Global Shipping Program. Is it a rip off?

[martinepittaway]

Global Shipping program provided by Pitney Bowes.

Pitney Bowes are manufacturers of business postage machines called franking machines (The franking machine calculates the correct postage automatically, which includes the Royal Mail discounted cost for franking machine users. Print. Insert envelope or label into the franking machines printer slot. Your mail will be franked with the correct postage, date, company logo or message, and unique code).

So what do Pitney Bowes know or understand about global logitics? They are not UPS or TNT. They are not FedEx.

So how and why did eBay choose Pitney Bowes.

It's certainly not Pitney Bowes who does the actual delivery work. Pitney Bowes has negotiated a very low rate with the normal courier companies.  And this is why we eBay users get a 2nd rate poorer than poor service at an extortionate cost.

Let alone that the cost shown on the listing increases at checkout.

International eBayers buying and selling outside of the USA, have no comeback whatsoever as International Trading law states that any complaint has to be made to the HQ of the company providing the service.

Check this out!

GSP Terms and Conditions. No.7

1. Payment and Program Fees. 
1. Accepted Payment Method. You must pay for GSP Items and applicable Program Fees using PayPal. Only item listings that offer PayPal as a payment method are eligible for GSP. Your use of the PayPal services is subject to the PayPal User Agreement and Privacy Policy between you and the PayPal entity that provides the PayPal services to you, including all applicable PayPal fees described in the PayPal User Agreement. 
2. Program Fees. The pricing that is displayed to you at checkout is inclusive of all shipping and import charges associated with the Services (“Program Fees”). More information about Program Fees may be found here.
3.  Payment Split. PayPal will split your payment for the GSP Item and Program Fees between your Seller and Pitney Bowes in the following manner as reflected within your Order Details page and in your PayPal account overview: 

1. Payment to your Seller: PayPal will transmit to your Seller’s PayPal account that portion of your payment consisting of the GSP Item price and the amount (if any) charged by your Seller to ship the GSP Item to the US or UK Shipping Center as applicable. 
2. Payment to Pitney Bowes: PayPal will transmit the balance of your payment to Pitney Bowes’s PayPal account (identifiable with the description “Pitney Bowes Inc.” or “Pitney Bowes Limited”). 

Now work out if you want to be a part of this total SCAM!

The Federal government are advising eBay buyers to complain about you the seller if there's a problem.

So eBay then BLACK mark you for a problem that's created by their partner.

Ebay sellers and buyers have no rights whatsoever. Have you ever tried to call the telephone number provided by eBay for Pitney Bowes unhappy Global SHipping customers?  24/7 the number reports the voice mail box is full.

Complain, Complain and Complain again and again and again to eBay, and maybe, just maybe, eBay will start to listen.

Go check out working with your seller/buyer not to use Global Shipping.  You might find the alternatives are better: and by a long way.

Put paid to the SCAM! called Global Shipping.  Today!

[emuwren1]

When this Global Shipping thing happened to me the first time I thought, "What the hell? I didn't put 'International Shipping' on any of my listings."  When it happened again, and I saw that the item had to go through Kentucky first----I thought, "Uh-oh. This is going to cost me, I bet."

Sure enough, I checked with PayPal and my sold item was going to some man in Australia and PayPal was charging me an extra $4.00. Rate of exchange or what?

I couldn't get to my settings page fast enough. I cancelled that stupid Global Shipping.  Why should I even have to do that? I never signed up for it in the first place. Yeah. SCAM.

Over the years, people have contacted me and asked me to ship an item overseas or to Canada or wherever. I figure out the postage and then warn them that it is going to cost them. Almost always, they want the item badly enough to pay through the nose for shipping. 

I can't say for sure, but I think when I ship something it gets there much sooner than if the sold item goes to Kentucky first. And what happens in Kentucky, I wonder? Does my careful packaging get fooled around with and repackaged?

No Global Shipping for me.

[martinepittaway]

Hi and thanks for your response.

We have to spread the word: pass it forward as the saying goes.

The only way eBay are goping to take notice is when it hurts them in their pocket.

We have to have a massive push on this rip off Global Shipping scam.

Please start by telling your friends and anyone else you know who uses eBay to start facebooking the message.

[robot-hands]

For sellers, especially for large, heavy, expensive or fragile items...a boon from heaven. I also find its uselfullness  in selling to countries where you think someone might have to slip thier postman a bribe to make sure they get mail.

For small inconsequential, low cost non-fragile items to Austrailia, most of Europe and Canada....it is cost prohibitive and not needed.

[martinepittaway]

Sorry but you clearly do not understand the complexities of the fact that the Global Shipping programme is being operated by a franking machine manufacturer (Pitney Bowes): and all they are doing is negotiating the cheapest service available (for them), whilst charging eBay sellers and Buyers a premium rate. The low cost service Pitney Bowes has purchased means delays and long time for parcels to be moved as they are considered non-priority parcels. You obviously haven't been on the receiving end of the global shipping fury.

[robot-hands]

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@martinepittaway wrote:
Sorry but you clearly do not understand the complexities of the fact that the Global Shipping programme is being operated by a franking machine manufacturer (Pitney Bowes): and all they are doing is negotiating the cheapest service available (for them), whilst charging eBay sellers and Buyers a premium rate. The low cost service Pitney Bowes has purchased means delays and long time for parcels to be moved as they are considered non-priority parcels. You obviously haven't been on the receiving end of the global shipping fury.

---

Sellers don't get charged, only buyers

...and I really don't care what they charge or that it seems high or how long it takes. Not. A. Bit.

Someone overseas wants my $700 signed Bettie Page art book, Global Shipping is the price of admission.

otherwise I could just throw items into the ocean and hope for the best.

[pjcdn2005]

I’ve received a few packages through the gsp and everything went fine.  There are times when it is slower than normal or there is a problem at the gsp Center but the majority of transactions do go smoothly. I personally haven’t had a problem with it but if you buy from an eBay seller that will ship to you directly,  your chances of the transaction going smoothly are about the same imo.

There are a few things that I dont like about it but I don’t see any evidence it being a scam.  When you add an item to your cart you see what you are going to pay for the item, shipping and import charges.  How is that a scam and what does it matter how the money is distributed?  You pay the same as what you agreed to regardless.

There are sellers who just use it for heavier and/or more expensive items and in most cases, the shipping is less expensive than if they sent the item direct using Priority or Express.  I don’t think that most people outside of the US realize how expensive USPS international shipping is now.  Plus, I doubt how many international buyers realize how many sellers would NOT ship those items outside of the US if the gsp didn’t exist!

What does irk me is sellers who use the gsp for shipping  inexpensive light items using the gsp even to countries that have delivery confirmation with first class international.  The $5ish handling charge that PB charges is really noticeable when you are purchasing a $10 or $15 item.  But because it irks me I don’t buy from those sellers except when it is going to benefit me.  I’ve found that if I buy more than one item from those sellers the shipping cost can work out to be fairly reasonable as the gsp does combine shipping when you use the cart and buy multiple items from the same seller.

You can complain all you want to eBay but it hasn’t worked so far and many buyers have complained about it for years. It must have increased their international sales otherwise they would have dropped it by now.  Ultimately, the best way to complain is to not purchase from sellers who use it.