Comic sellers on ebay: Please avoid ebay's Global Shipping Programme (GSP)!

[Neeidea]

Apologies, I know this has been covered in the past but I just thought I would resurrect the issue after a discussion with some of the UK board members. This is just a plea specifically to US & Canadian sellers who sell comics on ebay internationally to the UK but applies equally to UK sellers and others as well.

 

eBay's Global Shipping Programme (GSP) may seem attractive, opening up markets and ensuring the correct import duties and fees are all paid but it is significantly flawed.

 

Duties on imported comic books (commodity code: 4902900000) into the UK are 0% and sales tax is also 0% (many countries are similar), yet GSP will, for high value comics, charge huge sums, example:

 

$1,600 CGC Comic cost

$41.28 (approx. £26.99) International Priority Shipping to United Kingdom

$348.78 GSP Import duties (amount confirmed at checkout)

 

Any buyer would be mad to pay $348.78 import duties as they simply don't apply to comic books, you would be throwing your money away!

 

The few times (outside of GSP) where I have been incorrectly charged import duties and tax I have always successfully claimed back the charges from the UK government (Revenue and Customs). With GSP there is almost no chance of claiming the incorrect duties back and the same applies for returns (!), hence, most of us in the UK will avoid international sellers using GSP like the plague.

[Max Carnage]

[Anfield Fox]

 

Also guys they will often not treat your valuable comics as collectibles, just a kids comic and package it with little care and attention.

 

Of course charging tax when none is due will automatically put off most European buyers anyway so if you want to sell more items, drop the GSP now!

[CAMPER49]

Yup.

Being Canadian, when I see any US seller enrolled with the Global Shipping Program, I keep on trucking to the next seller that isn't.

[fantasyland15]

GSP is Bad, Bad, Bad.

[Chip Cataldo]

I knew right from the start GSP was BS. I reach the international market just fine, thank you. It's actually easier to ship internationally yourself than to go through the program.

[youmechooz]

I use gsp for ebay. Its wonderful.

[1Cool]

Kind of moot point right now since all the International buyers seem to not buying. I use to sell close to 30 - 40% of my books to Canada/Overseas and now its down to around 10-15%. Shipping increases and strong dollar has taken its toll.

[RockMyAmadeus]

The fundamental issue is "why has eBay, a multi-national, global corporation, not addressed these issues in the nations involved?" eBay has offices all over the world; why wouldn't such a thing be addressed?

 

Now, eBay is incompetent. Granted.

 

But the GSP was one of the centerpieces of their "new system rollout" a few years back, and it's hard to think that someone didn't address this issue, at some level. After all...it's not just comics, but essentially all books, papers, printed matter, etc.

 

 

Clearly, the GSP is set up to not take these exceptions into account.

 

However...I have noticed that ship costs and import duties, when they are printed on the packing slip, are substantially cheaper than I can ship for, which is why I use it.

 

Here's the pertinent page on gov.uk, by the way:

 

https://www.gov.uk/trade-tariff/commodities/4902900000

[VintageComics]

I use gsp for ebay. Its wonderful.

 

Great for sellers who want to sell internationally.

 

Terrible for buyers who want to buy internationally.

 

If you want to ship books to the UK just put this on your packages:

 

"Printed Matter - comic book" and Tariff code "4902900000".

 

They will not be charged for tariffs.

[VintageComics]

The fundamental issue is "why has eBay, a multi-national, global corporation, not addressed these issues in the nations involved?" eBay has offices all over the world; why wouldn't such a thing be addressed?

 

Because they make a lot of money from it.

[RockMyAmadeus]

The fundamental issue is "why has eBay, a multi-national, global corporation, not addressed these issues in the nations involved?" eBay has offices all over the world; why wouldn't such a thing be addressed?

 

Because they make a lot of money from it.

 

Are you suggesting that eBay is committing fraud, by pocketing the custom charges?

[Neeidea]

Well they call it "import charges" rather than duties or tax, which could mean anything, including administrative fees - Pitney Bowes have to make their cash somehow.

 

It's a shame really, all eBay needed to do was cross reference the categories with commodity codes and look up the charges based on delivery country, alternatively they could simply let the seller override the fees or enter a commodity code that could be looked up to derive the fees.

[Logan510]

I knew right from the start GSP was BS. I reach the international market just fine, thank you. It's actually easier to ship internationally yourself than to go through the program.

 

 

That makes no sense. If I ship through the GSP I don't have to make a special trip to the PO. If I don't ship through the GSP I have to go to the PO. How is that easier?

[Hulksdaddy1]

I don't sell that much on ebay these days, so can't speak to GSP impact on sales. I use it, however, because it's the safest way to ship internationally for me. Once receipt at the hub is confirmed, it's all ebays responsibility from that point on.

 

I like that.

[cranky's]

I use gsp for ebay. Its wonderful.

 

Great for sellers who want to sell internationally.

 

Terrible for buyers who want to buy internationally.

 

If you want to ship books to the UK just put this on your packages:

 

"Printed Matter - comic book" and Tariff code "4902900000".

 

They will not be charged for tariffs.

 

I'd argue it's not. How many bidders (like me) automatically pass on lots using GSP?

"No additional import charges on delivery" is just insult to injury.

[mrwoogieman]

These AMERICAN funny books should stay in the USA!

 

Let the foreigners get their own comics!

 

[greggy]

These AMERICAN funny books should stay in the USA!

 

Let the foreigners get their own comics!

 

Make your move, dinkwad

[Neeidea]

These AMERICAN funny books should stay in the USA!

 

Let the foreigners get their own comics!

 

 

In that case you should stick to using just AMERICAN artists and writers and stop stealing ours

 

 

[mrwoogieman]

These AMERICAN funny books should stay in the USA!

 

Let the foreigners get their own comics!

 

Make your move, dinkwad

 

You're falling behind....again!