Global Shipping Program

[jumunjipeter]

 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??

[maphy7]

You can recognise if GSP is used by checking difference in shipping costs - if item's shipping cost is lower on the search list than on auction page for that item then seller is using GSP!

And many of sellers are not aware what is going on. eBay simply offered them that amanity, they clicked and accepted. That is it - easy for them but obviously the rest of the world will not buy from US sellers as the shipping costs are higher and higher. Unless you are really in need of something! I remember buying a small gadget for $10-20 and got it shipped for $11 and now I was asked $45 for shipping!!!!

Some of US sellers are still willing to go to the Post Office and fill in shipping form, charge exact shipping costs knowing that more buyers will pump up the auction. And I am very much grateful for that! But too many don't care, not even to reply on inquiry about sending directly using USPS service.

All this just shows that eBay relly does not care for sellers and buyers as well. Sad. 😞

[go-tazz]

eBay has now made it easier to avoid sellers using the GSP,

When searching for your items any seller that uses the GSP has under their listing:

Customs services and international tracking provided

Just scroll past any that show that,

[lutjanid58]

Was just about to buy a heavy item from a US seller(18kg's) and I looked into the terms for GSP just as others have done here and realised that there was no way for me to find out actual shipping charges unless I just blindly went ahead with the purchase.

The postage costs for the seller to send this item to Pitney Bowes was $179.00 aud...can you imagine how much the actual costs would be to send it to Oz...like wow.

I'll steer clear of all sellers using this programme from now on.

Thanks to all the above posters for the information they've supplied.

It's a real rort this GSP I'm thinking.

Cheers

[ramjager65]

The gsp is a major rip off on foreign customers.
I purchased recently two items one without gsp where normal usps shipping was 57 dollars.
The second item slightly different box top was required to be shipped via Putney Bowes rip off services and i am charged 91 dollars for the same weight size object with a different box top. There are some other differences none of which effect weight only the item value.
Id love an explanation from Ebay how they judtify an over 50% mark up on shipping costs for absolutely nothing..zero..zilch..nada.
If i could of gotten the object elsewhere i would but its a long gone item and comes up rarely.
Hence if you want it you are then gouged by Ebay who already rip foreign dealers off on currency exchange and fees on Ebay by ripping us off now on shipping.
If the box arrives with a postage stanp saying $57 i will be launching into ebay as there are no fees for Australian imports under $1000 and even ebay says a substantial difference in post fees and what is charged is grounds for complaints and bad feedback.
Rip off and worthy of follow up here in Australia via consumer affairs in respective states.

[lyndal1838]

The GSP is co-ordinated by Pitney Bowes in the USA...what do you think any consumer protection agency in Australia will be able to do for you.

And how does ebay rip you off on foreign currency exchange rates....ebay does not set any rates or handle payments at all.

While I agree with you that the GSP is a rip off for international buyers you are not doing yourself any favours by ranting at all things ebay...it just makes you look silly

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

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@ramjager65 wrote:

I purchased recently two items one without gsp where normal usps shipping was 57 dollars.
The second item slightly different box top was required to be shipped via Putney Bowes rip off services and i am charged 91 dollars for the same weight size object with a different box top. There are some other differences none of which effect weight only the item value.
Id love an explanation from Ebay how they judtify an over 50% mark up on shipping costs for absolutely nothing..zero..zilch..nada.

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in a nutshell, what Pitney Bowes and the GSP are providing is seller protection.  BUT, it is the buyers who are paying to provide the sellers with this protection.  This is why you are being charged more for the item that included GSP.  You have paid for the postage to get the item to Pitney Bowes and you have paid Pitney Bowes to process your item for international shipping.  Your GSP item may well have the same postage component from the USA to you as the non-GSP item, but you need to consider that there was a cost in getting that item to Pitney Bowes, and this cost has been passed on to you.

The way I see it, some/many USA sellers were getting burned on refund claims due to slow international postage times.  The introduction of the GSP protects them from such claims.  Some USA sellers who now use the GSP would otherwise NOT post internationally.  This means that some items buyers are complaining about just would not be available to them without the GSP, and therefore there is a cost involved to have access to them.

I used to buy a lot of items from the USA but now I rarely do as the GSP has raised the cost significantly.  I, like many others, do not like the GSP.

[bargainscloser]

Great, so they charge twice the price and then just leave the package on the ****ing doorstep??? I have a much safer PO box that they won't ship to, even though the listing said it would be USPS. This was not revealed until after I tried to pay the invoice the seller had sent me.

Won't be buying via GSP again - I didn't even know what GSP was until I got a very weird receipt from Paypal, which was NOT the same as how it was itemized when I made the payment - multiple shipping fees to multiple sellers The items on the receipt didn't even add up to the total - there is $25 that is unaccounted for anywhere. Deceptive and unprofessional ebay. The seller has kindly honoured the original quoted price, but who does this GSP nonsense benefit really? Not the buyer and not the seller.

[*crikey*mate*]

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!

[doohanok]

I have just received a photo today Dec 19, damaged as a result of the Seller unfortunately using eBay's GSP via Pitney Bowes with it's rip off costs, customs & other issues already mentioned in this forum. The Seller has done all the right things. Stiff cardboard envelope, picture inside 2 additional pieces of cardboard, yet the envelope & picture are received damaged with a huge rip through all of these. It looks like someone has been walking all over it in a grease factory for a month? The Seller states the item was posted Nov 15, PBI says it was collected Dec 6? So where has it been for over a month? Other items from the US & UK have arrived issue free 'after' this purchase. A carrier pigeon with one decent wing would have done a better & faster job! Tracking is near impossible & when you finally do locate some assistance, it bears nothing near a 'current & updated' tracking system. It's 'Neanderthal' to say the least! The entire experience with this GSP was DISGRACEFUL & EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTING! My advice to Sellers & to Buyers is to steer clear of this GSP. They are NOT worth the money or risk you will take. Photos of damaged items are available for proof. Email me if you wish: doohanok@hwac.com.au ONE VERY UNHAPPY CUSTOMER. (doohanok)   

[lyndal1838]

How did you end up with an Australia Post eparcel label on an item from the USA?

As for the length of time it took....I paid for an item on the 9th and it was posted immediately....it is still sight seeing around the US and showing no sign of leaving there,  let alone arriving in Australia.