Unfortunately with the Global Shipping Programme packages are often opened upon arrival at the hub and checked before being packed up again and posted onwards for the international leg of the journey to the buyer. However, there have been reports in the past of the Global Shipping Programme repackaging items very badly, the end result being that the items are more likely to end up getting damaged in transit.
In order to reduce the risk of items getting damaged in transit - and to also be able to offer international buyers a better deal on the postage prices - opt out of the Global Shipping Programme and when you next listing anything for sale include an international postage option on your listings so that international buyers can make payment for the items that they want to buy from you. That way you can take complete control of the postage and packaging side of things, in which case you may well end up attracting more international buyers who don't want to have to pay the Global Shipping Programme's extortionate postage costs. So long as you package the items up well enough to prevent damage from occurring whilst the goods are in transit you should be able to keep the risk of damage in transit to a minimum, although it's virtually impossible to completely eliminate the risk of goods from becoming damaged en route to the buyer.
