Global shipping program?

Any one else find the eBay global shipping program more cost than convenience?
the cynic in me sees yet another cash grab as the cost of shipping shaving memorabilia has, to me, gone up noticeably since sellers started opting for this program.
And another drag is that the customs fees levied seem higher, and automatically applied now. No more duty free "repaired" items, aka honed, coming across the worlds largest undefended border.
So is it just this cheap canuck that is feeling this, or is it a global thing?
Cheers.

p.s. the largest undefended border isn't really undefended.... There are pictures of Bieber everywhere on this side.. Seems to keep the people that can see or hear out.....
hehe.

Yea, it is a huge rip off, IMHO, for us on this side of the border. There are more than a few threads on this subject. Here is one of them http://straightrazorpalace.com/aucti...-shipping.html . I would sooner chew my arm off rather than buy from a seller who uses the Global Shipping Program.

Bob

I think it was touted as the safest way to get something to a person outside your country. No worries about the item disappearing before it got there. Yad yada yada yad yad. Give me your money if you want to feel safe ?

For years folks overseas have been complaining about sellers in the U.S not wanting to allow foreign bidders. So this is Eboy's solution. If you are shipping something that costs a grand or more it a really good feature because it's takes away all the risk for the buyer as well as the seller.

Of course for typical Eboy items the cost is prohibitive.

I have ranted about this in a thread or two already. It ads close to a week to the shipping time, at a cost of about the same as USPS Express mail, and has the brokerage fees that compare to UPS. An extra 22% is way too high of a fee. If I am scrolling through and see it in the search ad I don't even click on it anymore. It would have to have a crazy low bin price to get me to look. I have been buying more stuff from the UK and a few from Australia. There are quite a few countries tracking and insurance is available to from the US. If it is risky to ship to those counties I get it, but overpriced shipping and brokerage to countries that already have good systems in place doesn't make sense. People are welcome to sell stuff however they like. If the object of your sales strategy is to reach the greatest number of people in order to achieve the highest yielding sale and result in greater profits it is colmpetely missed with the global ship program. For those not in the know, brokerage fees are the money paid to the shipper to declare goods crossing borders, in the case of Canada there are no fees or taxes paid to Canadian Border Services for items under $200. So the fee is for filling out the customs declaration and if you look at global shipping brokerage fees on items over $200 they go up crazy high, because that is where the 5% GST has to be paid. Ok make that three rants now.

Great,, thought I wasn't the only one.
I could drive to the border and back for those fees. Have a few rolling rocks with the seller and still come out ahead..
Cheers.

Ebay is starting to become unusable for people like us.
I can't even sell international anymore because I don't fulfill all requirements.

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Originally Posted by MikeB52

Great,, thought I wasn't the only one.
I could drive to the border and back for those fees. Have a few rolling rocks with the seller and still come out ahead..
Cheers.

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That is what I do, drive to the border and pick it up on the other side at a USPS outlet 1/2 mile from the border. There and back takes 2 hours so yes it is worth my while especially if USPS CONUS shipping is included in the price.

Bob

Ketchikan is my closest US community and it is about three hours in a speed boat. That is the way it goes if you live close to nowhere. I quick drive to the border and fill up on cheap gas while you are there sounds pretty good to me, although compared to me everyone has cheap gas. LOL

Shaun -- You're the only person on SRP that lives someplace I had to look up! I'm 66, I've been in the Army, traveled a lot, but never heard of Haidi Gwaii. Glad to know you! Harold

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Originally Posted by RezDog

Ketchikan is my closest US community and it is about three hours in a speed boat. That is the way it goes if you live close to nowhere. I quick drive to the border and fill up on cheap gas while you are there sounds pretty good to me, although compared to me everyone has cheap gas. LOL

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It is an obscure location to say the least. There is highs and lows in the cost of living here. If you love to hunt fish and food gather it is amazing. If you like malls and modern convenience it may not be for you. I just spent three days going to the dentist. I am having fresh halibut for super. There is a trade. Most people have to google it.

as a ebay seller i wasn't aware of the extra cost associated with the international buyers program. all i knew was that it makes it easier for me as a seller to ship internationally. just send it to kentucky and the rest is up to them. have only ever shipped to Canada without using it and i guess it wasn't that big of a deal. maybe i'll look into not using it.

It has it's place. I sometimes sell watches and there is no way to send a watch and have it insured. I'm excluding Canada because it's really a different case. But anyplace else whether it's Indonesia or Germany available insurance is minimal and most methods exclude Watches (among other things) so in that case the Global Shipping is the only way and really for any expensive item it's the only way.

