01-17-2023 10:28 AM
I sold an item and for the first time became aware of the Ebay global shipping program when I realized the buyer was in Canada but the shipping destination was Kentucky (and the long est delivery date/payout date!)
I don't necessarily mind the GSP process, but having noticed far more questions and complaints than glowing positive reviews, it's left me a little uneasy. What I'm curious about at the moment is why, since I'm in the US and the item is only going to Canada, is it estimated to take 3-4 weeks to arrive! It took a week to get to and finally leave Kentucky, but now the estimate is another two weeks to get to the destination in Canada! Two weeks??
Since this is my first experience with GSP, I'm curious if this is normal for things to take two weeks to go from anywhere in the US to Canada? And/or do the advantages of GSP outweigh simply shipping it USPS directly and trying to beat a 3-4 week span?
Thanks...
01-19-2023 07:34 AM
I share your frustration.
Normally, the stated delivery time from any location in the US to Canada, when initially stopping in Erlanger, KY is normally two weeks or sooner. They have always overstated the delivery time to make allowances for screw ups, log jams etc.
More recently an order I placed on the 8th Dec., did show up on the 21rst of Dec. Two weeks. But now I've got three orders, on the 2nd, the 8th and the 9th of January not yet received. The one on the second, was sent USPS and movement stopped altogether on the 8th, according to USPS website. Ebay then reposted the tracking number that indicated a handoff to a Swiss carrier, operating in Canada, but the site does not acknowledge having received the item. This kind of confusion during a season where volumes are low, defies explanation and Ebay isn't offering one!
The other two on the 8th and 9th have been handed off to Canada Customs and then to a local carrier that is new to this Global Shipping system. That firm's tracking site has been down for maintenance for nearly a week, and an alternate tracking site that works with the numbers Ebay issues, indicates it hasn't moved an inch since Canada Customs released the items for delivery. This new firm's tracking information on previous packages was as best as I could tell, handled by small children. None of the arrival, in transit and out for delivery information was valid. Then after another week of waiting with no tracking updates, suddenly a beat up van full of kids and their mother show up and dump the packages off on the door step. They couldn't skedaddle out of here fast enough!
These outstanding deliveries from this month, apparently are stuck in neutral....somewhere. But with each of them the stated Ebay delivery window is still over a week away, so either they factored in some unannounced internal changes that result in delays, or they revised the on-line delivery date quietly, unbeknownst to me.
Global Shipping used to be a fast, reliable and convenient way to move goods from the US to doorsteps in Canada. Right now, you cannot even contact an Ebay rep either in Chat, or on the phone to complain. On chat, I was hung up on. And a promised return phone call did not happen, but an email claiming that I didn't answer the phone did arrive. Nonsense.
If there is some transition going on here, I will not be a guinea pig for the foreseeable future. I'll just restrict my purchases to Canadian sources.
01-19-2023 07:49 AM
I never sell outside the US because delivery takes too long and there might be laws and taxes in the other country that I am not aware of. If the buyer lives in another country and has a US address you should send it directly to the US address. This way you won't even need GSP