Ebay international shipping rates go through the roof.

[Tinman]

it is the EBAY GLOBAL SHIPPING POGRAMM which makes it even worse.
This is used by more and more sellers and even with some UK sellers I see recently (while I buy from The Netherlands)


marcel

I have joined the ranks of those using the Global Shipping service. There is not currently any other reasonable option unless I want to drive every parcel to a post office, wait in line and pay full retail (it's always more expensive than shipping directly from home). With covid raging here worse than it ever was, no way I'm going out to the post office and wait in line, just isn't going to happen. So at least international buyers have a choice; global shipping or don't buy from me. It's better to offer the choice than to simply no longer offer any items to international buyers. If duty or import taxes are due, I don't have to worry about it. If a country has high duty charges that kick in at low amounts, one needs to address that with their governing body. More and more, governments are cracking down on internet sales to recoup lost revenue in the form of taxes and duty charges. With the sudden surge in internet shopping (due to Covid), this is an issue that's been in the news quite often lately.

Sure, like most everyone else, I like being able to buy something via the net and not have to pay sales tax or duty, but the law clearly states that I owe that money and I am responsible for paying those taxes. Up till now, there has been little enforcement for those laws. Governments are now reeling from the sudden high loss in sales tax revenue and those laws are about to be strengthened and have some real teeth. After years of skating scott free from those taxes (with little likely hood of ever being back charged for any of it), no one is really in the position to complain about having to pay what they should have been paying for years. That's the way it works here, your mileage may vary (as they say).

[waratah]

What I can gather, from invoices on purchases made in the States and shipped to Canada using eBay's GSP, this is what happens.
Parcel picked up from seller and shipped in one of a variety of methods to a warehouse, it seems Kentucky is popular.
This can take any number of days without rhyme or reason.
At the warehouse, again, it can sit any number of days.
Then it's opened, repacked and labeled and sent off. The repacking can be horrendous as sometimes, the people working there are more than likely under time pressure to process orders, and don't know about collecting(not their fault) and just think its a toy, rather than a sometimes very valuable item.
Ebay pays around half the money charged for GSP to the USPS, usually it seems the amount that it would take to send the item to me from the US.
Ebay keeps the rest, for processing through the warehouse, an unnecessary step and used as a money grab. This is where the price for shipping to buyers is doubled at least.
Relevant taxes are paid as well, I have no issue with that.
The practice of taking a 10% fee of the sellers shipping charge is a rip off for the seller too as I far as I'm concerned. That's them just gouging money they didn't do anything to earn.
The GSP has reduced greatly the amount of things that I can justify buying when weighing a $21 shipping charge against a 2 oz, $4 item.
I get it's to make profit for the company, free enterprise etc but it sure has reduced the fun of picking through and finding cheapish gems.
Just my 2c
Laurie (Waratah)

[Tinman]

What I can gather, from invoices on purchases made in the States and shipped to Canada using eBay's GSP, this is what happens.
Parcel picked up from seller and shipped in one of a variety of methods to a warehouse, it seems Kentucky is popular.
This can take any number of days without rhyme or reason.
At the warehouse, again, it can sit any number of days.
Then it's opened, repacked and labeled and sent off. The repacking can be horrendous as sometimes, the people working there are more than likely under time pressure to process orders, and don't know about collecting(not their fault) and just think its a toy, rather than a sometimes very valuable item.
Ebay pays around half the money charged for GSP to the USPS, usually it seems the amount that it would take to send the item to me from the US.
Ebay keeps the rest, for processing through the warehouse, an unnecessary step and used as a money grab. This is where the price for shipping to buyers is doubled at least.
Relevant taxes are paid as well, I have no issue with that.
The practice of taking a 10% fee of the sellers shipping charge is a rip off for the seller too as I far as I'm concerned. That's them just gouging money they didn't do anything to earn.
The GSP has reduced greatly the amount of things that I can justify buying when weighing a $21 shipping charge against a 2 oz, $4 item.
I get it's to make profit for the company, free enterprise etc but it sure has reduced the fun of picking through and finding cheapish gems.
Just my 2c
Laurie (Waratah)

Since the ebay international shipping program is (these Covid days) often the least expensive option offered, and sometimes the only international shipping method that is offered, I have been using it more an more. Here is what I know, first hand, of how it works. The seller has to ship his package to the closest depot that handles the program (for me that's the Kentucky address). If I set my domestic shipping as USPS First Class package and I set the charge at $3.95 ... this is the amount that ebay forwards to me to ship my item to Kentucky ($3.95). If I'm one of those shipping rip-off guys who says I will ship via Priority Mail and set my shipping charge at $8.50, that is what the seller gets (regardless of how they ship the package). If the seller starts out by overcharging for domestic shipping, that initial cost is added to the international shipping cost.

