eBay

doug_5857 · ‎04-06-2023

I dont understand why I have to sign up for something I don't use, need, or want. Here is my pleasant invitation.

Dear doug_5857,

Over the next few weeks you will be automatically enrolled into eBay International Shipping, a new program designed to make the process of international selling and shipping more convenient and cost-effective.

eBay International Shipping retains all the elements of the eBay Global Shipping Program and eBay international standard delivery, and provides these additional features:

eBay handles returns. If a buyer wishes to return an item, eBay will provide them with a return label and issue a refund, at no cost to you. The seller keeps the sale.
No international selling fees. There are no international selling fees on items sent through the eBay international Shipping program.
Once enrolled, your new listings will automatically default to eBay International Shipping and any existing Global Shipping Program listings will be automatically updated.
If you have existing listings with eBay international standard delivery or USPS international as shipping options, you will need to manually update those to receive the benefits offered through the new eBay International Shipping program. We have developed step-by-step guides for this manual update process for single, bulk, and My eBay listings. Watch a video or download a How-to guide.
Learn more about eBay International Shipping.

Thank you for selling on eBay,

Your Selling Team

marnotom! · ‎04-06-2023

@doug_5857 wrote:

I have NO interest in selling or shipping international!!!!!

While eBay sellers can decide where they ship to, they can't decide on whom they sell to. Even if you don't use eBay International Shipping, a buyer from outside the USA can purchase your item and have it sent to a forwarding agent within the US for pickup or forwarding.

If you decide to make your items available to non-US buyers this way, you'll be charged an "international fee" on top of your usual MP fees for the sale. At least with eBay International Shipping, the international fee will be waived, and I believe your FVF won't be charged on the taxes they may pay, either. (Someone correct me on that if I'm wrong.)

At any rate, it sounds as though at the moment, eIS's shipping charges may make your items too rich for most non-US collectors' blood, so the point may be moot.

dbfolks166mt · ‎04-06-2023

Actually if you go to:

https://www.ebay.com/ship/prf

You will be presented with a page of preferences. At the top is EIS. Click edit, opt out and in my case I used as the reason that I already have an international program in place. I didn't tell them (because they didn't ask) but I prefer Pirateship Asendia. It is cheaper, less restrictive on what I can ship and Proof of Delivery is kept forever, not just 90 days like eBay. I have seen comments from some posters that eBay is intercepting what otherwise would be perfectly legal products.

Thank you for including this information it is something I should have put in my initial response. When I first read about EIS I got the feeling that unless you opted out of the program you were going to be automatically and unilaterally enrolled in the program. While it professes to offer some nice seller protections those have yet to be proven, as does the sub contractors ability to handle the program, and the restrictions keep changing. Initially it was for BIN listings only. The move makes perfect sense from eBay's perspective given that according to their last financial report over 50% of their revenue is now from international transactions.

Like you I have read several posts on this forum from sellers who have been transitioned where the bots that were applying the restrictions and figuring out what countries to include or exclude on the sellers listings were making some serious errors. This does not bode well for the kickoff of a new venture.

richard1rst · ‎04-06-2023

@marnotom! wrote:
@doug_5857 wrote:

I have NO interest in selling or shipping international!!!!!
While eBay sellers can decide where they ship to, they can't decide on whom they sell to. Even if you don't use eBay International Shipping, a buyer from outside the USA can purchase your item and have it sent to a forwarding agent within the US for pickup or forwarding.

Well, in that case you are not actually shipping internationally so EIS does not come into play. AND once it is delivered to the freight forwarded your job is considered done. If the forwarder screws up the delivery from there you are protect against and INR complaint.

If you decide to make your items available to non-US buyers this way, you'll be charged an "international fee" on top of your usual MP fees for the sale. At least with eBay International Shipping, the international fee will be waived, and I believe your FVF won't be charged on the taxes they may pay, either. (Someone correct me on that if I'm wrong.)

Yes you will pay a 1.65% fee (a $1.65 on a $100.00 sales for instance). I have seen posts complain about that and I don't really get it. In exchange for 1.65% you are making a sale you would not otherwise make. Surely it is better to receive
A) a profitable sale less 1.65% versus
B) No sale and NO profit.
In any event this has nothing to do with EIS since you are not actually SHIPPING internationally.

At any rate, it sounds as though at the moment, eIS's shipping charges may make your items too rich for most non-US collectors' blood, so the point may be moot.

That presupposes that no one internationally has extra money to burn. I had a buyer recently in Australia buy a novelty license plate with the Australian flag on it. The plate was $14.99. The shipping was an additional $20.00. I just had to wonder: Is there no place IN Australia to buy a novelty plate with the Australian flag on it for less than $35.00?

"Laissez-faire capitalism (AKA The Great Material Continuum) is the only social system based on the recognition of individual rights and, therefore, the only system that bans force from social relationships." ~ Ayn Rand

dbfolks166mt · ‎04-06-2023

While eBay sellers can decide where they ship to, they can't decide on whom they sell to. Even if you don't use eBay International Shipping, a buyer from outside the USA can purchase your item and have it sent to a forwarding agent within the US for pickup or forwarding.

But you can decide whom you sell to and I have. The EIS program is doing the same thing in some respects. There are certain countries that I will not sell to due to risk or for other reasons regardless of whether the buyer uses a FF or not. I am familiar with most of the FF's and recognize the addresses and I have canceled orders for problem with the buyers address based on the buyers registered address FF or not. While eBay frowns on this and I have only done it a couple of times in the last xx years the bottom line is it is my merchandise and my risk.

So it appears the EIS program has one set of rules but the rules for FF's are different. Go figure. This is what EIS restricts. FYI they keep changing these without notice. Initially it was restricted to just BIN items and the max value was $500. They have removed both of those along with a couple of other things that I don't remember. Interesting that the shipping restrictions are far less than what most carriers limit packages to.

