eBay global shipping program?

[Blackadder]

It was a good idea but trust it to ebay to run it.....
Often times, I simply delete the items in my basket after reaching the shipping page of an US shopping site and see the shipping cost. The overseas shipping cost of the OSP is usually more reasonable than many of the US shops.
Besides, a lot of times sellers (those not using OSP) on ebay quote a very high overseas shipping price and make off with extra gain too.

 

[Cyber Lip]

As an Ebay seller the only way I'm willing to sell to buyers outside the USA is with the Global Shipping option. I used to ship directly to international buyers before Ebay offered this option, and there were way too many headaches and problems shipping internationally. I'd never go back to shipping directly to an international buyer

 

[Cyber Lip]

Yes- TERRIBLE for Canadians.
If you want to pay import, duties, tax and receive slow delivery buy from those who use eBay Global Shipping.
Terrible in every respect.

If you want to talk terrible, shipping to Canada is terrible. I've had more issues shipping things there than anywhere else in the world. Things just going missing and never being delivered was the most common issue, but also had many things arrive broken apart, smashed to bits, etc. My guess was it was customs inspectors doing this. I really get the feeling the Canadian government just hates Americans lol. I used to experience the rudest f'ing treatment by the border patrol crossing over from Seattle to Vancouver when I used to go up there on a semi regular basis

 

[Colin G]

I never understand international shipping to USA or Europe as a hassle. Get a quote, fill out minimal amount of customs info, ship package and its over. I find it it quite easy and am on my way from the post office in under 10 minutes. I make sure insurance is added and tracking info provided to the buyer and all is good.

Over the last 30 years I'd say I have never had anything go missing or broken using Canada post. Any problems were on the USA side or when using UPS. Broken items are usually due to the sender being lazy and not using sufficient packaging.

I still buy on ebay but pay with paypal and not a CC through ebay. At least paypal can still help with a claim because ebay won't. If the seller uses global shipping, and if anything odd happens like very late shipping or the item being stolen at the global ship hub in Kentucky the ebay seller gets a negative rating. The seller is the one choosing an inefficient and inflated third party shipping option so I have zero, problems throwing out a negative if something goes awry.

 

[Monitor]

While I too have never had a problem with any of the stuff I've sent over to the USA, I still do consider it a hassle in a manner that it is extremely pricey and there are always some unforeseen expenses, even if you account for all the taxes and all that crap. Half of all my eBay sales end up with me starting an unpaid case just because the buyer didn't realize they're going to have to pay $60 for the shipping plus some whatever taxes their State is imposing on them.

It's also a pain because agreeing to a refund/return is virtually impossible for many EU countries as any package sent back to you will be considered as an import and you gotta pay all the import taxes just to get your own stuff back. It's something I always have to make sure the buyer understands as I'd otherwise rather not sell the item to them. . .

Right now, the expenses for getting anything from the US or Asia are enough for me to completely filter out literally any country not belonging to the EU for each and every of my searches.

 

[Colin G]

I still do consider it a hassle in a manner that it is extremely pricey and there are always some unforeseen expenses, even if you account for all the taxes and all that crap. Half of all my eBay sales end up with me starting an unpaid case just because the buyer didn't realize they're going to have to pay $60 for the shipping plus some whatever taxes their State is imposing on them.

Uninformed and inept buyers should realize tax is part of life in most countries. People like that should not buy online and I bet in real life they encounter all kinds of problems due to their lack of common sense. I wonder how some people can even find their way home at the end of the day after work.

 

[powersci]

Right now, the expenses for getting anything from the US or Asia are enough for me to completely filter out literally any country not belonging to the EU for each and every of my searches.

I do the same now with two exceptions. The first is having something shipped from Canada. The second is purchasing from a company that has experience in international sales. For example, I once bought something from Harrods and another time from Matches. They took care of all the customs paperwork, the duties were included in the cost, and they made it very easy to ship back should I need to. The one time I did need to make a return it was extremely easy: put it back in the box, tape on the return/customs form, and drop it off with DHL.

