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

[Galactica]

Well, the thing is I agree GSP is the suck, but I've now had 2 chargebacks filed on me several times due to buyers just being too stupid to pick up their own items at customs - after which time, they also presumably got their doll (as it didn't come back to me).

I usually also offer international priority, but it is so expensive.

I've noticed most international buyers these days, at least in the fashion doll community, use third party shipping services that accumulate all of their packages, and then send them in one go. It saves them on shipping and custom fees (if they tend to buy a lot)

[LadyMoondancer]

Oh wow, that sucks that you got hit with chargebacks!  :0  Really unfair. 

Yeah, Priority International is really expensive but most of the time it's about the same price as GSP, at least on ponies.  (Maybe not on heavier items.)  I feel like I've done my part if I'm offering an international option;  if it's too expensive for a lot of international bidders then I completely understand and sympathize, but I've got to protect myself as a seller.

That said, I've still had a fair number of international buyers.  Including a guy from France who bought a $10 Optimus Prime toy (a fairly recent one, not vintage), which surprised me.  The shipping was over three times as much as the toy!  The buyer left glowing feedback, so I guess he was happy.  Maybe that particular toy wasn't sold in France.

I just signed up for a third party shipper in China, for Taobao.  I'm very happy with it so far.  Like you said, it'll be much cheaper to ship a bunch of stuff together--plus the people running it speak Chinese, so if there's trouble they can communicate with the seller on my behalf.  I'll bet there are lots of similar businesses in the US, for eBay.  Might be a good way for non-US ponypeople to save on shipping for US ponies like So-Softs, etc.

[Stormness_1]

90% of the time I avoid it like the plague. I've legit been quoted $50 to ship 6 MLP ribbons from the US to Australia via GSP! $50!!! They'd fit in a standard letter envelope for a few bucks! Not to mention our customs fee threshold is pretty high, (like $1000 I'm pretty sure) so it's rare to even get hit with customs fees, so why should I be paying them?!

If something is super heavy or large, but not hugely valuable, then I'll GSP it, just because it is cheaper somehow (probably because they're ripping people off on the smaller packages!). I've done this a handful of times with no issues yet, because usually the item is so big that they open it and just close it again, because it can't be re-packed, and is pretty durable. Otherwise, I see that little message that means GSP on the search result listing and don't even click on the item listing. I don't even tempt myself. Not worth the potential drama - they'd definitely be damaged, considering the big boxes I've had delivered through them were pretty seriously battered.

Third-party shippers are definitely a better option for those that buy lots of stuff in a particular country.

[goddessofpeep]

I just don't.  Ever.  I hate the overcharging of course, but I'm occasionally willing to cough up for the right item.  It's the repacking thing that gets me.  Most of the stuff I'd want would be large lots of accessories or MIB items, and neither lends itself to clueless, don't give a crap repackers.

It sucks too because certain countries(the UK most notably) are infested with it.  I'd say that at least 70% of sellers from the UK who ship internationally have it.   Well, in the pony section at least.  I've had better luck with Doctor Who, but it's spreading to that too.

[Galactica]

I just don't.  Ever.  I hate the overcharging of course, but I'm occasionally willing to cough up for the right item.  It's the repacking thing that gets me.  Most of the stuff I'd want would be large lots of accessories or MIB items, and neither lends itself to clueless, don't give a crap repackers.

It sucks too because certain countries(the UK most notably) are infested with it.  I'd say that at least 70% of sellers from the UK who ship internationally have it.   Well, in the pony section at least.  I've had better luck with Doctor Who, but it's spreading to that too.

I think Ebay's horrible rules and tendancy to side with the buyer, no matter what, even when it looks like fraud, is why more people use GSP. It wouldn't surprise me if Ebay made things more difficult for the sellers as a way to force more people to use their rip-off service.

[Nilenna]

Thank you all for taking time to answering me. It's just like I was thinking then. I don't always get the price either... sometimes they ask more money for two ponies then for a lot of six ponies for example. I don't get GSP at all. But I feel so so so many listings use this, and when I ask seller about it, they say they can't change it or they wont... :/ So that means there's a lot of lovely ponies (and other) that I really should not bid on. It sucks.
also..living in Norway, I guess the cost is even higher for me.. :/ Bah!!

