http://pages.ebay.com/help/sel...ipping-globally.html

Us seller is just responsible for shipping the item to the us distribution center. Great !!!

But buyers have to pay customs/taxes upfront and all shipping and fuel charges associated with getting the item shipped to them ( all quoted to you before you buy)

no more asking the seller to write $5 on the value section of the form.

Now with global tracking thanks to eBay. but at what cost?

Pretty soon I think shipping this way will be the only ebay will let someone sell internationally.

The F!
Most of the items I fancy are usually from US.

Wow, I second Jukes sentiments

quote:

During checkout, the buyer sees the final charges which include the item cost, the international shipping charges, and the import charge. The international shipping charges include any US shipping, as well as program fees, third-party international shipping charges, fuel surcharges, and processing and handling fees. The import charge includes applicable customs duties, taxes, and third-party brokerage.

Can you imagine how much more that is all going to cost?
I feel like crying

Trust me, until they force it on me I'll still be shipping myself thank you very much.

But there are lots of advantages for the US seller, with the real downside being the bidders just won't be there because of the cost.

What I would be most concerned about is that they are repackaging the items. With collectibles, I would worry about damage. But they have to repackage because: 1) the way you ship to a US address can be way different than international and 2) they will have to know for sure what the item is when they do the customs paperwork.

Just don't see this as a good thing at all.

Ed

The basic doubling of the actual shipping cost to international addresses hasn't really bothered me too much, because the old rate of being able to send a card literally around the world for around $3 seemed to good to be true.

It's the need for the tracking number that makes it not only too expensive for buyers to want to pay, but even when the buyer is willing (and sometimes eager) to pay the shipping to get a wanted card, a lot sellers are reluctant to take a Paypal payment of $40 of which they are only able to keep well under $20 from, with the postage taking up $20 of it and the Ebay/Paypal fees a few dollars more. Mailing a $10 card and paying $20 to the post office and Ebay/Paypal is more like laundering money than buying and selling trading cards.

Sellers tend to begin with the attitude, that well, I'll just charge the regular shipping and not insist on the tracking, but after a few packages go either missing or "missing", that noble view tends to change, and indeed, an increasing percentage of sellers won't ship internationally anymore.
International bids MUST to have taken a hit lately due to this, and thus, EBay's profits along with them, which explains their attempt to keep sellers sending internationally by handling the paperwork and eliminate the seller's risk of having to pay for a lost item.

Unfortunately, it costs the buyer even more using the system as I understand it, so I'm not sure how it will help other than to soothe sellers currently correctly concerned they'll be stuck with the cost of the item if lost in the mail, or worse, claimed to have been lost by a buyer who actually received it. Without tracking, there's no way to know and that adds $13 on to the $6 or so cost of sending a single card, which itself recently doubled.

Instead of what they have done, Ebay should just hire more workers to handle international case disputes for non-receipt of items. When one occurs, if the seller can produce a postal receipt and matching postmark dated customs slip, Ebay should absolve the seller the responsibility for replacing the money for the lost item, and give the buyer Ebay bucks for the value of the lost item. Sure, Ebay would be out money on the lost item claims, but they'd keep happy buyers, and so many more sellers would ship internationally, so bids, final prices, fixed item sales, and thus Ebay profits from those fees would increase at a rate that would easily cover what little thay had to pay out, because the worst thing out of all of this, as Ebay buyers and sellers alike well know, is that 99%+ of all international packages sent with regular 1st Class mail arrive without a hitch, no problem whatsoever. That's certainly the rate in my 15 yeaars history or so and I've sent and received hundreds (if not a couple thousand) international packagaes over the years by regular mail, before the dark times, the Registered mail for purposes of attaining a tracking number times.

Basically, because a postal receipt and dated postmarked custom slip doesn't constitute proof of mailing, like it should, where EBay's buyer/seller protection policy is concerned, it is now prohibitively expensive to send items overseas with buyers and sellers equally protected resulting in the unusual occurrence where Ebay and Ebay users lose out equally.

This has actually been going on for a couple of months with selected sellers whose items sadly I no longer even bother to look at now .

There has been discussion of this on Scoundrel as well and the general concensus is that it will kill off pretty much all small international trade .

A card with a starting price of $12 automatically has charges loaded on of $19 for example.If that card was sent normal first class mail to the UK it would not attract any customs charge at all as the value is too low .

At the moment it is just an experiment and hopefully one that will fail.I know of a couple of sellers who I regularly use who tried it and quickly opted back out after the fall in international sales.

Well, as I had mentioned before either here or on NSCF, sellers will loose the majority of their international customers once the Global Shipping Program becomes mandatory for all sellers.

The reasons are simple:
- it takes way longer for the item to arrive at the buyer when it's handled through eBay's GSP
- it's way more expensive for a buyer because eBay will charge fixed customs/taxes upfront although customs vary a lot from country to country and depend on what item is sent and what value it has.
- so far only 26 countries are eligible for the GSP, most of them being Eastern European countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lituania, Romania) and some Asian countries (China, Indonesia, South Korea, Tawain).

