Global Shipping Program Errors Extreme Price Increases Erratic Fluctuations

[speedway12xu]

About a week ago, several listings from multiple vendors that I have been watching, all coming from the UK and all using the GSP, suddenly increased their GSP shipping rates by over $100.  On average the shipping costs to the US for these items had been around $20. Then suddenly they were all over $120 for shipping. I contacted multiple sellers regarding this. They were unaware of the changes and had not manually initiated any changes to their shipping policies or details.  

Over the past week, the GSP shipping rates on these items have fluctuated from around $60 to $40. 

Additionally, when viewed from my watch list, each of these listings still shows the original GPS shipping fee from before the price increases, averaging around $20. But, when you go to the listing page the GSP shipping rate displayed is closer to $40. Over the past few days, I've added several of these listings to my cart to see what the shipping and total rate was... On several occasions, the shipping rate was again a different rate from what had been displayed on the listing page as well as from my watch list view. 

I have submitted a complaint to eBay and was told the issue would be looked into. I've also been on one of the UK community boards where someone from eBay claimed to have solved the issue. However, as I said, the GSP shipping rates still show around $20 in my watch list and around $40 on the listing page and in my cart. 

Is this still being addressed?

https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Seller-Central/Global-Shipping-Program-jumped-in-price-to-same-buyer... 

[wastingtime101]

There was a tech error about a week ago showing $90-100 costs. That was resolved.

The former $20 costs now replaced with $40 costs are due to tariffs @speedway12xu .

Read an article about it here:

https://www.valueaddedresource.net/ebay-uk-global-shipping-program-cost-to-us-skyrocket/

As for showing $20 on your watchlist and $40 in your cart - I have to believe that's an error not sorted yet. I believe @valueaddedresource tagged devon@ebay on another discussion about it.

For now my suggestion is anybody impacted should click the ? icon on the bottom right of their watchlist page and report the technical error.

[speedway12xu]

Thanks for the article.  

However, it contains zero evidence that the increased rates are due to tariffs. It only contains a screenshot of a conversation I was already a part of, in which marco@ebay suggests, again with zero evidence, that tariffs are to blame for increased shipping rates.  In an update on Feb 6, the author says, "Some sellers speculated the price increase may be due to tariffs and changes to de minimis eligibility enacted by President Trump this week but there have not been any specific tariffs that would impact the UK", and said nothing to refute that or explain otherwise since. 

Nobody, including Marco, has truly explained the increased GSP rates. 

[wastingtime101]

Read this:

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Sudden-dramatic-increase-in-global-shipping-price-after-winning...

[valueaddedresource]

I also noticed they have added this banner to the UK help and contact page sometime in the last couple days, so clearly they're getting a lot of questions about it:

@speedway12xu I understand that you are looking for some kind of proof beyond just eBay says that's it due to tariffs but unfortunately no one outside of eBay can give you that because we have no way to see what's actually going on in their systems or the "why" behind any changes they have made.

I also understand being skeptical because none of the recent tariff news has mentioned the UK specifically - however the changes that were announced early last week were broadly considered to have applied to all items with a Country of Origin of China, regardless of what country they are sold and shipped from.

Marketplaces (not just eBay) had to scramble to try to figure out what to do with that and how to make sure they and their sellers were in compliance - and part of that in the moment decision making process likely had to include figuring out what to do with items that didn't have country of origin information on the listing as well.

As I've said elsewhere, I'm not enough of an expert on the matter to be able to say one way or another whether eBay is handling it all correctly - the whole thing is a giant mess with multiple changes from the Trump Administration in a very short time and many marketplaces/shipping and logistics companies are struggling to figure it all out, so eBay is hardly alone in this.

That being said, all anyone can go on is the information at hand and I personally believe there is enough there to make eBay's statements that the changes in GSP prices (after the technical issue was resolved) were/are due to the tariff situation plausible enough to be accepted as most likely true until/unless additional info comes to light to the contrary.