If you’re selling on eBay you may have received an email informing you that you’ve been opted into the eBay Global Shipping Programme (GSP)—note, you can opt out through postage preferences within your site preferences. In last week’s blog, l looked at three ways to increase your eBay profits, this week l’ll be looking into the eBay Global Shipping Programme which has been updated this week (details in this blog by Tamebay) and examine the advantages and disadvantages of the programme.
What is the Global Shipping Programme?
The GSP was introduced by eBay is 2012 with the aim of simplifying shipping to approved international countries.
Sellers package the item and send it to a eBay shipping hub. After that, eBay takes responsibility for the item and sends the package to the buyer and handles returns. It is a similar model to Amazon’s, Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA).
Some sellers are already shipping internationally and have no need for the service. But for other sellers who have previously just been selling domestically, it is a way to grow sales and let eBay take care of some of the hassle.
A common question many sellers, including myself are asking is, should l use the eBay Global Shipping Programme?
Advantages of the eBay Global Shipping Programme
- eBay takes responsibility for the item
- eBay handles returns
- Easier for the seller – no need to purchase insurance, figure out which countries should be avoided, or worry about lost packages.
Disadvantages of eBay Global Shipping Programme
- Higher prices for buyer
- eBay may open and inspect the item – may not package it back correctly, items could go missing if it has multiple pieces
- Only ships to certain countries – lost sales opportunities
- Slower shipping time.
Conclusion
Overall, it seems the programme is more suited to newer sellers because they can approach the sale in the same way as they would if they were selling and shipping an item domestically.
Experienced sellers are more reluctant to embrace the programme especially if they have already been selling internationally and not experienced any issues. With higher shipping fees through the GSP there is little value in joining the programme so they will opt out.
Hopefully we’ve provided you with a nice introduction and overview of the eBay Global Shipping Program. The decision to whether you should join or not is entirely up to you and may not suit all sellers.
If you want more information on the GSP, check out eBay Seller Central. There has also been some changes to the GSP this week.
