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International shipping restriction?

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I had the same thing happen when shipping a batch of 1950's rectifier tubes to Asia a year or two ago. After the GSP received the product, ebay notified me that the tubes could not be shipped to the buyer's country ( I don't remember which country). They said it was their mistake, as ebay should not have allowed the buyer to purchase this product from that country. There were NO details about which restriction prevented the transaction.
Instead of returning the product to me, they allowed me to keep the payment while refunding the buyer's purchase price. So, as a seller it was no skin off my back. the buyer was certainly inconvenienced, but didn't lose any money.

Restrictions vary by country, for example China prohibits (importing): "Radio receivers, transmitters or receivers of all kinds, walkie-talkies and parts thereof; valves, antennae, etc." An individual shipping audio tubes would have to be careful of this.

Ebay's GSP is bound to err on the side of caution when interpreting these restrictions, and assessing whether a product is affected by them.

Here's a link to the US postal service list of restrictions- Individual Country Listings | Postal Explorer
 
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Vacuum tubes are now banned from ebay GSP. This is a specific issue of the reshipper that is currently operating the GSP, no other carriers have this issue. I also had shipments confiscated by the GSP and payment refunded. If you see a listing on ebay.com related to tubes or anything that cointains vacuum tubes, and you really want it, contact the seller and arrange an alternate shipment method; or use a reshipping service. Shipping cost will be much higher. GSP was the cheapest option, sadly.
 
The GSP is a complete and utter scam. No one should EVER use it, and I refuse to buy from sellers that use it. Basically the only things banned from Canada post are contraband like drugs or weapons, flammable materials, and poo.
 
Last time I used GSP , the shipping was reasonable but I got stuffed for four sets of import handling charges for the one shipment . This never happens with any other carriers with multiple parcels per shipment .

Ebay gave me the brush off . I'll never buy any items when GSP is used for shipping .

Also the tracking for GSP is a complete waste of time

316a
 
It takes twice as long and costs far more money. How is that fantastic?

Because you're comparing it to the wrong thing. Yes, it's more expensive for US to Canada than USPS. But guess what, the US ebay vendors using GPS are the same ones that years ago only offered courrier to Canada. What it has actually done is made shipping to Canada much cheaper for a wider variety of items. I've been doing this a long time.
 
Funny, I've actually convinced a seller to relist the item without GSP. He complied, and I won the auction. 5 days by USPS, no duty or brokerage, and $35USD less for shipping. The only thing I'll buy through GSP is something heavy like brake rotors.
 
Funny, I've actually convinced a seller to relist the item without GSP. He complied, and I won the auction. 5 days by USPS, no duty or brokerage, and $35USD less for shipping. The only thing I'll buy through GSP is something heavy like brake rotors.

Pointless anecdote. Try to convince anybody running a sizeable ebay presence to change their supply management design just for 1 sale to you. I await your next anecdote to get the last word.
 
Now, now boys.. LOL

Seriously I am always amazed at how hard it apparently is to get things into and out of Canada. I haven't had trouble with Canada Post / USPS coming into the U.S. but will soon find out going the other way as I return some defective parts to a vendor in Canada.
 
Whatever your view is as a seller, this thread indicates most buyers don't like GSP and avoid it whenever possible. I never have problems receiving mail through USPS into Canada. Most mail is tracked anyway. Even then, the seller can offer courier services. What doesn't help with importing into Canada is the $20USD duty free value, compared to $800 in the USA... GSP makes sure an idiot buyer doesn't get a surprise COD/duty charge on delivery.
 
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This thread indicates that some buyers don't like GSP, it's not indicative of all buyers.

I have had only one single issue (the vacuum tube issue) since using GSP as a seller. Not one question or complaint otherwise and about 20% of my sales are international. And it's much easier on me to let them handle the paperwork.

That being said, I will indicate in future listings that I am willing to ship international without using GSP if that is the buyer's preference. It's no big deal.

BTW, the only trouble I've had shipping to Canada was a USPS package up at Customs for >3 weeks. A Rega turntable motor in original packaging, and not sold through ebay.
 
My impression is that many US sellers don't relish the idea of filling out a customs form. So what! It's their item, they can sell it the way they want to.
. . . . But if I see something I figure I've really got to have and it's with GSP, I'll contact and ask if they can relist without or otherwise go around it. Some will, some won't.
If GSP isn't avoidable then buying the item is. I figure if the seller doesn't want to help me out when he's hoping for my money, he's probably not going to help me sort out a problem after he's already got it.

In my experience the big pro sellers are often more adept at shipping outside the system as they're, . . . well,. . . they're pros. So I always ask and sometimes get.

The other thing of course is that things often arrive in Canada duty/tax free if sent directly by USPS, Royal, Deutch, et al. So it feels like a rip off when GSP charges for absolutely everything, even a low $ item.
 
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