topic Re: Global Shipping Program ripping us off? in Ask a member

Global Shipping Program ripping us off?

seahawk55 — Wed, 02 Jun 2021 01:49:14 GMT

I have been bidding on certain items for my collection and have been bewildered by the postage costs quoted by sellers in the US using the Global Shipping Program. Identical items from sellers across the USA have postage costs via the GSP ranging from US$32.00 to the highest I've seen at $72.00. Add to that import fees (do they apply in Australia?) and in some cases the postage equals and even exceeds the value of the item.
Why is there a US$40.00 variation in postage via the GSP for similar items? Are we being ripped off?

Re: Global Shipping Program ripping us off?

papermoon.lady — Wed, 02 Jun 2021 01:51:37 GMT

I think the difference is because some sellers don't weigh or measure the items.

Re: Global Shipping Program ripping us off?

k1ooo-slr-sales — Wed, 02 Jun 2021 03:05:54 GMT

firstly, sellers do not set the rates charged for Global Shipping. That is auto added to the listing by eBay and is based on the application of their algorithm.

The amount charged for GSP includes the costs incurred by Pitney Bowes to process the package for shipping, preparing the documentation for shipping to Australia and the actual shipping cost. They are also the ones who collect the 10% Australian GST as the re-deliverer of the item. They also include the GST that they have to charge on the fees they charge. They bundle a lot of these fees/charges/GST together and call it ‘import charge’.

The other thing to remember is that if the USA seller was charging domestic shipping on the item you will pay the domestic shipping to get the item to Pitney Bowes.

It always amazes me when comparisons are made between the item cost and the shipping cost. For cheap items the shipping will always be high compared to the cost of the item, but shipping is not, and never has been, based on the item cost.

As pointed out by another poster, the seller needs to input the item dimensions and weight to get the best GSP shipping price. If they don’t, the algorithm will apply the average shipping based on other items in the same category.

Examples of GSP stupidity from a number of years ago can be found here (but do not add to that thread as it is old and not all of the information contained there is current):

https://community.ebay.com.au/t5/Buying/GSP-stupidity-documented-on-this-thread/m-p/1708839#M55075

Re: Global Shipping Program ripping us off?

k1ooo-slr-sales — Wed, 02 Jun 2021 03:10:30 GMT

@seahawk55 wrote:

Are we being ripped off?

buyers have all the power when decisions are made on whether to buy or not. If a buyer doesn’t like the shipping they should not buy. As soon as a buyer buys an item with GSP shipping they are accepting the costs involved and should not complain about the cost after they have bought.

Re: Global Shipping Program ripping us off?

padi*0409 — Wed, 02 Jun 2021 04:36:35 GMT

Not to worry k1ooo, our resident "GSP Expert" should be along soon to "clarify" the matter for the OP.

Re: Global Shipping Program ripping us off?

heihachi_73 — Sun, 06 Jun 2021 03:38:07 GMT

Tracked parcels from Aus-US are roughly the same price as GSP, it's just that the GSP doesn't offer non-tracked parcels or international letter rates which just kills it for buying cheap items (it's not even worth looking at American market DVDs because there's a 90% chance that the seller only offers GSP and won't use USPS).

The AUD hovering around 70-80 US cents doesn't help either (I'm sure the government would love to see us tank below 50 cents again like it did twenty years ago). I haven't been on a US shopping spree on eBay since the dollar was at parity, made quite a collection of vintage HO scale model trains (by vintage, I mean cheap 1970s plastic models, not brass, prewar or antiques).

Re: Global Shipping Program ripping us off?

seahawk55 — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 05:12:54 GMT

Here are a series of identical items (all telegraph keys of similar size and weight) and the shipping costs via the Global Shipping Program. All from USA sellers and all for shipping to Queensland.
Vintage Morse Code Telegraph Key/Ham Radio Vibroplex Key
Shipping:
$22.40 International Priority Shipping to Australia via the Global Shipping Program

Vibroplex 190102 TELEGRAPH
Shipping:
$28.27 International Priority Shipping to Australia via the Global Shipping Program

Vibroplex Blue Racer Telegraph CW Bug Key
Shipping:
$34.66 International Priority Shipping to Australia via the Global Shipping Program

Vibroplex Key Bug Morse Code Telegraph Key
Shipping:
$41.42 International Priority Shipping to Australia via the Global Shipping Program

Vibroplex 1944 Morse Code Telegraph
Shipping:
$49.33 International Priority Shipping to Australia via the Global Shipping Program

VibroplexRed Bug
Shipping:
$54.52 International Priority Shipping to Australia via the Global Shipping Program

Vibroplex telegraph key deluxe model
Shipping:
$56.43 International Priority Shipping to Australia via the Global Shipping Program

Vibroplex ORIGINAL
Shipping:
$76.35 International Priority Shipping to Australia via the Global Shipping Program

US$22.40 to US$76.35 FOR SIMILAR ITEMS??

$10.00 difference maybe but 350% ????

Re: Global Shipping Program ripping us off?

imastawka — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 05:17:28 GMT

If the seller enters the dimensions and the weight, the postage cost goes down - or so I'm led to believe by others on the boards.