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??

[m6110r]

From what I have found out this program is forced onto the seller by Ebay, the seller has no choice and cannot track any artical once left, it is then all in the hands of Ebays shipping agents. I currently have an article which was send but the seller in USA aweek ago through this service and it still has not left USA. THE SELLER IS HORRIFIED EBAY DONT CARE and I am now told it should be here in another week. The item was a $200 DVD PLAYER and as such I pay no import duties or taxes and could have got it over myself with UPS FOR .50c more in 6 days. I cant blame the seller its just a joke.

EBAY YOU HAVE A LOT TO ANSWER FOR.

[i-love-my-sheep]

US sellers are NOT forced into using the GSP. Ebay made it sound wonderful to them which is why they signed up. They can opt out any time they like. Further up this thread I wrote how buyers can get around the GSP if the seller agrees to post through USPS. Large volume sellers signed up because it's convenient for them. It is really of no use to small time sellers. Ebay even advises for items under a certain amount (can't remember now), to not send using the GSP and even advises small sellers to opt out.

I found out all this after I sent a query to ebay to ask how to combine shipping with a US seller that I had bought 6 items from. Before I got a reply, the seller kindly offered to cancel the transaction, which I accepted, rather than me be forced to pay well over $100 in postage, when it should've been about $US14 via USPS. After I received my reply from customer service, I forwarded the response onto that seller for his future reference.

[rendragon16]

I purchased a rare collectable not available in Australia from a seller who (unfortunately) used the GSP. I just about fell over when I saw how much the postage was going to be (double what it would have cost to send it via USPS!), but rare item, I'm stuck. I read through all the eBay info on the GSP, trying to work out why the cost was so much, but the only justification I could see was it would go by courier. Ok, horrendous postage costs, but the shipping should be quick.

So I paid it, and begged the seller to pack it well as the GSP isn't registered mail and has very little insurance. After I paid it, PayPal kindly sent me the breakdown of where my "two payments" were going. Of the $60 in postage I paid, only $10 went to the seller. $10!!.

It's now almost 4 weeks since the seller sent the item to the "hub" and the current "wnDirect" tracking number doesn't even work. The parcel has been sitting somewhere in limbo for the last 2 weeks (I know that mail from the US to Australia does NOT take 2 weeks to go from one country to another) and there is finally another update that looks like the package might have finally made it to Australia.

So, I paid twice as much for postage that is slower than standard USPS, untrackable, unregistered and practically uninsured. And it's not fair on the seller to give them 1 star for postage as they really were quick off the mark getting my item in the mail.

**bleep** eBay?

Is there anywhere I can lodge a complaint about this?? Anywhere?

EDIT: Nice! My posts get auto filtered for "bad words". W T F.

[i-love-my-sheep]

Yes, your posts get edited for bad words because it's a G rated site.

The extra costs involved are due to the GSP packaging the item, plus, being a business, they are entitled to make a profit. The seller doesn't package the item. Unfortunately, they buyer has to wear the costs of the packaging, same as buying from other sellers who charge a handling fee. The items are also shipped with tracking which costs extra (my tracking numbers have always worked when buying with a GSP postage). For larger, heavier items, it actually works out cheaper to have it sent via the GSP than it does USPS. Mine was $69 using GSP and would have been over $100 using USPS. 

You can ask the seller if they are willing to post using USPS BEFORE you buy. If they are willing to go to the PO, then good. If not, don't buy from sellers who use the GSP. I have already posted several times in this thread, you can request an invoice through the shopping cart and the seller can then send one with the USPS postage cost. It is the only way a seller can send an invoice.

As for your item, the postage cost would have been clearly shown on the listing. If you thought it was outrageous, why did you buy the item? I get mad when buyers buy something THEN whinge about the shipping cost when it is clearly visible on the listing. READ THE ADS, don't just look at the pictures.

[mbeaumont7]

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@nexuspoint7 wrote:

I absolutely agree. What is worse is ther eis no way of disputing the costs without involving the seller and Pay Pal then will deny your request for a refund.

I bought something that I had no choice but to use GSP as the seller would only ship overseas on ebay via that. My item actually did arrive (thankfully) but the local Fed Ex told me it was economy shipping when it clearly states "International Priority Shipping" so they refused to deliver it for several days. Amazingly it arrived a day earlier than their tracking website stated but still. I could've had my item earlier an thanks to PP sucking extra $ off me when converting from US to Australian dolalrs (i'm sorry but how does $179=$199 AU when the echange rate was not that at all?)

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I have had two items apparently sit in the Fed Ex warehouse for a week, because they haven't "sorted" them, because eBay paid for a lower grade of shipping so they just have them dumped on the floor in some pile somewhere, until it seems they can be bothered. It makes the postage slower than USPS Priority and yet you pay more. I agree, the word "priority" is misleading. 

[bberman2009]

I would say for small items you can see at a glance if GSP is the shipping method.

For example I am looking for a tenor sax mouthpiece, can be shipped for around $25 to Australia.

GSP price $75

Getting a little fed up with sellers claiming they only charge actual shipping costs when they are using GSP fraud system.

Why be a party to that sort of conn

[i-love-my-sheep]

Some smaller sellers who don't send much internationally aren't even aware that they use the GSP. They were either opted in automatically and they haven't opted out, or they ticked yes when signing up to eBay, not realising what they were signing up for. Some don't ship internationally at all, yet their listing to us in Aus will still show a GSP cost.

Contact the seller of the mouth piece and ask them if they would be willing to post using the USPS. If they say yes, request an invoice/total via the shopping cart after you have made your purchase and they can adjust the postage cost to USPS prices and send you an invoice. They have to get the request for total or they can't send you an invoice, so don't forget to send that request!

[wombatrois]

I've got a situation where I can't even buy the item because of the GPS in the listing, so the seller and I have agreed to change it to USPS at a higher cost than that charged by Pitney! Another purchase I made I could at least buy the item, but then couldn't check out and pay for it. I've never had so many problems with buying from OS since this gps option happened. I'm still waiting to receive this one, so I'll be interested to see just how long it takes.

I am tending to not consider anything with the gps listed as the postage - it just seems all too hard.

[i-love-my-sheep]

Heavier items, like 10+kg are actually cheaper using the GSP, but for smaller items, the cost can be a bit ridiculous. They wanted to charge me $US32 to post a single matchbox car! Then there's the issue of not being able to combine postage. But as mentioned in earlier posts of mine, if the seller agrees to using USPS you can combine postage. You have to request a total though through the shopping cart so they can send an invoice.

[afantiques]

So I paid it, and begged the seller to pack it well as the GSP isn't registered mail and has very little insurance

This is a misapprehension.

In practice the item is fully insured for loss or damage..In your case start an item not received claim through Paypal at once. Best case is that you get a refund and the item arrives later. There is no  mechanism for you to pay for it again, so you have no option but to keep the money and the item. The seller does not lose any money if they got the item to the Erlanger, KY shipping centre safely.