GSP UK to US Costs very expensive

[hashtagcurios]

We've been selling for many years and have used the Global Shipping Programme since it started for International Sales. Whilst the shipping costs are sometimes higher the protection we receive as a seller is worth it for us and we still make plenty of sales from all over the world.

However, we've noticed the GSP cost of shipping an item from the UK to the US has suddenly become very expensive compared to a few weeks ago. What was £15-£25 for the customer is now over £100. This applies to all the listings we've checked so far from different categories and all are small parcels. This will certainly deter US customers from purchasing anything from the UK. The Royal Mail cost is about £20 for the same service but not something we want to offer to customers at the moment.

Shipping to other country GSP costs are as they should be and are within the price range normally charged.

Does anyone know why the US costs have increased to such an excessive level? 

Do other sellers have the same issue with the US costs being over £100 for every item?

[papso22]

Could it be a Trump tax on imports?

[hashtagcurios]

Not aware of it as the UK shouldn't be affected as no additional tariffs....atm

[returns_andexdisplay]

It will depend on where the products are made. You could be shipping from the UK to the US but if a product is made in China then likely to be hit with tariffs   

[hashtagcurios]

Antiques are exempt and the high costs applies to everything regardless....we sell mostly Antiques and Vintage items - ones known to be from the UK are still very high costs plus many you would never know where they were made....

[jlovie]

Maybe it's because of the uncertainty.

Tariffs could be applied at any time, possibly between the item being shipped and arriving in the US.

USPS has stopped accepting parcels from mainland China and Hong Kong.

Trump tariffs: US Postal Service halts China and Hong Hong parcels - BBC News

Who knows what could happen in the next few weeks, it's entirely possible US could block imports from the UK.

[darth_baggins]

USPS did increase their prices recently too.

[hashtagcurios]

That's certainly possible Ebay are covering themselves but if that's the case it would have been nice to have been informed so we could reassess the shipping arrangements, maybe temporarily

[hashtagcurios]

A price increase of 5% or 10% maybe, not 500%....

[tickswift88]

Strange you are saying this , just this morning I had a message from USA buyer Saying surley £97 shipping is not correct, my charge to global shipping centre is £4.25 tracked  700 grams  Obviously the guy is not going to want to pay £97 postage on item That’s on sale for £15 , is there a glitch in the eBay global shipping program. Or are these the new prices,, it seems that this is the end of the overseas sales if this is what eBay are charging for postage!!!

[hashtagcurios]

We checked other locations such as Italy and Germany and those shipping charges are still as they were so it's something to do with just the US by the look of it. So an Ebay bug in the system seems unlikely.

[jacuz-2]

Yes, a member contacted me about an item of mine that what previously was shown to cost him around $35 in shipping is now quoted at around $135. I did check it and he was right. Then I checked other sellers with similar items and it's charging $108 for a single comic book at a value of around £2-3.. Ridiculous.. Chat in help was as useless as ever, saying that duties, taxes, etc are included in the charges so it may be higher than Royal Mail. 

[jacuz-2]

Just to show what the OP and I are talking about, the same with royal mail would be around £20 i believe, £22.50 with insurance up to £250 + whatever the buyer in the US would have to pay in charges

[hashtagcurios]

There's several issues here;

1) Ebay have failed to inform anyone about these excessive charges for GSP items shipped to the US

2) Ebay have failed to advise why there are excessive charges

3) Ebay have failed to advise how long these excessive charges are going to last

4) There's clearly a cheaper alternative with Royal Mail so doesn't make sense that Ebay are charging so much

Is there anyone at Ebay who might be able to answer the above? Does anyone have an email address for the GSP team? 

[eyewear247]

Unless I am mistaken, GSP should not include any taxes to destinations within the EU, USA or Australia because eBay collect any taxes due at the checkout so the buyer does not have to pay any charges to get the package delivered.

In the case of the EU there is a limit on the value of the order that eBay will collect the tax up to , in the region of 135 Euros.

[4_bathrooms]

I'm wondering if USPS are charging hiked demurrage and storage charges to bulk carriers. I imagine once China & Hong Kong got wind of possible tariffs being introduced by the US there was a sudden flood of UPU packages destined for US fulfilment houses attempting to avoid the possible future tariffs.

If this is only affecting UPU packages (Letter, Large Letter and Small Parcel in Royal Mail parlance) - i.e. items that will be handled by USPS domestically - that might be the reason. Simply put they will already have a huge backlog to get through so anything else arriving will attract storage and demurrage charges until it can be sorted. It would also explain why USPS has suddenly stopped accepting packages from China and Hong Kong.

[jacuz-2]

Screenshot..

[forestfeline62]

I use GSP but I haven't had a buyer on there for weeks before xmas  ,and someone on ebay told me that small value items aren't worth the GSP programme dealing with so I am going to go back to using royal mail international postage ,it is easy enough to do and the post office gave me some customs labels so I can fill them in myself rather than have to do them at the counter and hold everyone up . 

