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Yeah, I know about the GSP, and while some sellers won't ship without using it, it royally screws the buyer. For instance, if I buy from Barry Attwood, a 600ft film, he charges EXACTLY what the Royal Post charges, which would have been roughly ten pounds, where, nowdays with the GSP, (at least the last time I bought a 600ft on eBay from the UK), was a good 60.00 danged dollars, AND, it took a week longer than the same 600ft reel, same weight, from Barry, so yeah, the GSP is a royal screw job!
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Osi,
2 Points,
1.As a seller I don't like eBay.(As a buyer I am not that keen either) At this moment in time, they are a self effacing money grabbing control freaks, an expensive means to an end. In some cases the charges we are forced to pay as sellers are totally un calculatable and the conditions placed upon us confining, causing a higher pricing system than we would not normally choose.
2. As a seller my point with the GSP is that without me doing anything extra, at any extra cost, a buyer anywhere in the world will be aware of the total cost to buy and have an item delivered to their door along with an estimated delivery time before pressing the "buy" button, as opposed to emailing me, requesting I work out delivery charges to say, Outer Mongolia, find out how much if any taxes will be charged, how long it will take, sort out custom declarations, custom invoices and so on and so on.. If the customer does not like the stated cost cost surely he will not press the buy button?
Were you not informed of the total cost of delivery, tax etc before you brought the film?
The original posting was I believe to say something, about positive selling tips, etc, not negative buying, this is the only positive that we find on eBay but as a seller, it is a positive. It is also the only way we have found to use eBay to our advantage as opposed to theirs.
(I am sorry I cant believe I am actually standing up for eBay, I had better keep taking the tablets........)
Nick
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It's OK Nick, just don't get addicted to the tablets, hard to get off of them!Comment
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Thinning out a point from Nick's posting above.
The great advantage for me buying from the US via the Global Shipping Program is that when I click to buy that's the final payment. There will be no card through the door a few weeks later asking me to pay the customs fee, plus a handling charge by Royal Mail.Comment
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I must concede on one point, if a person has no problem with the GSP, that's fine, they know that there will not be any further charges, I get that, but if you're a person who knows what things will actually ship for, and the seller uses GSP because they just don't want to deal with the "inconvenience" of mailing it themselves, they won't get my business. These days, a buyer in the U.S. is paying far more for shipping than the item. The pity of all this is that the U.K. was blessed with lovely low fade titles, rarely found anywhere else in the world. Humbug!Comment
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Osi,
We would happily send around the world direct but not for the carriage costs only, by the time you have got quotes for delivery, sorted out customs and import tax invoices etc etc, passed this info onto the customer to accept and then go through it all again to get the unit out, it has wasted a large proportion of your day which as a business needs to be paid for.
I agree GSP is expensive but working within a home country marketplace any international sales that come in via GSP are considered a bonus.
We are both looking at this from different sides, you as a buyer me as a seller, I am not sure if I would advise anyone to buy using using GSP but I would definitely advise anyone to sell using it.
(Of course the best thing about advice is you don't have to take it.)
eBay has tightened up on stopping direct communication with a customer, everything has to go through their censors, and their terms and conditions, we cannot send PDF files or communicate details about delivery import / export addresses etc. PayPal is now not given they buyers email as all payments are dealt with by eBay taking even more our control over our customer base and customer service away.
Gone are the days of sorting out any finer points of a transaction in a friendly chat with your prospective customers.
This is not a good thing and yet another reason to avoid eBay totally if possible.
Oh YES! I have found my "rant at ebay head again......" Time for a lie down in a dark room I think
Nick
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Always remember that eBay is out to make money, and not to make a good business transaction or good vibes between seller and buyer. If it happens to happen, these days, that's a happy accident. This is why, for instance, eBay will always encourage you to drop the price when you relist. They just want to make a sale, and are not concerned with you making money. It's just merchandise to them.Comment
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