Did I mess up with this auction?

[tedster99]

I'm selling some of my parents stuff, in this case a nice if pedestrian Canon AE-1 film camera (remember those?). I decided to allow for the Global Shipping program. I've heard different things on this, not all of them good, from a seller's perspective. This morning a few bids came in from someone in Singapore, with 0 feedback. Maybe this is all on the up and up, but I dunno. 

Should I not have done that?

[monica-sells]

"...I've heard different things on this, not all of them good, from a seller's perspective..."

In response to this, I offer this perspective. How many sellers are actually going to post how "well" things are going with GSP.  Not near as many (if any) as sellers that had an issue. There are probably thousands per day that go off without a hitch. If you have 2 complaints out of 1000 thats a pretty good percentage of completed deliveries without incident. 

My personal experiences are all good with GSP (Global Shipping)...

As always, be comfortable with any item you sell and be willing to 'lose' it without hardship....that seems to be a mantra for some sellers.....

[tedster99]

Good point, we tend to only hear the complaints, not the smooth sailing. I try to get a sense of how certain categories are handled - definitely, certain categories are prone to "abuse" for lack of a better term, than others, regardless of where they are sold.  So long as I get paid, and they don't try anything hinky, I guess it doesn't matter too much. But I've noticed some longtime sellers in certain specific categories never offer their wares for overseas shipping.

[robxznyc]

With GSP eBay provides shipping forwarding service and seller is spared from INR or damage claims. But as long as you buy shipping insurance you are equally covered for INR and damage risk. You'll have eBay seller protection against scams. There is no extra scam protection from using GSP.

[femmefan1946]

You have the right to cancel any bid. If Mr. Singapore makes you nervous, cancel his bid and Block him.

I believe you can also choose what countries you will ship to with the GSP and Block any others.

As a non-US (Canadian ) member, if I bought from you, the GSP charges I pay would include Canadian duty and sales taxes, plus a small (~$5) service fee.

This is not an advantage for me, except that I won't have to pay those import fees when the purchase arrives.

You are protected against the Customs scam, where the buyer claims INR, and after winning and being refunded, picks up the purchase at the Customs office paying only duty and possibly sales taxes

However, because the GSP does this, the shipping appears to be high and some buyers have a hissy fit about that.

From your perspective as a seller, you have protection against Item Not Received disputes after the shipment is accepted at the GSP plant and damage in shipping. These are dealt with by the GSP.

You are still responsible for Not As Described disputes.

[tedster99]

OK, I'll try to digest that. Seems to me, I only need insurance to cover it to the location in Kentucky? Do they open the parcels there and re-pack them, or??

A related question is whether Postal insurance is additive. For example a priority mail small FRB is automatically insured to $100 - if I want to cover a $500 item, will buying $400 be enough? As a practical matter I don't think the rates differ too much at those price points, but wondered about that. It all adds up.

[robxznyc]

If there is no damage to the packaging GSP doesn't repackage your shipment.

Yes, you can buy insurance to over $400 in your example. 

[tedster99]

@robxznyc when you mention "shipping insurance" - you are referring to a different kind of insurance? I noticed eBay offers insurance through a third party, a little less expensive than USPS insured. But I think you're talking about something else entirely?

[robxznyc]

No, I wasn't talking about the same shipping insurance. I prefer third party shipping insurance over that offered by the shipping carrier because of lower rate and easier, faster claiming process. I don't use eBay labels for international shipping though. 

[pennpicker]

Looks good. Don't forget, you can click on their ID in the bid history for more info. In this instance your bidder has bid, or is bidding, on numerous film camera auctions. Doesn't look fishy to me. I've used GSP selectively in the past with good results and would use it again.

Only thing I'd recommend is, if you have more lenses to sell, is to photograph the ends with the caps off.

[pinkryder123]

I wouldn't worry about it. I use the GSP, and sell to buyers with 0 feedback. So far, no issues. And have gotten positive feedback from those buyers.  Any issue could just as easily happen with domestic sales and buyers with high feedback. So no point in worrying about it. 🙂

[tedster99]

Wait.

I can see what other stuff a user is bidding on? Why wasn't I informed of this!? 🙂

[femmefan1946]

Do they open the parcels there and re-pack them, or??

This is a persistent urban myth which does not meet the basic criterion of common sense.

How long do you think it would take a worker to open, inspect and repack a shipment?

How much would his wages be for that time?
The KY minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, or 12c a minute. If repacking takes 10 minutes then GSPs costs for processing just cost them an additional $1.20 to add to their overheads and shipping costs.

Does that sound likely to you?

I have had a package opened back in the early days of the program. There was no reason given for this, possibly it was that many books are actually printed in Hong Kong which has a different duty schedule than imports from the USA. The book (trade paperback 20"x15"x 0.5" ) was repacked in a 30"x16"x 4" carton and a letter on eBay letterhead included.

[tedster99]

Well we can probably go on all day about things that don't make any sense!

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

---

@tedster99 wrote:

I'm selling some of my parents stuff, in this case a nice if pedestrian Canon AE-1 film camera (remember those?). I decided to allow for the Global Shipping program. I've heard different things on this, not all of them good, from a seller's perspective. This morning a few bids came in from someone in Singapore, with 0 feedback. Maybe this is all on the up and up, but I dunno. 

Should I not have done that?

---

From a Canadian buyers perspective it makes shipping very expensive on low value smaller items. It also adds duty and taxes plus processing when in majority of cases it item moved entirely with USPS/CanPost those charges would not be applied.

There is an option on the GSP help page for removing the feature as 1 of from a listing. That piece of info is not really advertised much by eBay. As for shipping to outside of N. America GSP may be more useful/safer from a sellers perspective.

-Lotz