If not, then I find it very tricky to return items internationally. The shipping is often astronomical. Getting the import fees refunded is difficult. I could be wrong on this as it was so long ago. But I remember it not being worth the time nor hassle of filing the correct paperwork with the US government.

 

[powersci]

Uninformed and inept buyers should realize tax is part of life in most countries. People like that should not buy online and I bet in real life they encounter all kinds of problems due to their lack of common sense. I wonder how some people can even find their way home at the end of the day after work.

I wonder if this is from the era where no one paid sales tax on internet purchases? In my home state of Illinois, you paid zero tax on online purchases (I think if they did not have a physical presence in the state). Then, in 2018 or 2019, the law was changed to require sales tax on all online purchases.

 

[Monitor]

Uninformed and inept buyers should realize tax is part of life in most countries. People like that should not buy online and I bet in real life they encounter all kinds of problems due to their lack of common sense. I wonder how some people can even find their way home at the end of the day after work.

I wholeheartedly agree but then again, a lot of US buyers don't seem to understand that not everything will be shipped from the US as most of this vintage clothes stuff does indeed come from the States so I kind of get it how someone might be caught by surprise. Which is all eBay's fault as they don't seem to be particularly keen on taking it too far to point all the probable additional charges to the buyer until it's too late.

eBay is slime. It is perplexing they still haven't included UK in the Item Location list, or rather, haven't made a European Union list that doesn't include the UK & other non EU countries. Why have any option at all, since it makes zero difference to any EU member country whether the item is arriving from China or UK or Pakistan or USA.

Grailed has done it the first day Brexit was finalized, same as Etsy.

They took care of all the customs paperwork, the duties were included in the cost, and they made it very easy to ship back should I need to. The one time I did need to make a return it was extremely easy: put it back in the box, tape on the return/customs form, and drop it off with DHL.

Online stores like that generally try to make your shopping as simple and free of hassle as possible, which is commendable & complete opposite of eBay. But yeah, couple of times I've bought directly from an USA based store, the transaction went perfectly without any hiccups along the way but through eBay, though... I can't remember if I'd ever bought something that didn't require of me to physically mail receipt and Paypal screenshots to our customs service, just so they could confirm what I had paid for the item.

 

[Colin G]

I wonder if this is from the era where no one paid sales tax on internet purchases? In my home state of Illinois, you paid zero tax on online purchases (I think if they did not have a physical presence in the state). Then, in 2018 or 2019, the law was changed to require sales tax on all online purchases.

A lot of my post was directed at Canadians. We are heavily taxed here and when I see other Canadians complaining on the news about unfair import fees I really have no sympathy. You guys in the USA fair better than us and are just having to pay import fees but this is nothing new for Canada and I suspect Europe also. What people also do not know is one can broker their own packages and just pay tax and no brokerage fees. I do it when using UPS since they charge about $70 to broker a package into Canada where Canada Post charges around $10 so I don't bother doing it with post.

 

[powersci]

eBay is slime.

I cannot agree with this more! When they switched to their own payment system, I opted not to join in. I still get monthly reminders telling me "you can't sell until you tell us your payment details." Uh, no thanks. I'm never giving them my SSN and checking account information. I don't mind shopping with them, but will never be a seller again.

Most of my sales are now done locally or through PoshMark. Downside with Posh is that lowball buyers reign and there is a 20% commission . But they have a very strict return policy and seem to favor the seller.

 

[powersci]

A lot of my post was directed at Canadians. We are heavily taxed here and when I see other Canadians complaining on the news about unfair import fees I really have no sympathy. You guys in the USA fair better than us and are just having to pay import fees but this is nothing new for Canada and I suspect Europe also. What people also do not know is one can broker their own packages and just pay tax and no brokerage fees. I do it when using UPS since they charge about $70 to broker a package into Canada where Canada Post charges around $10 so I don't bother doing it with post.