Even the Global program is limited as to locations and items.

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Originally Posted by 10Pups

I think it was touted as the safest way to get something to a person outside your country. No worries about the item disappearing before it got there. Yad yada yada yad yad. Give me your money if you want to feel safe ?

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Yeh they will open your mail and keep it for you, for twice the price plus some, guaranteed

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Originally Posted by tintin

as a ebay seller i wasn't aware of the extra cost associated with the international buyers program. all i knew was that it makes it easier for me as a seller to ship internationally. just send it to kentucky and the rest is up to them. have only ever shipped to Canada without using it and i guess it wasn't that big of a deal. maybe i'll look into not using it.

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Kentucky is where the problem starts

I think I saw in an earlier thread that now sellers have to explicitly opt out of it and ebay is planning to remove that opt-out option.
From the seller's point of view it is a great program - you keep dealing only with the fairly well known and predictable domestic shipping, any problem beyond that is between ebay and the buyer.

It looks like the buyers are quite unhappy with the deal ebay is offering them, but unfortunately the only option is to simply not buy. Ebay does virtually everything they do in pursuit of more money, so if this program is so bad for one of the parties that it decreases their profit they will either change it or kill it.

I personally think the sellers and the buyers should have multiple options to choose from and select the one that works best. For example if I sell things with a huge profit margin I may want to maximize my volume and assume the risk of lost/stolen/damage/fraud into the cost of doing business. But if I am not making money and don't want to take an occasional loss I'd rather only deal with customers who are willing to assume the risk themselves, either by paying the higher premiums of expensive shipping, or by waving any option for a charge back.

The thing is that ebay gets to set the rules for using their platform and they do it based on how much money those rules make them.

If I was living abroad and was buying a lot on ebay I'd research the postal rates of insured shipping from US to my location and if they are much better than ebay's global shipping I'd tell the seller that I am willing to pay for that fully insured shipping so that they don't have to cover any losses and would prefer if they offer a direct shipment to me instead of to ebay's program. If I'm a seller I'd be more than happy to accommodate a buyer if it doesn't cost me anything (e.g. if they ask me to send uninsured they are essentially taking money from me because they are getting all of the savings from transferring the risk of loss/damage on me).

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Originally Posted by Substance

Kentucky is where the problem starts

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If it goes to Kentucky I'd bet you are dealing with UPS then. Louisville KY is their main global air hub. Won't get anything shipped into Canada by UPS and haven't for about 25 or more years. Got stung with their brokers fees back then and seems like nothing has changed.

Bob

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Originally Posted by BobH

If it goes to Kentucky I'd bet you are dealing with UPS then. Louisville KY is their main global air hub. Won't get anything shipped into Canada by UPS and haven't for about 25 or more years. Got stung with their brokers fees back then and seems like nothing has changed.

Bob

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They have a deal with Fedex.

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

They have a deal with Fedex.

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Could be. I was going by the fact that Fedex has no hub in KY. Still would not deal with Fedex for the same reason as I will not deal with UPS, brokers fees.

Bob

thats what they do it is UPS & a UPS tracking number until Kentucky then it transferrs to a FEKEB (FEDEX) tracking number
I think the theory is that the item should only get new sticker and sent on its way.

You pay the Seller the $6USD that is his UPS cost to Kentucky, as part of the the main sale price transaction, the buyer then also pays the additional $20USD in this case for FEDEX separately to Global shipping not the seller who gets nothing for it.

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Originally Posted by Substance

thats what they do it is UPS & a UPS tracking number until Kentucky then it transferrs to a FEKEB (FEDEX) tracking number
I think the theory is that the item should only get new sticker and sent on its way.

You pay the Seller the $6USD that is his UPS cost to Kentucky, as part of the the main sale price transaction, the buyer then also pays the additional $20USD in this case for FEDEX separately to Global shipping not the seller who gets nothing for it.

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What a racket could be one possible way to describe being nailed twice for shipping charges on the same item. I guess if you were charitable you could say that is a creative way of shipping.

Bob

They must have changed things. Previously when I researched it you sent the item to the Pitney Bowes facility any means you wanted USPS, UPS Fedex-whatever and the buyer paid you at close of auction for the sellers shipping charges to the Eboy shipping center and then they contacted the buyer and billed for all the shipping charges from there to foreign and also repacked the item if needed.

