Buying off Ebay - Global Shipment Program

[CLOUD 500]

I am buying some vintage rare items and unfortunately the selection in Canada is very limited. The USA has lots of choice. I bought an item which came from the US. It used the Ebay global shipment program. I got a tracking number, it cleared customs and it was being delivered by DHL International. The problem is the item showed as delivered but there was nothing. I checked multiple times everywhere, nothing. I message the seller multiple times, no response. I opened up a item not received case and the seller finally responded. He was not too helpful, said he ships it to the hub and then Ebay international sends it. I sent an email to Ebay customer service. They refunded me in full.

I had an item ordered off Amazones and it came from China, I got it today. No issues. Got it in two weeks. So do any of you have any experience with ordering from Ebay using the global shipping program? Is missing orders a common issue? Or was the seller running a scam?

 

[urquell]

Ebay is super inconsistent compared to Amazon, and Amazon's customer service is faster, but Ebay really is the only place to access some stuff. Initially Ebay was agreat place for deals with the auctions, but with most sellers having gone away from that and with the others pricing themselves out of busness with the shipping costs I buy less and less there now. I would say that order delays and missing orders, while not the norm, are common enough to not be surprising now. Everyone I know has had some kind of issue with shippng through Ebay, and with counterfeit products.

 

[steed]

Ebay is super inconsistent compared to Amazon, and Amazon's customer service is faster, but Ebay really is the only place to access some stuff. Initially Ebay was agreat place for deals with the auctions, but with most sellers having gone away from that and with the others pricing themselves out of busness with the shipping costs I buy less and less there now. I would say that order delays and missing orders, while not the norm, are common enough to not be surprising now. Everyone I know has had some kind of issue with shippng through Ebay, and with counterfeit products.

I used EBay Global Shipping ONCE . It was a disaster , a total Black Hole . The item was shipped and disappeared there was no help from E bay Global shipping or any one else .Now I only buy from US vendors if they ship with the US post Office . UPS , DHL all add ridiculous Customs clearance charges USPS parcels do not charge these fees
Steed

 

[CLOUD 500]

I used EBay Global Shipping ONCE . It was a disaster , a total Black Hole . The item was shipped and disappeared there was no help from E bay Global shipping or any one else .Now I only buy from US vendors if they ship with the US post Office . UPS , DHL all add ridiculous Customs clearance charges USPS parcels do not charge these fees
Steed

So far all the things I ordered have been under $20 CAD, so I have been charged any duties or brokerage fees. There is one item I want but it is $25 CAD, I cannot find this anywhere from Canadian vendors. Canada just sucks for vintage or unique items. Very few US sellers ship direct using USPS, all seem to be using the EIS program. Shipping costs are also so high.

 

[LeDodo]

So far all the things I ordered have been under $20 CAD, so I have been charged any duties or brokerage fees. There is one item I want but it is $25 CAD, I cannot find this anywhere from Canadian vendors. Canada just sucks for vintage or unique items. Very few US sellers ship direct using USPS, all seem to be using the EIS program. Shipping costs are also so high.

Did you try forwarders? I used to use myus.com for shipping. They are quite efficient. They have addresses in Florida.

 

[urquell]

Did you try forwarders? I used to use myus.com for shipping. They are quite efficient. They have addresses in Florida.

they're expensive for just a one off purchase..I used to use them when I lived in central america and even on a subscription basis it would be really expensive against the cost of a $25 item.

 

[CLOUD 500]

Did you try forwarders? I used to use myus.com for shipping. They are quite efficient. They have addresses in Florida.

No. Never heard of that.

 

[LeDodo]

they're expensive for just a one off purchase..I used to use them when I lived in central america and even on a subscription basis it would be really expensive against the cost of a $25 item.

I use to have a membership when I was in Hong Kong and with an American Express it was free of charge. And you have better rates. Since I moved here I didn't renew my subscription.

 

[LeDodo]

No. Never heard of that.

You can try to do simulation to ship to a Florida address in Tampa and then use their estimator to ship to Canada.

 

[urquell]

I use to have a membership when I was in Hong Kong and with an American Express it was free of charge. And you have better rates. Since I moved here I didn't renew my subscription.

