Global Shipping Program charges are so high, I feel bad sometimes.

[inhawaii]

I just sold a $8 bag of candy to a buyer in London.

$8 candy

$6 shipping

$23.33 Global Shipping Program

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$37.33

$37.33 for 4 ounces of candy. 

I appreciate the international sale. I appreciate ebay doing all the work.  I would never offer international shipping if i had to ship the items myself. 

Sometimes i feel bad that the charges are so high but then i tell myself ... the buyer knows up front what they are paying when they make their purchase.  They decided to go ahead with the purchase.

Any thoughts on this?

[mebuck1234]

I had a potential buyer in New Zealand ( I'm in the US) ask for a shipping quote for a few really inexpensive magazines ($10.) Shipping with tracking brought the total up to almost $80 ( This was long before GSP). I gave him the info and suggested that it might be worth it considering the high shipping. His response was he was used to paying high shipping- kind of a "it is what it is" attitude. He was happy to get the magazines.

[a_c_green]

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@inhawaii wrote:

Any thoughts on this?

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GSP is a ripoff for lighter and less-expensive items, as your sale shows. You could drop that same item into a lightweight box or padded envelope and send it directly to the buyer in the UK yourself for significantly less as a First Class International shipment, which would also give you e-DELCON tracking and Delivery Confirmation. The lower total price will make your item much more appealing to international buyers without the GSP baggage to inflate the cost.

Labor-wise, there's really no difference in international vs. domestic shipping for this: you go through the Customs form on-line, which comes up automatically after you complete the usual eBay/PayPal Shipping form, and it will print automatically as part of the on-line shipping label. While I would not recommend selling something like a laptop or smartphone internationally, an $8 bag of candy is a low-risk/no-risk proposition.

[*madison]

Is there anything special about the candy?

I don't understand why a UK buyer would buy an $8 bag of candy from the US.

[totoro470]

a_c_green is right. GSP actually uses priority mail international, which is significantly more expensive for small items (under 2lbs). GSP is actually decently priced for larger items (4lbs+), sometimes cheaper than sending priority international yourself.

-You can turn off the GSP on a per item basis. What I do is implement GSP and then uncheck the box as I'm listing the smaller items. The thing to remember about turning GSP off is you lose a major barrier of protection- which is big if you consider many countries don't have tracking. If you turn GSP off, I suggest turning off pretty much every country except those that have international tracking. I've had several packages get "lost" in countries when I shipped worldwide. Google "USPS 252" or "E-USPS DELCON INTL" for a list of countries that are more dependable to send items to.

[a_c_green]

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@*madison wrote:

Is there anything special about the candy?

I don't understand why a UK buyer would buy an $8 bag of candy from the US.

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Candy is one of those things that can remind you of home. Also, some candies are made in regional variations that you can't get anywhere else. Check out the wild selection of KitKat bars that are made exclusively in Japan, for example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kit_Kats_in_Japan

[birdb_68]

I understand. I sold an item the buyer Greenland. Too many loopholes to jump thru to sell internationally. I ended up giving the buyer the item. Stuck a 1.15$ forever international stamp on it. Otherwise the shipping would surpass the item total.

[berserkerplanet]

>>GSP actually uses priority mail international, which is significantly more expensive for small items (under 2lbs).
>> GSP is actually decently priced for larger items (4lbs+), sometimes cheaper than sending priority international yourself.

IT DOES NOT! You need to stop repeating that misinformation. GSP does not use USPS Priority Mail International.

[sapphireseal]

Have you ever tried shipping internationally on your own?   It's actually really easy.  You print out the shipping with eBay's "Print Shipping" button.  You sign your name and date the postage page before attaching it to the package.  And that's literally it. 

And if you want the item insured and tracked, you can use Priority International mail.  It will probably still be cheaper for your buyer than the GSP (and will definitely be faster).  Personally, though, I use First Class International because I feel that potentially losing / refunding a couple items a year is worth it for the increase in sales.   (I've actually only had one package go astray in the past three years.)