Ebay does it again !

[scummy]

Well ebay has a new way to take our money again . Once upon a time when you won something you payed the seller for the item as well as the postage . Well now you pay the seller for the item and the DOMESTIC POSTAGE and then you pay another company extra to ship it overseas !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just won a cabover kenworth truck model and had all sorts of trouble with the invioce to pay the guy who was selling it and could not work out what the problem was. Below is how ebay explains it,

When you pay for the item through PayPal, you are authorising two payment transactions. The first payment goes to the seller and consists of the item cost and any US or UK domestic postage costs. The second payment goes to the global shipping provider and consists of the international postage costs and any import charges


So does this mean that ebay are now , ( the global shipping provider ?) as the guy i brought the kit from said something about he had to ship it to ebay and then they shipped it to me ?????

[ranma]

It's a thing called GREED!

[gbdolfans]

You do not ave to do it that way.I have sold international and just figure the total shipping,package it and take it to the post office.

Works for the buyer and me.The global shipping program is an option for the seller to use.I never do as it increases cost to the buyer.

Edited September 21, 2014 by gbdolfans

[ChrisR]

For this reason I would not bid on any item where it state this is included as the cost is horrendous and in my opinion grossly overstated!!

[Pierre_tec]

good thing to know, i will keep buying from hiroboy and hobbylink, althougt shipping is slow as an snail, doesnt charge that much

[MeatMan]

Some people make money on the shipping, so be wary!!

[Force]

I find this new "Customs Services and International Tracking" thing (scam) totally unnecessary and bad for both the buyer and seller.

The seller maybe thinks it will make it easier for international buyers to bid and buy their things, but in fact I believe it scares most of them off with what you have to pay just for this so called "service".

If you use it the shipping is allways Priority Mail Intl wich almost is double the price of First Class Mail Intl and the tracking and the few days faster shipping isn't worth that much, secondly you must pay import charges on every purchase...85% of the deals I have done on ebay these past few years I haven't had to pay anything as most slips through Customs without charge...so why would I want to pay everytime...no I want to take care of the import charges myself if it comes to that.

A lot of times the cost of this so called "service" way exceeds the cost of the parts or model I want to buy and pay double or even more than that isn't what I want to do, one example, if a part I want to bid on is on ebay and this "shipping customs service thing" is on, the part maybe costs lets say $2.50...but the cost of the "service" is around $35.00...so the total price of this part will be $37.50...yeah like I will pay that for one lousy part when I can get a complete model and shipped for that price...no way in ****.

Edited September 21, 2014 by Force

[howsthat1959]

The only thing this service does is protect the seller from shipping to a sketchy where delivery is less than guaranteed (seller does not get paid if delivery is not confirmed or you must wait a very long time to allow the buyer to complain he/she didn't get the item). By using the service, it's now the shippers problem. But it costs a lot more and the info about this service should be clearly stated in the listing.

[Force]

Yes it's stated in the listing but I avoid these auctions as I think the cost for this is way too much.

[Chillyb1]

You are right to complain about and to avoid using the Global Shipping Program. I used it once on a small non-model related thing and the buyer didn't say anything about what he was charged for shipping. I assumed that it saved me money by shipping to a U.S. destination and that the shipping company worked the package into its worldwide logistics system. Later, a repeat buyer from Belgium bought one of my models and then requested an invoice, which I couldn't send because this fell under the Global Shipping Program. When the buyer contacted me to see if the charges he was being asked to pay were correct. I thought the shipping, handling, and customs fees were outrageous and told him we should cancel the sale. We did, and I vowed never again to use the GSP.

[37 caddy]

Ebay is a giant scam now,there is no end in sight for their greed.Their sales have been dropping so they are trying to up their revenue by gouging everyone,in the "old days" it was simple,buy something,get a shipping price and away the box went,now the shipping has to be displayed,the only way you can do that is to have local pickup only?,I live in Canada so i cant even give a pricefor them?.Dont even get me started on this "international shipping",the extra charges,who gets that,the seller,Ebay or is it going to the Feds?,if i get a tax receipt,then i could live with it,but if Ebay is just pocketing the money,then i dont think it is right.Any other canadians have any experience with this yet?, i just bought a part for my wifes car,it had 17.00 extra charges on it?,havent got it yet but am intereted in how it will work out?.Harvey

[scummy]

Well , my daughter checked it right out today . The lady said it had NUTHING TO DO WITH PAYPAL , I'TS ALL EBAYS DOING .

