Global Shipping Program

[jjminca]

I have a very high end piece of stereo equipment listed and I have a buyer trying to purchase it in Australia.  My original listing did not have the Global Shipping Program as an option for international shipping.  After spending almost an hour on the phone yesterday with an eBay Customer Service Rep, she finally determined it is impossible to add the GSP as option to an existing order.  The solution (finally) was to cancel the order and re-list including GSP.  So I did that. 

Now my buyer cannot see the item.  Back to the phone for another 45 minutes with eBay.  This is the answer (which is very suspect to me).....Australian customs will not allow this piece of equipment to ship to Australia via the GSP and that's why the buyer cannot see the listing.  They will allow it to ship to Australia if I do not use the GSP.  And, according to the eBay rep, if I want to understand why Australian customs won't accept the GSP, I need to call them on behalf of eBay and find out what the difference is.  Well for some reason I don't think I'm authorized to speak on behalf of eBay. 

This is very frustrating to me for 2 reasons - Obviously because I'm probably going to lose a very nice sale AND the eBay  rep took such an adversarial position with me  They should be there to help not be so antagonistic with sellers who are just trying to figure out how to use these programs correctly.  

Does anyone have a clue how to handle this?                           

[nkmipgolf]

My only wisdom is not to ship it by ground. I did this once and it took 2.5 months to show up. Past the arrival date, had to refund and tracking showed they got it 2 weeks after that.

[jjminca]

I doubt I can ship to Australia from California via ground.  

[katzrul15]

Can you add that Buyer to your Buyer Exception list and see if they can bid/buy?  Perhaps they are not blocked by GSP but your Buyer blocks for unpaid items?

[monica-sells]

you may have setup your global shipping option incorrectly within the listing....

I have done that before...accidentally blocking the country I was trying to ship to..

this "shipping policy" stuff has me all screwed up..just want to revise and it gives me 100 options

[dryophelia]

I see this listing that sold on March 3.

This relisting of that item was  'ended by the seller because the item is no longer available.

This is a current listing for it. 

Shipping is not calculated for Australian bidders in the current listing. You will need to invoice them for shipping.

The thought of shipping electronics gives me hives. 

I would take it somewhere to be professionally packaged. It would be a shame for an item in tip top shape to get mishandled along the way and arrive in a condition that the seller would be forced to either pay for return shipping or refund without getting the item returned.

[aprilmoviebuf2000]

Item sale price cannot exceed $2500.00 for GSP.  So the rep was correct in a roundabout way, assuming the item in question is the amplifier you have listed.  

[richard1rst]

Pirateship.com is shipping to Australia.

If it is under 4 pounds it can go by a private carrier called Asendia.

Of it is over 4 pounds PS offers UPS International.

You can set up an account for free.

[nkmipgolf]

VIA ship or as I would say, slow boat to China.

[jjminca]

The buyer just threw in the towel and I don't blame him.  No one at eBay really wanted to help or offer any kind of suggestions or anything positive at all really.  They talked to me like I was their sworn enemy even after I said to a couple of folks....."hey, we're on the same side.  I'm just looking for some help."  Very sad that it happened and I lost a big sale.  

[pjcdn2005]

As someone mentioned earlier, if this is for the amplifier the gsp $ limit for Australia is $2500  so you would have had to set up shipping with another carrier such as ups.

[simply-the-best-for-you]

Honestly, I think you dodged a bullet.   Shipping high end stereo equipment all the way around the world, is a recipe for disaster. 

[tools*]

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@jjminca wrote:

The buyer just threw in the towel and I don't blame him.  No one at eBay really wanted to help or offer any kind of suggestions or anything positive at all really.  They talked to me like I was their sworn enemy even after I said to a couple of folks....."hey, we're on the same side.  I'm just looking for some help."  Very sad that it happened and I lost a big sale.  

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Option 1: Price the McIntosh amplifier at $2500 with $200 shipping. Although,  I'm not sure if the $2500 eBay Global Shipping Program maximum includes shipping.

Option 2: Wire transfer or PP f&f and whatever shipping method the buyer wants.

[jjminca]

I asked about the $2500 max on shipments to at least 4 different eBay reps and they all said the same thing- don't worry about that.  I thought that was the problem, but it was not.  

[downunder-61]

No customs restrictions for importing stereo equipment that I have heard of here in Aus, the buyer will however be subject to import duty (5%) as well as the standard GST (10%) which may put the cost out of their price range. 

Perhaps they have changed their minds for this reason and don't like to admit it.