eBay Global Shipping Program - All Sellers Are Now Opted In

[MaronaPossessed]

Confused on just what's horrible about it.
From what I understand, it's been completely fine for my husband. :/

There are several things about the program that people don't like.
1. Apparently the 3rd party shipper opens and repackages products
2. Shipping is 2x the amount for the buyer as opposed to other shipping methods
3. They automatically add on what they call "import" charges, which in reality is a brokering fee for the 3rd party shipper and a handling fee for the country it's going to.
I'll say that out of 400+ purchases in the last year, I've paid custom fees upon delivery 3 times.
The Global Shipping Program states that if you shop with a seller using that program that you will NOT have to pay anything extra for your purchase when it arrives. However that's completely false, several people have been charged extra fees like taxes and such, even though they were assured otherwise.

We refuse to buy from sellers that use that program, which sucks because there is alot of stuff that we want to get, and it seems as though only those sellers offer it. But when you're looking at a pair of say $25 jeans, and then $25 for shipping, plus another $10-$15 for import charges, it doesn't seem like such a wonderful deal anymore.

USPS shipping is cheaper, even with the tracking, I don't understand why a seller would prefer the GSP through ebay.

However living in Canada that's not an option for us here unless we use ebay.com, which I don't because the majority of sellers only ship within the US.

So to each their own.

This person is like the knowledge base of Ebay. Amazing

[MikeysGrrrl]

Confused on just what's horrible about it.
From what I understand, it's been completely fine for my husband. :/

There are several things about the program that people don't like.
1. Apparently the 3rd party shipper opens and repackages products
2. Shipping is 2x the amount for the buyer as opposed to other shipping methods
3. They automatically add on what they call "import" charges, which in reality is a brokering fee for the 3rd party shipper and a handling fee for the country it's going to.
I'll say that out of 400+ purchases in the last year, I've paid custom fees upon delivery 3 times.
The Global Shipping Program states that if you shop with a seller using that program that you will NOT have to pay anything extra for your purchase when it arrives. However that's completely false, several people have been charged extra fees like taxes and such, even though they were assured otherwise.

We refuse to buy from sellers that use that program, which sucks because there is alot of stuff that we want to get, and it seems as though only those sellers offer it. But when you're looking at a pair of say $25 jeans, and then $25 for shipping, plus another $10-$15 for import charges, it doesn't seem like such a wonderful deal anymore.

USPS shipping is cheaper, even with the tracking, I don't understand why a seller would prefer the GSP through ebay.

However living in Canada that's not an option for us here unless we use ebay.com, which I don't because the majority of sellers only ship within the US.

So to each their own.

This person is like the knowledge base of Ebay. Amazing

LMAO, not a knowledge base that's for sure, I've just done my research on that program and the DSR rating system (something else that's debated and confusing).
These two issues are truly something most people find confusing and don't fully understand how they work.
It wouldn't hurt ebay to be honest and upfront about both programs so people understood and could make informed decisions as opposed to just believing something is good because it's put out there.

[kakenterprise]

I looked my account over and it didn't opt me into there dumb Shipping program (but I'm glad I made sure)

[Star-Watcher]

LMAO, not a knowledge base that's for sure, I've just done my research on that program and the DSR rating system (something else that's debated and confusing).
These two issues are truly something most people find confusing and don't fully understand how they work.
It wouldn't hurt ebay to be honest and upfront about both programs so people understood and could make informed decisions as opposed to just believing something is good because it's put out there.

The DSR system isn't too difficult to understand, as illustrated in this freely redistributable little comic...

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


Additionally, three of the four DSR categories can become an auto 5 stars (unratable by the buyer).

1:  Communication.  If there is no communication through eBay messages for a transaction, that is an auto 5.

2:  Shipping Time.  If the item is shipped within the stated handling time, and arrives within eBay's estimated delivery time, that is an auto 5.

3:  Shipping and Handling Charges.  If the seller uses "free" shipping, that is an auto 5.  And by free shipping, that is for domestic shipping.  Typically, a smart seller will figure out how much it would cost to ship an item to a zone 8 location (like, if you are on the West Coast, that would be the shipping cost to the East Coast), and adds that (and the eBay fees for that as well) to the asking price or opening bid.  The benefits for the seller is that they are not expected to give a shipping discount for multiple purchases, even if they are shipping everything in the same package.  After all, as far as the buyer is concerned, shipping is "free".

Plus, if the buyer is international, then shipping is in addition to the item price, so none of the item price is eaten up in shipping, and none of the shipping that the buyer pays is eaten up in eBay fees, since the shipping final value fee for internationals is based on the cheapest domestic shipping shown (free in this case).

