Hi,has any members had problems with the Global Shipping program.

[benji_woof]

Hi,has any members had problems with the Global Shipping program.It would seem that another party has been added just to double our chances of a mistake.The contract is between buyer and seller on the ebay site and it is hard enough to recieve an item without damage and in a reasonable time without it being duplicated in the shipping process.Unable to contact the global Shipping Co so where do we get any help.

[*tippy*toes*]

I'm the same as Dave. I don't sell internationally, but if GSP was introduced here, I couldn't opt in fast enough. If buyers want to pay for it, they will. If they don't, they don't. No skin off my nose.

[papermoon.lady]

I NEVER had a problem with international purchases and normal shipping.

Not a single time. As a matter of fact I was always very happy with all of them. And tracking works perfectly if you ask AusPost (it is not available on their site, but they know everything, including when an item will be delivered and is with the driver).

We are all cautious, but at the end of the day most transactions for most people were fine before the GSP.  Some buyers are scammers, some sellers are scammers, but the majority are not of course. Frequent sellers in the USA and the UK still use normal shipping because they want to remain frequent sellers in the future I guess.

If anything, I believe (like others) that PB are scammers and don't want to give them my money under any circumstances.There are plenty of other places to buy without GSP, actually everywhere else, so I can still take my own decisions and pay normal postage.

I assume eBay gets something too from PB and from promoting them?

[lyndal1838]

It is not fair to call Pitney Bowes scammers.

They are offering a Service and like all businesses the world over they are entitled to charge for that service.

Just because buyers do not like the cost of those services or the length of time it takes does not make PB scammers.  PB's customers are actually the seller's who make use of their services to send their items all over the world.   If those customers are happy with PB's service then what right do buyers have to complain....just don't buy from the sellers who use the Service.

[papermoon.lady]

Well, I am not alone if you google it...

To ask over 50 dollars for postage for a tiny, light 10-dollar item is outrageous. Yesterday I saw a tiny, light item (about 30 dollars) for which they wanted 89 dollars with GSP. It would probably fit in a small to medium padded envelope. 89 dollars!

As I said before, I just saved some helpful sellers and don't even search for the items I used to search any more so I don't see GSP.  I just check those sellers. For someone who likes to collect miniatures seaching on eBay has become too stressful and time-consuming. I really, really loved it in the past, but it has become impossible.

I am really extremely happy with Royal Mail and also First Class and want to stick with them. Their tracking works perfectly and I don't see how sellers would be concerned with tracking + signature. Tracking is already international, you just have to ask AusPost once an item from overseas arrives here and they will tell you step by step, scan by scan where your item is, even if their website says "not trackable". (FC now usually even works on the AusPost website.) If I were not happy I could think well, hopefully the new service is better, but being happy I won't give up RM and FC to pay over 5 times as much.

Luckily Etsy is ideal for what I am looking for, so not everything is over. And the sellers I have saved of course.

I still think that one day eBay will fix the absurdity of small parcels.

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

yeah, that’s the way it should be . . . . . . . buyers avoiding the sellers who list small, light items without putting the weight and dimensions into their listings.  Although, I am pretty sure that the sellers of those light items don’t really care that Aussies are not bidding/buying since many are unaware their item is available for international buyers.

Better that than a buyer having known the stupidly high GSP shipping and then coming here complaining about the cost.

We all understand there are items with seemingly ridiculous shipping prices using the GSP.  There was even a thread about that (but please do not add to that thread as it is old).

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

[papermoon.lady]

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@k1ooo-slr-saleswrote:

Better that than a buyer having known the stupidly high GSP shipping and then coming here complaining about the cost.

---

Yeah, there are quite a few people who buy an item with GSP and then wonder why they were charged so much...

[lyndal1838]

Yes, I know you are not alone.....I also used my friend Google.

I also hate the Service, or lack thereof.

But I do take exception to the word scam or scammer being used in connection to PB.

A scam is when someone uses a confidence trick to try and defraud others.  There is no con being perpetuated by PB...they straight out charge ridiculous amounts of money to offer their services to ebay customers.   They do not hide the charges...they are on the listings for everyone to see.

However, ebay does have a lot to answer for.  The PB shipping is supposed to be an International Courier Service for parcels...not small items in small packages or envelopes.  By opting sellers in to the GSP without explaining how it should be used (adding the weight and diensions so the charges can be correctly worked out instead of a wild guess) ebay is shafting buyers and sellers....not Pitney Bowes.

[papermoon.lady]

Yes, I agree that they should explain how to use it if they opt sellers in automatically.

As I said before, some sellers had no idea it is so expensive and even apologized and were almost embarrassed (even if it was not their fault).

Some people also find the way it is advertised on eBay deceptive, like "no additional import charges" - but then, if you have to pay something at Customs, you still have to pay?

[lyndal1838]

The statement that there are no additional import charges shows on all listings where the cost of the item is less than AU$1000 and this is correct.

If the value of the parcel is over the AU$1000 threshold the estimated charges are added to the invoice and you pay that amount to Pitney Bowes who pay it to Australian Customs on your behalf before the parcel arrives in Australia.

If you use the GSP you will not have to pay anything more once the parcel arrives in Australia as there is either nothing more to pay or you have already paid it through PB.

I am not sure how this is deceptive.

[papermoon.lady]

Well, this has not happened to me (obvioualy, as I don't even use them), but some people claim that they had to pay in spite of the listing stating no additional charges. Maybe they had another problem, like something that had to be disinfected - I have no idea.