Plus I can see a huge mess with items being mixed up and an unknown third party handling your items means a high possibility of damage that eBay will not take any responsibility for because it would be you who'd have to proof that you had sent the item undamaged to eBay.

eBay Germany screwed up BIG TIMES last year when they introduced a new payment system in which eBay collects payments on behalf of the buyer and only pays the seller after the buyer has received the item and informed eBay that the item was ok. Coming with the change, eBay had said the new administration cost of the payment processing would need “significant extra investment," according to an eBay spokesperson, and that would be financed in part by raising by 2% the sales commission payable by professional sellers (not private sellers) to eBay on transactions.
However, eBay Germany screwed up and the majority of sellers were waiting up to 12 weeks to reiceive their payments from eBay which led to lawsuits from sellers on the ground that eBay is making millions on interests of the buyer's money before paying it out to the sellers. One would think eBay Germany had double-checked all legal issues, but they hadn't and to procede with their new payment system they would have needed a banking licence which of course they don't have. So in the end courts stopped eBay's new payment system because it was considered illegal with European banking laws.

I see the same happening to the GSP soon because customs in those 26 different countries eligible for the GSP are so complex and complicated depending on the item and its value that is sent that eBay just can't charge fixed customs upfront.

Hi Everyone.
I've said this before but it bears repeating.
I have to pay all the taxes that everyone is complaining about on every single item I've purchased. The reason I've had to stop buying new cards isn't because the cards aren't great, but because there isn't a level playing field, as buyers outside the US who just pay the postage on a lower declared item are evading tax. This isnt 'a little bit naughty'. If you think it is, just phone your local tax office, explain what you've been doing for years, (as you buying history is in your Paypal/eBay records) and offer to pay up if you believe you are innocent. Any takers?

My feeling is that eBay has seen a storm coming, and they are making changes to make sure they aren't on the receiving end of a 'class action' style lawsuit, as technically they could allegedly be construed as aiding and abetting this practice.

So, what is the upside of everyone paying the correct amount of tax? well, you'll be able to go out of your house, and see your hobby proudly displayed in your local comic shops, as all these guys will be able to compete again. You'll start (or be able to start yourself) new local businesses, instead of sat in your bedroom searching for the lowest price.

And do you know what would be even better? What about if eBay and Paypal didn't end up with at least 15% of every purchase without putting anything back into the hobby. Wouldn't that be awesome too?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: cardcollectors uk,

I can see your point, Anthony, but for those items that would have been tax free (under $18), there now seems to be a mandatory $19 postage charge. A $0.01 card win now attracts VAT. I commend Ed Webb and others for resisting the change, but I fear it'll be the norm soon. Much as I love the hobby, I can see it coming to a screeching halt.
More on the subject here:
http://nonsportupdate.infopop....6067952/m/3107058826

The funny thing is, as the majority of UK buyers moved to buying on ebay direct from US sellers, and after Cards Inc. disappeared, there's literally no way the non sport hobby can rebuild itself here in the UK. No-one now would take that risk. The amount Card Inc. used to ship, and the great service and prices they offered to the dealers and collectors meant that their prices were better, and they brought in things like albums, which are hugely expensive to import on their own. Also the raising of the hobby so it featured on QVC etc. brought hundreds more UK buyers.
Come back Darren!

quote:

Originally posted by cardcollectors uk:
Hi Everyone.
I've said this before but it bears repeating.
I have to pay all the taxes that everyone is complaining about on every single item I've purchased. The reason I've had to stop buying new cards isn't because the cards aren't great, but because there isn't a level playing field, as buyers outside the US who just pay the postage on a lower declared item are evading tax. This isnt 'a little bit naughty'. If you think it is, just phone your local tax office, explain what you've been doing for years, (as you buying history is in your Paypal/eBay records) and offer to pay up if you believe you are innocent. Any takers?

My feeling is that eBay has seen a storm coming, and they are making changes to make sure they aren't on the receiving end of a 'class action' style lawsuit, as technically they could allegedly be construed as aiding and abetting this practice.

So, what is the upside of everyone paying the correct amount of tax? well, you'll be able to go out of your house, and see your hobby proudly displayed in your local comic shops, as all these guys will be able to compete again. You'll start (or be able to start yourself) new local businesses, instead of sat in your bedroom searching for the lowest price.

And do you know what would be even better? What about if eBay and Paypal didn't end up with at least 15% of every purchase without putting anything back into the hobby. Wouldn't that be awesome too?

15% is way cheaper than the cost of a retail space any day, including utilities and what naught.

It is old info. Right now. It isn't available or offer to every seller.

I don't see any benefit to the seller or even to the International buyer. It is just eBay trying to take down the International "dropshippers" in their site. Yeah, you know that folks or "companies" that lives in the USA offering their USA address to fellow citizens in their country. They buy your items then reply you with an automated message with instructions how to package the item to their USA warehouse.

