eBay

aramatic · ‎01-29-2019

The Global Shipping Program is one of the worst things to happen to eBay, at least from my perspective as a Canadian buyer of US items. First off, there is the built-in slow progress, whereby an item to be sent, say, from Seattle, Washington to Vancouver, BC (across the border) travels from Seattle to Erlanger, KY, is repacked there, sent to Mississauga, ON (3000 miles from BC), is repacked there, and finally sent to its destination. A make-work program if ever there was one, and along the way Pitney-Bowes pockets so-called "import charges" that are never collected for items of moderate value crossing the border. And as if this weren't bad enough, we're never even told what the import charges are until checkout! An item selling for $15 plus $11 for shipping then gets something like $6 slapped on only after the commitment to purchase. This is really stupid. The whole program is a disincentive to bid on smaller items.

lintbrush* · ‎01-29-2019

They are not pocketing the import charges.

While your postal system may not choose to collect them for low priced items as the administrative costs would outweigh the gain, PB isn't shipping an item at a time. They send pallets of shipments. They have a manifest of all the shipments, their value, and the associated import charges. PB wouldn't be able to do business with the Canadian gov't if they didn't remit the fees. If your gov't doesn't want to enforce their own laws on themselves, that's their choice, but PB can't do that.

Don't know why they'd be re-packed in ON, but that could be the main receiving hub for the shipping company.

I do agree with you that GSP isn't a great fit for Canadian buyers of inexpensive/lightweight items, but a big part of that is due to your gov't's low threshold for import charges.

7606dennis · ‎01-30-2019

While it is true that the GSP program may not be desirable to many buyers, especially those in Canada, it remains that it may be the only way that some sellers are willing to sell internationally. So I would suggest that buyers that dislike the GSP program take care not to purchase from sellers that are using it.

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

deb-lon · ‎01-30-2019

It's pretty hard to avoid the GSP when it's attached to 90% of the items available....

I have no problem paying whats owed at customs. The problem comes in when PB refuses to combine shipping on separate items purchased from the same seller. When you have to pay for shipping AND their brokerage fee on each item, instead of the single package they receive, it brings shipping/import fees to astronomical levels.

aramatic · ‎02-02-2019

The fact remains that GSP is slow. I don't see why sellers default to it when they're only shipping to Canada. It's just as easy to create a USPS postage label online, which is cheaper and is a faster service with none of the travelling to different PItney-Bowes sorting facilities. I think some sellers forget that anyone can search up postal rates online. A small item that I've seen with a shipping cost of $21 plus "import charges" (usually about $6) through GSP could be sent directly by USPS as a First Class International Package for $10.50.

pjcdn2005 · ‎02-02-2019

@deb-lon

If you put gsp items from the same seller in the cart and pay for them all at one time, the shipping cost is combined. You usually end up paying less in import charges as well because you aren't paying a bunch of separate handling fees.

deb-lon · ‎02-03-2019

I read through the GSP rules and what you see in your cart at time of checkout WILL BE what you're going to be charged for shipping. There is no option for combining shipping. To prove my point of the ridiculousness of this I put 4 very small items into my cart, all from the same seller and the cost of shipping is astronomical. These 4 small items can very easily be put into 1 small package. Yes, they removed the import fees as they should have because there will be no charge at customs for these items. Shipping cost is a complete and utter rip off. (see screen shot) There is NO WAY it's going to cost this much to ship a small package unless they are going to overnight it to me but I'd be lucky to see the package in under 2 weeks.

richard1rst · ‎02-03-2019

@aramatic wrote:
The fact remains that GSP is slow. I don't see why sellers default to it when they're only shipping to Canada.

On that note I just had a buyer email me to say she wanted to buy 3 items but NOT if they were going GSP. I assured her it would go USPS Priority Mail (over 4 pounds) with the shipping cost combined and discounted. She was happy and placed the order.

In other words GSP would have cost me a multi-item sale.

zaszzy · ‎05-13-2019

Your reply only addresses the issue of import fees. The fact remains that the GSP is both slow and expensive. Not only does it reroute items back and forth causing delays as the original commentor says but GSP is slow to process items at its' center. I have an item that arrived Thursday at 7 AM that didn't leave there until Monday afternoon. I purchased the item 1 week ago and it hasn't even left the US yet!

zanadoo_56 · ‎05-14-2019

It's slow and expensive to Australia too. GSP is described as a Priority Service. It's anything but. Your purchase skates about the US for who knows how long. You eventually get a PB tracking number.

