Change can be difficult when you are used to doing something a certain way. eBay is launching a lot of changes every few months and it is not easy keeping up with what they are adding to the marketplace and what is relevant to your selling process.
I haven’t opted into the Global Shipping Program because I don’t understand it
That is why we are going to break it down to plain English and quick reading for you.
eBay now has hubs in the US you ship the items to if you have an overseas buyer. This reduces your shipping costs as well as gives you seller protection if something were to happen during international transit. If you have ever felt like you could not trust selling and mailing internationally, now eBay provides the security of dealing with “lost packages”.
Existing eBay clients must opt into this process while eBay changed their user agreements for any new client signups to automatically be opted into this program. To opt-in, go to eBay > My eBay > Account > Site Preferences > Shipping - Global Shipping (or click here). Read more from eBay about this program.
While this would provide more international exposure to your products, there are a few hiccups that come with this service. All sellers work hard to maintain high DSRs. By shipping your products to eBay’s Kentucky hub, you hope they will send out your item the same day but that is highly unlikely. You might end up with a ding on DSRs with your time or even cost. How much are your international buyers paying eBay for shipping even though you are spending $12 to get it to the eBay Hub?
What do I need to know about SellerVantage and the Global Shipping Program?
When an international buyer purchases an item, you will receive the allotted amount to ship to their Kentucky hub and the address to that hub rather than the address of the buyer. If you sell an international item and you see an international address under Orders, then either the item did not meet the requirements of the GSP or the buyer purchased your item is outside the enabled countries for the program.