eBay

**kings** · ‎25-04-2024

Dear fellow sellers,

I am writing this message in the hopes that other sellers have also experienced a similar problem with the GSP.

I have items enrolled in the GSP, offered and managed by eBay and it is third-party logistics.

Unfortunately, it seems for every GSP sale, I experienced a similar issue. I am finding buyers are slow to non-existent to pay, which results in either having to play the ghosting game with no contact for several days. Annoyingly you are unable to send an invoice as a reminder.

Then out of the blue, you receive a request to cancel the order OR a message from the buyer, having a full Karen meltdown over the GSP postage rate. Which is happening entirely too often.

I can understand being a newbie being confused by GSP and how it works, but I am finding veteran buyers with 500+ transactions moaning about the GSP process and then having to remind them how the GSP works and that shipping rates are confirmed before checkout. It is not a hidden surprise.

Can it be chalked up to miscommunication (a language barrier) in some cases, or is the GSP not fit for purpose with inflation anymore? I have been surprised by GSP shipping rates for some items, I live in the UK, and shipping international parcels directly is really expensive (possibly more expensive than GSP in some cases).

**kings** · ‎25-04-2024

I do, I favor that for BIN. This was a best offer and unfortunately a GSP sale + best offer, tends cause a lag in payment in my experience. 😩

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eastern-lights · ‎25-04-2024

Sort of. I have stopped offering auctions internationally because of this. Buy-it-now listings don't seem to get this problem. I suspect overseas bidders in UK auctions do not even note that the item is coming from the UK. I significantly reduced my non payers when I made auctions UK only.

*vyolla* · ‎25-04-2024

It's not the GSP, it's the users.

We're in a one click society, many people just look at a photo and the item price and don't bother checking the postage section. We see loads of questions from buyers complaining that their item hasn't arrived arrived even though the estimated delivery date hasn't been reached, so they don't even glance at that information which is located right under the postage price. Or the item location.

The GSP is bonkers expensive for small items such as stamps and postcards, but the buyer can see the cost and make an informed decision, and savvy sellers will opt out if they're listing small items and set their own prices instead.

The only issue I would say that there is with the GSP is that buyers may be unaware that they need to add Buy It Now items to their basket in order to combine postage, or that it cannot be combined for items won at auction (then the buyer inevitably contacts the seller and asks for a combined invoice which cannot be issued).

With buyers ghosting you, I'd follow the unpaid item cancellation route. They'll receive a non-payment strike and sellers can set their buyer requirements to block those with two or more, and will be blocked from leaving feedback too.

jow1995 · ‎25-04-2024

My sales through GPS have been very flat due to costs. On heavy lots 10kg+ its pretty competitive.

rjwilmsi · ‎25-04-2024

I would suggest then that you only allow GSP on Buy It Now items. Then the full cost (GSP postage plus VAT, plus any import duty/VAT) is shown before the buyer completes purchase. I can understand that some buyers bid on auctions without checking details, might win for say £5 but then find postage and fees is another £10 to £15, so much more than the item cost. eBay like to make it easy to make international purchases, but the downside is that buyers may not realize the item location and hence the extra costs.

GSP is generally going to be a bit more expensive than sending direct as it involves a third party who will apply a handling fee (though likely worth it for the convenience and seller protections provided by GSP).