no more swords via eBay GSP??

[saipan59]

Perhaps eBay's Global Shipping Program has changed some policies in the last couple of weeks?

 

I sold a Gunto to a fellow in Canada last week. After it arrived in Kentucky, eBay said it was "restricted", they would not forward it or return it, I keep the money, and the buyer gets a full refund. [This is apparently GSP policy. Anybody know how they dispose of things that they confiscate?]

Last night, I heard from a fellow in Australia, saying the same type of thing happened to him (as a buyer) just last week. I can't verify what he said.

I have another Gunto auction that finishes in a few hours - so far, the GSP option still seems to be there (listing says "Ships to U.S. and many other countries"). The item number is 233695495982, signed Masazane. Can someone outside the U.S. verify that you see it as available to you? Just curious.

 

I have a listing for an IAITO that starts in a few hours. From my side, the GSP check-box is on, but the listing does NOT show "ships to many other countries". It will be item 233703884003, in about 7 hours from now.

A couple of weeks ago, I successfully sold a WWII Japanese bayonet to a guy in France. No problem.

Today, I tried to list another bayonet of the same type, and eBay said "NO" until I removed the GSP option from the listing.

A couple of weeks ago, I successfully sold a large double-edged Boker fighting knife to a guy in the UK. No problem.

 

Pete

 

[b.hennick]

I won't buy if a seller uses GSP,  the fees are outrageous.

[saipan59]

5 minutes ago, b.hennick said:

I won't but if a seller uses GSP,  the fees are outrageous.

 

Hi Barry, the GSP shipping fee (to the buyer) seems to vary greatly depending on various factors (but I don't know what those factors are).

Many folks seem OK with it, and of course they know what they are paying.

A few months ago, I was selling a bunch of vintage (collectible) computer hardware, and on a forum I explained that I didn't want the hassle of international shipping. Folks on that forum urged me to enable GSP (I was skeptical), and it worked out great.

 

Pete

 

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Pete,

The hassle of international shipping is that you have to fill in a customs form; takes about a minute.  Otherwise shipping international is about the same as shipping anywhere else: you take it to the post office, pay the price, and you're done.

Grey

[saipan59]

40 minutes ago, Grey Doffin said:

Hi Pete,

The hassle of international shipping is that you have to fill in a customs form; takes about a minute.  Otherwise shipping international is about the same as shipping anywhere else: you take it to the post office, pay the price, and you're done.

Grey

 

Hi Grey,

It's a bit more than that, in my view. I've sent many international packages over the years, mostly to Japan, some to Europe, a few to Australia and Canada. I've been using GSP for eBay sales since January.

Some issues are:

- Every item in the package has to be called out on the Customs form, with weight, value, and quantity. The weight and value have to add up to the total that you already entered. This means making a list in advance, assigning a weight and value to everything, adding it up, etc. I know that lots of folks "fudge" this, and take a chance.

- The Customs form has a declared value. In various countries, the recipient will pay a tax/duty based on that (such as the VAT in Europe). This leads to buyers giving me "instructions" about the declared value and the description of the item. Typically, these instructions are dishonest, and I don't want to participate. Meanwhile, I would like to add appropriate insurance, but insuring for more than the declared value is an issue. [Tomorrow I am shipping something to a friend in Netherlands. To minimize the VAT issue, he gave me a "Tariff Code" to write on the outside of the package.]

- Sometimes a foreign address is unfamiliar to me, so I spend time online figuring out which part is the Province, which is the City, etc.

- An item can be refused by Customs (either at a U.S. port, or a foreign port). Then it is a HUGE HASSLE to resolve it fairly, and it wouldn't be free.

- Accurately predicting international shipping costs can be "challenging" in some cases.

 

ALL of the issues mentioned above go away if I use GSP. Last week's Gunto is the first negative experience I've had. But I have to say it was "easy" for me, because I didn't have to do anything (and there was no option for me to do anything).

 

Pete

[Brian]

GSP uses Pitney Bowes iirc.
And they are ultra-anti weapons or anything remotely weapon like. They will not ship any edged weapons, and destroy them.
This was discussed on FB a while ago I think.
Do NOT use the GSP and don't support sellers who do. Btw, your sword will be destroyed.

[saipan59]

15 minutes ago, Brian said:

GSP uses Pitney Bowes iirc.
And they are ultra-anti weapons or anything remotely weapon like. They will not ship any edged weapons, and destroy them.
This was discussed on FB a while ago I think.
Do NOT use the GSP and don't support sellers who do. Btw, your sword will be destroyed.

