I’ve read lots of bad press about eBay and the Global Shipping Program…..so here goes this is my experience..
On occasions I purchase items from the US from eBay or direct:- 16 years ago, items would enter the UK, and you would pay zero Import Duty, Value Added Tax and Administration fees.
That was 16 years ago, it would seem the world of Online shopping from around the world, especially from the US has now caught up with UK Customs, and today, if an item has a declared value of over £15 GBP, you will have to pay VAT@20% on the total amount, if the declared value is in USD $, it’s converted at the exchange rate on the day it’s received at UK Customs, and most often an administration fee of £8 or £11 depending upon if it’s Royal Mail or Parcelforce, that have handled your parcel.
Something relatively new, has started to appear on eBay on seller listings, it’s called the Global Shipping Program or GSP, my understanding is that US or UK sellers, do not have to worry about shipping overseas, they pack up the items, and ship it to a logistics company in the country or origin, this company then forwards to the destination, and also handles the Customs, Import Duty, Value Added Tax in advance, by passing this cost direct to the Buyer.
This payment is processed by Pitney Bowes, and appears on your Paypal Account as a direct payment to Pitney Bowes. You will see, two payments for the item, one to the seller, and one to Pitney Bowes for the Customs charges. The theory is that the item, is not delayed in Customs, and you pay no charges when it’s delivered!
I’ve actually been fascinated by the logistics involved in this process. I first got the following:-
It stated Multiple Carriers, and that didn’t help much in tracking…
And then this
I did some more digging, and found the following, it got handed to wnDirect
I tracked down the flight, using the Air Way Bill number 45494864, and it was on a Virgin Atlantic Cargo flight using this site, and 932 and VS (IATA code).
This led me to Virgin Atlantic Cargo Site
My item is in that parcel container, along with 26 other items! Received in London, 03 May 2016 @ 10.20.
I believe it’s now with 13ten
It will be interesting to see HOW QUICK 13ten, get it to me now it’s in the UK, as they use Royal Mail, Hermes, YODEL or DPD, that’s probably the weakest link!
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Tags: eBay, Global Shipping Program