Hello. I wanted to do a little question based vent thread. I’ve been auctioning off quite a few
items off lately so that I can focus on my collection and other hobbies/life. I think I do a pretty
good job explaining my listings and the rules. This one question never fails to pop up.
Combined shipping
I know that I don’t have anything specific for international countries but even then why
dont people read my god damn description. I but a good amount of work into that and
people still ask questions. Anyone else get tired of answering simple questions about your
listing that’s either answered in your title and description.
That happens to me as well regarding not reading the description. I think a lot of people use the mobile site on their phones, which does not have the description on the first page you have to ‘click’ it.
I do not know why they do not read your explanations. I do know why combined shipping is an area of concern. It can run the full range. I have seen from no shipping on additional items to full plus surcharge on additional items.
It can be very annoying and you can imagine how many times it’s happened to me.
Keep in mind though that making a deal is VERY often dependent on how you reply to those questions so never let your frustration shine through;)
GSP is one of the few things that gives sellers extra protection. Sellers are not responsible for the item once eBay ships it from the US shipping center, so therefore sellers can avoid things like Scott’s issues with shipping internationally and getting *#$^%# up the #&! by a $#$% buyer.
If I’m shipping a valuable item to a random buyer from a country that has known shipping issues, I’m inclined to use the GSP for my own protection. Yeah, the buyer has to pay more, but honestly that’s not my problem as a seller.
If I’m shipping to a trusted buyer in a country with no issues, I’ll of course avoid the GSP.
GSP is great for sellers who won’t ship internationally. It’s also great for international bidders who want something from that seller and are smart enough to factor in the shipping cost.
Any other circumstance doesn’t work though so the buyer simply steers clear.
Couldn’t they still win a PayPal dispute though? I don’t offer GSP, so I don’t really know. I just set limits on which countries to ship to (generally any for which USPS won’t offer tracking).
OT: Yeah, I have found that I get asked more (dumb) questions whenever I use longer descriptions or go into detail on shipping and what not. People are generally lazy and don’t bother reading if they see too much text up there. It’s like their mind just tunes out the info if it’s more than a couple sentences lol.
If they open a PayPal dispute it is handled by eBay. You as the seller aren’t responsible for refunding the buyer for cases of item not received. However, if you do not use the GSP, you can be held responsible for item not received even if you ship with tracking.
True. You have to take some risk when it comes to dealing internationally. I’ve found that as long as you get tracking, there’s generally no issue.
However, I still recommend recording yourself whenever you ship something, in case the buyer tries to claim the item was not as described. It might seem like it’s going too far lol, but it can also save you. I have had two buyers suddenly decide that what they received was in good condition, after I told them I had video proof that I shipped everything carefully and in great condition. Had another guy say “he would take my word for it”, after claiming I shipped opened packs and I reassured him I did not.
Everyone has every right to use the GSP. All i’m saying is if you slap it on every low value item you have you’re asking for potential buyers to ask if you are flexible.
At the end of the day, the GSP benefits ebay, that’s why they try and push it on sellers. If people have that much anxiety in shipping stuff internationally that they would rather their buyers get hit with $35 shipping on a single card worth $5, just don’t ship internationally.
I also understand the feedback point in buyers not being able to receive negatives, but good feedback speaks both ways, you can also check the feedback left for others. I know it’s not perfect but if someone is never going to trust any international buyers online ever, they shouldn’t be selling to overseas customers.
Also just a question. If someone ships something GSP and the buyer claims it’s not as described or whatever, what happens then? I understand ebay taking the fall if it’s claimed unreceived but I doubt they would cop it if someone sent something not described through…
As an addition to @darkrai 's post even after you pay those amounts there’s still really good chance package gets busted at customs = extremely expensive for buyer.
GSP is just one big scam and the payment going to Pitney Bowes has nothing to do with actual deal. If you’re not ready to sell stuff globally with regular shipping methods you might as well forget whole thing.
Lets clear one thing up real quick, GSP program is not the problem, your countries VAT fees and import duties are the problem. Because GSP decides to actually mark an item for what it is truly worth is not their fault. Your countries import rules are at fault.
The fact that you can “buy elsewhere” is because sellers are doing you a massive favor. That favor of how they declare value puts them at risk for your benefit.
I personally do not use GSP because I can afford to take the risk. I have lost multiple packages to countries that do not have full tracking and am out the money. If I had used GSP I would have full tracking.
GSP is an absurdly honest service. The frustration is with your own countries rules, not the service. For example, you can ship a trading card to me marked at any amount and I will pay zero import duties.
Ultimately it is not the fault of the GSP, it is the countries import rules.
Bingo…
I guess one solution is if they don’t want to pay fees then make the payment a gift. That way they save the money but take the risk (as opposed to them saving the money and the seller taking the risk).
How does that sound?
?