eBay renewed its partnership with Pitney Bowes to continue powering eBay’s Global Shipping program that is meant to make things easier for sellers selling internationally and more transparent for international buyers. Sellers send GSP orders to a domestic address where Pitney Bowes, on behalf of eBay, handles the international leg of the package’s journey.
According to Pitney Bowes, the renewal announced today is a multi-year agreement building on a successful relationship that started in 2012, and there is no change to the service Pitney Bowes provides eBay on Shipping Labels. A spokesperson said the company is not disclosing the terms of the agreement beyond what is in the press release.
eBay’s Global Shipping Program processes millions of orders every year in over 100 countries and is available to sellers in the US and UK.
Press release follows:
Pitney Bowes Inc., a global technology company that provides commerce solutions in the areas of ecommerce, shipping, mailing, and data, today announced the renewal and multi-year extension of its partnership with eBay Inc. This partnership, which has been in place since 2012, focuses on providing a secure and easy way for US-based eBay sellers to “sell internationally and ship domestically” through eBay’s Global Shipping Program (GSP) powered by Pitney Bowes technology and logistics services.
Through GSP, eBay sellers based in the US gain access to millions of buyers worldwide, while Pitney Bowes helps manage the complexities of cross-border ecommerce transactions and shipments. Every step, from calculating duties and taxes, to completing customs forms, to international shipping and tracking, is managed through the program.
“eBay gives sellers the platform, solutions, and support they need to grow their businesses and thrive,” said Bob Kupbens, Vice President, B2C and Seller Experience, eBay. “Our partnership with Pitney Bowes has allowed us to help eBay sellers grow their businesses by reaching millions of buyers around the world. We’re excited to extend our partnership with Pitney Bowes and continue on this journey together.”
“The Global Shipping Program gives us the unique opportunity to work with one of the largest ecommerce players in the world, as well as millions of small and medium-sized businesses looking to grow their sales internationally,” said Lila Snyder, President, Commerce Services, Pitney Bowes. “Pitney Bowes and eBay provide the foundation for GSP, but its incredible growth is a testament to the drive and creativity of eBay sellers. GSP attracts millions of buyers every year and we look forward to continuing to help eBay and its sellers meet their demands.”
According to the 2017 Pitney Bowes Global Ecommerce Study, 67% of online shoppers turn to marketplaces like eBay to search for products. Online shoppers report that 62% of their cross-border spend and 59% of their domestic spend takes place on online marketplaces, versus retailer websites. These trends have increased year-over-year and are most prevalent in China, Germany, India and Japan. At the same time, consumers are increasingly looking across borders to find the products they love. In 2017, 70% of online shoppers reported making a cross-border purchase.
Pitney Bowes has also provided eBay sellers with a simple and efficient method to print USPS postage labels directly from their accounts at eBay. In 2014, eBay’s Global Shipping Program expanded to the UK enabling millions of UK sellers to also reach international buyers.
SOURCE: Pitney Bowes Press Release
The Global shipping program is being sold as a great way for sellers to sell their items globally, with little to no risk. However, It’s too bad that Paypal and Ebay are not honoring their contracted agreement they have with sellers in regards to liability of damaged goods/packages. Even though their user agreement with sellers states that sellers liability stops as soon as package is delivered properly to the global shipping facility, unfortunately they are not honoring this.
After speaking with both Paypal and Ebay I have been told that all agreement is vacated as soon as the buyer files a credit card dispute, because both Ebay and Paypal are not obligated to do anything once this happens. In other words, a buyer can buy hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise (maybe thousands), and for whatever reason, they can just file a dispute with the card carrier, which bypasses both Ebay and Paypal) and then the item is free! Unfortunately, the seller is out the value of the item, the amount buyer paid, and the shipping paid.
There is 4 pages on an Ebay thread that is currently discussing this with an Ebay rep:
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Global-Shipping-Damaged-item-Shipping-Problem/td-p/28432038
@Mullen – Thank you for posting that link, it’s been a very interesting read. While I would never use the GSP (I don’t trust anyone to properly repackage my items), this should be a wake-up call to every seller who does use it that eBay will not absolve you of responsibility in the event of damage (as their own user agreement states). I’m sure there are other liar buyers who are now planning to file for a charge back knowing that neither eBay nor PayPal will step up to assist the seller.
Is ANYONE here surprised to read any of this? The buyer purchased THROUGH PAYPAL, using a credit card. Paypal is the Merchant of Record that took that payment. Weasel words in action. No one but ebay could slip off this hook. NO seller should EVER trust anything ebay says will make your life easier or into a better seller. NEVER trust anything run by ebay.