Heres what ebay sent us ,

Type Name/Email Payment status Details Order status/Actions Gross Select record 0 21 Sep 2014 Payment To

mike **********

Completed

-$35.00 USD

A separate payment was made to a global shipping company to ship your package and clear it through customs.

Completed

Details Payment To Pitney Bowes, Inc. 60C07639BN9727456 -$32.50 USD

Now it shows that mike got his $ 35 - $25 for the item and $10 domestic postage to Pitney bowes . Then pitney bowes charges me $32.50 to send it to australia including customs charges , which i didnt have to pay as i'ts a hobby item and i'ts second hand . So ebay has stolen $ 32.50 dollars from me ! Oh by the way this is in american dollars so all up i've payed $ 80 australian dollars to get a coe kenworth that cost me about $ 30 australian dollars !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The seller also gets hit with ebays fee because he used their site !!!!

Unless the sellers can send the kit STRAIGHT to me in future and not to GLOBEL SHIPPING COMPANY i'm not ebaying in the states any more , good on you ebay you have done a great job .

Edited September 23, 2014 by scummy

[scummy]

OOPS , there seems to be alot of unhappy people out there !!!

Click on link and read ,

http://community.ebay.com.au/t5/Packaging-Shipping/Pitney-Bowes-on-line-tracking-where-how-do-I-find-a-link-to-put/qaq-p/582086

[Force]

Yes I don't think any international buyer is happy with this "program", it rather scares them away instead of helping them.

The seller don't have to go through the Global Shipping Program if they don't want to, it's up to them what shipping form they choose.

I see several auctions on ebay US where First Class Mail International or regular Priority Mail are the shipping options...so you can still do them if you want to and skip this lousy program.

Edited September 23, 2014 by Force

[Casey]

The seller don't have to go through the Global Shipping Program if they don't want to, it's up to them what shipping form they choose.

I see several auctions on ebay US where First Class Mail International or regular Priority Mail are the shipping options...so you can still do them if you want to and skip this lousy program.

While true, the risk is all on the seller then. Sellers can offering cheaper shipping via USPS First Class International with minimal tracking once the package leaves the U.S., but the tracking isn't available to all countries, the Russian Federation for one. Each seller has to weigh the risk (package not received, product and shipping cost lost) versus the reward (Intern'l customers who buy due to cheaper shipping cost for them), and decide what's best for them based on what they're selling.

When someone has a perfect system worked out for shipping every type, size, and weight of package to every location across the globe, and one which takes into account every possible seller and buyer, please let us know. It's just not possible, so eBay does the best it can for the majority of its users, and it seems to work very well for the majority of people who use eBay.

[jrherald420]

I had this global shipping thing bite me several months ago when i sold a 1/43 resin Cheetah to a guy in Canada. I called Ebay and told them i wanted to be opted out of this program. I dont even have that option on my account any more for shipping. I told the buyer what happened and that it would cost him more money for me to ship through the program. I got around it by marking the shipment as shipped and entering in my own valid tracking number. Just be sure to keep all emails to the other person and ONLY email through Ebay.

[vamach1]

Always get a specific quote for shipping charges. Some sellers are lazy and use shipping services that do not even show you the real shipping cost on the "stamp." I;m not too lazy to drive to the post office and mail something myself and not pay a markup and charge the seller the actual cost and maybe a $1 for a box if I had to buy a special sized one.

[jrherald420]

I never put the price on the shipping label. Mainly because when i enter the size and weight of the box on Ebay it gives the price for USPS shipping but when i pay with Paypal for shipping i get a discount on shipping cost about 1.00 on a 7.00 box. I have had buyers leave me negative feedback because i get a discount that i don't know what it will be till i buy the postage.

[jbwelda]

uh, kinda dumb question here.

why are you guys using this "program" if you don't like it?

cause you sure don't have to. you can enter whatever you want on the invoice you send the buyer and then go to the post office and send it to him. no one is forcing me into some third (fourth really) party scheme to do some shipping transfer. you go to the post office and send it to the buyer...in the USA or outside the USA.

or do you mean the SELLER is using this and you bought something and now someone wants to charge you extra money for it? that doesn't sound right, as in doesn't sound correct. at any rate that would not go over with me unless it was completely specified in the auction, complete with the fact (sic) that extra postage would be required from me for some trans shipment business. and that would be the end of that deal for me.

