For those of you who use Global Shipping Program through Ebay . . . .

[star-phoenix]

Thought this was a very good video to watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijmdVlQ ... 8gcXiNnYdk

Basically, the shipping company that handles eBay's GSP will re-package the item however way they want to send to the buyer, which can really cause a significant damage. I have had about 3 incidents already like this where I REALLY packed an item with a lot of bubbles and the buyer received the item without any bubbles at all and one actually got damaged. I even sent the buyer photos of the packaging before sending and they were able to confirm with me the packaging was actually removed from the bubbles by the time they had received it.

Just thought you guys may want to see this before agreeing to eBay BSP. I think I am going to not be using them any longer.....

[Pixel]

I've wondered about this program as a buyer. I expected there had to be major drawbacks to the program somewhere, and he seems to have stumbled onto some big ones.

I don't appreciate his suggestion that racism could have been a factor just because of where his packages were routed. Louisville, KY just happens to be the location of the main international hub of one of the major shipping couriers-that may (or may not) have something to do with why they were sent there.

Damage such as he experienced could easily be caused by simple neglect and carelessness, regardless of who handled the packages/repackaging or where they were going.

That said, it sound like the program creates another layer of bureaucracy ripe for buck-passing when something goes wrong. This makes me much more leery of using such an arrangement, whether seller or buyer. I appreciate you bringing it to my attention.

[Wendy]

I recently had dealings with eBay's GSP. I won a very nice cel of Android 18 from DBZ, but I didn't notice the seller was using the GSP.
To be honest, I've been buying cels from eBay since 2004 and this is the first time I ever encountered an auction using it, so I wasn't particularly looking for it.

When I wanted to pay for the cel, eBay added a $50 customs fee, in addition to the already steep shipping fees, to the invoice. My country is pretty fair when it comes to import fees and a lot of the times they deliver the package without charging me, so for $50 I'm willing to take the chance.

I emailed the seller but sadly they were reluctant to send me an invoice and then mark the item as paid, so I had to cancel the deal.
This was my first time ever having to cancel a deal on eBay and I wasn't happy about doing so.

Knowing now that eBay also repackages the items is a horrific idea and makes me even more opposed to bidding on auctions where this "service" is offered. Thanks for posting this Star-Phoenix.

If the seller is a member here and reading this, I really do apologize, if I had noticed the GSP on the auction I would never have placed a bid.
Hopefully the second bidder bought the cel.

[ReiTheJelly]

Wow! That's crazy that the company is removing all the packing materials and re-packing it with subpar stuff. The only thing I can think, is that this is some measure on their part to make the international shipping cheaper by having it weigh less. What an awful business policy!

[Pixel]

I recently had dealings with eBay's GSP. I won a very nice cel of Android 18 from DBZ, but I didn't notice the seller was using the GSP.
To be honest, I've been buying cels from eBay since 2004 and this is the first time I ever encountered an auction using it, so I wasn't particularly looking for it.

When I wanted to pay for the cel, eBay added a $50 customs fee, in addition to the already steep shipping fees, to the invoice. My country is pretty fair when it comes to import fees and a lot of the times they deliver the package without charging me, so for $50 I'm willing to take the chance.

That customs fee sounds like it may have something to do with the delivery courier. For shipments inbound to the US, the Postal Service doesn't charge for customs clearance unless duty is levied on the item to be collected. Most items of low value are cleared informally as a "mail entry". However, the CBP reserves the right to require formal entry of any shipment.

From what I've read, UPS and FedEx are different. They will broker items through customs coming into the US, but they will charge a substantial fee to do so. I'm not sure if they charge for items found not subject to duty, I've heard some people claim these two will go out of their way to ensure duty is collected on items for the purpose of charging the extra fees.

I could be wrong, but I suspect this is what eBay was going for in charging that fee. They may have simply been covering their bases in case postal mail inbound was dutied by customs.

For the record, it is the UPS Worldport shipping hub that is located in Louisville, KY (UPS headquarters are in Atlanta, GA). FedEx Express (actually all of FedEx I think) headquarters are in Memphis, TN.

Yes, two of the world's largest shipping services are headquartered in the American South. Why? I'm not entirely sure about Louisville, but Memphis is a large multi-modal transport hub, well-located to move packages between long distances between large population centers. Particularly so on the East Coast.

Sorry for getting a bit off topic like that.

[ReiTheJelly]

They will broker items through customs coming into the US, but they will charge a substantial fee to do so. I'm not sure if they charge for items found not subject to duty, I've heard some people claim these two will go out of their way to ensure duty is collected on items for the purpose of charging the extra fees.

I think Wendy lives in Europe? So she's saying they pre-charged her for her own country's customs fees, which sometimes she avoids altogether.

[Pixel]

They will broker items through customs coming into the US, but they will charge a substantial fee to do so. I'm not sure if they charge for items found not subject to duty, I've heard some people claim these two will go out of their way to ensure duty is collected on items for the purpose of charging the extra fees.

I think Wendy lives in Europe? So she's saying they pre-charged her for her own country's customs fees, which sometimes she avoids altogether.

Europe is a whole other matter.

https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/i ... country_en

Maybe the postal systems of Europe are like the US a bit more lenient. I really don't know much about Europe, but based on that page and all the potential liabilities it lists, it looks like eBay may very well be covering it's bases after all. I guess it depends in part on whether the eBay global shipping partner is considered the importer.

A bit more on the subject--

https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/i ... stoms_duty

From that page--

Customs Duty is not due for goods, provided directly to the buyer when their value does not exceed 150 euros.

This exception does not apply to perfumes and toilet waters, tobacco or tobacco products and alcoholic products which are subject to special limits on the quantity provided.

This may be why she wasn't charged Customs duty in other arrangements, although it looks like she could still have been subject to VAT.

[Wendy]

They will broker items through customs coming into the US, but they will charge a substantial fee to do so. I'm not sure if they charge for items found not subject to duty, I've heard some people claim these two will go out of their way to ensure duty is collected on items for the purpose of charging the extra fees.

I think Wendy lives in Europe? So she's saying they pre-charged her for her own country's customs fees, which sometimes she avoids altogether.

10 points to Rei

I've been buying cels overseas ever since 2004 and only on a few occasions my package was charged with an import fee.
But that was never a whopping $50 on a $200 item! Also, the fees are determined by customs of the buyer's country and there is no way of knowing how high it will be as it depends on different tax percentages and rules. Basically it's bureaucracy; if the package isn't marked with a value over a certain amount, courier services won't declare the package to customs and the package won't get hit with extra fees at all.

Personally I have given up on selling on eBay a long time ago. As a non-active European seller, it is almost impossible to sell easily on the world market as they do not (or at least did not back then) accept sellers with a seller's feedback less than 10 or 15. As I only sell the occasional cel, which are not sought after in my own country, that is not an easy feat to accomplish.

But now I'm also becoming quite reluctant to buying. I will definitely never bid on an auction that uses the GSP.