Sorry mean’t Seller!!

I totally agree, it is exactly the same buying through the UK website as well. Is there a way a buyer can opt out even if they have listed an item and it is LIVE??

Yupe, I completely agree. eBay should probably consider to only push GSP to some countries instead of every other countries of the seller. Why fix something that ain’t broken right?

It will be interesting to see if they will hear the customers/sellers voice and eventually change the policies of GSP at some point.

From my perspective the benefits of the GSP are far outweighed by the negatives (increased chance of damage to a package, increased cost, zero liability when things go wrong, environmentally unfriendly shipping methods and increased transit times).

The hassles of ordering from International seller, in my country for example, are the uncertainties when the package arrives at the local customs. If the recipient requires to pay for customs, generally anything valued above USD50, then post office would leave a piece of note with the amount to pay in order to release the goods. The problem is, sometimes you need to go to post office HQ downtown to pay and pick it up.

If by any chance you did not receive the note, then you will have no idea that you need to take actions to get the package. There is always a possibility that the post office somehow failed to complete the paperwork and goods will just get stuck for eternity.

Having a third party taking care all of these things really makes your life easier. You do not need to waste precious hours of your life tracking down the position of your goods. Of course you still probably need to check with the merchant or its partner if your order has not arrived at estimated time. In my experience in Amazon, my order missed by a few weeks and they were happy to completely refund the shipping cost. Not sure GSP offers the same policy though.

I do indeed reside in Canada. However, I don’t believe the GSP is any less of a frustration for other countries. I’ve heard the anti-GSP sentiment expressed strongly from Italians, Mexicans, Germans, Australians, Brits and countless others ordering from U.S sellers.

I’d be interested to know how the GSP has given you a better sense of security and less hassles at the doorstep?

You have made very solid points here and your dislike of GSP and PB becomes understandable. For marketplaces model like eBay, it is true that both buyers and sellers should be involved more in evaluating the quality and success of new program.

As for your last point, since you mentioned about NAFTA I would assume you reside in Canada? That makes a whole lot of sense to get exceptionally frustrated. If delivery or customs was never an issue, then GSP is only increasing the total charges to buy/sell through eBay.

In the light of this post, customers in other countries such as mine may get more benefits from the program because you will get better sense of security and less hassles to receive the order delivered at your doorstep.

My country is exempt from any such fees under NAFTA, which makes any such application of said fees patently illegal. PB, while collecting said fees does not remit them to applicable PST/GST/HST owed (even though this is allegedly part of why it’s being collected).

Currently, as far as I am aware there is no way to combine multiple items under the GSP. For example, you buy two items which cost $20 each, shipping is $18 – $22. Your cost used to be $20 for the item and $18 – $22 for shipping + an additional $2 for the extra item ($40 – $44 total cost) Now the cost is $20 for the item, $18-$22 for shipping, $2 for the extra item + $14- $16 (you pay the import charges twice) making the item $54 – $60. Mind you that’s on a $20 item – the GSP is even worse as your item’s value increases.

Secondly, there is no guarantee you won’t be charged this excessive fee by Pitney Bowes and then be required to pay the same fee again on delivery of your item.

As per EBay’s TOS:

i. Exclusions: You alone are responsible for any customs duties, taxes, surcharges, fines, penalties, or other charges which may be imposed on you by customs or tax officials after a GSP Item has successfully cleared customs and been delivered to (or made available for pickup at) the delivery address specified by you.

As someone who has been involved in EBay for almost 8 years, and having seen it all go to shit within the last 3 years it has made me increasingly bitter towards EBay. I find the whole situation extremely frustrating, not only for the reasons listed above (as well as many others) but also because with the automatic opt-in (more so from a buyers perspective) I am forced to waste my time clicking and back clicking on a sellers item page because EBay won’t distinguish between GSP and non-GSP sellers in the search page.

While I have not personally had any negative experiences with the GSP (primarily because I refuse to use it as a seller and as a buyer I avoid patronizing those sellers who do) I have known several people who have had unpleasant experiences with Pitney Bowes, including one occasion where it is alleged they refused to ship an item once it reached their warehouse, refunding the item cost to both buyer and seller (pocketing the rest) then selling the item for a higher price on another auction site.

I apologize if my bitterness towards EBay came off too strongly, but I don’t like being taken advantage of, being asked to bend over by a big corporation that has forgotten it’s roots. WE (buyers and sellers) made EBay what it is and now they have discarded us as they get more greedy every year.

I don’t use Amazon so I’ll have to take your word on that. Although I would never willingly choose to pre-pay a third party shipper anything – I’ll pay what I owe to my own country, once the item I have ordered arrives undamaged, otherwise said third party may decide to pocket excessive fees and then tell me I’m out of luck when something goes wrong……..