Global Shipping on ebay....?

[kathpatty]

Are there any issues anyone would share as to how this has gone for them? Any problems?

Also- would anime cels/sketches be a restricted item?

Seems easy to send to a US destination...but there must be some issues not stated in the explanation.

Has anyone used it and liked it?

[Killua]

One main problem with it that I've encountered is that they don't do combined shipping.

[JWR]

Biggest problem I have heard of is with tracking and verifying delivery.

Some buyers may request lower end shipping as well as Ebay may ding your account if you bill for higher shipping that has actual tracking to delivery. Some plan ahead and build the added shipping cost into the opening bid price so even if you charge less for shipping you still make enough profit to cover higher end shipping.

Too many "lost" shipments that one can not prove the client actually recieved or not has lead to quite a few horror stories with having to refund the full amount and not get your item (artwork/cel/sketch ect) back cause you cannot prove they recieved it.

[sinwrath404]

I have used it I believe 3 times when selling. All I do as charge what I would normally charge for shipping and supplies. What happens is you get two sets of tracking numbers, one is to the tracking center and the other is from the tracking center to the buyer, so you get full tracking history like normal.

AS far as buyers requesting lower end shipping, can't happen, the centers send it how they chose not how the buyer wants it, all the fees and charges are stated in the auction when the buyer goes to shipping and puts in their country and the buyer agrees to pay them when they win the auction . Remember the centers are hired by ebay to do this, so they have to make sure they do a great job our they would lose ebays business .

As far as loss packages and having to give full refunds with out getting your item back, trust me, people lie out their butts, I have caught a few people, though not many do. I would say 80% of people are just trying to get something for free when they complain about something you as a seller did even if they messed up on there end or didn't notice something in your auction before they bought it. AS long as you do print and ship on ebay you get tracking for 20 cents also cheaper prices than going to the post office on shipping. AS long as you have tracking then the package would never be lost and you have proof that it made it to the buyers door step, not your fault if they let it get stolen off their door step. At my house I have a place that the post person hides it so it isn't out in the open or I am home to get it .

[Kasi]

Could someone please explain to me the purpose of this service besides eBay cashing in on their own shipping business?
I've heard some bad things about this, but I just can't seem to get the point to begin with. Isn't it cheaper and more flexible to just ship personally?

[sinwrath404]

what the service is is just that, it is a service for sellers who don't want to risk shipping it internationally and mess something up or who just don't want to deal with it. IT is at no cost to the seller, the buyer is the one who pays for the service. I have had no problems with it yet and everything I ship with them gets to the seller in about 8-9 days, so they ship it pretty fast at the shipping centers. I actually like global shipping, it is very easy to use and I don't have to fill out any customs forms or anything. It is also cheaper to print the shipping labels on ebay rather than going to the post office by about 10%. IF I am correct what ebay does is they just sublet different shipping companies the shipping job and ebay gets a cut, ebay doesn't actually ship it them selves .

As far as it being cheaper to ship it yourself over seas, I think it just depends on what you are sending and to where. I was going to ship an action figure overseas and the post office wanted $60 to ship it.

[Kasi]

I've read discussions on this on another collector community (not cels) where the items in question may have some more weight on the issue. However, buyers there would not buy from sellers using this service as it was a money grab from Ebay. The additional shipping cost was simply far too much for nothing in return from their end.
The other issue was the procedure itself. The shipping service receiving, opening, repackaging and re-shipping the items. I don't know how they were repackaged, but I would want someone who knows what they're doing and is familiar with the item.

There was also some talk about whether buyers are charged customs fee's upfront, where they may not have been otherwise, but I cant confirm this, it may have just been buyer confusion.

[sinwrath404]

I don't think they package it unless they feel that the package they get sent isn't up to their standards. Global shipping doesn't really charge that much. I have had no complaints from my buyers about packaging, I just think some people don't know how to pack so they have to re pack it before the centers ship it out cause if they get enough complaints then that center will lose ebays business, so they want to make sure the item is secure.


unless you are sending something very light like a cel, sketch, dvd, game or something like wise shipping over seas cost an arm and a leg, which is why I never did it cause no one wanted to pay $60+ on shipping for a $20 item.