I appreciate the info! Something I'll have to keep in mind when shipping to Canada. I didn't realize there was such a heavy tax up there for you. I've been a few times and looking forward to going again once the border is re-opened.

 

[Doctor Damage]

When they switched to their own payment system, I opted not to join in. I still get monthly reminders telling me "you can't sell until you tell us your payment details." Uh, no thanks. I'm never giving them my SSN and checking account information. I don't mind shopping with them, but will never be a seller again.

Same here! As soon as I saw their notice I didn't even bother to read details, I immediately thought no thanks!

 

[Blackadder]

I wonder if this is from the era where no one paid sales tax on internet purchases? In my home state of Illinois, you paid zero tax on online purchases (I think if they did not have a physical presence in the state). Then, in 2018 or 2019, the law was changed to require sales tax on all online purchases.

Not just online purchase. I remember that customer does not have to pay sales tax on item that is shipped out of state by the merchant. So even if you buy something at a shop in person in Vegas and have them shipped from the warehouse to LA, you do not have to pay any sales tax. That is because the sales tax in US is for the most part a state tax.
I think it is the import duties that the Americans have problem with because the US custom do not check and tax all the imported packages like say the British. So if the item as per usual slipped through US custom without duty, then all is fine for the seller. If it got caught by US custom, the buyer will make every effort to return and get a refund.

 

[powersci]

Same here! As soon as I saw their notice I didn't even bother to read details, I immediately thought no thanks!

I've lost a lot of trust with companies and organizations. All my financial data was scraped in the Equifax breach (fun!). And yesterday I got a notice from a university that my personal information was hacked, including some medical data. Ugh.

 

[sweetfights]

If you want to talk terrible, shipping to Canada is terrible. I've had more issues shipping things there than anywhere else in the world. Things just going missing and never being delivered was the most common issue, but also had many things arrive broken apart, smashed to bits, etc. My guess was it was customs inspectors doing this. I really get the feeling the Canadian government just hates Americans lol. I used to experience the rudest f'ing treatment by the border patrol crossing over from Seattle to Vancouver when I used to go up there on a semi regular basis

Canada is hit and miss with outgoing shipping speed abroad. And Canadian customs can be a real hassle. Especially for returning Canadian citizens. That is a seperate issue. However, I agree with Colin. If items are packaged well- never an issue. Once packages leave Canada I have seen an infinite array of shipping speeds. But, once out of Canada, it of course has nothing to do with Canada Post. And yes, Americans have it way better than us when it comes to being hit with import charges. We all learn to play the game with shipping and subsequent tax/import/cutoms charges.

 

[Monitor]

And yes, Americans have it way better than us when it comes to being hit with import charges. We all learn to play the game with shipping and subsequent tax/import/cutoms charges.

Can confirm! While it had never been reported to me that a single jacket that I have sent to the USA was even touched by the USCS, regardless of the declared value, the Annex Apparel that I had shipped to Winnipeg from the USA was hit with every tax and import charge on the list. Cost me an additional 70 CAD to get it. I thought Canada would be more lenient than Croatia when it comes to packages from the States but it turned out to be just as thorough, albeit cheaper. . .

 

[Guppy]

Heads up, everyone.

I just got an email from ebay notifying me that they had automatically enrolled me in their "new" International Shipping Program.

Details: https://www.ebay.com/sellercenter/shipping/ebay-international-shipping

I haven't read this yet; no idea how it's different from the old Global Shipping Program. I am going to de-enlist myself ASAP pending review of their policies, expenses, etc.

As someone who's bought a fair amount from international sellers, I really preferred direct shipping to Ebay Global Shipping. The only times I ever seemed to have problems with lost packages from international sellers was when they used Global Shipping Program, and they decided that what I had bought "couldn't" be shipped internationally, and "had" to be destroyed. @#%@#$ing pirates.

 

[Al 916]

Biggest ripoff since their last one!