V V confused re global shipping... from England to England??!!!

[alltoomuchrightnow]

So, I just received payment for one of my items, which was a Buy It Now.
Very confused as along with the person's details, it says that the order will be sent under Global Shipping Programme (something I've never used , and don't know about because I stopped sending overseas about a year ago, as had too many problems with it and people not wanting to pay for international signed for , etc )

However... re this sale : I am in England and the address to send to is England!

This is part of their address ( I have changed some digits for security) -

Mr La-Choupette (a french name..this is not actual name!)
Reference ID
K294199333333R
Unit 1, Langham Park ..... (etc etc ie regular address details)

What do I do re this ID? just write it on the packet? Do I just post this as normal, as it's meant to be just standard Royal Mail second class with proof of posting (total of item is £14.99 as I'm doing free P&P) do i have to do anything different?

[alltoomuchrightnow]

or am i being really dim?!

[GwenStacy]

It's ebay's new rhing! You post it to them, they post it abroad!

[GwenStacy]

Thing. Thing. Thing.

[Chrissy41]

I would send with online trackable proof of delivery - so Hermes or Collect +.

But yep - you send there - eBay forward it on to your buyer.

[bloodyteenagers]

It's something that ebay started a few months ago, so that international buyers can buy from sellers like yourself.
You post it as normal, and ebay handle the rest. Although you didn't charge for p&p, Ebay would have made a few changes to the listing for international customers, so they pay all fees.
Although not sure how it all works out, if the buyer has issues and wants refunds etc.

[DurhamDurham]

I was very surprised about the shipping address when I sold an item to a buyer in Italy, I thought I was being monitored or something. Not that I have a guilty conscience

[alltoomuchrightnow]

hmmm ok...so i do my normal second class with proof? i can't afford Signed for when its only £14.99 and they're having free post

[alltoomuchrightnow]

i don't want to get online proof when it's advertised as being a free postage item thats only 14.99 as just too pricey for me to do so and I did say UK only on my listing
I noticed i wasnt opting out of the international postage option so i'll tick that from now on to opt out
or is it still worth doing this , sending without being tracklabe but with proof?

[alltoomuchrightnow]

whether inter national or not. am confused. so buy sending to this address (a business park in Derbyshire) , the buyer is NOT at that address? it's sent on for them? then why don't they give their french address?

[alltoomuchrightnow]

by sending, not buy!

[alltoomuchrightnow]

am i still being dim...why can't it be directly send to France? i would have honoured it had a french address came up..but would've asked them to pay the extra postage. does it work out cheaper for them this way? am i still covered? As i did state, UK only

[Chrissy41]

if under 1kg it is £2.98 with Hermes. Better to do that then sent cheaper with RM and the item not arrive.

Go and read up on the eBay Global Shipping Programme and opt out if you want to.

[nauticant]

The point is that many people don't want to ship abroad because they have to include a hefty shipping cost and there are other uncertainties. The Global Shipping Programme (GSP) provides a way for international shipping to be lower because ebay can buy it at low cost and take care of it for you. ebay sells the international shipping leg directly to the buyer and probably has a mark-up on that.

You need to specifically opt out of the Global Shipping Program somewhere in Site Preferences.

If you view the order for the item there's a information button towards the bottom that will tell you the buyer's address. However, if you send the item directly it will cost you a lot more, the money the buyer paid to ebay for the international shipping leg will just be kept by them for doing nothing, and I'd assume you'd have a confusing situation to sort out.

[alltoomuchrightnow]

ok i think i get it. so i do benefit from this as can now send items without asking for a hefty overseas postage fee?

[nauticant]

You do benefit, particularly by operating in a much larger market.

However, when I ship in the UK if something goes wrong I have a contract with the shipper and I can seek recompense with them. It isn't clear to me what happens if a buyer in, say, Italy claims they received an empty package or an item not as described.

[glammanana]

Just a quick question which has been bothering me,who is responsible if item arrives damaged ? do we as sellers claim from the original courior we used or do we claim from the Postal Depot used by e-bay as both could be responsible if there is a problem,personally I have opted out of GSP.

[alltoomuchrightnow]

yes I wonder that too

[alltoomuchrightnow]

hence also opting out at least for now

[nauticant]

It's a tricky one. I'm in for the moment and I can live with the number of rip-offs increasing because it does bump up the selling price* but what I'm definitely keen to avoid is being dragged into particularly complex disputes where there might be difficulty communicating in English.

• new items where like-for-like comparisons are valid