Getting started with the eBay International Shipping program

To sell through the eBay International Shipping program, the following requirements apply:

Seller rating of Above Standard or higher
Items are physically located in the US and listed on eBay.com
Items are eligible for export and the cost doesn't exceed $2500 USD
Packages should not exceed:
- 44lbs. billable weight for every country except Canada (maximum billable weight for Canada is 66lbs.)
- 42 inches in length, 79 inches in length + girth (girth = 2 x width + 2 x height)

Due to export limitations and restrictions, items listed in the following categories also can't be shipped with eBay International Shipping:

Any category or items containing Radium or other radioactive materials
Business & Industrial > Heavy Equipment & Attachments
Collectibles > Knives, Swords & Blades (over 4 inches)
eBay Motors > Airbags, Used Parts, AC Refrigerant
Electronics > Standalone Lithium Batteries (not inside or with a device)
Electronics > High-power Lithium Battery devices (over 100 watt-hour)
Health & Beauty > Fragrances (Flammable Perfumes & Cologne)
Jewelry > High value (over $2500)
Personal Security > Pepper Spray, Stun Guns, Handcuffs
Sporting Goods > Other (CO2 Cartridges, Firearm Parts, Laser Scopes)
Stamps, Coins & Paper Money > Prohibited to China

ittybitnot · ‎04-06-2023

I dont understand why I have to sign up for something I don't use, need, or want.

@doug_5857

According to the message you received, you don't even have to sign up....eBay is going to perhaps "auto enroll" you so there is no need to sign up. No need to bother yourself or waste time to volunteer. Rather you have to scuffle and check/redo/check your listings and your preferences to only ship to the US, and hope they stick when your 'enrollment' is applied.

Having been here since 1998, eBay has often used the super secret enrollment procedure for various programs that were quite unpopular when first introduced and did not have enough volunteers. It is only natural to be wary here when eBay says something is 'good for you' from a historical prospective.

richard1rst · ‎04-06-2023

Getting started with the eBay International Shipping program
Packages should not exceed:
44lbs. billable weight for every country except Canada (maximum billable weight for Canada is 66lbs.)
42 inches in length, 79 inches in length + girth (girth = 2 x width + 2 x height)

Which is a further negative towards EIS. The USPS will ship to MANY countries packages up to 60" long and a girth of 108" as well as flat rate boxes which are of course a benefit for heavy items.. The EIS is silent on FRB so are we to assume they are not available through EIS.

"Laissez-faire capitalism (AKA The Great Material Continuum) is the only social system based on the recognition of individual rights and, therefore, the only system that bans force from social relationships." ~ Ayn Rand

chapeau-noir · ‎04-06-2023

Oh geez - if I want to go back to shipping internationally I can just do it myself, like I've always done (stopped during pandemic). Hopefully this wouldn't interfere with that.

Hell is empty. And all the devils are here.

mozartbach1971 · ‎04-06-2023

Can someone tell me if this program is mandatory for anyone who ships internationally? I also received this message saying I will be enrolled in the program, however I prefer to ship internationally the way I do right now. I sell a lot of low cost items with low shipping charges to international buyers and I think most buyers will no longer buy my items if they have to pay a lot more in shipping.

reallynicestamps · ‎04-06-2023

eBay handles returns. If a buyer wishes to return an item, eBay will provide them with a return label and issue a refund, at no cost to you. The seller keeps the sale.

Many sellers who only sell domestically would LOVE to have eBay do this. The scammer demands a refund, eBay gives them a shipping label at eBay's expense and the seller keeps the payment.

No international selling fees. There are no international selling fees on items sent through the eBay international Shipping program.

Many sellers who only sell domestically would LOVE to have eBay do this. The buyer who is using a non-US card or who is temporarily in the USA (like all us Canadian snowbirds wintering in Florida or Nevada) currently cost sellers this percentage without realizing it.

reallynicestamps · ‎04-06-2023

A particular concern, which buyers have not yet noticed, is that eIS does not charge import fees in advance, unlike the GSP. Although this sounds like nothing, it can mean a lot to a Canadian buyer paying out on the doorstep. Even worse is if the delivery is non-postal, where "customs brokerage fees" have been a source of outrage for decades.

However it means that the high shipping fee is ONLY for shipping, while the GSP often lumped shipping costs and import fees together confusingly.

To prevent this, eBay will have to start requiring dimensions, weight, and category/description be stated on any listing that might sell internationally. Without that the eIS robots are making some fascinating and expensive choices when calculating the buyer's costs.

mozartbach1971 · ‎04-06-2023

You will be presented with a page of preferences. At the top is EIS. Click edit, opt out and in my case I used as the reason that I already have an international program in place. I didn't tell them (because they didn't ask) but I prefer Pirateship Asendia. It is cheaper, less restrictive on what I can ship and Proof of Delivery is kept forever, not just 90 days like eBay. I have seen comments from some posters that eBay is intercepting what otherwise would be perfectly legal products.

richard1rst

Did you say this will allow me to opt out of the program and still allow me to ship internationally the way I currently do?

s.

buyselljack2016 · ‎04-06-2023

@mozartbach1971

It is not "mandatory". "

just be sure to double check to be sure you have not been "opted in".

If you have been, then "opt out", an press on as usual.

It is the "replacement for "GSP" which was also not mandatory.

mozartbach1971 · ‎04-06-2023

Where do I go to check? I clicked the link that richard1rst gave, however it took me to a shipping calculator.

mozartbach1971 · ‎04-06-2023

I went to my shipping preferences and it is saying Enrolled. If I click opt out will I no longer have the ability to ship items internationally? Can I still ship international the way I'm doing now, without the Ebay program?