eBayers: Global Shipping Program - Is it really this simple?

[stick]

Gonna throw some stuff on eBay and I'm gonna make international shipping available thru the Global Shipping Program. It just seems too good/simple to be true. If an international buyer wins, I just send it to the shipping center and then they do everything for me from there? At no cost to me (aside from shipping it to the center)? I just don't see how this is viable for eBay .

 

[bravelude]

Gonna throw some stuff on eBay and I'm gonna make international shipping available thru the Global Shipping Program. It just seems too good/simple to be true. If an international buyer wins, I just send it to the shipping center and then they do everything for me from there? At no cost to me (aside from shipping it to the center)? I just don't see how this is viable for eBay

.

I'm not sure, but I had a buyer purchase something and I got a reference saying to ship to a shipping center.  Buyer was international though.  I mailed a few days ago, and hope there's no repercussions from it.

I don't ship international either, so this is a first.  It might just be a free service proxy being offered.

 

[Bert.]

wondering this as well, i only knew because my friend sold something international and they had him ship it to that center... the guy received it quick too

 

[frankmatthews]

When the item you list is eligible for the international shipping program, international buyers are charged an additional amount to cover the cost of eBay shipping from Chicago to the international destination. They are also charged customs fees in advance by eBay based on the country they live in.

All in all what this means is that when making a decision to bid and at what amount, an international bidder could see the current bid $100 higher on their screen than a domestic bidder, more or less depending on the selling price.

Basically you won't be getting ANY international bidders if you use the program.

 

[Animal Thug]

I've done this plenty of times.

But as frankmatthews alluded to; the buyer will end up paying more for the item, depending on additional shipping charges and custom fees from their origin country. As the seller, you won't know that. The buyer will be well aware of their total cost. Ebay won't even inform you on additional costs to the buyer, you'll just see that the buyer has paid your asking price, per $USD rate.

It's perfect for us sellers in the United States, it opens up the international market, and it saves you so much time and extra money by shipping it to the eBay international center (for me, based on my location - I have to ship it to the Kentucky international center) and it will just cost me the shipping to Kentucky, instead of the expensive international rate.

 

[mrrolex]

u ship it to ebays airport spot

and they take care of it.

the buyer pays like 35/50. U GOOD $$

 

[Bert.]

damn thats awesome, why didnt they implement this years ago when i used to sell? i turned down so much people and money from international dudes

 

[stick]

Damn that's awesome. I've never offered international shipping on my auctions since I didn't wanna go through the headaches of dealing with the shipping. Even if it'll only get me a few extra bids per auction, I'll take it. The more people that see the auction the higher chance of me getting a better price. Thanks for the info guys.

 

[bravelude]

I've done this plenty of times.

But as @FrankMatthews alluded to; the buyer will end up paying more for the item, depending on additional shipping charges and custom fees from their origin country. As the seller, you won't know that. The buyer will be well aware of their total cost. Ebay won't even inform you on additional costs to the buyer, you'll just see that the buyer has paid your asking price, per $USD rate.

It's perfect for us sellers in the United States, it opens up the international market, and it saves you so much time and extra money by shipping it to the eBay international center (for me, based on my location - I have to ship it to the Kentucky international center) and it will just cost me the shipping to Kentucky, instead of the expensive international rate.

What about the paypal protection thing?  Since it shows as an unconfirmed address.

 

[jtplatnum]

When the item you list is eligible for the international shipping program, international buyers are charged an additional amount to cover the cost of eBay shipping from Chicago to the international destination. They are also charged customs fees in advance by eBay based on the country they live in.

All in all what this means is that when making a decision to bid and at what amount, an international bidder could see the current bid $100 higher on their screen than a domestic bidder, more or less depending on the selling price.

Basically you won't be getting ANY international bidders if you use the program.

Although I agree with @FrankMatthews most of the time, I don't necessarily agree with him here....

I've sold 25-50 items over the past year (probably half my sales) using eBays Global shipping program and, although it's not perfect, it's a helluva lot easier for sellers and you really don't have to worry about the item getting lost - I've had TWO items that were lost and eBay covered BOTH of them (because I could prove that they got to the shipping port in Nashville, Tennessee).

In my experience, the more options you offer a buyer, the more likely you are to make a sale. I offer both international shipping AND eBays global shipping program and must say eBays global shipping program is definitely something I prefer.

Several times I have been contacted by international bidders asking if I could lower the duty and import charges, but I've had to explain that I literally have no control over that.

In any case, good luck with it.

 

[bravelude]

Although I agree with @FrankMatthews most of the time, I don't necessarily agree with him here....

I've sold 25-50 items over the past year (probably half my sales) using eBays Global shipping program and, although it's not perfect, it's a helluva lot easier for sellers and you really don't have to worry about the item getting lost - I've had TWO items that were lost and eBay covered BOTH of them (because I could prove that they got to the shipping port in Nashville, Tennessee).

In my experience, the more options you offer a buyer, the more likely you are to make a sale. I offer both international shipping AND eBays global shipping program and must say eBays global shipping program is definitely something I prefer.

Several times I have been contacted by international bidders asking if I could lower the duty and import charges, but I've had to explain that I literally have no control over that.

In any case, good luck with it.

what about shipping confirmation address as seller protection/

 

[jtplatnum]

^^ you just have to prove you got your item to the shipping port (in FrankMatthews case it's in Chicago, in my case it's Nashville, Tennessee)

 

[Animal Thug]

I've done this plenty of times.