[Taffeta]

I just don't.  Ever.  I hate the overcharging of course, but I'm occasionally willing to cough up for the right item.  It's the repacking thing that gets me.  Most of the stuff I'd want would be large lots of accessories or MIB items, and neither lends itself to clueless, don't give a crap repackers.

It sucks too because certain countries(the UK most notably) are infested with it.  I'd say that at least 70% of sellers from the UK who ship internationally have it.   Well, in the pony section at least.  I've had better luck with Doctor Who, but it's spreading to that too.

I think that's probably true. The US is the same, but you guys wouldn't see that any more than we see the UK ones. I imagine that probably the UK are as bad offenders with GSP overseas as the US are. It sucks. Personally I feel like if a seller would rather only ship to their own country they should list their auctions that way. What they're doing by listing GSP is saying that they want the money from international bids but can't be bothered to do any of the work that goes with international customer service. Instead they would rather the buyer pays inflated charges, extra import duty and ultimately suffers severe delays and maybe the damage or loss of their item.  I would rather click on an auction and see "US Only" and know that the seller was being honest with the buyer about where they wanted to ship, than click on one that says GSP and know that the seller is fine about exploiting me as a customer if it means they get a higher bid price.

And I say US only but I am of course aware that the UK are very guilty of GSP crime too. Just for me it only ever affects me buying from the US, as I'm not even sure if most of Europe use GSP and I buy from the US more than most other countries outside my own anyway.  I am by no means slating just the US in this. I see UK GSP sellers in the same way or maybe more so, because I know how easy it is to ship internationally from the UK, and how NOT hard it is to fill in a custom form. My post office gives me them to take home so it's not as if you couldn't do it all in advance and just take it to the post office to be processed.

If it was really about fraud, then GSP would insist on a signature on receipt. Ebay told me categorically they don't insist on a signature, just the word of the courier that it's been delivered. That's a risk for fraud if you ask me, especially when compared with the actual signature that is needed for international postal items coming with tracking (including those from the US to the UK and vice versa).

[Wardah]

I just don't.  Ever.  I hate the overcharging of course, but I'm occasionally willing to cough up for the right item.  It's the repacking thing that gets me.  Most of the stuff I'd want would be large lots of accessories or MIB items, and neither lends itself to clueless, don't give a crap repackers.

It sucks too because certain countries(the UK most notably) are infested with it.  I'd say that at least 70% of sellers from the UK who ship internationally have it.   Well, in the pony section at least.  I've had better luck with Doctor Who, but it's spreading to that too.

I think that's probably true. The US is the same, but you guys wouldn't see that any more than we see the UK ones. I imagine that probably the UK are as bad offenders with GSP overseas as the US are. It sucks. Personally I feel like if a seller would rather only ship to their own country they should list their auctions that way. What they're doing by listing GSP is saying that they want the money from international bids but can't be bothered to do any of the work that goes with international customer service. Instead they would rather the buyer pays inflated charges, extra import duty and ultimately suffers severe delays and maybe the damage or loss of their item.  I would rather click on an auction and see "US Only" and know that the seller was being honest with the buyer about where they wanted to ship, than click on one that says GSP and know that the seller is fine about exploiting me as a customer if it means they get a higher bid price.

And I say US only but I am of course aware that the UK are very guilty of GSP crime too. Just for me it only ever affects me buying from the US, as I'm not even sure if most of Europe use GSP and I buy from the US more than most other countries outside my own anyway.  I am by no means slating just the US in this. I see UK GSP sellers in the same way or maybe more so, because I know how easy it is to ship internationally from the UK, and how NOT hard it is to fill in a custom form. My post office gives me them to take home so it's not as if you couldn't do it all in advance and just take it to the post office to be processed.

If it was really about fraud, then GSP would insist on a signature on receipt. Ebay told me categorically they don't insist on a signature, just the word of the courier that it's been delivered. That's a risk for fraud if you ask me, especially when compared with the actual signature that is needed for international postal items coming with tracking (including those from the US to the UK and vice versa).

