eBay

mikeysquirrel · ‎07-06-2019

I know this has been brought up time and time again but as a long time Canadian eBay customer, sellers who use this program are alienating all International customers. It is a stupidly unnecessary program that only benefits eBay and Pitney Bowes. As a seller, you do not save or gain any extra money from using this. As a buyer from outside the US, we pay at least twice as much in shipping and it takes longer to arrive plus it adds unnecessary import charges. It's no extra work for you to ship it directly to your customers than to the shipping center. All they do there is repackage it (sometimes in worse condition) then sends it. It's just another way for eBay to gouge more money from us. And I know eBay automatically makes it part of your shipping procedure unless otherwise you say no. It IS an option but don't feel obliged to use it. and I know I'm not the only Canadian customer who will not buy from anyone who uses global Shipping. If you want to cater only to US customers then by all means continue using it, otherwise please don't use this God awful stupid program.

gagnon234 · ‎07-06-2019

When preparing my listings, I either want to open it up to international shipping (not w/ Global Shipping) or I choose no international shipping. The problem is once it automatically relists, it kicks it back to Global. I can't tell you how many times I've had buyers ask if I would ship to them direct. I check the listing and sure enough, it's set for Global. I unclick Global, tell the buyer how much shipping will be and we're both happy. All that to say this . . . you might want to contact the seller directly if you're interested in an item. They might not realize they're set up for Global especially now that Good Til Cancelled has replaced 30 day listings.

lintbrush* · ‎07-06-2019

While it's not always a good fit for Canadian buyers because of your country's low duty/tax threshold, I won't list many of my items for international purchase without it.

I'd rather lose an international buyer than lose a $200-$300 item.

mikeysquirrel · ‎07-06-2019

Unfortunately some sellers swear by global Shipping and thinks they are better off using it rather than shipping directly. I've asked several sellers if they can not use it and I swear it was like asking them not to breathe anymore. I don't get it, again it's not saving them money or making a difference on how they ship. All it's doing is giving them less opportunities to sell. Oh well, their loss...

mikeysquirrel · ‎07-06-2019

and how exactly do you lose that much money by not using global Shipping? All you're getting is what you're charging regardless of how you ship it.

comics-scifi-collectibles · ‎07-06-2019

@mikeysquirrel The reason some sellers, especially ones that sell breakable or expensive items use the GSP is because the GSP pays the claim if the item is damaged or late arriving.

If the item is held up at customs ( not as likely with Canada) then a buyer can file an item not received refund request one day after the last estimated delivery date and the seller would have to refund if it doesn't arrive before the extra few days that ebay allows. No postal insurance will cover this but the GSP does

If the item is damaged in shipped again the GSP refunds the buyer. The seller keeps the original payment and doesn't have to fight the post service on an insurance claim for a package that the manhandled.

As frustrating as it is for buyers you can see why some sellers use it. Also new sellers use it because they can not sell internationally themselves until they have a feedback score of at least 10

Personally I have not used the GSP but the few times I did ship more expensive items internationally I shipped them using priority EXPRESS which has better tracking and is in the mail stream for a shorter period of time so it is less likely to be damaged in shipping.

Comics-scifi_collectibles Volunteer Community Mentor
Member since 2003

joesoucie22012 · ‎07-06-2019

Well said......

lintbrush* · ‎07-06-2019

@mikeysquirrel wrote:
and how exactly do you lose that much money by not using global Shipping? All you're getting is what you're charging regardless of how you ship it.

My liability stops after it safely reaches the domestic hub.

A buyer cannot complain/refuse to pay import fees once it gets to their country and then I'm stuck. I am not liable for loss or damage during the international leg.

I don't know if it happens as much any more but there were plenty of posts regarding buyers who would open an INR while the item is sitting at customs because they didn't want to pay the duties. Then, once refunded, they'd run over and pick up their item.

And, for heavier items, the GSP actually has very competitive rates... often better than I can get with USPS directly. I've compared several times. Sometimes what I would have to charge shipping directly is the same amount that the GSP charges in total (shipping & import fees).