The parcel is then handed over to FedEx where their own labelling describes the leval of service as 'Economy'. In other words cheap. You then get a FedE tracking number. After nothing happens for a while you finally get a message to say....it has finally left the US. Arrgghh! If the item had been sent by USPS 1st Class International with eDelcon it would have been in Oz by now.

Finally FedEx AU says it is in Oz. And there it sits at customs or something. FedEx asks for your full name. You send them the details. Nothing happens. eBay GSP division a week later asks for your full name, your 'new email address and new contact number' which they must send to FedEx. There is NO new email or phone number to send...and FedEx already has my name in full (which it turns out is more than they require).

Eventually the parcel gets through customs (or where ever it was) and FedEx AU promptly hands the parcel over....to Australia Post to deliver. I get a new AP tracking number. Thank God for that because Aust Post is probably the one link in this convoluted chain that usually knows what they are doing. My purchase finally arrives and AP confirms it by email.

Sellers with lower value non heavy items.....you can use the GSP to Australia...and lose sales. Or you can use USPS 1st Class International with eDelcon with ONE tracking number that can be followed on the USPS site and then (same tracking number remember) can be tracked on the Aust Post site right up to delivery. Also buyers are not paying a fee that PB charges for administering (?) the GST charge. The postal service is faster, it's cheaper and I've never had a hold up at customs. In my experience the choice is a no brainer.

fabologist · ‎05-14-2019

I like the GSP, but how about import fees that are over 145% of the price of the item? Item was $69.30, and the buyer was charged $97.32 just for the import fees to Brazil. Seems excessive.

soh.maryl · ‎05-14-2019

In that case, isn't your issue with the country that charges those excessive import fees and not the GSP/Pitney Bowes or eBay?

jump.for.joy · ‎05-14-2019

@aramatic wrote:
.... And as if this weren't bad enough, we're never even told what the import charges are until checkout! An item selling for $15 plus $11 for shipping then gets something like $6 slapped on only after the commitment to purchase. ...

If you are bidding on an auction item, the import fees are shown on the screen where you place your bid.

If you are buying a fixed-price item, just put it into your cart, and then you can go to the checkout page and see what the import charges will be before you commit to buy it.

I agree that GSP is not appropriate for some smaller items, especially between the US and Canada. But if you don't want to use it or pay import charges, then you need to find another seller. Many sellers won't ship internationally any other way because there is too much potential for fraud, so GSP does make items available to yourthat otherwise would not be available. It's your choice if you want to buy those items or not.

I buy items from the UK with GSP shipping all the time, and I prefer it to the other shipping options. It is just as fast, costs about the same, and has tracking available, which items shipped by Royal Mail usually don't. So the program is not stupid just because you don't like it.

suncatchers-and-more · ‎05-14-2019

My work around is to have the buyer contact me. I take the items and relist as a batch. Then when my international buyer pays I cancel the other items. It is a hassel and takes time but saves my buyer money. I don't cancel the other items until they have paid as I have had buyers say it's too expensive no matter what I do to try to help.

lamber9347 · ‎05-14-2019

@richard1rst wrote:
On that note I just had a buyer email me to say she wanted to buy 3 items but NOT if they were going GSP. I assured her it would go USPS Priority Mail (over 4 pounds) with the shipping cost combined and discounted. She was happy and placed the order.

In other words GSP would have cost me a multi-item sale.

Thank you, I did something very similar recently. A buyer wrote that she was interested in six different items from me, all lightweight items but totalling a very nice amount for me. She was in Spain. I told her to place them all in her cart and it would combine them but it did not. No matter what she tried the system would charge her separately. I also tried to combine them on my end but the system rejected it because the buyer was using GSP. She wrote that she simply couldn't pay that much in shipping- which I couldn't blame her. I was about to lose out on six different sales and a nice amount for me- it would have made a months sales for me.

So I canceled each listing and created one new listing for all six items. Placed a BIN price which was the sum of each original price, but I placed a realistic shipping amount combining them. She purchased, I even included an additional free item for her troubles. She loved them all and appreciated the extra. Left me the best FB ever.

Now that is customer service at it's best!!....