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Originally Posted by RezDog

Ketchikan is my closest US community and it is about three hours in a speed boat. That is the way it goes if you live close to nowhere. I quick drive to the border and fill up on cheap gas while you are there sounds pretty good to me, although compared to me everyone has cheap gas. LOL

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Gas has gone down below 3 dollars a gallon where I file up in Jersey.
The Lands of Cheap gas.

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Originally Posted by Suile

Gas has gone down below 3 dollars a gallon where I file up in Jersey.
The Lands of Cheap gas.

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I wish. $1.78 a liter here. That is $6.73 a US gallon. I had fresh fish for super last night though. Didn't cost a dime. It's a trade.

It's still a Pitney Bowes transaction as far as I see up here on my trackin info.
Great info and insights from sellers perspectives, thanks for those.
As a buyer only, yes I have discovered etsy and other ways to buy as that global shipping program really, really bothers me. Knowing it is an entirely eBay specific thing, and clearly only about more profit on every transaction.. Just adds to my ire. I used to enjoy the gambling rush on imports,,, did I get hit with duty or didnt I? Yea,, slipped one through,, or dang, got to pay on that one.. Was a cheap thrill, but I liked it,, hehe.

From one seller's perspective ........ I was very annoyed when ebay instituted this new rule. Until I realized what it relieved me of. No more standing in line to fill out customs forms, no more worrying that the thing may never get to the buyer. I sold an expensive Escher y/g to a guy in Russia. Mailing that thing insured within the USA relieved a lot of stress I would have had if I had to wait the 4 weeks it took to get to the destination in Russia. OTOH, sellers will lose sales because of some buyers not being willing to pay the extra $ and that is understandable.

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

From one seller's perspective ........ I was very annoyed when ebay instituted this new rule. Until I realized what it relieved me of. No more standing in line to fill out customs forms, no more worrying that the thing may never get to the buyer. I sold an expensive Escher y/g to a guy in Russia. Mailing that thing insured within the USA relieved a lot of stress I would have had if I had to wait the 4 weeks it took to get to the destination in Russia. OTOH, sellers will lose sales because of some buyers not being willing to pay the extra $ and that is understandable.

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Yes, that is the other of the issue and I can well understand a seller liking the GSP especially on expensive items.

Bob

I probably should have researched the GSP before I listed the razor I have up at the moment, but I opted in this time because I'm tired of all the potential buyers I get wanting me to under-declare on customs forms, mark items as "gifts", and other semi-nefarious subterfuges. I guess the deal is that I don't make the rules on eBay, I don't make the rules on the SRP classifieds, and I don't make the rules at PayPal--- so I use the selling tools and try to stick to the rules because my privileges at all the aforementioned sites are important to me.

I don't understand the issue of people wanting stuff declared under value. Goods coming into Canada have a $200 exempt on taxes and there is suppose to be none on antique razors according to CBS web site. Really it shouldn't matter. People still always want to feel like they are getting away with stuff though. I do often ask that stuff is clearly marked as "antique" on the customs declaration, but they most often are so...

Customs defines "antique" as being at least 100 years old. So that leaves out most razors sold.

Most folks think if it's marked gift or undervalued they won't pay customs duty. What many don't realize is the sender can't claim more than the declared value if there is a loss not to mention it is against the law.

Besides, most Customs people know all of the tricks.

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Customs defines "antique" as being at least 100 years old. So that leaves out most razors sold.

Most folks think if it's marked gift or undervalued they won't pay customs duty. What many don't realize is the sender can't claim more than the declared value if there is a loss not to mention it is against the law.

Besides, most Customs people know all of the tricks.

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Add to that the customs people can put their own evaluation on the item in question and disregard the declared value.

Bob

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Originally Posted by BobH

Add to that the customs people can put their own evaluation on the item in question and disregard the declared value.

Bob

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Actually it's all in THE book. They don't put evaluations in on a whim cause they might have to defend what they did in administrative court in front of a judge. That's how it works in the U.S

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Actually it's all in THE book. They don't put evaluations in on a whim cause they might have to defend what they did in administrative court in front of a judge. That's how it works in the U.S

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The book on every single vintage straight razor model made taking into account condition would be quite a book in itself . I believe here on this side, and I could easily be wrong, 3 appraisals are gotten and the middle gets the nod. Placing a value on brand new still in production items would be easy though.

Bob

You declare a piece based on it's value and the book classifies the item based on what it is and the material it is made from.