But as [@=/u/38370/FrankMatthews]@FrankMatthews[/@] alluded to; the buyer will end up paying more for the item, depending on additional shipping charges and custom fees from their origin country. As the seller, you won't know that. The buyer will be well aware of their total cost. Ebay won't even inform you on additional costs to the buyer, you'll just see that the buyer has paid your asking price, per $USD rate.


It's perfect for us sellers in the United States, it opens up the international market, and it saves you so much time and extra money by shipping it to the eBay international center (for me, based on my location - I have to ship it to the Kentucky international center) and it will just cost me the shipping to Kentucky, instead of the expensive international rate.

What about the paypal protection thing?  Since it shows as an unconfirmed address.

Here's the info pertaining to that, as it states on eBay's webpage:

You aren't responsible for item loss or damage that occurs after the item is forwarded by the US shipping center. Once an item has been forwarded by the US shipping center, you won't be responsible for refunding the buyer if an eBay Money Back Guarantee or PayPal Purchase Protection case is filed against you for one of the following reasons:


A buyer claims an item isn't received or



A package is damaged in transit

You're safe as can be, as long as your item reaches the global shipping center.

 

[nikeskywalker]

Overseas buyers will flake like crazy because of the extra fees.

I sold a supreme lions puffy jacket for $350. The German buyer paid $550 after shipping/customs fees.

Sometimes the buyers end up getting refunded a partial amount for the import fees, and the item will show up as UNPAID.... when it's really paid for

 

[bravelude]

Here's the info pertaining to that, as it states on eBay's webpage:
You're safe as can be, as long as your item reaches the global shipping center.

Thanks.  I usually send w/ the automatic kiosk, so there's tracking.

What's odd is I don't remember being part of the global shipping center thing, but some how an international buyer copped and the address was unconfirmed and was also Kentucky collection center, which prompted me to believe I sold something through the Global Shipping Center.

 

[bravelude]

^^ you just have to prove you got your item to the shipping port (in FrankMatthews case it's in Chicago, in my case it's Nashville, Tennessee)

Like tracking? LOL

 

[halftime]

Stopped using eBay and I encourage most of you to do the same.

I list an outrageous price on eBay so people can message me with the actual price I want through PayPal.

 

[jtplatnum]

Like tracking? LOL

yea, tracking.

 

[jtplatnum]

Stopped using eBay and I encourage most of you to do the same.

I list an outrageous price on eBay so people can message me with the actual price I want through PayPal.

thread derailed

why?

eBay charges fees but the marketplace is well worth those fees. every marketplace costs something and it seems like, with all things considered, eBay is by far the best deal out there. there are drawbacks...like flakers...but there are ways around that.

 

[cedric ceballos]

When you can't leave bad buyers negative feedback despite them flaking, the fees aren't worth it. Especially when them and PayPal double dip on fees.

I price my auctions accordingly to account for fees. If I can get an outside of ebay sale I lower the price by 10% If I can't then oh well but it is what it is with ebay.

 

[vood99]

When the item you list is eligible for the international shipping program, international buyers are charged an additional amount to cover the cost of eBay shipping from Chicago to the international destination. They are also charged customs fees in advance by eBay based on the country they live in.

All in all what this means is that when making a decision to bid and at what amount, an international bidder could see the current bid $100 higher on their screen than a domestic bidder, more or less depending on the selling price.

Basically you won't be getting ANY international bidders if you use the program.

I'm in Canada and the fees that the Global Shipping program tacks on for us are borderline criminal. If a seller in the US were to ship me a $100 item via USPS there would be a 50/50 chance of me paying 13% tax plus customs handling fee. So I'd be looking at about $20 on top of what I originally paid IF they wanted to charge me customs.

With this Global Shipping program, I'm consistently seeing charges of $50 for $100 items. Almost all of us in Canada have historically had bad experiences with UPS, Fedex, etc.. when they ship from the US and on a $100 item we can expect to pay about $35 (customs, taxes + UPS/Fedex handling fee).

With the Global Shipping program, Pitney Bowes (the company acting as the middle man for the logistics) is taking an additional cut of $15. It really puts a dampener on purchasing items from the US at this stage and I avoid sellers using this program.

 

[jtplatnum]

When you can't leave bad buyers negative feedback despite them flaking, the fees aren't worth it. Especially when them and PayPal double dip on fees.

I price my auctions accordingly to account for fees. If I can get an outside of ebay sale I lower the price by 10% If I can't then oh well but it is what it is with ebay.

Yeah, I agree that there are a TON of bad policies...but overall...you've got a market with more than 250 million people all over the world. You're not going to get that kind of reach with any other marketplace.

If that's your main gripe, you should just price your items at a BIN with immediate payment required. No more flakers.

 

[cedric ceballos]

I do bin immediate payment required, but doesn't account for the issue at hand that there's no sense of accountability for bad buyers. I shouldn't have to do all that due to feeling like its a legit chance ill get a non paying bidder when I do auctions.

I could win an auction, then try and negotiate a lower price and leave the seller a spiteful negative feedback slandering their name. It may or may not get removed but I just put that seller through unnecessary hassles with no accountability for my actions.

Ebay in its current state is a necessary evil. They got a stronghold on the online selling market and no real competition. Like I said though, I don't mind undercutting fees when I can and finding ways around paying fees because I don't feel they look out for the sellers who pay said outrageous fees every month.