My package does NOT get opened and repackaged and then forwarded. Ebay's shipping contractor places a new address label on my package (right over my domestic shipping label and postage). Never has one of my packages been opened and placed into another form of packaging. What does happen is that my package goes into a shipping container bound for the destination country and that container does not ship until it is full (hence the possible delay at the at the Kentucky depot). The seller is notified as soon as their package begins its international journey (do not know if the buyer gets the same notification).

If sellers packages are being opened up and sorted through, that is something that is happening at Customs (it is rare for it to happen to outgoing mail and is almost always done by the receiving country). I have personally seen US customs agents handling suspicious packages that were flagged by various means for an internal inspection. Postal inspectors are only concerned about their own personal safety and have no concern for the objects inside the flagged package. This is where such damage commonly occurs. Other times damage can be directly linked to poor choice of packaging materials and the actual poor external package itself. If I wrap up a model with a used shopping bag and stick it in a flimsy box that held previously held some flavored rice, chances are that thing is going to be split wide open in the normal automated process of today's mail processing centers.

The least expensive overseas shipping cost I have experienced in the last four months was a package to U.K. It was a single model & box which weighed in at six ounces, wrapped in bubble wrap and boxed. That cost was just over $13.00 USD. To go further (Europe) would have cost more. To go to OZ or NZ would have been between $18/$19 USD and that's for the least expensive option. That was the discount bulk rate that the USPS gives ebay and which they pass along to sellers. Had I taken that same package to the post office, it would cost more than $21 dollars to some destinations.

It's unfortunate that normal fees now apply to postage amounts (and are deducted from the sellers gross earnings), but it was something that was so badly abused (by sellers) they had no other option. In days past, one could ship from the USA to Canada at a reduced rate (compared to rates for the UK & Europe). However those lesser rates ended when the trump pulled out of NAFTA and everyone went back to the drawing board. It's a two way street, I have given up buying anything from sellers in Canada because the rate is just as expensive from Canada to U.S.

The reality of the economics of buying a ten dollar Matchbox model from an from out of country source is not a recent event. Those postal costs have been climbing over the last several years and have far outpaced inflation. The reason is that postal service pricing has been heavily subsidized by governments to keep the prices low. There is growing disdain in capitalist countries for that business model as a system that was designed to benefit it citizens is swamped by non-brick & mortar business entities.

Then there is the issue of international buyers making a claim: "Item Not Received." As I mentioned elsewhere, tracking alone is not going to help a seller when a buyer makes this claim. You have to upgrade to more expensive shipping and have tracking along with a signed for package. If I sell a model for $50.00 and charge $22.50 for economy shipping and the buyer makes that claim, I've just lost $72.50 and the model and another couple of bucks for the box and packing materials. If I don't want to risk that loss, I'm going to enter a shipping cost that covers my ass and it's going to cost the buyer two thirds of the price of the model (sometimes more depending on their location). Ebay's program does all that for the seller and insures my item against loss. However, it does not insure me against: "Item Not As Described." Since I'm not willing to pay the return shipping cost to get the item back I lose the item and the outgoing shipping cost as well as any funds received. The answer is never sell anything expensive or that is not easily replaceable via ebay. Even if I sell a $10.00 model, once that's combined with international shipping, I'm only one "Item Not As Described" complaint away from paying a considerable sum to give away a model.

[Squid]

A long, but extremely useful, post! I have a few additional thoughts, as well.

International shipping is expensive partially because such shipments likely have to board an aircraft or a ship. In the case of island nations, it's a given. Both of those have high operating costs. (As a former Sailor who is also a certificated aircraft mechanic, I've had opportunities to observe both firsthand.)

