American Ebay Sellers-Sell Me Your Hockey Cards!

[Clark]

I understand using the Global Shipping Program for high valued items and when you must open a listing to the world. However, would Canadian hockey card collectors not be your primary target buyer?

Here is a card I am interested in, that is listed through GSP, and what it looks like from our end.

The card is $30 USD and has best offer open. If I really wanted the card, not only is $30 USD appealing but the best offer is even more so.

When you look at the total cost including GSP shipping I am no longer interested unless you'll take a best offer of $1.00. The total with shipping according to the listing is now $50.99 USD. Converting to Canadian is 66.37 using google. Ebay actual conversion rates tend to be worse, so a reasonable estimate is $68 Canadian for the card. You just lost a buyer.

I just wanted to open the discussion, maybe listing the card as USPS first class international will get you the sale? Thoughts?

[progfan86]

I agree. ebay global shipping is robbery and I refuse to pay it. You can send for much less and gain a better customer base.

[shrevecity]

COMC mailbox.

[Clark]

Originally Posted by shrevecity

COMC mailbox.

That another topic and buying format, and possibly another thread. There are many sellers that are not on COMC and pooling cards to spread out the shipping costs is not always desired if I want one card now!

[Dr kicker]

I wanted to dable in bkb cards a bit , cheapeast shipping fee`s i founded was about 8-12$ per item. Took a 3 month membership at getitshipintl. Change my ebay main adress to the adress they gave me an all my ebay wins, gb , etc are shipped there now. I will have the items shipped to me near the end of the 3 months membership and see from there if i renew it for a year or not.

[Clark]

Originally Posted by Dr kicker

I wanted to dable in bkb cards a bit , cheapeast shipping fee`s i founded was about 8-12$ per item. Took a 3 month membership at getitshipintl. Change my ebay main adress to the adress they gave me an all my ebay wins, gb , etc are shipped there now. I will have the items shipped to me near the end of the 3 months membership and see from there if i renew it for a year or not.

Interesting I will look into it. It still has an issue with having to compile a number of cards to offset costs. Also, doesn't shipping to a third party cancel ebay's buyer protection?

[Dr kicker]

Pretty sure it does cancel the protection program. I mostly grab cards under 30$ so its not something im concern about. Since it looks like a one shot deal your looking for maybe ask a establish member base in the u.s if he can grab it for you and ship to you afterward.

[valleynuckfan]

I've railed against the GSP for years now- it is an absolute burn job for Canadians wanting to buy lower valued cards. But even higher dollar cards is a jam because the GSP rates just climb with the final sales price.
Getting pre-charged for tax, duties, handling etc is BS. Rarely-if-ever- on lower priced purchases sent regular mail in the $50 range are there EVER additional fees from Canada Customs. This is a scam by Pitney Bowes and ebay through and through. Worst part is you never even know the final GSP upcharge until the auction ends- then WHAM!- "Here you go, kind sir, please pay an additional 50% on top of the final sale price".
However, in defense of the program, most sellers- myself included- want to simplify the sales process and deal with minimal headaches from buyers- especially out-of-country. The GSP makes things easier for US sellers. My understanding is it costs about $4 to send to Kentucky and that's that. Casual sellers (not set up to print labels and pre-post internationally from home etc.) just drop into a mailbox- no trip to the local USPS office to deal with documentation and the like.
I'd much rather just pay $10 or so for tracking to the seller and be done with it and take my chances with Customs. If there is an item I really want I reach out to the seller in advance and ask him to ship direct at a cost that covers his a**. More often than not the seller is agreeable.
But I am with you- too many US based sellers are missing out on bids from Canadians and leaving money on the table using the GSP exclusively.

[Craig]

This is the main reason I have an American PO box. I live in a border city, the cost of the box is offset by the shipping savings and convenience.

[Breakaway Dealz]

having been a seller & a buyer on eBay I’ve never charged any one within the North American more than $6-8 for shipping. And that’s 1-5 cards. One flat rate.
So when I see these auctions that you can buy 1 card with a shipping & Import costs so HIGH it really baffles.

