eBay International Shipping

[cruzmiester]

Can anyone please explain to me what is the benefit of eBay's International Shipping program to a Canadian buyer ? 
1. eBay sellers pay for shipping 
2. eBay also charges the seller a commission on the the shipping 

3. eBay also charges the buyer a shipping fee 

I don't understand why this program is a benefit to me! 
In old days I could've asked the seller if they could send a purchase rush or even overnight in case i.e. a component to replace a broken part. 
Now a days the purchased price makes an excursion all over the USA to some eBay facility, which is then forwarded to the buyer? Isn't the USPS capable of sending packages across the border ?    
the carrier or transport companies they use is all over the place (they use many).
the tracking numbers are worthless sometimes it says my purchase is still at the facility and the delivery person is knocking at my door. But most of the time it just says it left the facility and no tracking of where the item is so the buyer can make plans to receive the package. 
what exactly am I paying for? it's certainly not a guarantee of quality of products, because I have one experience where I thought I was buying a USA made mini torch, instead I was sent a cheap Chinese made torch.
personally I think eBay's International Shipping program is a "pimping" job, but if there are any kind hearted people willing to take the time, I would really like to know what the heck am I getting for the shipping fees ebay charges byers? 

[marnotom!]

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@tobaccocardyahoo wrote:

The second country I stopped shipping to was Canada. The very first was Italy, I stopped shipping to Canada because I got too many where's my stuff emails because Canada post was not consistent in its delivery times.

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When you've got a country that's roughly twenty times the size of many European countries, it stands to reason that two mailings destined for two different points in Canada aren't likely going to reach their destination at the same time.  For what it's worth, when my wife and I sold on eBay many moons ago, we had the same issue for mail to the United States: delivery times for the equivalent of First Class Package International were all over the map.

Having said that, there have been several complaints on the .ca discussion boards about eIS's shipping times being much slower than those of direct USPS shipments and they were claiming USPS delivery times that were unheard of to me on Vancouver Island.  However, I was surprised this week to get an item from a Kentucky-based seller that took eleven calendar days to reach me, which is very impressive for a small item handled by a mail consolidator.

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@tobaccocardyahoo wrote:

Sellers only see returns on items which fail inspection at the shipping hub. This means that sellers who write crap descriptions with "optimistic conditions) are held accountable.

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There must be a bit more to this.  I don't think it's possible to test at the hub if an item actually works, unless this is what is slowing down so many shipments that are handled by eIS.

[cruzmiester]

I'm replying because I'm going to say this is the best answer. 
I think I've been an eBay user since 2002. It's true that in the old days when my hair was still all black, that some vendors did not ship to Canada, but many did and ALL the major sellers did, because it's a very simple process. 
in my opinion the cost for this shipping service does not outweigh the benefits:
1. it makes items more expensive than they should be, very often eBay makes more money on the shipping than the sellers make on their items. It feels a bit too much like the Big Company robbing from the Little Guy/Gal.
2. it slows down the shipping, the other big ecommerce company offers +/- 3 days from USA if they fulfill, eBay from USA it's +/- 1 month, in the old days I've could've asked the seller to ship overnight even from the USA in case it was urgent i.e. replacement piece of equipment. 
3. once the items leave eBay's processing facilities, the tracking numbers become useless, even when a tracking number is provided by the last mile delivery company. 
4. whatever you think of them, USPS and Canada Post tracking numbers are reasonably reliable for private and small businesses from start to end.
5. I can probably count on the fingers of 1 hand when Canada Post actually collected duties and tax (with greater automation this might of changed, I don't know) , with EIS private companies are compelled and incentivized to collect duties and tax.
I was hoping to hear an actual big benefit for the shipping fee I pay, i.e. faster shipping, more reliable shipping, item quality guarantee, etc.  a greater pool of sellers doesn't do it for me, I think this benefit is overstated. If eBay offers this service it's because they're  making a healthy profit and since if I choose to buy something from the USA I'm forced to pay for a service that I see as all negative is the reason why I rarely buy anything from eBay (Canada/USA/Int) anymore. When I do it's because I'm a nut and I insist on  buying vintage shirts from a particular designer that used to be based in California, but because of EIS I only buy the shirts when they're available in lots. 
I appreciate your reasoning and for taking the time to reply to perhaps my angry question..... thanks! 

[texasgunrunner]

Yes, in-house freight forwarding at only 3-5x the price of shipping direct, which requires no freight forwarding.

[hredjal15]

eBay international shipping is true garbage. I sold a valuable Michael Jordan card to an individual in China. The hub did not put that in the system and held on to the item for 10 days. Meanwhile eBay customer service was terrible and the buyer upset. So I refunded the buyer, then the hub sends the card, the buyer rejects it, and it’s sitting in the hub again without resolution. 

[bozonet]

After a recent experience I will never again buy an item that has "eBay International shipping". 

Item gets sent to hub. DHL (a completely incompetent outfit if ever there was one) charges duty. I pay. Package then goes into exception status and sits for a week waiting for me to pay the fees I've paid. Did I mention that DHL is totally incompetent? Eventually after calling and emailing DHL the package is then passed on to USPS to send to Canada. Package gets to Canada Post where I am charged duty and taxes on twice the amount that I paid for the item. I then have to deal with Canada customs to get back what I was overcharged after paying the fees I was assessed by DHL. A total and complete screwup that I do not want to deal with again. I'll wait and buy somewhere else that doesn't use eBay International Shipping.