I just checked it on the japanese ps2 I am selling and global shipping is charging around $50 shipping + $20 for customs depending on the place, that is a great deal on something so heavy, so in my opinion global shipping is an amazing service and it opens up my auctions to the whole world instead of just USA.

I would say over seas anything heavier than I would say 3 pounds you are looking at $40 + for shipping depending on where it is coming from , I know france cost a lot of money to ship to and from.

And this is not at all a money grab from ebay, this is a way to help sellers sell their items worldwide. Give people a great item and all they can do is hate on it. Trust me, in my 7 years of selling, people have never ever understood that it is a lot of money to ship things sometimes especially over seas. Also what some people don't understand is that if you get cheap shipping from overseas it was most likely a company and not an individual cause companies can get cheaper shipping.

[Kasi]

I'm aware how expensive it is to ship internationally, adding additional fees with Ebay's service doesn't help the issue.
The problem is, anyone can ship internationally themselves.
I've been shipping parcels to numerous places overseas since 2004, it takes about 2 minutes to fill out a customs form *shrugs*. I can package, combine, add tracking and insurance under my own control too.
I just cant agree its a service of any value.

[sinwrath404]

Well to each their own, for me I really see no problem with it and I don't feel they charge any extra fees for buyers when using it. They charge shipping and customs fees that is all, what additional fees are there ? I have had to pay customs fees before, I couldn't even get my item before I paid it cause a seller over seas failed to include it in the auction price or warn me about it, so global shipping thumbs up .

I just checked usps and to ship my ps2 to japan cost $67 not including any customs fee, with ups $200, with global shipping $ 50.50 for shipping and $16 for customs, I checked other ps2s on ebay similar to the one I have and shipping from their to here they were charging in the $60 range. , so it doesn't really sound like ebay is trying to rip anyone off here and just trying to help sellers out which for me they have. I am going to keep using it and if someone doesn't want to buy my item cause of it then there loss it doesn't really affect me.

[Kasi]

Of course it's all variable, but after reading a lot more into this, the majority will vouch this service is far more costly for them, hence boycotting against sellers using it. For some reason buyers are still charged import taxes on items below the threshold too, even Australians who do not have import tax at all for items under $1000.
I don't think it'll matter for those who otherwise would not ship Internationally, but for other sellers and buyers the service seems to be strongly avoided.

[Nene]

I've heard so many horror stories about this method of shipping.. the repackaging issue is just one of them. The money taken for international customs charges isn't passed onto revenue and customs (at least here in the UK) so the buyer still has to pay import duties and taxes, meaning they actually pay double. I'd stay away from the service, they're just out to make money at the end of the day. Each to their own though.

[klet]

The money taken for international customs charges isn't passed onto revenue and customs (at least here in the UK) so the buyer still has to pay import duties and taxes, meaning they actually pay double.

Ouch. That's just ridiculous. I guess the "international customs charges" is them charging you to fill out a form then. Ugh.


I've been selling some old clothes on ebay, and I considered offering the whole global thing just because international shipping from the US is so expensive. I personally didn't feel any of the clothes I was selling were worth the cost of even shipping first class international, so I didn't want to deal with it. But, ick, sounds like the whole program is a money sucker.

[Nene]

I didn't want to start another thread about this but I recently won something on Ebay and it ended for a decent enough price even with the Global Shipping Program fees, so I gave it a shot.

I have to say, everything worked out just fine and I was really pleased. Postage was reasonable and the extra amount added on for customs fees was around about what I'd expect to pay for the declared value. And I didn't have to pay any extra fees. Just how much of the customs fee Pitney Bowes keeps for themselves could probably be speculated upon, but hey.

It was delivered by a combination of CitiPost/Yodel which aren't big names like Royal Mail or Parcelforce but they get the job done. I was looking at the paperwork on the package and it does say "DDP" (delivery duty paid). I imagine if the parcel was handled by Royal Mail, they might have missed the DDP notice and added customs charges on which, if I recall correctly, is why there have been some horror stories.

No sign of the item being opened and repackaged either, it was packaged very well.

Who knows, they may have stepped up their game afterall.