GSP Alternative Option

restricter

restricter

Beware the BIN Paw
O.G.
Apr 25, 2007
11,381
4,945
#1
I was tidying up a couple of listings on the iOS mobile app and discovered that even though you select GSP for international shipping, you can offer alternative shipping methods to selected other countries, such as Canada and the U.K. Since choosing this option, I've picked up more views and watchers. No buyers yet but it's certainly nice to see they're addressing at least one complaint in a positive way.


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#2
Just for those in the US selling to those in the UK our greedy taxman demands the following

VAT which is 20% is charged on the whole amount including postage and insurance on
  • gifts worth more than £39
  • other goods worth more than £15
  • alcohol, tobacco products and fragrances (eg perfume, eau de toilette and cologne) of any value
Import duty

Import duty of 2.5% is also charged on top of anything over £135.00
You’ll be charged Customs Duty on gifts and other goods sent from outside the EU if they’re above a certain value, unless the duty comes to less than £7.
The value includes:
  • the price paid for the goods
  • postage, packaging and insurance

Plus no matter what it is the Post Office Royal Mail also charge a handling fee of £8.00.

If we need to return an item we have to fill in a BOR284 form and show proof of return, refund etc, so please don't be too exasperated if buyer who returns an item from the UK asks for extra proof of refund or delivery ( Ebay tracking & PayPal proof of refund should be enough, but our taxman doesn't like giving back what he has taken without us jumping through hoops)

Hopefully now with Brexit perhaps we will be able to negotiate a much fairer deal with the US, whose sellers I want to buy from rather than the EU whose sellers I rarely want to buy from
 
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#3
thewildraven said:
Just for those in the US selling to those in the UK our greedy taxman demands the following

VAT which is 20% is charged on the whole amount including postage and insurance on
  • gifts worth more than £39
  • other goods worth more than £15
  • alcohol, tobacco products and fragrances (eg perfume, eau de toilette and cologne) of any value
Import duty

Import duty of 2.5% is also charged on top of anything over £135.00
You’ll be charged Customs Duty on gifts and other goods sent from outside the EU if they’re above a certain value, unless the duty comes to less than £7.
The value includes:
  • the price paid for the goods
  • postage, packaging and insurance

Plus no matter what it is the Post Office Royal Mail also charge a handling fee of £8.00.

If we need to return an item we have to fill in a BOR284 form and show proof of return, refund etc, so please don't be too exasperated if buyer who returns an item from the UK asks for extra proof of refund or delivery ( Ebay tracking & PayPal proof of refund should be enough, but our taxman doesn't like giving back what he has taken without us jumping through hoops)

Hopefully now with Brexit perhaps we will be able to negotiate a much fairer deal with the US, whose sellers I want to buy from rather than the EU whose sellers I rarely want to buy from
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I hear you !! I live in Oz and it is ridiculous that I can't send my mum or family presents etc without having the customs run their hands together. ☹️ Here we only get slugged if items are above $1000. I really hope that Brexit changes the whole U.K. Import system for the better
 
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#4
In Canada anything over $20 ($60 for gift) is eligible for taxes/duties. It is applied sporadically. Sometimes both are charged which is usually around 25% sometimes it is just the taxes which varies from 5% to 13%.

But the government border control agency which controls international postal deliveries has the authority to waive everything and they often do. I think often enough it costs more to collect than it is worth. That is why GSP is not an attractive option for us because nothing is ever waived and we pay extra fees to cover the cost of collecting and some profit.
 
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#5
I'm in Canada and it is such a pain when sellers insist on using GSP or FedEx for shipping. Is USPS that bad that the sellers are afraid of items getting lost? It just seems like some sellers don't want any buyers from Canada. It's not like we are a third world country and our postal service is non existent.

I wanted to buy a $15 Pokemon card last Christmas and with GSP, it would come out to over $30. Seller insist that GSP was his only option to ship to Canada. End up buying from a more agreeable US seller.
 
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#6
Minty Tea said:
I'm in Canada and it is such a pain when sellers insist on using GSP or FedEx for shipping. Is USPS that bad that the sellers are afraid of items getting lost? It just seems like some sellers don't want any buyers from Canada. It's not like we are a third world country and our postal service is non existent.

I wanted to buy a $15 Pokemon card last Christmas and with GSP, it would come out to over $30. Seller insist that GSP was his only option to ship to Canada. End up buying from a more agreeable US seller.
Click to expand...