Personally, short of doing away with the insane DSR system, if you made your purchase fully knowing what the shipping charges would be, then the shipping cost star should still be an auto 5, unless the seller cheated and downgraded your service (like if you paid for Priority, and the seller shipped Parcel Select or Media instead for example..)

If you are not happy with what an item's shipping cost is showing up front, then a buyer should either try before purchasing to see if the seller will lower the cost, or simply not deal with that seller, and find one who has costs that are more palatable.  Buying with the shipping costs fully out in the open even though you think it is too high, and then dinging the shipping star later smacks of malicious buying.  Ultimately, shop by total price, and don't worry how the seller divvies that price up to arrive at that amount.  If the total is within your price range, you should be good to go.  Besides, when shipping is being charged separately, that cost is not subject to the Top Rated Seller discount, so sellers are already hurting themselves with that little game.

And finally, some sellers do the low price and high shipping to get around newbie account selling limits, which are based on item prices and not shipping costs.  And since eBay is becoming more and more heavy handed with their bread and butter sellers, that is, the small time sellers like those of us here on the Arena as opposed to their big retail customers, I give a hearty thumbs up to anyone who is willing to do what is right for themselves and fight the system.

[Thunderwing]

When I try to opt out, I click on the 'edit' button, and get a message in red that says  You're already enrolled in the Global Shipping Program.

What can I do?

[MikeysGrrrl]

When I try to opt out, I click on the 'edit' button, and get a message in red that says  You're already enrolled in the Global Shipping Program.

What can I do?

I would try contacting ebay directly and find out what if anything you can do. Maybe it's something that will just become mandatory. *I hope not though*

[bluerose9978]

When I try to opt out, I click on the 'edit' button, and get a message in red that says  You're already enrolled in the Global Shipping Program.

What can I do?

You actually have to go into your account preferences and change it that way. It worked for me. There was just a yes/no button.

[banditpony]

Confused on just what's horrible about it.
From what I understand, it's been completely fine for my husband. :/

There are several things about the program that people don't like.
1. Apparently the 3rd party shipper opens and repackages products
2. Shipping is 2x the amount for the buyer as opposed to other shipping methods
3. They automatically add on what they call "import" charges, which in reality is a brokering fee for the 3rd party shipper and a handling fee for the country it's going to.
I'll say that out of 400+ purchases in the last year, I've paid custom fees upon delivery 3 times.
The Global Shipping Program states that if you shop with a seller using that program that you will NOT have to pay anything extra for your purchase when it arrives. However that's completely false, several people have been charged extra fees like taxes and such, even though they were assured otherwise.

We refuse to buy from sellers that use that program, which sucks because there is alot of stuff that we want to get, and it seems as though only those sellers offer it. But when you're looking at a pair of say $25 jeans, and then $25 for shipping, plus another $10-$15 for import charges, it doesn't seem like such a wonderful deal anymore.

USPS shipping is cheaper, even with the tracking, I don't understand why a seller would prefer the GSP through ebay.

However living in Canada that's not an option for us here unless we use ebay.com, which I don't because the majority of sellers only ship within the US.

So to each their own.

I don't think that's *too* awful. Those were things I was aware of, I thought there were some sort of hidden horror stories. As a buyer, I could see why you wouldn't want to.

It seems like my husband's buyers are willing to go forth and use it anyway. As you said, to each their own.

(He sells heavier items, that people are more then willing to pay $40-60 shipping on anyway through either priority or express mail. So shipping is already very expensive. *Shrug*)

[blondee1982]

Thank you  Star-Watcher and bluerose9978 I was getting the same error message too but I got it changed now, what a relief because the Global Shipping Program is a bad deal for the buyer and seller

[Baby Mischief]

So what you are saying is that not all sellers are aware of that they use the global shipping program?! That explains a few things... I purchase stuff from Ebay several times a week (I know, way too much ) and I have asked sellers if they can use a different shipping method, and sometimes they sound really surprised when I tell them about the shipping cost in their auctions. And the sellers who tries to change shipping method cant!
So now I just dont bother with the auctions that uses the program..

[MikeysGrrrl]

So what you are saying is that not all sellers are aware of that they use the global shipping program?! That explains a few things... I purchase stuff from Ebay several times a week (I know, way too much ) and I have asked sellers if they can use a different shipping method, and sometimes they sound really surprised when I tell them about the shipping cost in their auctions. And the sellers who tries to change shipping method cant!
So now I just dont bother with the auctions that uses the program..