I can't speak to having an American Express, because I haven't had one for years and years. If that kind of shipping is an Amex perk then go for it. However, a 10lb package from the US to Canada using myus.com costs somewhere around $30-35 USD. That's a really high rate for a one off purchase that costs $25, and involves the sign up hassle. It's usually easier and cheaper to send it to a U.S. friend and then have them USPS it up here, if it's not especially heavy or bulky. I'll qualify "easier" by saying if you have to pick up at a depot it's a pain, but if you can get door to door might be a bit easier but usually also more costly.

 

[CLOUD 500]

I can't speak to having an American Express, because I haven't had one for years and years. If that kind of shipping is an Amex perk then go for it. However, a 10lb package from the US to Canada using myus.com costs somewhere around $30-35 USD. That's a really high rate for a one off purchase that costs $25, and involves the sign up hassle. It's usually easier and cheaper to send it to a U.S. friend and then have them USPS it up here, if it's not especially heavy or bulky. I'll qualify "easier" by saying if you have to pick up at a depot it's a pain, but if you can get door to door might be a bit easier but usually also more costly.

Shipping rates on Ebay are already so high, using this service means an additional cost.

You can try to do simulation to ship to a Florida address in Tampa and then use their estimator to ship to Canada.

I am not sure how this helps. The item still has to cross the border so the potential for brokerage fees and duties plus it is an additional cost for this service.

 

[urquell]

Shipping rates on Ebay are already so high, using this service means an additional cost.

Yes, that's the problem. You pay high shipping costs twice. Ebay is no bargain anymore for many things. If you can find what you want on Amazon and ship it to a forwarder it could be worthwhile, but likely not for a $25 item.

 

[CLOUD 500]

Yes, that's the problem. You pay high shipping costs twice. Ebay is no bargain anymore for many things. If you can find what you want on Amazon and ship it to a forwarder it could be worthwhile, but likely not for a $25 item.

Exactly. I am looking for antique pre-WW2 items. Unfortunately Canada is barren for that, mostly buy on Kijiji or Marketplace but most of the sellers are in Ontario.

 

[urquell]

Exactly. I am looking for antique pre-WW2 items. Unfortunately Canada is barren for that, mostly buy on Kijiji or Marketplace but most of the sellers are in Ontario.

Instead of using the Ebay default shipping permissions you could try reaching out directly to the vendor in their contact forum and see if they will make separate arrangements for you. Most won't, but some do. Worth asking anyway.

 

[LeDodo]

Shipping rates on Ebay are already so high, using this service means an additional cost.

I am not sure how this helps. The item still has to cross the border so the potential for brokerage fees and duties plus it is an additional cost for this service.

I was assuming the case where there is free shipping within the US. Then it leaves the cost of the forwarder. And they factor already the brokerage fee into the delivery fee.

I'm not sure the size and weight of what you want to ship but delivery fee from US to Canada can be as low as 18$. It doesn't factor potential taxes if your product falls within a taxable goods.

 

[CLOUD 500]

Instead of using the Ebay default shipping permissions you could try reaching out directly to the vendor in their contact forum and see if they will make separate arrangements for you. Most won't, but some do. Worth asking anyway.

I tried. Most will not because EIS is to make it easy for buyers. They just have to ship it to the hub and ebay takes care of customs forms and all other things and sends it to the buyer. Plus if anything goes wrong like a lost package then it falls on ebay, it is no longer the seller's responsibility. I believe this program was put in place to encourage buyers to sell internationally.

 

[CLOUD 500]

I was assuming the case where there is free shipping within the US. Then it leaves the cost of the forwarder. And they factor already the brokerage fee into the delivery fee.

I'm not sure the size and weight of what you want to ship but delivery fee from US to Canada can be as low as 18$. It doesn't factor potential taxes if your product falls within a taxable goods.

Ahh good point. I never thought of that. You are right in that case. Shipping within the US I noticed is cheap.

But my query was more about hidden costs, brokerage fees and duties. I heard with DHL and UPS those fees can be hefty as much as $30. The shipping cost although high is at least fix and known to me. I am concerned about the hidden costs like brokerage and duties. So even if I would use this service it would not avoid the brokerage and duties. I looked it up and there is conflicting information. Some places say that $20 is the limit before you are charge duties and other places say the max is $40. I always ordered an item below $20, no taxes, no duties, and no brokerage fees. The next item I want I cannot find below $20, cheapest tested item I would was $25. I just wanted someone who has experience with this that could shed some light on these hidden charges.