So if someone doesn't want to buy from me because of the GSP, that's their choice, but I'm not going to risk it with expensive/fragile/heavier items.

If a Canadian buyer asks me about direct shipment, I do consider it (and have done it several times), but it's really on a case by case basis. I've even shipped items there that I was offering internationally at all.

lamber9347 · ‎07-06-2019

@comics-scifi-collectibles wrote:
@mikeysquirrel The reason some sellers, especially ones that sell breakable or expensive items use the GSP is because the GSP pays the claim if the item is damaged or late arriving.

If the item is held up at customs ( not as likely with Canada) then a buyer can file an item not received refund request one day after the last estimated delivery date and the seller would have to refund if it doesn't arrive before the extra few days that ebay allows. No postal insurance will cover this but the GSP does

If the item is damaged in shipped again the GSP refunds the buyer. The seller keeps the original payment and doesn't have to fight the post service on an insurance claim for a package that the manhandled.

I have to agree. I do sell to Int'l buyers and I always use the GSP. For all the reasons above and a few more. To the OP, while it is frustrating to pay more for shipping you have to realize you are purchasing items from regular sellers and not a business. Once the item is shipped it is out of our hands and at the mercy of the postal service.

I'm not even concerned about damages in shipping as I pack like the carrier is going to use the box as a football. My main concern is the package being "lost in the mail" or a stolen package once it is in fact delivered. This happens every single day, just read the posts on here if you haven't experienced a lost package.

Just two weeks ago I sold a small, yet expensive, item to someone who lives in France. As always I used GSP. I received a delivery confirmation. Buyer then wrote me, all in French, asking where his package is (I had to have his message translated). I was covered because I used GSP. Otherwise I would have had to refund him, lost my item, lost my money, had a bad mark against my account, etc. So why would I choose not to use GSP?

I am perfectly fine with losing a certain amount of buyers who don't want to pay the shipping or wait for GSP. I find there are enough buyers within the National market.

Best of luck to you....

slippinjimmy · ‎07-06-2019

@mikeysquirrel wrote:
and how exactly do you lose that much money by not using global Shipping? All you're getting is what you're charging regardless of how you ship it.

You lose money because all Canadians are thieves and Canada Post has terrible service!

On a serious note, I ship two-thirds of my orders Internationally and I would never use GSP because it would cost ME money to do so and would also be MORE expensive for my buyers.

The only real protection using GSP is against a fraudulent Not Received claim or a damaged in transit claim where the damage occurs AFTER it arrives at the GSP center in Kentucky. When shipping to Canada the chances of a fraudulent INR is pretty much nil because all USPS services to Canada include tracking.

GSP does have it's place for certain types of items (high value AND heavy) for everything else as you clearly know it's bad for both buyers and sellers.

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep

7606dennis · ‎07-06-2019

The GSP program came about because quite a few sellers had decided not to sell internationally because of problems shipping to buyers in other countries. Many of these problems arose from international buyers trying to get sellers to help them evade paying their country's duties and import taxes among other issues. The sellers simply decided to solve the problem by selling only domestically.

Of course, eBay got together with P-B to develop a program that the sellers would accept for selling internationally without the problems. The GSP program is what they came up with and it is strictly voluntary on the part of the seller. The alternative would have been that most of those sellers would simply continued to not ship internationally. So it is a matter of buyers being able to buy from the sellers using the program or being limited to only those seller's items that didn't use the program.

If Canadian buyers do not like the program, they are free to not purchase from sellers that use it.

"It is an intelligent man that is aware of his own ignorance."

mopata · ‎07-06-2019

If an item is under 4 lbs. and will fit in a box that is under the size restriction for 1st Class, I often offer 1st Class to Canada IF it is not too pricey (under $50, or so) and not fragile. Otherwise, it is Global Shipping only.

ozarkjoe · ‎07-06-2019

I had some bad experiences early on when I thought it might be $20 to ship and then turned out to be $40. GSP puts my mind at ease since I don't have to worry about the final price.

Maybe I will change for Canada, we shall see.