If I’m looking to pick up commons, cheaper inserts or parallel’s I usually buy from dealers like Burbank Sportscards which has a reasonable shipping cost OR COMC. Beckett also has Free shipping depending on how much money your willing to spend.

[progfan86]

Originally Posted by Dr kicker

I wanted to dable in bkb cards a bit , cheapeast shipping fee`s i founded was about 8-12$ per item. Took a 3 month membership at getitshipintl. Change my ebay main adress to the adress they gave me an all my ebay wins, gb , etc are shipped there now. I will have the items shipped to me near the end of the 3 months membership and see from there if i renew it for a year or not.

Try Chit Chats express - https://chitchats.com/en

I just shipped a card to the US for $5.25 CAD with tracking and insurance.

There are fees to use drop locations though, but if you pool a few orders together its not bad

[jasoncardmonger]

For most sellers if not almost all it is simple, using the GSP gives the sellers' seller protection. They only have to pay for domestic shipping to the shipping center in the U.S. and once it is delivered to the shipping center it is considered delivered. So just like the buyers want buyer's protection, the seller wants seller's protection and not have to worry if it will actually get delivered and delivered on time outside of the U.S. Just the reality of it.

[Clark]

Originally Posted by jasoncardmonger

For most sellers if not almost all it is simple, using the GSP gives the sellers' seller protection. They only have to pay for domestic shipping to the shipping center in the U.S. and once it is delivered to the shipping center it is considered delivered. So just like the buyers want buyer's protection, the seller wants seller's protection and not have to worry if it will actually get delivered and delivered on time outside of the U.S. Just the reality of it.

I thought GSP only protects the seller from lost or damaged items from Kentucky to the buyer. That's great for high priced items that go to countries with questionable mail service.

Sports cards rarely get destroyed in the mail. Most issues between buyer and seller have to do with "item not as described" which the GSP does not cover.

[jasoncardmonger]

Originally Posted by Clark

I thought GSP only protects the seller from lost or damaged items from Kentucky to the buyer. That's great for high priced items that go to countries with questionable mail service.

Sports cards rarely get destroyed in the mail. Most issues between buyer and seller have to do with "item not as described" which the GSP does not cover.

From my experience of selling outside the U.S., every issue I had was item was not delivered and with no tracking I had no recourse. I never had an "item not as described" with an international buyer. By the time I added tracking, the cost was what the GSP is. Plus as a seller, it is much easier for me to ship to the shipping center domestically than to ship international with tracking. To ship domestically I can print everything at my office and drop off at the post office without having to stand in line. To do international with tracking I have to go to the post office and fill out everything there and wait in line to get it shipped.

With so much scamming going on by buyers (not saying you or any other people in this post are), as a seller I am going to do more and more to try and protect myself, even if that means I have less potential buyers and have to hold the card a little longer.

[Clark]

Originally Posted by jasoncardmonger

From my experience of selling outside the U.S., every issue I had was item was not delivered and with no tracking I had no recourse. I never had an "item not as described" with an international buyer. By the time I added tracking, the cost was what the GSP is. Plus as a seller, it is much easier for me to ship to the shipping center domestically than to ship international with tracking. To ship domestically I can print everything at my office and drop off at the post office without having to stand in line. To do international with tracking I have to go to the post office and fill out everything there and wait in line to get it shipped.

With so much scamming going on by buyers (not saying you or any other people in this post are), as a seller I am going to do more and more to try and protect myself, even if that means I have less potential buyers and have to hold the card a little longer.

Thank you for sharing your experience. It is interesting. I am able to respond quickly to these threads because I sell online professionally. This will be changing shortly as there are a number of obstacles for small online sellers in Canada that are for another day/thread.

Along with selling, I have bought a bit over the last 20 years as an ebay member. I appreciate the challenges of buying or selling on ebay.

I was not suggesting that American sellers ship without tracking, I understand the necessity of that. How much does it cost to ship a card to Canada with tracking? Maybe $10????

You mentioned the inconvenience of having to go to the post office for Canadian shipping. I have shipped internationally after sales on eBay, Etsy and Amazon and never had to go to the p.o. for a label. I do it right from the selling platform or PayPal and print it out at home. The customs portion of the form takes less than a minute and I can have the p.o. pick it up too.

