when the Global Shipping Program was introduced, many USA sellers were opted-in without their knowledge.
Many of these sellers were sellers who DID NOT sell internationally i.e. their items WERE NOT available for purchase outside of the USA.
For many, they didn't know when their item sold to an overseas buyer because the shipping address provided to them was a USA domestic address (Pitney Bowes).
eBay's reasoning was that it helped sellers by attracting overseas bidders/buyers while maintaining their wish to ship domestically.
How do I know this? Partly through reading threads here on the discussion boards, and partly through my own experiences.
I once asked a USA seller, that had GSP on a listing, a question about their item and they replied with "I don't sell to overseas members". I informed them that their item was available to Australia through the GSP. They had no idea, and they blocked me.
It is not entirely fair to complain about all items that have GSP because, without GSP, many would simply not be available for bidding or buying due to sellers not wanting to sell overseas.
"Global Sipping is of no benefit to Sellers or Purchasers"
So, in many instances, GSP helps both sellers and buyers. Sellers get to ship domestically, and buyers get to buy items that otherwise would not be available. This is especially true with the introduction of eBay's Money Back Guarantee, as any claims under MBG do not result in the GSP seller refunding, eBay does that.
The downside is, of course, there is a price to pay for wanting that item that would not have been available but for the GSP.
(there are ways around the GSP, but I'm not going to share those today ... sorry).