I have sold dolls using GSP before. I didn't even know it was selected. I wasn't planning on selling internationally since even tho the UK and Canada have reliable postal devices there's plenty of countries that do not and unfortunately ebay is all or nothing when it comes to international sales. Needless to say I got a buyer in Italy of all places who was even willing to pay my long shot BIN price. Since I found out I would only be responsible for shipping it to the EBay shipping center I decided to go for it and a person in Italy was able to get a doll that they really wanted. So yeah as an occasional seller I will use it. I feel bad for charging so much to UK and Canada peeps but I like that it gives people in riskier locations a chance to have something they otherwise wouldn't.

[bluerose9978]

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

This! I actually use first class shipping to ship out ponies unless someone requests priority. I have never had a problem with first class getting to my customer. Sometimes it may take longer, but usually it's actually pretty fast if shipping only a couple ponies in a bubble mailer and it saves my buyer on shipping costs.

[Loona]

I try to avoid it, because it's just unnecessarily expensive more often than not, but as an international buyer I unfortunately have to make compromises and use it if I want to get some items that aren't available in my country, and also in relatively small amounts in Europe. I guess it's partly because the few European sellers of the item know the items' rarer status on the continent, but in such cases it sometimes happens that the item actually comes out cheaper from the US with GSP than if I bought it within Europe, without GSP).
I am mentioning continental differences here because recently I come across more and more listings where US sellers strictly state that they only ship overseas with GSP, but within Europe it's not this common. I guess US sellers have relatively more negative experience with overseas sales, as the longer journey the packet goes through leaves considerably more room for it to arrive damaged/get lost on the way/make some buyers frustrated over the long arrival time.

So yeah, I do not like it and try to avoid it, but I still have to use it more frequently recently, because more and more sellers refuse to send without it, even if separately messaged...

[NightGliderSA]

Yes, I will bid on an item if the seller only uses the GSP for international shipments. However I will then opt to have that item shipped within the US to my reshipping agent in Florida. Thereby circumventing the GSP entirely. As has been mentioned, it is a slow and expensive shipping option and one that I will avoid. My reshipper is less expensive and uses a courier service, not the postal system, to get my parcel to me here in South Africa. Hope this information helps.

[Taffeta]

I guess US sellers have relatively more negative experience with overseas sales, as the longer journey the packet goes through leaves considerably more room for it to arrive damaged/get lost on the way/make some buyers frustrated over the long arrival time.

I don't think that's the reason. I think it's just that there are generally more people in the US, so therefore you're more likely to hit one who doesn't ship abroad. Also because US people don't pay import duty, there are often miscommunications between seller and buyer and US sellers get fed up with buyers getting angry at custom duties at the destination, whereas buyers get fed up wth sellers who don't put the accurate value of the sale on the form but actually price up to what they think the item is worth, thus making it more expensive all around. GSP cuts out that process.

GSP allows a US seller to ship abroad without a custom form being filled in and without the risk of miscommunications over import duties. But I think it's also that a lot of people are selling now that might not have done previously. And as I said, the US is a big country. So that's a bigger chance of finding someone who doesn't ship abroad.

[Noasar]

No! It's terrible. I actually messaged a seller and asked if they could post the pony regular international mail, but she said she didn't know how to take off the GSP as it was put on by default? It's a rip off - customs charges for a $10 pony to come into the UK? Crazy!

[Ringlets]

I said no to GSP earlier ... and I still would 99% of the time , but now I find myself postie stalking waiting for a doll shipped from the US via GSP. Because even with GSP she was still much cheaper than buying her from a Uk seller  ATM. So I took the risk  .  It's a loose used doll so I'm hoping everything will be fine, there's no way I'd have considered it if she was MIB  - but I'm still biting my nails due to the re-packaging   

 

[Einhornbaby]

Ouch, some terrible stories here!! Im sorry thi has happened to so many of you!
Ive not even known that it existed but today... well long story short, I just bought a BABW Luna pony on ebay UK. Shipping price seemed legit (10GBP for a big plush to Germany is ok... BABW themselves changes 15, so Im fine with 10) but then I got an email. It explained that I was to expect two different payments charged from my paypal account and I was like WTF WHY? Hm. Well, its "only" a plush. I guess it will be ok if the package gets opened and repacked but to be honest Im a little worried now... takes the joy out of my deal. Im 99% sure the auction didnt even state what kind of shipping method would be used. Crossing my fingers it will arrive safely!

*sigh* buying stuff for your collection gets harder and harder it seems.