Wow, Ebay prices

[Artemesia's Garden]

Oooh, those articles about "your old [toy] could be worth MILLIONS!!!" drive me insane. They always miss out the fact that markets are unstable/ever-changing, NOT every old toy is inherently valuable.. then you get stuff where one particular version of a thing goes for big money (say... I dunno, Greek Firefly) but the article says "ALL versions ever made of this toy go for $$$$$$!!"... Ugh!

And I agree, Global Shipping is a nightmare. I get that shipping prices HAVE changed over the years (that's a whooole other rant ) but GSP ridiculously overcharges, 9 times out of 10. :/

I have contacted a seller in the past and managed to get them to change the postage service, but only once when I ordered a lot of ponies from the USA. Ebay make it ever-harder to set up international postage properly without using the Global Shi**ing program.

[Ponybookworm]

IMO the WORST thing about the GSP is the fact it never accounts for combined postage. Say you want three items from a seller & they have ANY other postage & package option. You pay, they pack the stuff, weigh the package at their post office, & refund you the P&P difference.

With GSP: no refund for buying multiples from the same seller, even if they shift one package to you instead of three. Total rip-off

[ridi]

This is what I have to deal with using an auction for a so-so condition Morning Glory as an example:

Subtotal (1 item)    US $13.00
Shipping    US $25.16
Import charges    US $13.45
Order total    US $51.61

It's just...  Do ebay and sellers who don't ship internationally much realize they're losing sales from this? Though I guess the international market is so small for US sellers that maybe they don't even realize.

[ScotchHop]

It makes a HUGE difference if the seller marks the package as a 'gift'. You can still get bitten by customs fees occasionally, but if you don't then it massively brings down the price of buying from the US.
I get import duties normally, but for ponies I think it's a bit mad. They are treasure to us, but I doubt any customs agents would think so if they opened the packages   

[tailrustedtealeaf]

It's just...  Do ebay and sellers who don't ship internationally much realize they're losing sales from this? Though I guess the international market is so small for US sellers that maybe they don't even realize.

I'm guilty of letting my stuff default to GSP, lol. I think in your case, if a pony is very "common" or otherwise not really known for being reigion-locked, people may not figure that international buyers would be interested. Someone got a G3 from me recently through the GSP (it's on by default), I was surprised they had considering it was just a Rainbow Dash.

It makes a HUGE difference if the seller marks the package as a 'gift'. You can still get bitten by customs fees occasionally, but if you don't then it massively brings down the price of buying from the US.

Unfortunately, that's lying on a federal form. I can see a lot of eBay sellers who would not do this.

[Leave a Whisper]

I think they're starting to come down again.

[LadyAmalthea]

It makes a HUGE difference if the seller marks the package as a 'gift'. You can still get bitten by customs fees occasionally, but if you don't then it massively brings down the price of buying from the US.

Don't you also forfeit buyer/seller protection by doing this?

[ridi]

According to my country's import regulations though, we don't need to pay a fee to import anything below around $20-30, gift or no gift. The "import charges" are added on by ebay during checkout. I'm not entirely sure what they are for.

Some of my proxy services offer to mark my packages as gifts, but I sometimes have to pay the import fee anyway. 

[ponyprincess2021]

It's crazy out there! What is especially annoying is that people are putting really shabby stuff online for insane prices. Like, at least give them a wash if you expect me to pay that much!

I just got a new pony and it was all sticky and looked even worse than the photos. I really don’t get why people can’t wash what their selling. I mean maybe if the hair was a little frizzy or there was a few marks that wouldn’t be a problem. But if it looks and feels gross then you really shouldn’t be selling it for so high or at least clean it if someone is going to buy it.

[Leave a Whisper]

It's crazy out there! What is especially annoying is that people are putting really shabby stuff online for insane prices. Like, at least give them a wash if you expect me to pay that much!

I just got a new pony and it was all sticky and looked even worse than the photos. I really don’t get why people can’t wash what their selling. I mean maybe if the hair was a little frizzy or there was a few few marks that wouldn’t be a problem. But if it looks and feels gross then you really shouldn’t be selling it for so high or at least clean it if someone is going to buy it.

[ScotchHop]

It makes a HUGE difference if the seller marks the package as a 'gift'. You can still get bitten by customs fees occasionally, but if you don't then it massively brings down the price of buying from the US.

Don't you also forfeit buyer/seller protection by doing this?

Happy to be corrected, but I’m not sure that you do. Consumer protection and customs fees are totally distinct areas of law. If you are mis-sold an item or it’s lost in transit, I think the onus is still on the seller to ensure your goods arrive as promised. And as for the insurance of the carrier, I’d like to think that a lost gift would be afforded the same protection as a lost purchase 

But someone else said that it’s technically fraud, and I think they are probably spot on with that so some seller might be reluctant to do it 

[invaderhorizongreen]

You should see how crazy the goodwill auctions with gen one get, I have walked away from a few. I said NOPE not paying that much forget it.

[brightberry]

It makes a HUGE difference if the seller marks the package as a 'gift'. You can still get bitten by customs fees occasionally, but if you don't then it massively brings down the price of buying from the US.

Don't you also forfeit buyer/seller protection by doing this?

Happy to be corrected, but I’m not sure that you do. Consumer protection and customs fees are totally distinct areas of law. If you are mis-sold an item or it’s lost in transit, I think the onus is still on the seller to ensure your goods arrive as promised. And as for the insurance of the carrier, I’d like to think that a lost gift would be afforded the same protection as a lost purchase 

But someone else said that it’s technically fraud, and I think they are probably spot on with that so some seller might be reluctant to do it 

I can see why sellers would be reluctant if they have to pay everything including shipping back if the item doesn’t show.  I would really rather not take the risk.

The cost of shipping going up really makes me cringe.  Buying over seas is so crazy expensive these days.  When can we start beaming stuff around the world?

[Artemesia's Garden]

Unfortunately, that's lying on a federal form.

But I like unicorns. Unicorns are good.

[MagicMarye]

It has definitely got more expensive to buy from Ebay in the UK, partly ridiculous prices on basic ponies and partly that the bidding has been going crazy- with lots of sniping from power sellers. I have had alot more luck on Swedish Tradera site lately - some really lovely sellers and rarer ponies, even with risk of customs charges I've been quite lucky.