Ebay import charges

[Hobie-wan]

Youtuber Lukemorse doesn't seem too enamored with this whole Global Shipping Program affair.

That's a load of crap.

[Purkeynator]

I mostly buy stuff, almost never sell. So could some one enlighten me what's so frightening about shipping overseas? To my knowledge it isn't any different from shipping to another state - you'll just write "France" or "Australia" in the package rather than Wyoming or Texas - can't be that hard? I've shipped a few packages overseas and I don't remember the procedure being any more complicated than while shipping within the country, only difference being that the postage was higher.
I've always figured that most people who are only shipping to their own country do so because they're casual eBayers and never thought that some one from another side of the world would be interested in the item they're selling. 95% of the time when I contact the seller and ask if they can ship outside their country, they agree to do so.

shipping overseas is usually more of a hassle than I am willing to put up with. First you have to have two different customs forms. There is a big one and a small one and each is used for different purposes. I can't ever seem to remember which situation needs which form. Next you have the hassle of having to go to the post office to mail the item because for some reason they don't seem to want to pick it up with their pick up service if it's going overseas. Next you have the problem of tracking. For a lot of countries you cannot get it. Then there is the issue of insurance. Some countries you ship to can be insured and some cannot. There is a certain amount of free insurance that goes with some shipments to other countries but again, its hit or miss and I can't ever seem to remember which countries get free $500 worth of insurance and on which shipping options. Also there is the problem of limited shipping options and greatly increased prices. Some prices have actually doubled over the past year. There have been too many negatives associated with shipping overseas which caused me to just ship domestically to save time and confusion. The new shipping program is actually easy on the sellers end and I have no issues allowing them to deal with the overseas shipping as long as I am covered on my end for liability concerns. Overall I think we will see more items available for overseas shipping. This increased amount of inventory available for overseas shipping might lead to more competition from sellers and some lower prices for buyers eventually.

[elmagicochrisg]

You can't expect the whole world to ship to you and not do the same thing.

Common courtesy...

Or do you think Europeans magically sprout papers for international shipping? I for one also have to fill in forms, and I ALWAYS have to go to the post office -and stand in line 90 percent of the time- to ship it. I never had a problem with that...

[dsheinem]

Reasons for not shipping internationally via eBay:

-I don't like eBay's rate calculations for postage anywhere (including the U.S.) and I've been bitten more than once shipping abroad
-higher degree of fraud when shipping abroad
-not all int'l packages can be tracked/confirmed door to door
-further travel = more risk of damage/theft/loss

I gladly ship abroad for stuff originating in forums, but eBay is too much of a crapshoot that risks security of delivery and/or of miscalculates costs

[elmagicochrisg]

I don't like eBay's rate calculations for postage anywhere (including the U.S.) and I've been bitten more than once shipping abroad

When I buy games on eBay from the US what I pay for shipping is almost always higher than what the seller actually pays for it. As far as games go I've heard it has to do with what category you put them in. Certain categories have a shipping cap, others don't...

But yes, to a certain degree I can understand selling through eBay being a hasstle...

[Menegrothx]

I don't like eBay's rate calculations for postage anywhere (including the U.S.) and I've been bitten more than once shipping abroad

When I buy games on eBay from the US what I pay for shipping is almost always higher than what the seller actually pays for it. As far as games go I've heard it has to do with what category you put them in. Certain categories have a shipping cap, others don't...

Yup. I don't think it costs 20 dollars to ship a loose SNES game from US to EU, more like 10, but still often it's 19-22 USD to ship a loose SNES game to EU. It's the same thing with UK eBay sadly. 10-13 pounds to ship a game, when you see many other auctions where the shipping cost for the same type of game case is 3½ or 4 pounds.

[Hobie-wan]

The new shipping program is actually easy on the sellers end and I have no issues allowing them to deal with the overseas shipping as long as I am covered on my end for liability concerns.

Someone didn't watch Lukemorse's video linked above. Ebay didn't accept any responsibility at all and just set buyer and seller against each other while their 'shipping partner' was the one that fucked everyone.

[Zing]

This is going to cause a lot of sellers to lose business. It's complete bullshit from a buyer perspective. I actively avoid all auctions which use this.

I just read more replies here. Why is it such a hassle to ship form the USA? I can literally ship to any destination from my home using Paypal shipping labels. I use it even for transactions not handled through eBay or PayPal. It's the cheapest method, since they give huge discounts, and I can ship to any country. I tape on the label and drop it in my nearest post box.

[elmagicochrisg]

This is going to cause a lot of sellers to lose business. It's complete bullshit from a buyer perspective. I actively avoid all auctions which use this.

It will also encourage people to cancel auctions and / or handle transactions outside of eBay completely.

As I have done just last week...

This is the reply I got just before we canceled the auction:

Hello, thanks for letting me know. This Global Shipping Program is as new to you as it is to me (we are both probably as equally happy with it - which is to say not happy at all haha), and I DID NOT choose it in my auctions - it has suddenly been forced on me. I am currently talking to eBay about this (you are not the only buyer I am dealing with this problem along with), because even though I recently removed all of the Global Shipping preferences that I DID NOT EVEN want in my auctions, it still keeps showing up as my only international shipping option. Let me explain.
The doemstic eBay shipping center has deals with post offices across the world, so the post offices can collect on import fees. The center does not fill out the customs forms as "gifts" (like I normally would AND HAVE plenty of times in the past), so the buyer has to eat the import fess, as the post offices see it as importing "merchandise." The program is supposed to make it easier for the seller, but I imagine eBay is slowly implementing this Program to increase jobs and contracts for them, so ultimately, increase money.
I would gladly offer international shipping as a flat rate as I have in the past, but I no longer have that choice when I'm making auctions. Even just a few weeks ago, I had the option of doing my own flat fee OR the Global Shipping Program, but all my recent auctions (this one included), the ONLY option for any international shipping has been solely the latter.
I'm sorry, but I'm currently talking to eBay about removing this, and I've looked for how to remove the fees from my current auctions, but eBay is uncompromising about that. I have tried to warn buyers about this by putting it in the description of all of my recent auctions - I just didn't realize how much of a hassle this was going to be for buyers, and for me trying to change it. I hope that helps you, and please let me know if there's anything we can work out, even if we go outside eBay.

Thanks for understanding

[theclaw]

This is going to cause a lot of sellers to lose business. It's complete bullshit from a buyer perspective. I actively avoid all auctions which use this.

I just read more replies here. Why is it such a hassle to ship form the USA? I can literally ship to any destination from my home using Paypal shipping labels. I use it even for transactions not handled through eBay or PayPal. It's the cheapest method, since they give huge discounts, and I can ship to any country. I tape on the label and drop it in my nearest post box.

What makes it seem more unfair than it should be, is USPS rarely charging customs duty.
US buyers can splurge to unfathomable degrees.