[Closed] Anyone familiar with the Ebay The Global Shipping Program ?

I have been using the eBay Global Shipping Program for about a year now, for shipment of eBay sales from Ohio to various International locations. I like it, because I simply have to ship the item from Ohio, to an airport located in Louisville, Kentucky, and eBay takes over the shipment from there. The customer pays me for the shipping cost from Ohio to Kentucky, and pays eBay an additional charge for shipment to their location. I am not responsible for any customs paperwork, etc., which is all handled by eBay. I have heard that the additional eBay shipping charge can be rather high, but have had no complaints from any of my International customers. I like it because it saves me the problem of trying to figure the International shipping cost, customs form, etc.

Ebay offer competitive pricing? Surely you jest!

They are making a fortune off the global shipping "service."

And just in case you haven't noticed, and assuming you are in the US, you are now paying SALES TAX on incoming international shipments. I have been unable to learn to whom ebay remits those funds. I somehow doubt we have a working relationship of collecting taxes for China, Latvia, etc.

Generally, I will not buy an item if it is through the Global

Shipping Program. Yes, it can add considerable costs to shipping because of additional postage as well as duty and taxes.Sellers should not be using this program on items that are priced below the cutoff at which duty & taxes would be charged.This amount is $25 when being shipped for example from the USA to Canada.This program was created by Ebay to make shipping more convenient for the seller (ie:the seller ships domestically only to a distribution centre) and is also suppose to speed up delivery time by avoiding time spent processing through customs.It is basically a brokerage service whereby the seller ships the article domestically to a distribution centre (Pitney Bowes in Kentucky for example if being shipped from USA).Pitney Bowes then handles any duty and taxes and ships internationally to the customer.In many cases, it takes longer as the parcel is being shipped twice.Articles to Canada are charged 13% taxes and are duty free from USA.I have seen many cases where the GSP has doubled the price of a model.So with the GSP,any taxes and duty are included in the cost, however, I have found that most items, if shipped USPS even over $100 get through Canadian Customer with no charges. It seems that they inspect and asses taxes on a very random basis.Under the GSP,customs gets their money on every item.Customs loves this program.

I avoid shipping through the Global program at all times......

Ebay plays it very tricky. They check the box, showing that you automatically want to use their program. You have to uncheck the box to avoid it. If you just happen to forget, you are stuck with it.
I can't see how the buyer would like it. It is adding a bigger cost to shipping, sometimes as much as the item. BAD deal all around. I think I would lose business by using it. Avoid.

I do not sell a lot but that is my opinion as well.

When I have a potential buyer I take the item to the local PO and have them tell me the cost which I then advise the potential buyer of and add to the sale if they purchase. A little more time consuming but a better deal for the buyer.

At least here in Germany, GSP is the better option for purchases from the USA...

I pay the import sales tax in advance and the shipment is delivered directly to my home - the shipping costs are only slightly higher than for Priority Mail.
Otherwise, I would have to drive to the customs office and present several certificates which, in the case of antiquarian models, are neither available from the (mostly no longer existing) manufacturer nor from the seller.
This way I missed 4 models last year, because the European customs refused the import and the shipments went back to the sender.
All I could do was to ask the seller for a refund of the purchase price.
Therefore: no GSP, no purchase - and if it was about a "holy grail" of Motor City, Minimarque or anybody else...

At least in the case of DHL, the price increase is justified by lower transport capacities to USA ..

A trackable package to USA cost 37.00 Euros, now it is 59.00 Euros (ca. 65.00 Dollars) due to the mandatory surcharge.
Whether the shipment weighs 500 grams or 5 pounds is irrelevant...

Invest in a postal scale John. Then use the USPS website to calculate a price.