I find it strange that you are not able to do the same. It is almost like ebay is making it inconvenient in order to force you to use GSP???

[AwesomeBrian]

Originally Posted by Clark

Thank you for sharing your experience. It is interesting. I am able to respond quickly to these threads because I sell online professionally. This will be changing shortly as there are a number of obstacles for small online sellers in Canada that are for another day/thread.

Along with selling, I have bought a bit over the last 20 years as an ebay member. I appreciate the challenges of buying or selling on ebay.

I was not suggesting that American sellers ship without tracking, I understand the necessity of that. How much does it cost to ship a card to Canada with tracking? Maybe $10????

You mentioned the inconvenience of having to go to the post office for Canadian shipping. I have shipped internationally after sales on eBay, Etsy and Amazon and never had to go to the p.o. for a label. I do it right from the selling platform or PayPal and print it out at home. The customs portion of the form takes less than a minute and I can have the p.o. pick it up too.

I find it strange that you are not able to do the same. It is almost like ebay is making it inconvenient in order to force you to use GSP???

I have sold both ways to Canada, some don't mind the GSP but others have requested I don't use it. I started listing all my hockey cards without it. It has been a while since I sent one north of the border and the that was before the price increase, but prior to that it was $10.50 USD I believe to send 1st Class International. Filling out a Customs Form becomes simple after a few times so that is not an issue. The only thing I don't like is once it leaves the US, tracking no longer works so the only way I knew the buyer got the item was from feedback. This way still takes about 2 weeks from the time I get it to the PO here but that never seemed to be an issue either as buyers were quite patient.

[Clark]

Originally Posted by AwesomeBrian

I have sold both ways to Canada, some don't mind the GSP but others have requested I don't use it. I started listing all my hockey cards without it. It has been a while since I sent one north of the border and the that was before the price increase, but prior to that it was $10.50 USD I believe to send 1st Class International. Filling out a Customs Form becomes simple after a few times so that is not an issue. The only thing I don't like is once it leaves the US, tracking no longer works so the only way I knew the buyer got the item was from feedback. This way still takes about 2 weeks from the time I get it to the PO here but that never seemed to be an issue either as buyers were quite patient.

Thanks for the input! I don't mind the GSP for more expensive cards which are usually "buy it nows" for me. It doesn't matter how the pie is divided up (shipping, import fees, item price) the total price is what matters in end. With the GSP on pricey cards, I know what I'm paying at the end of the day because duties and customs fees are taken care of. Without GSP on high priced items there is more of a chance a card will be stopped by a customs agent and charged duties/taxes/fees which I have to pay upon delivery.

For low priced items I have no problem paying for tracked USPS service straight to me. Customs tends to let them go through without stopping if the value is around $50 or less plus I get the card at a better total price. If its an auction and the US seller demands GSP, then they are leaving money on the table. Again, buyers in Canada will look at the total price.

Interesting you mentioned losing sight of tracking at the border. Maybe the system has changed since you last shipped to Canada or the service paid for was different. I purchased a card from the US last week. I can see its total journey from drop off in the US to my door in Canada on both the USPS and Canada Post websites. The USPS site lists the service as "First Class International-Small Packets".

[Clark]

And before Americans hit the back button after reading "customs form", it is a simple "declaration" of package contents. It asks for contents, quantity, value, weight, and the items origin/manufacture. e.g) trading card,qty 1, $25, 1 oz, USA. You also have to sign it.

It is not to difficult to complete if it means more sales!

[Dr kicker]

Originally Posted by Clark

And before Americans hit the back button after reading "customs form", it is a simple "declaration" of package contents. It asks for contents, quantity, value, weight, and the items origin/manufacture. e.g) sports card,qty 1, $25, 1 oz, USA. You also have to sign it.

It is not to difficult to complete if it means more sales!

A lot have been burned with questionable canadian ebayer`s making claims for unreceived items.Like mentioned here for some its not worth the hassle to stand in line to fill the custom forms.

