Why am I paying twice as much for postage on the Global shipping program with no advantage.

[acfoden]

Buying items when the seller uses the global shipping program is a con, it costs twice as much as just posting and has no advantage for either party.The only winner is Pitney Bowes who charge a big fat fee for doing nothing.Delivery is also slower goods sent by normal post arrive before those sent by global shipping.

[lyndal1838]

While I agree with you that GSP shipping is slow and expensive I don't agree that it has no advantages for buyer or seller.

In many cases the seller would not ship internationally without having the protection of the GSP.....the seller has full seller protection and the item is fully tracked and insured.  The seller is also protected from bad feedback in connection with the GSP.

The GSP is expensive for smaller items but is very cost effective for larger heavier utems.

[zanadoo_56]

The US seller only has to send their item to Kentucky....and they don't see how much the GSP costs overseas buyers. 

Added to that there are still US sellers who think USPS 1st Class International doesn't have tracking (OK it's not tracking to all countries but if they only send to UK, Oz, NZ, parts of Europe...not to mention that other foreign country, Canada, the E-DELCON service is pretty good).

It is so disheartening to see a lightweight smallish not fragile item listed where the only postage option is the GSP. 😞

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

further to the replies you have already received, if you see an item listing that uses the GSP and you feel the shipping cost is too high you can message the seller and ask them to ensure that item weight and dimensions are put into the listing specifics.  Anecdotally, this has been seen to reduce the costs dramatically in some cases.

[ruefulroo]

Hello, Just a Quick Message Re My Experience With Global Shipping From USA.....(I do usually avoid it, but there was a piece I just had to have)

T W E N T Y   S E V E N  DAYS......and most of those were spent in Australia, between FedEx and Australia Post, It cleared customs in Sydney on 21st. June...and I have only just received the parcel today 4th July  Happy Holiday America....cost  $54 AUD.....ripped off or what.

Have fired an email off to Pitney Bowes, and of course I don't really expect a reply...but you never know.

I understand the cost effectiveness and convenience of it for the seller, but from my perspective                                               N E V E R    A G A I N........until next time I really have to have a certain item....hehe

Happy Ebaying All

[lyndal1838]

Don't blame FedEx....Pitney Bowes only pays them for Economy delivery despite calling it a Priority service.   This means that once in Australia FedEx has 3 weeks to deliver the item to you.  

Your item was well within the 3 weeks limit.   If the item landed in Sydney and had to go to WA or North Queensland it would not be unusual for it to take every day of the 3 weeks....that is up to Australia Post or whoever the item is handed to for final delivery.

[heihachi_73]

I have seen way too many US DVDs with the only option being close to $30-odd postage when it would only cost a few bucks to send. I absolutely hate Region 4 movies (and "PAL" region TV in general) as they always speed them up from 24 to 25 (50) frames per second which makes everything sound too high pitched. Of course, it's entirely the movie industry's fault, they are still stuck in the 1930s using the same old absurdly slow 24 fps analog film in an era where frame rates should be no slower than 100Hz and no smaller than 4K for movie stock. I bet colour is still optional on the film too. They don't give a toss as long as they are making billions, if a new movie flops just sell a few hundred million re-releases of other movies to make up for lost profits!

[lyndal1838]

And this has something to do with the GSP how?

[heihachi_73]

US sellers having $30-odd postage instead of being about $8 or so as it normally is without the GSP, which is less than $10.

302235050266 is the perfect example. A few bucks for the DVD + $30.37 postage!!!

[acfoden]

I see from the replies that  the GSP is seen as an advantage by some sellers, but I being a buyer and paying the postage see no advantage.Sellers may think it's an advantage but like one of the other responders I now avoid items with GSP postage, and apart from the system making a profit for Pitney Bowes I see little advantage to eBay users.