eBay

jumunjipeter · ‎18-06-2013

Buyers beware of sellers in the USA who are on the Global Shipping Program. I recently bought 4 watches from the same seller in the USA, and when I went to pay, there were 4 shipping costs - $17.70, $17.40, $17.80 and $17.89. (Try and work out why they were all different???). When I asked the seller to combine the posting, he replied that he cannot as the Global Shipping Program does not allow him to combine.

When I messaged eBay about this I received a message back that said in part "The seller doesn't know the import cost since it is the global shipping provider that would determine depending on your location. Thus, the US sellers are not allowed to combine postage." That is a load of crock. THERE IS NO IMPORT COST FOR WATCHES INTO AUSTRALIA. I have imported for the last 2 years.

Talk about getting ripped-off.

Pitney Bowes are the Global Shippers, and their site reads "AFTER you've completed checkout, you can review these charges on the Order Details page. The Order Details page shows the total charges and the payment amounts to the seller and the payment amount that went to the global shipping provider".

The seller posts your item to Pitney Bowes and they forward post it to you.

I read up on this Global Shipping Program and it says that they are not affiliated with eBay, yet eBay obviously gets a kick-back from them. This is what their site reads under "Description of Fees"::

1. U.S. Shipping Fee

2. International Shipping Fee

3. Fuel Surcharge

4. Transportation Fee

5. Parcel Processing Service Fee

6. Distribution Center Management Fee

7. Loss Management Fee

8. Transportation Risk Premium Fee

9. Referral Fee - a variable fee paid by Pitney Bowes to eBay Inc. for referring you to the program.

I wonder, if ever, when eBay will stop it's quest for greed at the expense of the buyers and sellers. There are millions of items sold and bought on eBay every day. When is "enough" enough??

sparrow2207 · ‎19-03-2015

GSP repackaging is a joke. They use the thinest packaging they can that rips when it is looked at sideways.

They will even mis-address your parcel for you like they did mine. I live in an apartment and they kindly decided it wasn't worth putting this on the repackaged and readdressed parcel. Luckily they know me at my local PO and put it aside for me waiting for me to come in to chase up a missing parcel.

You get tracking numbers that you cannot track as it changes about 3 times during transit - they don't give you the updated tracking info for when it gets dropped into the Australian mail system which is really helpful if it goes missing and whats really helpful is you do not get carded for items if you aren't home.

On average it has taken 6 weeks for items to be delivered when sent thu GSP when an item sent via USPS takes just 10 days. And the cost is outrageous US$28 for a sewing pattern which costs only US$12 for 3 via USPS.

I always contact US sellers and ask if they will send via USPS (especially if I want multiple items) and if they agree I request an invoice after auction end so they can invoice me with USPS rate.

lyndal1838 · ‎19-03-2015

You are not telling me anything that I do not know sparrow2207.

It is a well know flaw in the system that the GSP will not combine multiple items even though they always ship them together.

As for the tracking.....once the item has reached Erlanger KY (Pitney Bowes) and been repacked it is then handed to FedEx. On your tracking page you will see the word FEDKEB. Click on that word as it is the link to the FedEx tracking for the Australian part of the journey.

I avoid sellers who use the GSP but in the very few cases that I have used it I have found the tracking to be very accurate and once the item is in Australia you can contact FedEx directly.

sparrow2207 · ‎20-03-2015

But when FEDEX in Australia put items into local postal system they put an e-parcel label on item and do not update the tracking info for us to track it. This is a major problem when they get misredirected with wrong address details. You can't get carded to collect from AP if they get your address wrong. Its useless going to the FEDEX site as the tracking can stop when it hits their sorting centre.

lyndal1838 · ‎20-03-2015

FedEx does off load to Australia Post when it is a small item.

My very first parcel was sent as an e-parcel by FedEx and AP informed them that my address was wrong (it has not changed in 44 years) so FedEx retrieved it and delivered it themselves after checking with me that the address was correct.

If you lose the tracking once it is in Australia just ring FedEx...they will be able to tell you where it is. If the address is entered incorrectly by Pitney Bowes it is hardly FedEx's fault. I have heard over the courier grapevine that there is quite a lot of that happening.

I must admit I never track anything until/unless it is horribly overdue. I have been buying from overseas for so long that I have a pretty fair idea when the item will arrive. I might check the tracking on one parcel in 10.....much less stressful than constantly checking the whereabouts of an item.

sparrow2207 · ‎21-03-2015

I have had large bulky heavy items offloaded by Fedex to AP to deliver who in turn dump at the PO for collection because AP parcel contractors do not deliver parcels in my suburb due to sheer laziness.

Have not had Fedex deliver any items that ship out from Pitneys, ever and I have had quite a lot. BUT have had lots of items shipped directly thu Fedex delivered by Fedex to me. Go figure.

You pay for a registered/signature on delivery/full tracking service from Pitney and 99% of parcels say "leave at door if unattended", they really don't give a toss at Pitneys.

lyndal1838 · ‎22-03-2015

@sparrow2207 wrote:

You pay for a registered/signature on delivery/full tracking service from Pitney and 99% of parcels say "leave at door if unattended", they really don't give a toss at Pitneys.

You might think you pay for a priority service fom Pitney Bowes, but they only pay FedEx for an economy service. I have always found the tracking to be pretty good though.

yandaran2 · ‎20-06-2015

There are items some Australian Sellers are not smart enough to offer in Australia so I have no choice but to buy from America I hate the Global Shipping program with a passion, They won't send to a PO Box, they won't multiple post but all are separate. and as i live in the bush it is hard to get items delivered as well. I shop locally on E-Bay where I can but as I say some items are just not available. I have managed to get some sellers to post the items at a lot lest cost than E-Bay rip off system. But GSP sucks bigtime!

vk2ci · ‎06-07-2015

It is very obvious that you have no idea why many Aussies would buy from other countries. Example; the US and UK have a much larger IT market,and the choice of USED high end equipment is greater. Often the items required may not be available from any "Aussie seller" ! I certainly won't be buying anything from you - no matter what you sell - because of your attitude.

lyndal1838 · ‎06-07-2015

@vk2ci wrote:
It is very obvious that you have no idea why many Aussies would buy from other countries. Example; the US and UK have a much larger IT market,and the choice of USED high end equipment is greater. Often the items required may not be available from any "Aussie seller" ! I certainly won't be buying anything from you - no matter what you sell - because of your attitude.

You are right about one thing....you will not be buying from crikey*mate because it is a posting ID and she has never sold anything on that ID.

You would not have any idea if you are buying from her on one of her selling IDs.

I should also point out that this thread is 20 months old and many posters will not come back to it even if they still post on the boards. Crikey*mate has not posted for over a year so she would not even see your "threat" not to buy from her.

padi*0409 · ‎06-07-2015

@*crikey*mate* wrote:
I think the GSP absolutely rocks!

The more aussies who stop purchasing from the US because of it means that there are more people who may be directed to what I sell by default.

Long Live the GSP!

vk2ci, if this was the post that you are referring to then you should be able to see it was very much a "tongue in cheek" response by crikey - who by the way hasn't been on these boards for 18 months or so..........................

"edit" mittens on again lyndal......................sigh.

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