[Clark]

Originally Posted by Dr kicker

A lot have been burned with questionable canadian ebayer`s making claims for unreceived items.Like mentioned here for some its not worth the hassle to stand in line to fill the custom forms.

C'mon Doc, work with me here. You're in Quebec and I thought you were understanding the struggle. The struggle is real, I can assure you.

For American sellers who may be following the thread with interest I will break it down with some recent transactions of mine.

Here are the dreaded customs "forms" as completed in Paypal for a hockey jersey I shipped to the US. I was being generous when I stated earlier that it took less than a minute. Because it took about 10 seconds using information that anyone needs to ship anything in the world. There is also mailing software that will enter this information for you.



These are the "forms" I have used to ship worldwide, and received from sellers worldwide. It is the global standard. So after I printed it out using my "computer", I signed it, taped it to the box, and dropped it off at the post office. Done. There was no line up at the post office to fill pages of forms.

If my friend in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan can use modern technology to do this, I find it hard to believe that someone in New York City can't.

Here is my recent transaction with an American ebay seller. It was a combined lot of cards that I paid $5.50 USD shipping for. Here is last half of the tracking as the cards cross the border and right up to the minute as it dropped in my mailbox. This is from the USPS website.



At the end of the day the sun will come out tomorrow if I can't get my limited run Mitch Marner card. I was simply hoping to help sellers and buyers in both nations, come together, in the name of the greatest sport on earth. :P

[CB Nostalgia]

It costs $9.50 to send a bubble mailer with tracking to Canada using ebay/PayPal. The customs form is automatically generated and the only action needed is for the seller to click one check box agreeing to the terms of the form.

It takes me longer to tape on the shipping label then it does to pay and print the shipping form. There is a cheaper, illegal, option to send cards via first class mail in a white envelope but I don’t do it and I have no problem losing business because of it.

[Clark]

Originally Posted by CB Nostalgia

It costs $9.50 to send a bubble mailer with tracking to Canada using ebay/PayPal. The customs form is automatically generated and the only action needed is for the seller to click one check box agreeing to the terms of the form.

It takes me longer to tape on the shipping label then it does to pay and print the shipping form.

Thanks CB. You have quickly ended the debate.

Originally Posted by CB Nostalgia

There is a cheaper, illegal, option to send cards via first class mail in a white envelope but I don’t do it and I have no problem losing business because of it.

I appreciate that, you have weighed the pros/cons/costs/risks of your selling model and determined the best fit.

So that pretty much wraps up this discussion. However, if you have any questions directly relating to shipping to Canada please feel free to post.

I am not demanding anybody to do anything. But I will ask that Americans consider not using the Global Shipping Program if you wish to increase sales of your hockey cards, especially the low valued ones.

Also, the discussion brought up some interesting concerns regarding buying and selling issues on the internet. I intend to start another thread to discuss the risks, seller and buyer protection programs, scams, and the various e-commerce platforms.

I have some interesting examples of the challenges that both buyers and sellers face. I look forward to you sharing your experiences.

[frenchquarter]

I have started shipping to Canada again after a few years of no international shipping. I would never use GSP because of the high charges. So, at this point, about 1/2 of my items include shipping instructions for Canada. Most of the items will ship in a small box or a bubble mailer for around ten bucks, with tracking. This will cover up to 8 ounces, so I can ship several cards for $10. If I remember correctly, I can ship First Class from 9 ounces to 2 pounds for around $18, so I can ship quite a few for that price.

If you run across one of my items that does not specify International shipping, send me a message and I will edit the shipping charges so it includes shipping to Canada. I have 1500 items listed, so it is taking some time to get them all changed over to include Canada.

[Jaysabz]

I'm from the US but I could put together a nice hockey card lot if you are willing to buy cards. The top card just off of the top of my head is a McGregor YG PSA 10 but I have lots of others. PM if interested.

[valleynuckfan]

Originally Posted by Jaysabz

I'm from the US but I could put together a nice hockey card lot if you are willing to buy cards. The top card just off of the top of my head is a McGregor YG PSA 10 but I have lots of others. PM if interested.

Who the hell is McGregor? Related to Phillip McCracken?