I've heard that the Global Shipping Program does not combine shipping. However, Joe's experience is that his boxes have never been opened by the contractor. That would mean it's entirely possible to have multiple purchases in one box. What, exactly, is going on there? Is eBay trying to goad us into believing that so they make more money off shipping?

Finally, I considered my close proximity to Canada. If I had the right credentials, I could theoretically brave the mess that is the Ambassador Bridge, take shipments into Canada Post, and ship them at Canada's prevailing domestic rate. How big a headache would that be in practice?

[waratah]

Hi Joe,
don't disagree with most of your comments, as they go past my comments on price/charges and relate to seller protection which in the end costs money I guess. Certainly understand the mess around returns and refunds that you point out. And the potential for lots of out of pocket costs.
I have received items in a box, naked if you will, surrounded by packing peanuts, with the newly printed label and ebay packing tape on it. It is my assumtion they weren't sent that way to the GSP depot. I think I have purchased 3 or 4 items in 2020 , my sample size is small this year , no problems in 2020.
The lack of combined shipping with the GSP probably has a reason but is frustrating none the less.
I usually only buy or sell Matchbox, so my package sizes/weights have been pretty consistent over the years and I agree that the prices charged by Canada Post are pretty awful. I believe they went that way before the prices began to rise in the States. In fact it can be cheaper to send to the US than a neighbouring province.

Again, my lament is the ability to by reasonably priced vehicles and not have them put out of reach by the mail costs seems to have been lost.

Laurie (Waratah).

[Tinman]

The lack of combined shipping with the GSP probably has a reason but is frustrating none the less.

It is my understanding that the introduction of ebay's "shopping cart" is mainly to assist sellers and buyers with the issue of combined shipping. Once items are placed in the cart, the seller has the opportunity combine all the items on one invoice and that makes it simple (for the seller) to provide combined shipping.  Communication with the seller is advisable, especially if they are auctions as opposed to buy-it-now selections (or combination of both).  That way they know to wait until additional auctions have ended and the additional item (or items) can all be combined on one invoice.

With the shipping prices at what they are these days, I have used this option to purchase multiple items from sellers in the UK and get some bargain priced models that I would not have purchased if I had to pay that shipping cost multiple times.  Of course, this only works when one seller has several reasonable priced models that your interested in purchasing.  But it does help bring the cost of things back into a price within reason.

I have had buyers contact me about my auctions and I have altered settings and other things so that multiple purchases can be combined.  I've also had buyers purchase two or three items, using buy it now, and pay the shipping each time. In those cases, I combine the items and send a refund for the shipping over payment.  I find many things are possible once I contact a seller with my concerns and needs. In some cases, I find out the seller has additional models I'm looking for (which they have yet to list). We agree on a price, they put up a lot deal listing (with buy-it-now) and everything goes in one box with one shipping cost.

Again, my lament is the ability to by reasonably priced vehicles and not have them put out of reach by the mail costs seems to have been lost.

I hear you loud and clear on that and I "feel your pain" as they say. So many times I see a beater or play worn for the perfect price but the shipping is outta sight (most often from UK sellers). That said, there's plenty of domestic sellers wanting high shipping prices that make play worn models too expensive for me to be able to afford.

I hope your doing well and staying safe. If I can ever be of help with some shipping issues, let me know. I'd be happy to let you use my address and I can stock pile some models and ship them all together to save a few $$.

[waratah]

The offer to receive and hold vehicles for me is wonderful. I may just take you up on that. I'll just have to navigate sellers that want to stick to the "send to the address attached to the account"!

I don't doubt any of your comments regarding multiple purchases and combined shipping, but I don't have the energy to go into it with sellers, most enquiries come back GSP purchases can't be combined, if it's not already stated in their listing. That's OK, every has the right to conduct their sales as they see fit.

Again, thanks,

Laurie(Waratah)

[mattrove]

I have more than one address set up with my ebay account. One for a friend in the UK. One for a US forwarding company and my home address in New Zealand. I change which is my primary address as required.

[waratah]

Thanks, found that tab on eBay, room for a couple of addresses. Do I need to do it for paypal as well?

[Idris]

Thanks, found that tab on eBay, room for a couple of addresses. Do I need to do it for paypal as well?

No, leave your PayPal address as it is.