I think it is mostly because eBay pitches GSP as the way to go (because they make money on it) and sellers readily buy into the convenience. I don't think it is visible at their end how much extra buyers have to pay so they don't realize what a disincentive it is.

It is not much more work to ship directly using USPS/Canadapost and buyers will be a lot happier. People complain about USPS but I have had literally hundreds of US-Canada and Canada-US postal shipments and have yet to have anything go astray. I almost think that when USPS sees the international sticker that they are a little more careful with it :smile:.
 
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#7
Minty Tea said:
I'm in Canada and it is such a pain when sellers insist on using GSP or FedEx for shipping. Is USPS that bad that the sellers are afraid of items getting lost? It just seems like some sellers don't want any buyers from Canada. It's not like we are a third world country and our postal service is non existent.

I wanted to buy a $15 Pokemon card last Christmas and with GSP, it would come out to over $30. Seller insist that GSP was his only option to ship to Canada. End up buying from a more agreeable US seller.
Click to expand...

GSP saves you from the headache of having to physically visit a post office. They complete the customs forms, the shipping is tracked and they bear risk of loss. This is very attractive, especially for sellers who work full time jobs and don't have time to run to the post office.

There are two types of customs forms, a small one and a larger one and no matter which one I've filled out, it seems like it's never the right one, according to the postal clerk. It becomes an exercise in frustration. In addition, I've seen that eBay's postage calculator isn't always right and I've found myself paying more than I expected.

Finally, tracking between countries isn't always smooth.

Factoring all that in, and GSP is a godsend.
 
#8
restricter said:
GSP saves you from the headache of having to physically visit a post office. They complete the customs forms, the shipping is tracked and they bear risk of loss. This is very attractive, especially for sellers who work full time jobs and don't have time to run to the post office.

There are two types of customs forms, a small one and a larger one and no matter which one I've filled out, it seems like it's never the right one, according to the postal clerk. It becomes an exercise in frustration. In addition, I've seen that eBay's postage calculator isn't always right and I've found myself paying more than I expected.

Finally, tracking between countries isn't always smooth.

Factoring all that in, and GSP is a godsend.
Click to expand...

When sellers only offer GSP or FedEx or any courier services that automatically increase the cost to international buyers, then the chances of the items selling faster will decrease. I guess it is up to the sellers to determine how much they want a sale. Some sellers are quite flexible and willing to change to USPS after I contact them (both big and small sellers.) As a buyer, I tent to avoid sellers who insist only GSP. I don't mind paying extra for signature as it's usually less than paying for the services of GSP.

Like northerndancer, I have never had a US item (big or small) lost in the mail. Maybe items routed for international do get better services. The Pokemon card was shipped in an envelope as regular mail. Both seller and little boy were happy for Christmas.

Again, it is the seller's decision. I respect that but if the item has been listed for a very long time and the only interested buyers are international. Then maybe it's worth the extra time to go to the post office to complete the sale.
 
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#9
Just piping in here. I've been on eBay for nearly 20 years and have never used GSP - something about it when they originally rolled it out was unattractive to me, and I never looked at it again. It is the default on the app, I think, though.

Anyway, I am in the US and I only internationally ship to Canada, UK and
Australia. I have had good experiences shipping to various countries in the Far East, but those three are the easiest. As a private seller, I don't feel the need for GSP.

PS figuring out the shipping cost online NEVER works for me, either.
 
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#10
northerndancer said:
PS figuring out the shipping cost online NEVER works for me, either.
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I've done a fair amount of international shipping, printing the labels either through Paypal of USPS. I have a small scale and as long as I input the weight of the item, all the work figuring out the shipping cost is done automatically, the customs label comes with the shipping label and it's pretty simple.
 
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#11
BeenBurned said:
I've done a fair amount of international shipping, printing the labels either through Paypal of USPS. I have a small scale and as long as I input the weight of the item, all the work figuring out the shipping cost is done automatically, the customs label comes with the shipping label and it's pretty simple.
Click to expand...

Thank you. Maybe one of these days I'll invest in a scale!
 
#12
BBC said:
Thank you. Maybe one of these days I'll invest in a scale!
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It's well worth it if you do even a moderate amount of selling. I remember selling an ipad sleeve once and was so worried that I would under pay the postage that I way overestimated the weight, paying a lot more for shipping than I needed. Getting the scale has saved me money in the long run.
 
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