[jacuz-2]

see my convo with customer serice regarding the same issue:

Shipping - Global Shipping Program
2025-02-04
02:43:21 UTC Abhishek

Hello, thank you for contacting eBay Customer Service. My name is Abhishek, please allow me a few moments to review your details.

02:43:31 UTC Abhishek

I hope you're doing well, Sandor?

02:43:37 UTC Abhishek

I’m interested to learn more about your question. Do you mind sharing more about it and what resolution you are looking for?

02:44:40 UTC Abhishek

I am not in a rush, just checking if we are still connected?

02:45:32 UTC jacuz-2

Hi

02:45:43 UTC jacuz-2

Hi, a potential buyer has contacted me that items I am selling cost $135 to the US while it $35 earlier today. I had a look and he was right, even a single $5 comic book would cost around $120 to send, which is way out of order. Is this a glitch in ebay?

02:46:15 UTC jacuz-2

This would be via the Global Shipping Programme

02:46:21 UTC Abhishek

To make sure I understand and can best resolve this for you, you're concerned that there is discrepancy in the item price and you wish to sort this out. Is that right?

02:47:20 UTC jacuz-2

No, the postage cost from UK to USA should not be $120 for a $5 comic, duties including

02:47:30 UTC Abhishek

Could you help me with the item number or item name please in order to investigate this for you?

02:48:51 UTC jacuz-2

Iron man #18 cgc 9.8. I don't want to leave the chat, in case we disconnect

02:49:27 UTC Abhishek

No worries. Thank you for sharing. I’d like to make sure I have the best resolution for you. Will you allow me 2 minutes to review your account?

02:49:38 UTC jacuz-2

That comic was quoted to cost $135 to send and a £5 comic was quoted around $120

02:50:22 UTC Abhishek

I see. Thank you for taking the time to explain your situation. I recognize the need to have this resolved quickly.

02:51:44 UTC jacuz-2

Thanks

02:54:03 UTC Abhishek

Thank you for waiting patiently, Sandor

02:55:24 UTC Abhishek

Just to confirm, did you check postage cost to US in item page?

02:56:02 UTC jacuz-2

I did, it was just shy of £108

02:56:18 UTC jacuz-2

Around $135

02:56:57 UTC Abhishek

Upon checking, I can confirm that you have turned on Global Shipping Programme in your listing. The international postage with Global Shipping Programme would be a little more than the normal economy delivery charges. Also, eBay will use the insured services to make sure that the sellers are covered in every manner possible if something goes wrong during the transit when the seller's item is shipped from our shipping center to the buyer's location. The buyer of the items which is listed via GSP will be able to view the total shipping costs of the item on the item page before they commit to purchase. Therefore, there will not be any hidden cost for the buyers. You aren't responsible for item loss or damage that occurs after the item reaches the UK Shipping Centre. Once an item has been forwarded by the UK Shipping Centre, you won't be responsible for refunding the buyer if an eBay Money Back Guarantee or PayPal Buyer Protection case is filed against you for one of the following reasons: A buyer claims an item isn't received or a package is damaged in transit. If you don't want to ship with Global Shipping Programme you can turn it off and add your own international postage like Royalmail tracked

02:57:00 UTC Abhishek

Please allow me to know if there is any confusion, I will clear that for you

02:58:48 UTC Abhishek

I am not in a rush, just checking if we are still connected?

03:00:23 UTC jacuz-2

I understand all of that but does it make sense to you to pay £95 in shipping cost via GSP for item worth £1.95?

03:01:00 UTC Abhishek

I am sorry to hear that. We appreciate you letting us know your feedback about our features and services. As we are committed to the continuous improvement of our website, I will send your comments to our Product Development Team for review.

03:01:06 UTC jacuz-2

365371321811 check this item for example with a US shipping address

03:03:13 UTC Abhishek

Yes, you're right. Global Shipping Programme provides full coverage, international tracking, simplified customs clearance, and no extra charges at delivery, hence the postage cost is higher than normal international postage. For this item, you can turn off Global Shipping Programme and select Royalmail international tracking

03:03:21 UTC Abhishek

tracked*

03:03:52 UTC jacuz-2

Right..

03:03:56 UTC jacuz-2

Thanks

03:04:10 UTC Abhishek

You are most welcome, Sandor and I'm glad you did the right thing in contacting us for clarification

03:04:27 UTC Abhishek

I assure you that we constantly work on improving member’s experience when it comes to managing selling activities on our site.. Thank you for sharing your sentiments with us. We will definitely share it with our product development team.

03:04:34 UTC Abhishek

We truly value your membership and we are grateful that you have chosen our platform to sell your items. We wish you profitable sales

03:04:38 UTC Abhishek

Thank you for contacting eBay Customer Service. We appreciate your business. Please stay safe out there! and have a great day!

03:04:52 UTC

chat ended by Abhishek

[jacuz-2]

Hey folks, looks like it has been sorted. Do you concur? The price shipping to the USA of one of my books went back down to £38 from £95