eBay Global Shipping Program questions

[Alpinemaps]

I heard back from ebay on the issue. It's a known glitch they are working on. I was advised to end my listings and create new ones. Don't think I will do it now since I found the work around. That would be a good bit of work.

End listings and create new ones, or relist them?

Obviously, one is much easier than the other.

[redcell]

Interesting...there was talk about this on Brickset and someone over there said that they had called in and been told that Lego had asked Ebay to cut listings for new sets out of GSP.

[justafrog]

Interesting...there was talk about this on Brickset and someone over there said that they had called in and been told that Lego had asked Ebay to cut listings for new sets out of GSP.

 

Link? I checked out the most recent threads in their "Marketplace" section and didn't see anything obvious, I'd be interested in reading the claim. Thanks! 

[redcell]

Link? I checked out the most recent threads in their "Marketplace" section and didn't see anything obvious, I'd be interested in reading the claim. Thanks! 

 

http://www.bricksetforum.com/discussion/comment/308263/#Comment_308263

 

Look for a post by Doriansdad on 10/3.

[justafrog]

http://www.bricksetforum.com/discussion/comment/308263/#Comment_308263

 

Look for a post by Doriansdad on 10/3.

 

Thanks!

 

If the CS he spoke to knows anything about what he or she is talking about (doubtful, but possible), it sounds like TLG is trying to squeeze the "new" (and I don't know whether they're talking about condition or release dates) into a VERO copyright complaint. I don't know how they think they're going to do that or why eBay would close a category for any such reason, but it'll be interesting to see how it plays out.

 

eBay is scared of the words "copyright violation" or "trademark violation" - those are the things that can get them into trouble - but TLG calling it such doesn't make it so.

 

Meanwhile, for any eBay sellers affected, whether this is glitch or intentional, look into priority mail insured shipping on your own - it doesn't offer as many protections as GSP, but it's decent tracking (don't use flat rate options) to many destinations, and you can always start with the "safer" countries like Australia, Canada, and the UK. The biggest problem you may run into is folks not liking the customs charges and refusing the packages (something that drives many to use GSP in the first place).

 

I wonder if "used" items in the affected categories are eligible for GSP? That would be an interesting experiment.

[KShine]

Thanks!

 

If the CS he spoke to knows anything about what he or she is talking about (doubtful, but possible), it sounds like TLG is trying to squeeze the "new" (and I don't know whether they're talking about condition or release dates) into a VERO copyright complaint. I don't know how they think they're going to do that or why eBay would close a category for any such reason, but it'll be interesting to see how it plays out.

 

eBay is scared of the words "copyright violation" or "trademark violation" - those are the things that can get them into trouble - but TLG calling it such doesn't make it so.

 

Meanwhile, for any eBay sellers affected, whether this is glitch or intentional, look into priority mail insured shipping on your own - it doesn't offer as many protections as GSP, but it's decent tracking (don't use flat rate options) to many destinations, and you can always start with the "safer" countries like Australia, Canada, and the UK. The biggest problem you may run into is folks not liking the customs charges and refusing the packages (something that drives many to use GSP in the first place).

 

I wonder if "used" items in the affected categories are eligible for GSP? That would be an interesting experiment.

 

I wanted to be joking when I suggested LEGO requesting this - If it is true, it must somehow come back to the "no International sales are allowed" by re-sellers.

 

Whether it is legally enforceable or not, it could just make ebay decide that it just wouldn't be worth fighting about (better to keep their hands clean).

[Darth_Raichu]

I just spent 2 hours tweaking various things on my listings to get GSP back.  As far as I can tell this is a bug/glitch in eBay's system.  I changed 1 thing and GSP was back but then did another change and it was gone.  Bringing it back to previous state (ie. after change #1) did not bring GSP back.  This was too random to not be a glitch.  

 

I just hope all of my listings are still active tomorrow

 

ETA: One thing for sure it seems to only affect LEGO category

Edited October 6, 2014 by Darth_Raichu

[redcell]

eBay is scared of the words "copyright violation" or "trademark violation" - those are the things that can get them into trouble - but TLG calling it such doesn't make it so.

 

 

True, but eBay is much safer from a legal perspective when it errs on the side of the alleged IP rights holder and does what they ask. 

 

Also, depending on how copyright laws are written in other countries, TLG could have a legitimate basis for the complaint.  It wouldn't work if TLG were trying to use copyright to keep grey market goods out of the U.S., which is the factual scenario that this type of dispute generally involves, but I've never seen a situation where a company tried to use it this way and was challenged.

[Migration]

Thanks!

