USA domestic shipping increase is now in effect

[johnboy]

Useful link here for UK buyers:

https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty

[motorman]

I am not having much luck at the moment as the last 3 packages that I have received from USA sellers have all been intercepted by UKCustoms who then employed Royal Mail to hold my packages until I paid their ransom demand. Today I was £15.89 in duty and handling fees. it always puts a damper on things.

[fixer]

duty is acceptable but the extra handling is unjust ...they have already been paid to handle the package

[johnboy]

VAT payable on the postage and packaging charges as well as the goods is a choker.

[Tinman]

As a buyer, I will not buy from sellers using eBay's global shipping program (GSP). I assume GSP uses Priority which I find their rates to be inflated as I never pay that much for 1st Class or even when a seller ships Priority directly. But it makes sense now knowing the postage rate is higher than normal as tracking is included and that does cost more. The GSP also adds duty/custom charges which I never pay when a seller ships directly to me and not using their 3rd party distribution centre. So if Canada Customs is not charging me duty, then where are those GSP duty fees going? Is ebay actually issuing the collected funds to Canada Customs or are they pocketing it????

Here is an actual example. I asked a seller who indicated the use of GSP if they would ship via 1st Class instead. They were ok with it and quoted me about $7 USD via 1st Class. The ebay postage calculator indicated the GSP and listed $15 (this would have included Priority service I assume, as well as tracking and duty fees) but why would I pay $15 when I got it for $7?

I can understand the added cost for Priority (even though it's a rip off) and tracking, but not the unsubstantiated duty fees. And the worst part is, the duty is only estimated as the GSP does not calculate the final duty until the final sale price. As the value increases, so does the duty.

Ebay does not operate the Global Shipping Program. When a sellers opts in the global shipping program, the seller is responsible for shipping the package to the global shipping headquarters (and within four days of the sale date). The Global Shipping operation is run by Pitney Bowes. When an auction ends, the software designed and owned by Pitney Bowes (and used by ebay) determines the actual shipping and tariff costs and bills the buyer. Ebay becomes a middle man for the middle man (i.e. Pitney Bowes). Pitney Bowes collects it's money from ebay (who collects it's money from you).

Pitney Bowes is the one in charge of paying tariffs and import duty to the destination country and Pitney Bowes is in charge of selecting the carrier for delivery. What percentage of money Pitney Bowes charges for doing this is unknown and not disclosed to the public. Same goes for any fees ebay might take from the pot for acting as the middle man's middle man. In return for the sellers and the buyers money, Pitney Bowes arranges the transport of the package, pays the taxes and duty to the buyer's country and guarantees ebay that the package will reach the hands of the buyer.

This allows ebay to make a guarantee to the seller that if the buyer makes an "Item not delivered" claim or "item arrived damaged", that the seller is covered and does not have to issue a refund (or have the money taken from their account).

Great, one might think ... the next time I sell a HW Beach Bomb or a Reverse Color Wrecker, I'll use the Global Shipping Program. Not so fast, there are tons of exclusions not the least of which are total item value. The most that can be is $2,500 USD and there are lesser amounts for different countries. There is also a huge list of items and even entire ebay categories that do not qualify. Ship a diecast to Italy, and it's not covered (illegal item) and so goes the huge list of items, countries, laws and so on which will exclude your item from the protection the program offers. Another kicker is if the item is deemed undeliverable (for whatever reason), the seller does not get their item back.

[kwakers]

Thanks for the wake up on all of this Joe! The part about a Seller not even getting their item back from Pitney Bowes sounds both scary and also VERY illegal. I would never even consider using a middle man for shipping because that is almost by it's definition what I consider lazy conduct. In this day and age shipping ourselves is so easy to manage, even a Cave Man like myself can mail most anything to all parts of the world with very little difficulty.
Thanks also for warning all of our Forum members about the rise in U.S. shipping rates, and for explaining why my 2 day Priority package to our friend John had not arrived as of 5 days after I had mailed it. I never knew Priority packages traveled along with the 1st class ones on snow filled roads, so I have wasted some mailing $$ for nothing but a fancy name. Priority Mail now seems to have been just a very slick advertising campaign by the USPS that even I fell for . kwakers

[Tinman]

Dick, here's the deal, you list a Caravan with the Uber Rare plastic windows on ebay and it sells for $1,500. The buyer pays and You ship the package to someone living in a real Caravan somewhere in Ireland. The buyer decides to relocate his Caravan during the package's journey and it can't be delivered. Your are covered and you keep the money. The item was gone from your possession the moment you handed it off to your postman and the money for the package was already in your bank account. The only sad thing is that the guy who lives in the Caravan never gets his item and a rare toy has gone into never never land. In such a case as this, the seller has what he wanted.

[kwakers]

WOW! Buyer beware I guess...... That sounds like the best reason I can imagine NEVER to Buy from anyone using the Global Shipping System. I'll bet that fact will never appear in print anywhere on E Bay's site. The positive news is that my Cave is fairly immovable unlike your Caravan example, so I may be safer than that Irishman was.
Dick

[Tinman]

WOW! Buyer beware I guess...... That sounds like the best reason I can imagine NEVER to Buy from anyone using the Global Shipping System. I'll bet that fact will never appear in print anywhere on E Bay's site. The positive news is that my Cave is fairly immovable unlike your Caravan example, so I may be safer than that Irishman was.
Dick

The buyer is also protected. If there is no proof of delivery, Ebay refunds the buyer all their money. From what I have read, ebay now becomes the indemnitee and is compensated by Pitney Bowes. The whole reason ebay bought into this plan is because they can offer a guarantee to both buyer and seller and not sustain any financial loss in doing so. Ebay becomes a third party only involved with the auction or sale portion and is provided with indemnity against financial loss by Pitney Bowes. What I don't know is if Pitney Bowes is self insured or if they rely on the carriers to compensate them in case of loss.

The only person that suffers is the buyer and that punishment comes in the form of inflated shipping costs. Someone has to pay for all these middlemen (each of whom take a slice of the pie) and that someone is the buyer. Ebay loves this program because they can offer the buyer and seller a guarantee and if ebay does have to pay out (to one or both parties) , nothing comes out of their pocket.

The problem is sellers who don't read up on the program and sellers who don't realize they can opt out for smaller relatively inexpensive items. Some think ebay is losing money because this program is causing buyers to pass on sellers who use the program for inexpensive items. On the contrary, this program has saved ebay millions by shifting all the risk directly to Pitney Bowes and the carriers, ebay gets reimbursed regardless of fraud or actual shipment loss. Many sellers are happy because they are protected against loss and fraud.

I don't see the program going away anytime soon. What needs to happen is more seller education about the program and sellers who insist on using this method to ship one or two fairly low cost items (under $100 for example) should just be avoided. Collectors usually do their best to keep shipping costs low, dealers just want protection against loss. The key here is to minimize your dealings with for profit dealers and do more business with other collectors who dabble in sales.