I sell overseas (from the usa) all the time and never never ever had anything like this going on. and I buy from overseas and never had anything like this going on either.

jb

Edited September 24, 2014 by jbwelda

[scummy]

Well before i bidded on this item i asked the seller how much to post to australia , he came back and said $28 us , so i then bidded and won . When it came time to pay i payed through paypal like many times before , only to be TOLD that when i hit pay now it said that i had agreed to pay two payments . One was for the item and domestic postage and the second one was to some outside company to ship it to me , including customs fees . Custom fees ???????? The item is hobby item and is second hand so NO custom inport fees owing !!!!

Just maybe the seller should have said to the post office , just mail this to scummy ??????

Edited September 24, 2014 by scummy

[clovis]

I am a full time seller on ebay. I haven't sold but a few models since I started in 1998.

The GSP is expensive for the buyer. As a seller, I only pay shipping to a location in KY, and a third party forwarder, Pitney Bowes ships it from KY to it's final destination.

There is a HUGE mark up on the shipping by eBay/Pitney Bowes in the GSP. I sold a car brochure to a guy in Canada, and the GSP was going to charge him over $14. We worked outside of the GSP, and actual shipping was $4.28. That is a pretty significant margin on a 7 ounce package, IMO.

The big upside with the GSP as a seller is that our sales are now really, really strong with overseas sales. Sometimes, I am quite shocked how much is purchased by overseas buyers. Another positive is the supposed global tracking, which helps protect the seller.

Lastly, with the GSP, I no longer have to make 84 trips to the post office for someone in Europe, just to see what the price for shipping is.

[jrherald420]

I never have to go to the post office to find out shipping overseas, simply use the online calculator. Hasnt failed me yet, if something doesnt look right you can call the post office with the weight and measurements of the package and get a quote over the phone.

[Force]

Everything has two sides and this is no exception, the seller may think it's great as he only has to ship domestic where ever the thing he's selling is going to, very easy and everything is allright with that from his point of view...but the buyer who has to pay for everything might not be that impressed when he finds out what the shipping and import charges are...yes they are stated in the auction so it should not be a surprise but it can for sure be missed in the process if you don't have your eyes open...been there done that.

Of course the GSP can sometimes be good even from the buyers side when it's more expensive stuff where you want tracking, insurance and going to be charged with import fees anyway...but definately not for everything, for most modeling items the cost of shipping with the GSP are outrageous, my example from an earlier post when an item costs $2.50 in the auction and the GSP shipping and import charges adds up to $35.00...14 times what the item itself is worth...that's not reasonable in my book., in reality the international shipping for that item might cost 3-5 bucks if you do it the normal way.

So for modeling stuff and not that expensive items I think the Global Shipping Program scares most international buyers away...I for one don't want to use it and avoid auctions where GSP is stated as there's no way around it when you have bid.

I see the Aussies have no import charges on second hand items and hobby stuff if I understood what I have read in this thread correctly...that's great...I wish we had something like that...so I can see that they are not that happy at all with this GSP thing as they with this have to pay for something they don't have to pay for otherwise.

[clovis]

Hakan,

I agree with you. GSP is very expensive for the buyer.

Don't forget though, that international shipping has gone up tremendously. It has gone up so much that I really can't believe it!

I sold a set of 1/16 wheels and tires to a guy in New Zealand. I think they weighed 6 ounces, and the cost was almost $15 US. I used to ship a printed manual to Canada from the US for 2.80, and now the price is over $6 US. (Both items were shipped outside of the GSP.)

Shipping from the US to Sweden has always been high, even 30 years ago. I have a friend who lives in the Uppsala area.

One option is to ask the seller to remove the GSP option from their listings. Many are going to be reluctant because they are going to have to get a price for shipping from the post office, and they are going to give up some of the seller protection they got with the GSP program, but it might help save you some money.

Edited September 26, 2014 by clovis

[clovis]

FWIW, 1 of every 10 items we've sold in the past few months was through the GSP program.