I’m not sure if many others may face this issue, or whether this topic has already featured in the forum but I shall explain the situation below:
As some in the UK may already know, I offer free shipping on all of my listings. Anything that travels outside of the UK uses the eBay Global Shipping Programme (GSP) and they charge for the packaging and shipping costs from their warehouses to the buyers’ destination.
My problem with the GSP is that eBay do not specify (to my knowledge) that they are the ones who are charging for shipping, not the seller. I’ve had multiple messages since the birth of the GSP from buyers requesting me to reduce shipping charges, or reduce the prices of my cards to accomodate for this cost, when I am not profiting at all from what eBay charge. When I refuse to reduce the costs of the cards (as they are already below current market values) and politely explain the situation, even with a possible solution offered (see below) this only disgruntles buyers and then leads to no sale as a result.
The only current solution to this problem is to include in the listing description stating that all shipping is FREE and any shipping charges incurred are from eBay, not the seller.
Has anyone else received the same frustrations and would you have any recommendations on how to navigate this dilemma effectively to benefit the buyer and seller?
Very true, this will fix that problem but also cut out a huge percentage of my target market. I’d rather stick to selling globally over significantly decreasing my reach to just the UK.
Probably not an ideal solution because I guarantee someone is bound to selectively read that and complain “the description says free shipping but I had to pay $××× [gsp cost]”. Your struggle is that people don’t seem to understand what the gsp is and in my opinion that description is very ambiguous and doesn’t clarify much.
GSP is a fantastic service for the seller and an absolutely terrible solution for a buyer, especially on low value items. If you choose to use it you need to expect that you will have complaints. I recommend writing up a standard response to GSP queries, send it and move on.
You’re concerned about lost sales but remember, the people who complain and refuse to buy something will behave the same way whether it’s you or ebay charging the shipping fee. These are just customers you will not have as long as you continue to use GSP. You need to either accept those lost sales or find a solution that doesn’t involve the GSP.
I also hadn’t considered the possibility of a buyer turning that text against me should they complain. You’ve enlightened my thinking, people who do complain about the shipping fees / want you to compensate them for living in another country are more than likely the ones who will also provide you with spite feedback etc, better to accept no sale than a tarnished feedback score for a year.
Royal Mail has signed and track for options… I got several packages from UK with tracking updated from origin to destination and with signature confirmation.
I often use the Royal Mail tracked and signed for service when sending packages outside of eBay. I am just unsure as to whether there is an option on eBay to allow for international shipping that does not go through the GSP system.
Maybe it’s different for eBay U.K. However, within the U.S. a seller has to opt-in for GSP. Then, when you’re listing a new item on eBay, there’s a check-box that you select if you’re interested in using GSP. Otherwise, you’ll be responsible for all shipping.
This check-box is located somewhere within the Shipping Section.
