will function with PR the same as it works for international locations.
Example, I offer EIS to Canada, but I also offer on the same listing PirateShip's simple export rate.
It's not one or the other. Early versions of EIS would force sellers to remove direct shipping, but that was changed awhile ago.
Yes, ebay will override seller exclusions for US protectorates if EIS is turned on for shipping with the EIS service.
You just seem to want to create drama over this for no reason.
glorybells
·2 years agoI’m glad this thread was started; since reading the email from eBay I’ve been sitting here thinking, “What am I missing? PR has never been an actual “international†destination.†But now I get it.
chevymontecarlo88
·2 years agoIt is kind of hilarious to watch many lose it over this. 😂
Must be a slow day.
todaytimeless
·2 years agoThey’re planning on adding Hawaii and Alaska to EIS, too. A lot of people have shipping to Alaska, Hawaii, US territories, and overseas military addresses turned off. This is a very good thing for sellers!
ssateneth
·2 years agoebay isnt saying PR/AK/HI is international. all you guys are being disingenuous and arguing over semantics while avoiding the entire point of rolling PR/AK/HI into EIS.
the entire point of this change is to open up PR/AK/HI buyers to sellers that have been disabling shipping to those areas because of reasons with shipping costs, shipping speed, or with being locked in to UPS/FedEx that don't ship there without international fee
chevymontecarlo88
·2 years agoEbay is going to get some much grief for including PR, HI and AK within the EIS program. Soon there will be post after post torching Ebay thinking that Ebay is stating PR, HI and AK are international destinations. 😂Honestly its there own fault for not thinking the roll out through but it really does not bother me and i give it 5 thumbs up! 👠(ok just one)
orangehound
·2 years agoI have never had any issues with shipping to Puerto Rico. Great customers, never a return.
However, with the price restructuring of the USPS, I've moved most all shipments to GA, but Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico still ship with Priority Mail (because of GA delays to them).
And, since PM rates have skyrocketed, I rarely see a sale to those three destinations. Maybe 1/10th of what it used to be. Would EIS change this? Doubt it.
tsme35
·2 years agoHaven't sold to PR in years but back then I had to fill out a custom form, not sure if you have to now or not. You don't have to use EIS, you can just continue like you have been
buyselljack2016
·2 years agoUSPS no customs form. UPS/FedEx, perhaps needed.
tsme35
·2 years agoI haven't sold to PR since 2018, I know I had to then, other reason I don't ship to APO's either.
juggernaut4444
OP2 years agoI've never had to fill out a customs form for Puerto Rico and i've been selling almost 20 years on E-bay, mostly Media Mail books-they have zip codes just like the rest of the U.S....
finalvinyls
·2 years agoI guess the big question is are they going to charge PR Residents some sort of import /export tax or vat fees.
I agree with everyone. I have shipped to PR many a times using regular mail. Someone mentioned they would have a choice. Technically they wouldn't if Ebay considers it international.
Ebay needs to let the guys in the basement out for some air so they can stop overthinking the process.
robbie31415
·2 years agoEbay isn't going to consider it international.
They are adding Hawaii and Alaska aswell.
They aren't going to consider those international either.
This is just to expand mainly the people who only ship to the continental US only.
yuzuha
·2 years agoI have to say that I've never understood this logic. I've shipped to AK, HI and PR and it's just like shipping anywhere in the US via USPS.
robbie31415
·2 years agoIt depends.
If you are a UPS/FedEx only shipper it is very costly to ship to these locations and returns are even more costly.
EIS will allow them to continue to ship via UPS/FedEx at low cost.
Now, I personally ship via UPS and USPS. So it's a non issue for me. I just ship them all via USPS priority.
Sellers may also turn off PR if they notice their return rate is higher than other places.
This is why there is a toggle for PO boxes aswell. Due to Fedex/UPS issues.
robbie31415
·2 years agoNow you can use the EIS program for PR.
That is new.
Also means no returns for the seller to PR customers.
A lot of sellers have PR turned off now they can ship to PR customers without worry.
chevymontecarlo88
·2 years agoâ˜ï¸This exactly.
slippinjimmy
·2 years agoIt's the same reason they are adding Hawaii and Alaska to EIS, too many sellers block these locations for no rational reasons.
I suppose for buyers some ability to buy is better than none even if using EIS is more expensive and slower than direct shipping.
FYI - Although Puerto Rico is a US Protectorate it is in fact it's own Country, technically a Commonwealth. It came under US control as a result of the Treaty of Paris ending the Spanish American war in 1898.
chevymontecarlo88
·2 years agoHonestly i don't care why they are including it with the EIS except that if they keep the no returns rule as they do with other EIS shipments, that would be an awesome deal.
tashkenta
·2 years agoPer World Atlas:
chevymontecarlo88
·2 years agoPer common sense @tashkenta Please take the time to understand the conversation.