 

If the CS he spoke to knows anything about what he or she is talking about (doubtful, but possible), it sounds like TLG is trying to squeeze the "new" (and I don't know whether they're talking about condition or release dates) into a VERO copyright complaint. I don't know how they think they're going to do that or why eBay would close a category for any such reason, but it'll be interesting to see how it plays out.

 

eBay is scared of the words "copyright violation" or "trademark violation" - those are the things that can get them into trouble - but TLG calling it such doesn't make it so.

 

Meanwhile, for any eBay sellers affected, whether this is glitch or intentional, look into priority mail insured shipping on your own - it doesn't offer as many protections as GSP, but it's decent tracking (don't use flat rate options) to many destinations, and you can always start with the "safer" countries like Australia, Canada, and the UK. The biggest problem you may run into is folks not liking the customs charges and refusing the packages (something that drives many to use GSP in the first place).

 

I wonder if "used" items in the affected categories are eligible for GSP? That would be an interesting experiment.

None of my used listings have allowed GSP for about a week or so. It just says "unavailable for this category". I just figured it was a glitch and would work itself out. The whole site has been slightly buggy for me going back at least 3 weeks. I rarely get GSP sales anyway so I didn't pay the issue any real attention.

[dryto]

Haven't heard back from ebay yet but I found a work around. On the app I revised the item, changed the item category to LEGO-Other and it allowed me to add GSP back to the item. Don't ask me why but it works. Not ideal but it's more important for me to have GPS than to have the item in the LEGO-Sets category where I would normally list most of my items.

Thanks for the investigation, GSP worked as soon as I follow your method. As I tried to change everyone of my listing, I noticed that my Big Zoo listing was never affected by this glitch. Item category is still under LEGO>Duplo & Primo, maybe TLG's conspiracy theory seems less than likely?

[spener90]

So the eBay global shipping program has been great for me, it has helped me expand greatly.  A recent issue I never ran into before is lately, items I have been signing up for the GSP aren't actually available to ship anywhere other than the US.  I click on the edit button to see that it is registered for the GSP.

 

Anyone ever encounter this? Anything like this? Any advice?

[spener90]

Didn't see this yesterday.  I am going to try a few things today and see what happens.  I will update later on what I find.

[spener90]

So far I have had no luck with it on my computer.  Just about had enough of eBay.  Amazon is becoming more and more tempting.

[spener90]

It doesn't appear that using a PC or Mac changes anything over a mobile device (although, be noted my PC is a Surface, so that might play a part).

 

The only thing I could get to work was changing the category away from Sets to "Other".  Not sure why Sets doesn't work though?

[abri123]

Thinking of signing up to this - I'm a UK ebay seller - but I have read elsewhere that the shipping costs quoted to buyers can be extortionate and a lot higher than if you were using your own couriers outside of the program - anyone got any experience or hard data on this before I opt-in etc?

[j.hermit]

GSP can be a decent deal, or a huge extra cost for your customer.  GSP charges your customer for intl. shipping, expected customs, and the postage you paid to get the package to the shipping center.  In my experience, it just about evens out for larger packages, since they'll be shipping internationally at bulk rate.  However, costs can be ridiculously high for small items.

 

I mostly part out sets and sell minifigs, and I had orders for single figs that got charged $15-20 for shipping.  Part of the problem was customs/fees-  nothing should've been charged on an item that cheap, but GSP adds customs on everything. 

 

Like Ms. Frog said, the only way to find out what someone's paying thru GSP is to check their invoice.  And there's no way to look up what expected GSP charges on an item would be, unless you find another UK seller who's using GSP and compare notes.

[abri123]

GSP can be a decent deal, or a huge extra cost for your customer.  GSP charges your customer for intl. shipping, expected customs, and the postage you paid to get the package to the shipping center.  In my experience, it just about evens out for larger packages, since they'll be shipping internationally at bulk rate.  However, costs can be ridiculously high for small items.

 

I mostly part out sets and sell minifigs, and I had orders for single figs that got charged $15-20 for shipping.  Part of the problem was customs/fees-  nothing should've been charged on an item that cheap, but GSP adds customs on everything. 

 

Like Ms. Frog said, the only way to find out what someone's paying thru GSP is to check their invoice.  And there's no way to look up what expected GSP charges on an item would be, unless you find another UK seller who's using GSP and compare notes.

 

Thanks. Anyone got any info /pricing on what they've seen charged on selling boxed sets around 2507 Fire Temple or LOTR Mines of Moria size?

[Jackson]

I sold a 9398 Crawler to Australia through the GSP.  According to the order-details page, the buyer paid $65.99 for the "International leg" and $0 for "Import charges."

