Global Shipping Program ...

[Osi Osgood]

I found something that I honestlycouldn't say no to, and it was overseas, but they use the Global shipping program, so, after a lot of bluster, I decided to buy it anyhow and just see how bad this global shipping program is.

Well, first off, this 800ft reel is costing over 28 pounds just to ship to me. If, for instance Barry Attwood were to ship it to me, it would cost 10 to 12 pounds. That's enough of an insult.

Well, a week after I officially bought it, I get a happy message on my e-mail that the glopbal shipping program has successfully recieved my package!
YAY!!! So that means that he GSP, where, I don't know, perhaps over in the UK, has recieved my package?

Gee, if Barry shipped it for 12 pounds, it would take a week for the complete trip from Barry in the UK to one OSI in the U.S.

Well, before I get more pissed, I'll leave it at that and give you updates as to how long this sucker is actually going to take.

[Maurice Leakey]

Osi

One advantage for me living in the UK is when I use the Global Shipping Program from the USA I know that all customs duties and Value Added Tax (VAT is 20%) is all included and I won't get a nasty shock with a demand for a large payment before UK customs will release it.

If buying on eBay there are actually two separate payments:-
1) To the seller and for internal US postage
2) To Pitney Bowes for all later handling, overseas transport, and all necessary fees

It all works well and the tracking is good until the package reaches the UK. Then it tends to hide for a few days until it revives with details of the UK despatch carrier.


Maurice

[Dominique De Bast]

I had a bad experience with this program a few years ago. A British seller sent me an item that was lost. EBay not only said the seller was responsible for that (what did he do wrong ?) but if the item ended to the Global Shipping Program office, it would not be sent to me again or back to the seller but...destroyed ! It seems that nowadays, when you ship or have something shipped (whatever the company is involved), you have to keep your fingers crossed...

[Osi Osgood]

Well, actually, the good ole fashioned way is the best, by hand, by the seller, down at the post office.

It's the cheapest, it's apparantly faster ... it has the personal touch.

Someone just printing a mailing slip, tossing it in a box to be picked up Lord knows when by some shipping company, really shows little care about the seller and apparantly by what you said, Dominique, even a potentail horrifying outcome.

Imagine if you had a rare print like "Freaks", something that you have waited years to find, something goes wrong in the actual GSP and, instead of finding it and making sure that it gets where it is supposed to go (and for the price we're paying for the use of the program, more care should be taken), they were to just "bin" it?!!

[Dominique De Bast]

I completely agree with you, Ossi. One of the reasons I like going to cine fairs is that everything is real : you can see what you're buying and you bring it home yourself with all the care needed in some cases.

[Terry Sills]

Never had a problem with the GSP and as Maurice says everything is taken care of financially. However I did not realise that there would be no compensation if things went wrong and that if the item was returned to the GSP terminal it would be destroyed. That's horrific and totally unnecessary! I will certainly think twice if I send anything valuable in future.

[Adrian Winchester]

That's shocking if something is automatically binned! Does anyone know if that is stated in writing somewhere. But I'm also shocked that use of the GSP cost Osi much more than otherwise, because if I'm buying something from the USA, use of the GSP makes the total cost so much less that I sometimes wouldn't bid/buy if a seller does NOT use the GSP! That's not entirely because you avoid the Royal mail charging you over £8 just to collect the duty due; the actual shipping cost seems to be much less too.

[Dominique De Bast]

I hope meanwhile eBay changed that ununderstandable rule. Since I live in a small country, with excellent beers and chocolate but a limited cine market, I order often from abroad and I sadly experienced several bad moments. It seems that Belgium is not the only responsible. Recently, I I sent a film to Italy (to Alberto who takes care of faded peints) that arrives after just after a few days but a projector sent to Germany (to have a three blade shutter replaced by a two/three one) and it has stayed in Köln for about a week (and is still there...). A black and white camera film ordered several werks ago from France never arrived.

[Mitchell Dvoskin]

How do returns work in regard to the GSP? Who pays? Does it go back to the GSP office in the country where the return originated? Is insurance available to protect the seller/buyer in the package gets lost/destroyed?

Unrelated, here in New Jersey USA, GSP stands for Garden State Parkway on thousands of road signs. It took me a moment to realize what the abbreviation was referring to in the context of this thread.

[Osi Osgood]

Just to update the situation ...

I bought and paid for it on the 13th of May. The global shipping program graciously sent me an e-mail on the 19th saying that my package left the U.K. on the 19th, the seller said he put it in GSP post on the 14th, so it was waiting around for 5 days before it even left the UK. I then checked the tracking and on the 21st it "cleared customs", and since then, no updates.

OK, sometimes that will happen with overseas packages, no updating on tracking and then it just suddenly shows up at you're door (and then, if you go on the internet, all the tracking magically shows up on the internet ...

But, if i had ordered from Barry Attwood of Independent 8, the package would have been here in 7 or 8 days, (the longest has been 8 days wait) ...

... for a lot less money, (bear in mind, I paid U.S. 38.00 dollars for shipping) for an 800ft reel ...

... and the auction had the nerve to state, "quick, fast shipping"!!!

[Dominique De Bast]

A quiet messy situation at the moment in Europe regarding shipping anything. Bad service in Belgium from the UK, from The Netherlands, from France and to Germany (from my recent experiences) but good to Italy. Looks like it's a question of luck.