I believe somebody in eBay finally look all the negative comments and complains about these type of "drop shipping" buyers. eBay is so lazy to make rules for these buyers. They don't care, but they $ee it with a po$$ible approach. Just become a direct competitor and the same time trying to make International buyers stop using the dropshipers to become directly active members in the site.

I've seen one or two US sellers I loved to buy from using the new Global system with Customs paid up front. Initially I thought it was great until I looked at the exact Customs charges. Wow! I'd pay much less if the parcel was sent through normal registered mail means, with me paying the Customs at this end.

If it becomes a rule for all sellers selling internationally then I'll simply approach sellers privately. I've done that recently, and although ebay still get some fees through their sister-company Paypal, it's still a better deal for everyone.
I hope that maybe this won't be a death for international ebay sellers, but might encourage sales outside of ebay with loyalty to dealers.

And just take add more fuel to the fire about eBay making this 'new' system compulsory, they will be offering it to UK Sellers sometime this year. The information was hidden in an announcement last month but here's the direct link:

http://sellerupdate.ebay.co.uk...onal-postage-service

I think eBay may have finally found a way of driving away Sellers as this scheme will drive away international buyers as it is far more expensive than paying the regular Customs and handling fees when things are sent direct.

Does the buyer see all of the costs before placing a bid or clicking on a Buy It Now?

When I've seen the Customs part in listings so far, it shows up the same as the postage calculation for your area. The Customs is supposed to be estimated and you'll see the final amount at checkout...so it might be even more expensive.

I stopped selling things(militaria, not cards) outside Europe a while ago as the basic flat charges were getting silly. If they're going to impose and require you to use this new service, rather than opting for your own choice of post/courier then ebay will be shooting itself in the foot.
The Customs they're charging up front is ridiculous...I wonder who pockets the profit?!

I have had mixed experiences with this system so far, first time I got charged about $20 import duty + $20 postage for a $4 computer game, I cancelled the order as anything under £20 shouldn't even need to pay import duty. Second time was a $100 game which I paid $30 import and $25 postage. Item turned up in a week from US to UK. UK customs would have charged more than $30 if they had stopped it, which they usually do these days.

I'm with Ed, I'll go into this system kicking and screaming for selling to international buyers.

Kind of frustrating really if this progresses. ebay JUST starting making it easy to print/pay for international postage through their site. Eliminating the need for a trip to the post office line. Forcing sellers into this format would just push me back into the post office again. And working faster on putting together a separate website like Ed for the mountains of cards piling up that aren't worth listing because of fees and shipping costs.

QUOTE]

Can you imagine how much more that is all going to cost?
I feel like crying [/QUOTE]

Don't cry Tegan, just grin and bear it. The fact is that the biggest barrier to buying from the US is American sellers. They are saying "who's going to pay $6-8 for a $2 card?" There's no point in selling internationally 'cos no one in their right mind would pay that."
Well the fact is, yes we are prepared to pay that much. I have paid $25 for a box of cards that I bought for $5 for as long as I can remember. I regularly pay $8-$10 postage for single cards that I need irrespective of the fact that the buying price was a dollar or two.
If we are to survive in this hobby because the only game in town is America then American sellers must leave the final choice of what we willing to pay to us.
If they stop selling internationally then we may as well pick up tent pegs and go home (Kiwi expression)

There are other reasons besides American seller merely saying "who's going to pay $6-8 for a $2 card?" that are responsible for the current trend in U.S. seller becoming increasingly more reluctant to post items overseas, and even to Canada.

Some sellers, for tax purposes, don't want to accept a $20 payment of which they keep less than $10 from, once the shipping and fees are paid. They have found it more worthwhile to not offer international shipping. While they may sell a card for less in limiting buyers, by mailing it within the United States, the seller gets to keep $15+ out of every $20 payment. Shipping a card with tracking is still only about $3 domestically.

Also, whether it is a $2 card or a $50 being sent internationally, the same customs forms must be filled out, and in many cases, the clerk has to type in every bit of the address and information into their computer while you wait.

It's said that if Bill Gates were to bend over to pick up a $100 he saw laying in the street, he would actually lose money in doing so, since that same time spent doing his job would pay him many multiples of that $100.

While card sellers aren't exactly, ahem, operating at that level, it is nevertheless, to many of them, not worth standing before the postal clerk for an extra 5 or 10 minutes to make $2, especially on multiple packages.

Finally, without tracking, if the card is reported as lost, the seller not only loses the card, but also whatever the shipping cost was, as that is also refunded to the buyer in the event of non receipt of an item where tracking was not used. Every single package sent without tracking represents a risk to the seller that goes beyond the mere value of the card in that way. Unfortunately, the cheapest method of tracking that will satisfy Ebay on internationally mailed packages is $13, which is over and above the cost of actual postage.