Ebay is just including PR within the EIS system not saying anything more or less. They are adding Hawaii and Alaska as well to the EIS from what @robbie31415 is saying which i think is a good thing as well. That means no returns as a seller if you sell through the EIS. ðŸ‘
Now some may argue they do not want to punish there customers with inflated EIS shipping which is valid but to me, i don't care. If they want it, they will buy it no matter where they are located and if i can avoid shenanigans, awesome! I wish they would include California within the EIS program as well but that is wishful thinking. 😂
valueaddedresource
·2 years ago@slippinjimmy there are lots of rational reasons sellers may block those locations too.
Some sellers only ship via UPS or FedEx because it provides the most cost effective overall option for their business (especially if they tend to sell larger items and/or can negotiate better rates with those carriers than they can get from USPS provided they put all their volume through one carrier).
I gave another example on a previous thread about this change showing how the protections EIS offers could also come into play - one company I worked for wouldn't ship directly to Alaska because of product packaging/temperature sensitivity issues but definitely would have done it through this program with eBay taking on the costs for damaged shipments.
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/ICYMI-eBay-International-Shipping-Will-Soon-Include-Alaska/m-p/34508139/highlight/true#M2411765
The truth is there are some situations where the irrational thing would actually be to offer direct shipping to AK, HI, PR etc (for a variety of reasons) and blocking those regions can and often is a perfectly rational business choice in those scenarios.
If eBay expanding EIS can make it possible for those businesses to rationalize unblocking those places, making inventory available there that wasn't before, that sounds like a win all around - especially since those sellers for whom shipping directly wasn't previously a challenge will be free to continue to do so.
buyselljack2016
·2 years agoI stopped shipping "some" items to other than lower 48 because USPS could put it on a boat (a ship for those offended by the term boat) for GA shipping.
eBay is telling buyers that the items will be there quickly.
I'm not giving things away because of INR's being opened under those circumstances, so I lose out on sales to places/buyers that in the past were not an issue.
pjcdn2005
·2 years agoeBay is telling buyers that the items will be there quickly.
There have many a lot of problems reported on both the US and Canadian boards about some packages taking between 2 and 3 weeks to get processed at the Illinois processing center. Perhaps they need to get that sorted out first before adding more EIS locations.
I've seen it mentioned on the boards that the EIS also has a California processing center. Have any sellers sent one there and if so, did you notice if it was processed quickly? I haven't seen any posts from Canadians about the Cali center at all but that could mean that there haven't been any problems from that location.
robbie31415
·2 years agoEbay isn't currently using the Cali location.
I'm really hoping they open it back up as a regular location.
Especially for Hawaii and Alaska. They should add west Canada to it.
Plz eBay ðŸ™
brightlightbookseller
·2 years agoThey're just treating it like an EIS shipment if the buyer chooses. They must think they have some value to offer like a cheaper shipping rate, but time will tell. I don't think we've had any EIS shipments to Puerto Rico yet since the change. It appears that it's merely a choice, too, and you can still do direct shipping and if you already did, it keeps that option available. I don't think it matters to us as the seller except that EIS actually provides good protection against claims and chargebacks, so I'd rather the sale go through there.
bamorris
·2 years agoI'd rather have my PR customers get the same rates as my customers in Alaska and HI. If EIS is involved, they're just going to charge additional shipping costs on top of whatever you pay to get your product to the shipping hub.
This change actually makes no sense. My customers were already included in domestic shipping rates. To move them into EIS just makes my products total cost more expensive for PR residents than they were previously.
I also don't see any real answers in this thread. Just assumptions that it's better now with EIS involved. When the reality is that the additional cost involved for customers paying international rates to PR will move your total cost price out of the market range.
robbie31415
·2 years agoYou do realize you can still offer direct shipping.
This change makes a lot of sense.
MANY sellers have PR unchecked but EIS checked.
Now all of these sellers will offer their products to PR.
slippinjimmy
·2 years agoFor as long as I've done mailorder (just shy of 50 years) it has been common for seller to block/not offer shipping to PR, AK, HI.
For some it was because the shipping was much more expensive (FedEx, UPS but not USPS). Since it was and still is so common many new seller automatically include those restrictions even if they don't really know why.
I suppose eBay could just try to educate sellers that in most cases the block is completely unnecessary but you know that educating many eBay sellers is futile. Of course with EIS it's also an additional revenue stream for eBay.
There are cases where those blocks are totally valid, anything that is Hazmat is one since ground shipping to those locations can be very slow and if you use FedEx, UPS or similar there may be significant surcharges over shipping to the lower 48.
ltldpr
·2 years agoWith the horror stories from sellers and buyers alike whose packages are either stuck at the EIS hub for sometimes weeks, or simply vanish like the hub is some type of Hotel California, and eBay issuing refunds left and right for missing or damaged items, how is EIS a revenue stream?
Don't they have to pay the theft rings, I mean employees, who open the boxes, remove and apparently discard the packaging, throw the item (or part of the order but not always the whole order) back in the packaging-free boxes, slap an inadequate amount of tape on them, and fill out the customs forms before sending them hopefully, but not always, to the correct address in another country?
I know they get an international buyer fee paid by the seller, and I assume they get some type of processing fee paid by the international buyer, but with all the refunds and paying the employees who likely cause most of the refunds, how is it an actual revenue stream?
I've been looking at the EIS hub as a money pit ever since I began hearing all the horror stories. What am I missing?