The problems arise when someone lies about the contents and they open the parcel and find something that doesn't jive. A customs official can't just assign a value out of the blue. They also aren't going to hold something up as a common item to get values. That's reserved for really valuable items like rare antiques worth really big bucks.

You're right they go by current selling prices as a benchmark. Used items would be reduced a substantial percentage. If it turns out your W&B is worth more, well you got a break. A Govt isn't worried about nickle and dime items and amounts.

For me in Germany GSP has some pros and cons, the way PB ships is more or less illegal after asking the german customs this morning (had to receive a packet with soap samples from CA there). At the first look its expensive and theyre telling to pay all taxes for the buyer but in fact thats a lie, when a GSP Packet is shipped from the US to the EU in most cases it arrives in the UK where the VAT is payed, but the problem is that the British VAT isnt the same like the german or other european taxes, good for the UK but bad for the others so when a GSP Packets gets caught by the german or other european customs the buyer has to pay the taxes again because PB isnt allowed to pay them (in Germany only a few carriers are allowed to pay the taxes direct instead of beeing the owner/buyer). If it dont gets catched by the Customs its a good thing because the money that is payed for PB is usually less than the customs taxes and the buyer hasnt the problem to drive around and making the paper work with the pedantiv bureaucrazy (-ies).
The main Con for me is that the packets arent really insurred, its a intricate and opaque system between PB and Ebay but im sure that they will make changes, it couldnt last long until there will be court decisions of that.

When I originally researched it PB was only the receipt center in the U.S and they prepared the parcel for shipping but Fedex actually did the shipping. It makes no sense for them to ship to the UK when they have hubs all over Europe.

I can only say what the custom office said to me and it makes sense in my eyes as most Taxes are below the Level PB wants, for example in Switzerland the import taxes for lower price objects are 7%, PB wants 20%, in Germany Import Taxes are 19% and PB isnt allowed to pay them to the Customs so who pays the taxes?
FedEx is one of the carriers (together with UPS) that is allowed to pay Taxes directly to the german customs instead of the buyer but the customs say that the packets arrive over the UK and then be shipped by Hermes Europe and their Partners (who are strong related to Ebay). The Sense behind this kind of business is to get the Brokerage and the Money that is effectivly paid to much for Taxes that are lower in reality than shown and paid in GSP.
The inner european visible trade is taxfree and there arent national customs on ports and airports outside their own countries so who would check in the UK if a german destinated Packet from the US is corectly paid? Another Point of Interest is that the german buyer (and other european buyers) doesnt get a document of paid tax, a big problem for all commercial actors and the reason why they cant buy via GSP from the US, when i dont get a document of paid tax theres only one explanation to me is that the tax has never been paid.
I got three Packets by using GSP, all three arrived in the UK, all three werent dispatched by the german customs, all three hadnt more import informations than the usual CN22 document, all three hadnt documents of paid tax and came with Hermes Postal Service.
But as you said theyre using FedEx, i will search if i find some infos on a envelope i still have about the import airport in the UK, im sure that if it would really be transported via FedEx a Destination would be printed on it.

My wife has a store on Ebay, she does around 50k/year gross sale and she uses global shipping. 99% of our sales come from the US and its too much of a pain to fill out customs forms, stand in line and do alternate shipping methods for that 1%. I can understand the frustration and why many would not buy from a seller who uses it, but for us using anything else is a waste of time.

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Originally Posted by azpatriot66

My wife has a store on Ebay, she does around 50k/year gross sale and she uses global shipping. 99% of our sales come from the US and its too much of a pain to fill out customs forms, stand in line and do alternate shipping methods for that 1%. I can understand the frustration and why many would not buy from a seller who uses it, but for us using anything else is a waste of time.

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Yea, I can well understand your POV as a seller with the bulk of sales within the US. Never had a problem with that only with people trying to tell me as a foreign buyer that it is a great system for me as a buyer. It just plain isn't for the sort of goods I buy. There are sellers that don't use GSP that I do buy off of so it all works out. There is no problem as a Canadian buyer if you don't buy from someone using the GSP.

Bob

I live in Canada and getting items from people who use this program isn't cheap on our pocket books. I much prefer to get items from people who don't use it. Duties and such are a cash grab.....period. And that added section for duties is (censored)! 99% of the time I don't dinged for duties when it goes via the post office. UPS or any of the other companies....watch out....They will nail you with brokerage fees and such. I know all out this. I am a courier and see it happen all the time. I guess if a person is doing high volumes and such....this is a good thing to use. But if you are small time seller.....Take the time and do your patrons a favor and not use it.