Do you bid if item is shipped with Global Shipping Program?

[Nilenna]

I'm wondering if you care about the global shipping program on ebay? Do you bid/buy if seller use this option?
What country are you from?

Can someone explain this GSP for me? I think it's so expencive. And do you have to pay customs/import charges too, or this baked into the GSP?

I read so many negative things about GSP. :/ And feel like most listings on ebay use this option.. 

Thank you for reading/answering

~ Nilenna ~

[moving to TS ~ Kiwi]

[Brightglowpony]

I personally try to avoid it.  I have only bought from sellers twice who used the GSP, and both times the shipping service poorly re-packaged the ponies.  They were more expensive ponies too so it was disappointing that there was not more care in packing them, considering it was nearly triple the cost to mail them with the GSP.  One box arrived crushed and open.   I called eBay and they said that as long as the item arrived undamaged, they cannot do anything about the packing.  I was a bit gutted they did not seem to address the poor packing of the GSP.  So from a buyer's standpoint, I have chosen not to bid on items that use the GSP. 

I have not received any customs fees either, but I am unsure if the GSP has anything to do with that, or if it varies by country/cost and type of item.  (I am in the USA).  I believe as a seller, the GSP is supposed to offer more security.  I'd be curious to hear a seller's perspective on this though. 

[lovesbabysquirmy]

AVOID the GSP at all costs!  It's overpriced, they open the boxes and REPACK!!! and you have no recourse over what happens  

[tornadoe]

its fraud on a global scale. They charge more than needed and make you pay import duties when none are needed. They are breaking the law and ebay are helping them.
I tried to call them and never got through.
SOmetimes you have no choice and if no import duty is to be charged then I use it as the tracking  (when it works) is very useful, but I prefer not to.

[Artemesia's Garden]

If postage is via the global shipping program, it's not for me.

[nhal039]

I never have brought this way as like said they will poorly repack items. I would buy I guess if it was an item I really wanted but certainly I wouldn't buy any thing that required good packing like moc ponies, wingers etc.
The program has also taken out perfume bottles from moc items

[Thunderwing]

I won't use it. No no no no no.

[Baby Sugarberry]

I avoid GSP auctions at all costs.  They're nothing short of fraudulent 99.9% of the time.

The rare exception would be very large/heavy items, which once in a blue moon may end up less expensive to ship through eBay for whatever reason I can't divine.  But I wouldn't trust them with anything fragile or very valuable for the reasons already stated.

[Ringlets]

I agree with everyone else here - avoid buying if the seller uses GSP if you possibly can!
the price of shipping and the tax if you are international is crazy over inflated. The items are very poorly repacked too     (on the couple of occasions where I have tried buying items that sellers only shipped using GSP my parcels were almost open and no protection inside for MIB either!) are just a couple of examples why it's a no no  99% of the time for me. I will not ship using this method either.

[tulagirl]

I avoid all international auctions that use GSP.  I don't care for the fact that they repackage things that the seller has taken the time and care to package correctly.  They take a lot of the necessary package material out of the box and leave the items at risk to be broken or even lost.  There is no way I am paying more for this kind of service.  Its just not logical to me.

[Stiletto]

GSP = AVOID AT ALL COSTS NO MATTER WHAT

[Artemesia's Garden]

I never have brought this way as like said they will poorly repack items. I would buy I guess if it was an item I really wanted but certainly I wouldn't buy any thing that required good packing like moc ponies, wingers etc.
The program has also taken out perfume bottles from moc items

:panic:

[Galactica]

I hate the GSP I think it is a total rip off, but...  I will use it occasionally when I have something high value.  It protects me from fraud- otherwise there are unfortunately just a few people out there who will claim that they didn't get the item, or sometimes they mean well but something happened with customs or they didn't see the pick-up slip, or it was delivered to a neighbor-  so many things to go wrong.  Or maybe it is just taking way too long in the mail.  All things that can cause a buyer to file a Non-Received-Item claim, and as we all know, ebay will "resolve" such claim quite quickly, granting a full refund to the buyer. 

I could solve this by requiring the buyer to pay for priority mail or registered mail, but that is even more expensive than GSP.

So no more international sales for me, except through GSP, unless to a friend, or a low value item that I don't care about a potential reversal.

[Taffeta]

US buyers have a slight advantage with GSP in terms of higher value items, because internationally if you have a country which charges buyers import, it's generally hugely inflated from what it would be at the border, making it overall a more expensive means of postage.

I only use it for lots of ponies where shipping works out cheaper than it would to ship it otherwise and where nothing valuable is being shipped. I won't use it for MOC or MIP items, which means there are at least three sellers on ebay whose ponies haven't sold this year because they use GSP - I would have bought them if they hadn't been so lazy

GSP also isn't secure. Yes, a damaged item is likely to get a refund, but as proven by my spate of parcels signed for by 'the bush' outside my home, they don't require a signature from the client or don't care where they leave it. Especially if you have a bad courier company who isn't as reliable. I have heard of things being left halfway down roads when it's a rural address. I asked ebay about it and they frankly told me that GSP doesn't have to be signed for, so basically GSP takes twice as long, charges you extra import duties that you don't owe, and there's no guarantee you will get your item. It's only a good idea if the item you are buying is not valuable and very heavy through other methods, as it's the one and only time GSP has a point.

I know a lot of sellers were opted in, but a lot mention in the description that they use it, so they've chosen to ship that way. Basically it's a way for a seller to bother less about the customer, and the customer to assume a greater burden than with regular direct postage.

Galactica, by taking that policy you are forcing many buyers to receive items via unreliable couriers which damage the items. In the UK at least, direct mail comes through Royal Mail or Parcelforce. Neither are perfect, but it's easier to track back and find out what's gone wrong. By choosing GPS you're creating the situation for your buyer that you hope to avoid.

In short, it's to be avoided.

It's a shame, because in theory it ought to be a great thing - but it's too penny-pinching and greedy with the repacking, overinflated fees and the fact delivery generally takes 2x as long as it would through a direct method.

[LadyMoondancer]

I use Priority Mail on eBay instead of the GSP.  To me the GSP is a complete waste of money because it's as expensive as Priority Mail BUT

- is slower
- they repackage items, and may do a bad job repackaging
- they also sometimes damage items while opening them, as they are apparently swinging willy-nilly with box cutters
- THEY REFUSE TO COMBINE SHIPPING (probably because it would cut into their profit) so if you buy three items from a seller, get ready to pay three separate, crazy shipping prices!
- hey, remember that time someone on the board tried to buy a MIB Perfume Puff Palace, except the GSP confiscated it because they are too dumb to tell the difference between a vintage playset and real perfume?  (Real perfume can't be sent in the mail.)  That was really sad.  Neither the seller nor the buyer ever got the Perfume Puff Palace.

The GSP also charges buyers customs fees even on items that normally wouldn't incur customs fees.  Which is another point for using Priority International instead.