 

Yes, Pitney Bowes handles the actual re-shipping out of Kentucky.

Not so sure about the "anti-weapons" thing, since just in the last 2 weeks I shipped a bayonet to France, and large double-edged fighting knife to UK, via GSP. That knife should have caused a panic - just a 'weapon', not historic... All clearly described, of course. Maybe they just do random checks for things that they don't like?

There are other online posts by people calling GSP a "scam", but when you look closer it's just that they don't like the extra shipping charges, when they found out that the Seller *could* have shipped it direct for less.

And there was a post a few years ago where a guy claimed that GSP auctions off things that they confiscate, to recoup their losses.

 

Pete

 

[PNSSHOGUN]

It is a scam IMO, charging huge "import" fees for items that do not require them. 

[saipan59]

13 minutes ago, PNSSHOGUN said:

It is a scam IMO, charging huge "import" fees for items that do not require them. 

 

I would be interested to know an actual example of what GSP charges on a specific item to a specific country. As a seller, I can't see what the buyer is charged, beyond the U.S. shipping portion. I just know that nobody has complained (to me).

 

Anyway, the point of my post was not really to debate the merits of GSP, but rather to point out that *maybe* they had recently had a policy change that would prevent swords from being listed with the GSP option (my Iaito and bayonet are possible examples of a "new" policy).

 

Pete

 

[Ken-Hawaii]

Anything is possible, Pete, but enough of us have been bitten by GSP that we just bypass any sale item, unless the seller is willing to change.

 

Not trying to change your mind. Just be aware.

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Pete,

I have shipped hundreds, maybe a thousand packages overseas with my website.  I have never once written a weight on a customs form; the postal clerk writes the weight of the package and that is sufficient.  If a customer asks for a lower than actual value on the customs form I explain that I am limited by that value for the insurance I can buy and it will be the customer's risk of loss.  I have never once had a package refused by any customs.  And to figuring out which is the city and which is the province, if there is any confusion (doesn't seem likely to be the case) it doesn't matter.  USPS will send it to the proper country and the postal employees in that country will know which is which.

You can use any shipping service you like, nothing to me, but you're making shipping with the postal service far more complicated than necessary.

Grey

[Brian]

This forum has multiple threads on the GSP and issues people had. I was personally charged $115 shipping for a small item that would have been $20. And then charged import duties, vat and clearance.
And yes...multiple cases of them refusing "weapons"
No..I will never buy from someone using the program.

[Babu]

I have seen GSP shipping prices for items outside the UK that were eye watering .

I do not use it .

There are expert export companies that can deal with delivery almost anywhere for a reasonable fee.

Our issue as I've already identified is internal movements where either ”antique” or ”Sword” will trigger rejection or destruction.

If antique is acceptable then your insurance is invalid.

 

[PNSSHOGUN]

Ebay and many other sites already add any country specific GST automatically, the GSP adds it again along with a litany of other "import fees" that are complete BS. I'm honestly surprised there hasn't been a class action lawsuit against these crooks.

[Surfson]

Pete, that happened to me a few years ago.  You asked about what they did with the items.  Actually, they repost the ad and sell it in the US.  If you look, you might be able to buy your item for less than you just got for it!  

[Bruce Pennington]

I've only tried using it once.  The sword got to a shipping point in L.A., and then they returned it to me saying that the shipper (DHL) wouldn't take blades.  It was just going from Colorado to Canada, and I know for a fact that DHL is used by guys all over the world.  So I think it was GSP anti-weapons lunies and they tried to blame DHL. 

 

Won't ever use it again.

[saipan59]

Thanks folks for all your comments.

I have certainly learned not to use GSP to sell anything "sharp". I found a GSP info page that says Prohibited items include "Weapons (including firearms, knives, etc.)". The mystery (to me) is why they don't consistently block the GSP option up-front - it is so easy, when the listing title says "fighting knife" or "sword". It seems that the enforcement is manual and random, rather than a "change in policy" as I had first suspected.

If they actually re-sell confiscated items, then that's a good thing at least.

 

Grey wrote

 >I have never once written a weight on a customs form; the postal clerk writes the weight of the package and that is sufficient.

My process has been to do the customs form online at home, which requires me to fill in all the details. It makes it quick and easy at the P.O. - I just hand them the form that I printed.

But maybe that's not the best process...

 

Pete

 

[Oldman]

I have not used the GSP for a sword, but have had numerous bad experiences, including excessive unnecessary expense and delay. They once LOST a research microscope, a rather large, heavy, expensive package.

 

Cheers, Michael