Love it or hate it, eBay’s Global Shipping Program (GSP) is a priority for the company, and eBay announced that on May 15, it added 38 new countries to the program. That brings the total number of countries in the GSP program to 102.
The program is designed to make it much, much easier for domestic sellers to reach international buyers and to make it more transparent to international buyers what the total costs of a transaction will be – including duties and tariffs.
eBay sellers handle the domestic leg of the shipment for international orders, while Pitney Bowes, contracted by eBay, is responsible for the international leg of the journey. Sellers set the domestic shipping costs while Pitney Bowes sets all other costs and handles customs issues, insurance, and delivery.
The program has its critics – sellers initially reported that eBay kept opting their listings into the program whether or not they wanted to participate.
Another issue for some sellers: they believe the program makes their prices appear much higher to international shoppers than those of domestic sellers – some say that many international shoppers are able to make non-GSP purchases without having to pay duties.
However eBay argues that by being fully transparent with pricing upfront, it avoids buyer disappointment later.
eBay listed the countries added to the program on May 15:
Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Bangladesh, Bermuda, Brunei Darussalam, Bolivia, Belize, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Ecuador, Egypt, Grenada, French Guyana, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe (French), Iceland, Jersey, Jordan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macau, Maldives, Martinique (French), Monaco, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Oman, Peru, Pakistan, Paraguay, Reunion (French), Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Sri Lanka, and Turks and Caicos Islands.
You can find the full announcement on the eBay announcement board.
