GT, I noticed this on one of my US sellers items this morning as well, but it's not on all of his items for auction....?:| Is it the same as the Pitney Bowes system that the US sellers were using, or a different beast altogether??

I've emailed my seller there and will update this when I hear back from him.

Padi.

I looked into that as I do buy quite a few items from USA sellers.  On the face of it, they charge the buyer to manage international posting costs + customs and import charge even though there are none of these for the second hand/used low price items I buy.

I have been having my USA won items sent to a friend in the USA and he just boxes them up and forwards them to me at postage cost only when he has enough to fill a box.

The GSP items do offer good seller protections for USA sellers that use the service, but the buyer ends up paying more to provide that protection for the seller as the seller charges the buyer to get the item posted to the shipping provider (Pitney Bowes) as well as the postage to get the item sent from the shipping provider to here + a customs/import fee.

For sellers, the Global Shipping Program simplifies selling 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 and opting in to the program. The Global Shipping Program also makes it easier for buyers in other count...buying an item through the Global Shipping Program.

Buyer charges

In the listing, the buyer sees an estimate of the international shipping charges and the import charge. During checkout, the buyer sees the final charges which include the item cost, the international shipping charges, and the import charge. The international shipping charges include any US shipping, as well as program fees, third-party international shipping charges, fuel surcharges, and processing and handling fees. The import charge includes applicable customs duties, taxes, and third-party brokerage.

In addition to the final charges, the buyer sees the amount paid to the seller and the amount paid to the global shipping provider. You receive the item price and the domestic shipping and handling cost from the buyer.

Blah blah Blah

I've bought a few items from US sellers participating in the GSP. Each time it has got here in about a week and a half (a few days to Pitney Bowes and then a week via FedEx to Aus) so I definitely wouldn't accuse it of being slow.

They don't collect customs duty or GST unless required by Australian law (if the shipment is over $1000).

Obviously there will be exceptions but everything I have bought has been WAY cheaper than the comparable USPS service. I recently paid $39 for something that would have cost a minimum of $60 through USPS and it got here in half the time. I'm more than happy to keep using it, in fact I favour US sellers that offer it.

I have bought 2 Items from America using the GSP.

Very fast, arrived in 1 week using Fexex but would have like the option to pay half the postage and use regular post..

Fedex

Just got an email back from my seller in the States and he's saying the reason many of his items are not on the GSP is that for some reason any listing that mentions "antique" or "vintage" gets knocked out of the system......

Strange one that.....?:|

Anyway I'll forward this thread to him once it's got a few more posts on it.

Padi.