Hate using Ebay
Summary: novascotiacollector expresses dissatisfaction with eBay due to high international shipping costs and poor customer service, contrasting their experience with the free and quick shipping offered by Amazon. Several participants debate the responsibility for shipping rates, with some clarifying that eBay acts as a platform and does not directly control shipping costs unless using specific services like EIS. Others discuss the logistical challenges of international shipping and the advantages Amazon may have in domestic deliveries. The conversation also touches upon issues related to eBay's customer service limitations and the difficulties faced by sellers with international transactions.
Ebay is the worst . Customer service is terrible , international shipping costs US to Canada are outrageous . Take 1 month to receive anything . I only use Ebay when I can't purchase anywhere else . Amazon is free shipping and arrives in less than a week
tobaccocardyahoo
·3 weeks agoAlmost all of my complaints about the cost of EIS are from Canadian buyers.
Years ago, I stopped exporting. Too much work for too little additional sales. Canada Post was a major contributor to the extra work, and there was no cost-effective alternative.
Canada is a large country with the bulk of its population close to the US border. I had many buyers from places like Thunder Bay where there was no consistency in delivery times and I was faced with extra work dealing with customer antsiness.
It was not worth my effort. It was a bigger problem than losses by the Italian PO. I stopped exporting. I did not resume until Ebay offered Global, then EIS. If deliveries are slow, Ebay can handle the buyer impatience.
I am quite prepared to discontinue exporting if EIS disappeared.
As for the Amazon comparison, you may be buying items which are actually inventoried in Canada.
Amazon freight consolidates its export orders in a similar manner to EIS. Amazon probably has a higher volume destined for Canada and the delays may be lower because of that. If the Amazon order is merchant fulfilled, there is less permitted delay in shipping than is permitted by Ebay, which leads to greater product selection in some categories on Ebay.
IMO Ebay is the best place to buy and sell collectibles on the internet, which is why I am no longer selling on Amazon.
annadryl
·3 weeks ago"Amazon is free shipping and arrives in less than a week"
A year subscription to Prime is currently $139 and soon undoubtedly going up with the cost of fuel. Are you saying you are getting that for free too?
lpsfouryou
·3 weeks agoI am not sure what "Nova" is unhappy with but back before the Covid shutdown I shipped world wide the only package lost was in Canada and then customs had lost many items so the only way I could ship to Canada was Express Mail.
glenvonnie
·3 weeks ago · EditedAmazon doesn't sell everything that eBay does, if they did eBay would go out of business. I suspect a lot of people check Amazon first.
The seller sets the domestic shipping rates; eBay EIS sets the international rate which is high due to the risks involved in selling internationally.
I stopped selling Internationally years ago because of all the scams and fraud and especially the lack of tracking that would have showed delivery and resulted in many INR cases, false INAD claims which they knew would be refunded because of the high return costs, and their ability to go to their country's eBay site to get a refund, until GPS and EIS came along and took the risks for me.
The international scammers, fraudsters, and poor postal services ruined cheap international shipping for the international buyers, they are to blame, not us sellers. We sellers can't take those kinds of losses, shouldn't have to, and chose not to.
If what you want is here, then the shipping is still cheaper than driving here to get it.
As far as Amazon, their business model is to make themselves ungodly rich by making their employees and their families poor and you're helping them do it, eventually someone will do the same to you for the same reason.
Why do you think you're entitled to "cheap" brought to you by people trying to survive on non-livable wages and having to depend on government programs to survive?
Around here the local delivery people get $15 an hour and not over 30 hours per week so they don't have to get any benefits, they depend on Medicaid, food stamps, Social Security, housing assistance and other aid just to be able to live, just so they can provide "cheap" to Amazon customers.
shado-x
·3 weeks agonovascotiacollector, you know who is to blame for that. Go back to the Oprah Winfrey days of media mind manipulation, that's a hint.
robot-hands
·3 weeks ago · Editedebay customer service is going to get waaay worse before it gets better.
...what you are describing here has nothing to do with that.
I do not have warehouses all over so a pink haired, roller blading girl cannot just drop off your vintage lamp 24 hours after you buy it.
pj895
·3 weeks agoIf the purchases are from sellers that only use eIS for selling/shipping then yes, shipping costs can be higher as ebay is involved. The eIS hub needs $$$ to operate.
christworks
·3 weeks ago@novascotiacollector Thanks for the announcement. 😖
lakefor94
·3 weeks agoYou have bought thousands of items on eBay, @novascotiacollector .
You know ebay is where the best deals are on certain items. You ain't going anywhere unless it involves a cheaper price.
stainlessenginecovers
·3 weeks agoand I hate complainers.
There; now we're even.
kibble-net
·Aug 11, 2026 at 7:11 PMSounds like you have solved your problem. Good luck and God bless.
bonanza125
·Aug 11, 2026 at 5:08 PMShipping cost has to deal with what the carrier charges. Ebay is the selling platform not the carrier. Amazon in many cases has it's own drivers so when you order something it comes locally or closer than other locations. When dealing with Ebay you are buying from random sellers so they can be scattered across the United States or the World. Coast to coast shipping can take 7 to 10 days to get to you. This is been documented already. As far as customer service what are you expecting them to do in this situation? They will just repeat what the tracking number says and only knows the same information you would already know. They can't take any action. They would advise you to wait 1 day after the estimated delivery date which then you can file a case. Yes you would be correct it takes a long time to receive anything internationally as well as prices have gone up.
redmodelt
·Aug 11, 2026 at 3:43 PMNothing you have listed except customer service as issues has anything to do with eBay, that is all carrier related and out of eBays control.
Customer service can NOT help with shipping cost or travel times.
eBay is not the seller just the platform sellers use to connect with buyers like placing an ad in a newspaper.
novascotiacollector
OPAug 11, 2026 at 6:55 PMyou are wrong I've looked into this many times . Ebay sets international rates not the seller
shire123
·Aug 11, 2026 at 7:35 PM · EditedWhile I haven't sold internationally in a while, when I did I set the shipping rates. I'm sure it's the same with regular selling. Ebay is just the selling platform. The seller sets the shipping rates depending on the carrier used.
So are you saying ebay sets customs rates and each rate for shipping with various carriers?
If I wanted to I could set free shipping. Ebay didn't do that.
redmodelt
·3 weeks ago · EditedeBay does NOT set the rates. You can Google or search Reddit for all the crackpot post you want, still does not make it true.
fm2000
·3 weeks agoIf a seller is using EIS to ship internationally, technically eBay does set the shipping rate.
redmodelt
·3 weeks ago · EditedHow so? Shipping to the ESI forwarder is at domestic USA carrier rates, after that it would be at whatever rates/fees are charged/accessed by the receiving country which are paid by the buyer to get the item from the forwarder to them. The domestic rates are what the USA seller receives/ sees. eBay has negotiated for lower rates on the domestic side but that is under contract with the carrier for the lower cost and is what the seller pays for shipping.
fabrics24
·Aug 11, 2026 at 3:29 PMWhoa! You should definitely go use Amazon then!
novascotiacollector
OPAug 11, 2026 at 6:53 PMdid you read my post ? I do use Amazon at every opertunity
fabrics24
·3 weeks agoI sure did! In fact, I'm confused why you're here since you hate it so much.
novascotiacollector
OP3 weeks agoyes you are confused , there is help for that
fabrics24
·3 weeks agoWhy do you hang out somewhere you hate so much, if you don't mind me asking?
novascotiacollector
OP3 weeks agoI do mind you asking