[justafrog]

Thanks. Anyone got any info /pricing on what they've seen charged on selling boxed sets around 2507 Fire Temple or LOTR Mines of Moria size?

 

If the program operates similar to how it does in the U.S., your buyers will pay a reasonable rate for what we'd call "priority" shipping, plus their import charges and taxes. Priority international shipping takes a few days to a week from the GSP center to most destinations for me.

 

For packages that qualify, our "first class package" rate (under four pounds in weight) is often cheaper for the buyers, not sure what different types of rates/speeds/tracking availability y'all have there.

 

The best part of GSP is the seller protection, in my opinion, so it's really more a matter of how comfortable you are (or not) on shipping your own packages from eBay sales to foreign destinations.

[macdroid]

From my experience, it depends on the destination country. If I chose shipping from US to a country in Europe, the shipping costs seem reasonable for a priority shipping, but if I want it shipped to the country I'm living now (Chile), the shipping costs are complete nonsense, independent of size. And I see no justification, compared for example to Amazons Global Shipping, which in my experience takes only a couple of days to arrive and includes also customs, but costs half or less. Comparing amazon with ebay, there is a lot to improve in pricing. I have no problem paying customs upfront, for expensive purchases, I prefer it, at least I know exactly what I'm paying, but please, put reasonable shipping costs. I understand priority shipping to countries like Chile is expensive, it's also more expensive in Amazon, but not to that extreme.

An example for this nonsense would be shipping a simple minifigure to Chile, it would cost the buyer 44USD shipping costs and no customs if the mini figure costs less than 30 usd, if it costs more, you would have to add customs charge on top of the price of the minifigure + the 44USD shipping.

[Kenxxx]

Okay... made my first GSP sale today.  Not sure what to do next.  Been searching ebay seller help, looking for a "walk-through" but not finding much.  Can you help?

 

I had 3 of the same item for sale BuyItNow or Best Offer. Some sweet dude (or gal) in the Netherlands made an offer for all 3 and I accepted.  Now what? I assume I wait for payment before shipping? Usually with BIN, payment is instant, but I've gotten no notification this time.  What if I don't have payment tomorrow? Do I just wait?  Also, when I DO ship, I assume I can put all three in the same box (thought I saw something about boxing each one separate for customs purposes)?

[exciter1]

Okay... made my first GSP sale today.  Not sure what to do next.  Been searching ebay seller help, looking for a "walk-through" but not finding much.  Can you help?

 

I had 3 of the same item for sale BuyItNow or Best Offer. Some sweet dude (or gal) in the Netherlands made an offer for all 3 and I accepted.  Now what? I assume I wait for payment before shipping? Usually with BIN, payment is instant, but I've gotten no notification this time.  What if I don't have payment tomorrow? Do I just wait?  Also, when I DO ship, I assume I can put all three in the same box (thought I saw something about boxing each one separate for customs purposes)?

 

Wait until you receive payment, you might need to give it a week before filing a claim.

[justafrog]

Okay... made my first GSP sale today.  Not sure what to do next.  Been searching ebay seller help, looking for a "walk-through" but not finding much.  Can you help?

 

I had 3 of the same item for sale BuyItNow or Best Offer. Some sweet dude (or gal) in the Netherlands made an offer for all 3 and I accepted.  Now what? I assume I wait for payment before shipping? Usually with BIN, payment is instant, but I've gotten no notification this time.  What if I don't have payment tomorrow? Do I just wait?  Also, when I DO ship, I assume I can put all three in the same box (thought I saw something about boxing each one separate for customs purposes)?

 

I am not familiar enough with Best Offer to advise on that part of it, but, yes, wait for payment. IF the payment comes through in three pieces and eBay gives you three different reference numbers, you will need to ship in three separate packages. If the payment comes through in one payment and eBay gives you one "ship now" reference number, you will package them together.

[imirish11]

So with eBay GSP, if I sell an item over $750, I just need to obtain Signature Confirmation to KY delivery center and I am covered under seller protection for Item Not Rec'd Claims? Am I understanding this correct? I'd hate to get hit for Paypal Unauthorized Claim and lose bc I did not obtain a signature at the destination overseas, which I have no control over.

Edited October 29, 2014 by imirish11

[exciter1]

So with eBay GSP, if I sell an item over $750, I just need to obtain Signature Confirmation to KY delivery center and I am covered under seller protection for Item Not Rec'd Claims? Am I understanding this correct? I'd hate to get hit for Paypal Unauthorized Claim and lose bc I did not obtain a signature at the destination overseas, which I have no control over.

 

Yes, I've done it for several 41999s.