I think some sellers are unaware that they have a choice in what shipping they use, or their left to believe that it's the best shipping option ever and just can't be bothered.
Apparently it's great for some sellers and buyers, but for smaller purchases, it's not worth it.

Post Merge: July 18, 2013, 01:28:33 PM

LMAO, not a knowledge base that's for sure, I've just done my research on that program and the DSR rating system (something else that's debated and confusing).
These two issues are truly something most people find confusing and don't fully understand how they work.
It wouldn't hurt ebay to be honest and upfront about both programs so people understood and could make informed decisions as opposed to just believing something is good because it's put out there.

The DSR system isn't too difficult to understand, as illustrated in this freely redistributable little comic...

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


Additionally, three of the four DSR categories can become an auto 5 stars (unratable by the buyer).

1:  Communication.  If there is no communication through eBay messages for a transaction, that is an auto 5.

2:  Shipping Time.  If the item is shipped within the stated handling time, and arrives within eBay's estimated delivery time, that is an auto 5.

3:  Shipping and Handling Charges.  If the seller uses "free" shipping, that is an auto 5.  And by free shipping, that is for domestic shipping.  Typically, a smart seller will figure out how much it would cost to ship an item to a zone 8 location (like, if you are on the West Coast, that would be the shipping cost to the East Coast), and adds that (and the eBay fees for that as well) to the asking price or opening bid.  The benefits for the seller is that they are not expected to give a shipping discount for multiple purchases, even if they are shipping everything in the same package.  After all, as far as the buyer is concerned, shipping is "free".

Plus, if the buyer is international, then shipping is in addition to the item price, so none of the item price is eaten up in shipping, and none of the shipping that the buyer pays is eaten up in eBay fees, since the shipping final value fee for internationals is based on the cheapest domestic shipping shown (free in this case).

Personally, short of doing away with the insane DSR system, if you made your purchase fully knowing what the shipping charges would be, then the shipping cost star should still be an auto 5, unless the seller cheated and downgraded your service (like if you paid for Priority, and the seller shipped Parcel Select or Media instead for example..)

If you are not happy with what an item's shipping cost is showing up front, then a buyer should either try before purchasing to see if the seller will lower the cost, or simply not deal with that seller, and find one who has costs that are more palatable.  Buying with the shipping costs fully out in the open even though you think it is too high, and then dinging the shipping star later smacks of malicious buying.  Ultimately, shop by total price, and don't worry how the seller divvies that price up to arrive at that amount.  If the total is within your price range, you should be good to go.  Besides, when shipping is being charged separately, that cost is not subject to the Top Rated Seller discount, so sellers are already hurting themselves with that little game.

And finally, some sellers do the low price and high shipping to get around newbie account selling limits, which are based on item prices and not shipping costs.  And since eBay is becoming more and more heavy handed with their bread and butter sellers, that is, the small time sellers like those of us here on the Arena as opposed to their big retail customers, I give a hearty thumbs up to anyone who is willing to do what is right for themselves and fight the system.

I was curious to know where that DSR comic and info came from that you posted previously?

The reason I ask is not to start a debate, but I'm thinking of all the purchases that I've made, whether a seller communicates or not, I have always been able to leave stars for that, same with shipping/handling time and cost of shipping.
The only category I've not been able to decide stars on is shipping costs, and that's only in the RARE instances where shipping was free.

I was wondering what others have experienced when leaving DSR, have you had other categories that you couldn't rate?

[bluerose9978]

I was curious to know where that DSR comic and info came from that you posted previously?

The reason I ask is not to start a debate, but I'm thinking of all the purchases that I've made, whether a seller communicates or not, I have always been able to leave stars for that, same with shipping/handling time and cost of shipping.
The only category I've not been able to decide stars on is shipping costs, and that's only in the RARE instances where shipping was free.

I was wondering what others have experienced when leaving DSR, have you had other categories that you couldn't rate?

I haven't been able to rate communication many times. And they won't let you rate communication if you've had no communication at all with the seller. I've also not been able to rate shipping time with one seller and that one really confused me.

[ponylady]

Bluerose is correct, if there is no communication between the buyer and seller, then it is an automatic 5 Stars.  In regards to shipping time if the item is domestic and received before the estimated shipping time Ebay calculates, again it is an automatic 5 Stars.

[MikeysGrrrl]

That's really strange. I wonder if ebay.ca is set up differently in that regard because as I stated in my last post, the only rating that I've not been able to fill out is the shipping cost because there was no cost.
Ebay can be so confusing