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I use the global shipping program to ship out of the country, but got the following message this morning to ship direct. I don’t have a problem doing it since it’s just to Canada, but I don’t know HOW to do it. Any advice?
I want to buy this jacket but I hate the global shipping program, shipping takes so long and is expensive, and I have to pay customs fees in advance which I usually don’t end up paying when it crosses the border through regular mail. Would you mind changing the shipping away from GSP, to first class mail (the cheapest). You can let me know if you do and I’ll buy right away!
Also, this is a jacket. Is first class mail different in Canada like this person is requesting? Obviously a jacket couldn’t be mailed first class in the US due to the weight.
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International First Class is up to four pounds.
You can just remove GSP either on the listing or through Business Policies. The only caveat is that you take more risk. If the item doesnt get to the buyer, its on you. That’s the nice thing about GSP: you get it to the eBay warehouse and then you’re done.
Good thing is tracking to Canada is usually solid.
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When you edit your shipping information, there is an international section where you select the GSP. Underneath that is “Alternative international shipping options” with a pull down menu. You can chose the calculated shipping and then set it up to ship specifically to Canada with international first class.
First class international is up to four pounds.
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As for Canadians complaining that GSP costs them customs fees when direct shipping usually does not, that’s what they’ve been saying for years (and that’s one of the reasons I don’t use GSP) so I can only assume that it happens. Also as I understand it, GSP shipping is more expensive because they pay postage to get the package to Kentucky and then the postage to ship it out of the country to their address, and it takes longer due to the processing in Kentucky.
One tip for mailing direct: When you go to print the label, eBay will provide the proper customs label that has to be signed and dated when printed out. The description of item field will be pre-filled with almost your entire listing title, just as you wrote it. If you write titles that consist of a string of key words like we all do or have what it actually is at the very end, I recommend that you edit it to have “Men’s Jacket” (or whatever the item is) as the first words and delete any irrelevant search terms so Canadian customs doesn’t have to open the package to try and figure out what it is and cause a delay.
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The US has no customs or VAT taxes. But countries that do have these fees on packages, are they just randomly applied?
I dont understand when buyers say they dont need to pay the fees that their country levies by law.
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My personal theory is that for smaller packages or lesser declared values, the incoming customs/postal systems just don’t collect fees, for some reason. It might be because either there is some kind of specific de mimimus amount or weight under which customs fees don’t have to be collected by that country’s law that Pitney Bowes does not follow, or it’s just the country’s system inefficiency. Sometimes I can tell by the tracking whether the buyer had to pay to pick up the package or not. Some do and some don’t.
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The US does actually have customs / import duties. When you come back from an overseas trip, for example, you have to specify what you’ve bought abroad. If it exceeds your allowance you’ll pay duties. eg: if you bring more than 1 liter of alcohol, more than 200 cigarettes, more than $800 in other goods
Long read if you’re really interested: https://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/kbyg/customs-duty-info
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I’ve been going through this with a customer in the UK, we’ve agreed on the price of $150 on an 8lbs item. I’ve switched shipping to eBay International Delivery service which is a little cheaper than GSP but now he’s asked no me to forge a smaller selling price to reduce the duties, I told I don’t even see that part of the postage as I will be mailing it to eBay’s warehouse. So now he wants me to find a courier and write in a false amount on the form.
I’ve gone silent. -
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