To check postage from tye US and the Pitney Bowes ripoff.

[glasseyoz]

Having been surprised at the latest postage ripoff from the USA, I have checked the Global Shipping they are now bound to.

What a deal for eBay. Your payment to the seller is split by PP into 2 separate parts.

One goes to the seller and the other to PITNEY BOWES who now do all the international postage.

The seller sends to a central post receiving area at local post costs. This is where PITNEY BOWES  comes in.

They will dismantle the parcel and "repack" for international postage at a very expensive rate. Once the parcel is posted to you,

PB and everyone else associated with the sale now wash their hands of responsibility for the safety of your parcel.

If you find a seller using PB go the bottom of the page  and you will see in the postage "to be paid to Pitney Bowes. Click on "learn more" and have a read of the PB/PP contract.

How do eBay and PP get away with it.  I have stopped buying from the US for that reason.

I know of people who have had parcels from PP and are NOT happy with the service.

The seller packed the items in a cardboard box an

d bubble wrap, sent it to PP.PP in their wisdom repacked the items (in this case glass insulators) in newspaper and a postage bag. Guess what? The parcel contents were broken on delivery and the buyer has had one hell of a time trying to get a refund from PP.The seller is not at fault but PB sent fragile items in a post bag. Why do they have to repack items?

Anyway, the point I am trying to make is, the seller is not responsible for the postage. They get nothing out of that PP & PB SHARE THE SPOILS, 

hopefully that system NEVER reaches Australia. Aussie Post are expensive enough.

[imastawka]

It's called the Global Shipping Program.

Haven't you been paying attention to the elebenty trillion

threads on the same subject.

And now there's another one

[harley_babes_hoard]

Actually unless it has changed very recently you are incorrect. The Global shipping program is an opt in opt out deal for sellers. Sellers opt in because it is free to ship to PB. However if you message those sellers and ask if they will ship USPS most will do so. Also a lot of sellers do not know how to opt out once they are in.

[cq_tech]

Actually, US sellers don't have to opt in as they are automatically subscribed to the GSP without their prior knowledge or permission.

As you've said however, they can certainly opt out of the program if they wish, although most don't even know they're in it until they're told.

[harley_babes_hoard]

The Global Shipping Program simplifies selling US items to international buyers. Simply ship items to a US shipping center. They'll manage the shipping and customs process and send the item to the international buyer. Find out more about using the Global Shipping Program, including:

eligibility
opting in
calculating shipping costs
resolving problems
returning an item
opting out


The Global Shipping Program also makes it easier for buyers in other countries to purchase items from US sellers. Buyers can see the shipping and import charges before purchasing, and can also track their item globally. Find out more about buying an item through the Global Shipping Program.

[cq_tech]

Irrespective of what it may say in that spiel from eBay, US sellers are finding themselves already subscribed to the GSP without their specifically having requested inclusion.

[nmbkiwi149]

My experience so far is that once a listing is set up with GSP it cannot be altered until the auction ends and the seller opts out to relist.  So if I am interested in an item (with no bids less than 2 hours to go), I inform the seller that I won't touch the auction with a 10 foot pole unless they opt out.  

Sellers are often surprised that they are unable to change the postage from international priority to standard while the auction is live.  As a result, unless it's something I can't live without, I just avoid all auctions using GSP which unfortunately is about 75% from what I can tell.  Sellers have confirmed to me that their international sales have plummeting since the GSP started.  I am in Australia and we don't have to pay duty for items under $1000 so it's all a big have!

[nmbkiwi149]

I gather sellers have no clue what postage charges are advertised in their auctions as they cannot see it without viewing it as a buyer.  If they did, they would see how ridiculous it would be for someone to pay postage that is four times the amount of the item itself!

[lyndal1838]

---

@nmbkiwi149 wrote:

  I am in Australia and we don't have to pay duty for items under $1000 so it's all a big have!

---

And you are not charged any duty if the item is under $1000.

If duty is payable the amount is shown on your invoice.

The amount charged by Pitney Bowes is just the postage from the USA to Australia using FedEx and the amount that PB deems to be for their services in preparing the customs declaration and (re)packing the item for international shipping.

[chezzy]

I have posted the following info on previous threads but this may help someone:

I went digging around on the eBay US boards and found the steps needed for the seller to 'opt out' of the Global Shipping Program. I messaged my seller with that info and lo and behold I was soon able to use buy it now as normal (seller had not known the process to opt out prior to that). For anyone interested it appears to be:

(My eBay summary page)

account > site preferences > shipping preferences > Offer the Global Shipping Program > edit > no

You won't see those options on the Aussie ebay but if you are curious to see what it looks like yourself you can probably just log in via the ebay.com site and have a look (and spread the word to those US sellers who are willing to be flexible on the shipping situation).