eBay Global Shipping Program – Ship Anywhere in The World


If you are a new seller on eBay or even if you’ve been selling for a while now, you must have noticed a featured known as Global Shipping Program. The Global Shipping Program is eBay’s own international delivery program which helps you sell your products to foreign buyers outside of your region.

You ship the products to eBay’s shipping centers while they take care of the international delivery and everything associated with it making things much easier for you.

On paper, The Global Shipping Program seems like a great choice and provides eBay sellers with a decent option to expand their businesses internationally. However, that’s not the end of it.

There are still certain factors that you need to consider when trying out the GSP, so read on our article to find the advantages, disadvantages, and other important details regarding the Global Shipping program.

What is eBay’s Global Shipping Program?

eBay’s Global Shipping Program allows you to make your listings available to International buyers without having to worry about International shipping at all. You don’t have to ship the items to foreign countries by yourself because eBay will take care of it for you.

Items that you list on eBay (be it eBay.com or eBay.co.uk or any other eBay regional site) will also be available to people outside of that region. These buyers will be able to buy your items and pay for international postage and additional customs fee when they’re checking out. However, as a seller, you don’t have to do anything else. All you have to do is send the items to eBay’s local parcel processing facility in your area who will forward your items abroad.

Advantages of Global Shipping Program

Apart from making your products available to millions of international buyers worldwide, there are certainly other advantages to using the Global Shipping program as well. These are:

  • If a product is damaged or lost during international transit, eBay money back guarantee will be resolved in the seller’s favor, and your performance ratings won’t be affected at all.
  • If you provide free domestic shipping to eBay’s shipping center then you will receive 5-stars for shipping costs in your ratings.
  • If you ship the items to the US shipping center within 4 days of receiving the payment, you will get 5-stars for shipping time in your ratings.
  • Any negative feedback that can be associated with the Global shipping program during international shipping will be removed from your seller rating page.

Disadvantages of Global Shipping Program

There are certain drawbacks to using the Global Shipping program, and these are as following:

  • Since you have to shop the items to eBay’s shipping center, where the order is processed and shipped internationally, so the overall delivery time is further increased.
  • Buyers have to pay import taxes on all the orders. Some of the countries within the EU might offer exemption from import taxes, but there are still certain countries where import taxes are applicable on the orders.
  • Excessive postage charges are another significant drawback for using the Global shipping program. The postage costs can be very high especially when you are selling small to medium-weight products. Alternative delivery methods can be much cheaper when used for international delivery.

How does eBay Global Shipping Program work?

It doesn’t matter if you are completely new to international selling or have been doing it for a while because the Global Shipping Program by eBay lets you offer your items Internationally while all you have to do is ship them domestically.

This makes selling globally much easier and cheaper. Once you set up your Global shipping account and apply the feature to your listings, all your eligible items will be visible to a whole new audience of millions of international buyers that are available on eBay.

Best of all, for all the eligible items, the total prices which include import fees, custom clearance fees, etc. will be calculated and showed to the buyer at the checkout. Once the buyer purchases an item, just ship the packages to eBay’s shipping center. The Global shipping program will take care of everything else which includes package processing, payment of import charges, customs forms, and international delivery with shipment tracking.

eBay’s Global Shipping program is available to people in the countries available here.

Global Shipping Program Countries

eBay’s Global shipping program is available to buyers in a bunch of countries. Here are the countries where the Global shipping program is available.

Antigua and BarbudaCosta RicaHondurasMartinique (French)Saudi Arabia
ArubaCroatiaHong KongMexicoSingapore
AustraliaCyprusHungaryMonacoSlovakia
AustriaCzech RepublicIcelandMontserratSlovenia
BahrainDenmarkIndonesiaNetherlandsSouth Africa
BarbadosDominicaIrelandNew ZealandSouth Korea
BangladeshDominican RepublicIsraelNicaraguaSpain
BelgiumEcuadorItalyNorwaySri Lanka
BelizeEgyptJamaicaOmanSweden
BermudaEl SalvadorJapanPakistanSwitzerland
BoliviaEstoniaJerseyPanamaTaiwan
BrazilFinlandJordanParaguayThailand
BruneiFranceKuwaitPeruTrinidad and Tobago
DarussalamFrench GuyanaLatviaPhilippinesTurks and Caicos Islands
BulgariaGermanyLiechtensteinPolandUkraine
CambodiaGibraltarLithuaniaPortugalUnited Arab Emirates
CanadaGreeceLuxembourgQatarUnited Kingdom
Cayman IslandsGrenadaMacauReunion (French)
ChileGuadeloupe (French)MalaysiaRomania
ChinaGuatemalaMaldivesSaint Kitts and Nevis
ColombiaGuernseyMaltaSaint Lucia

If there are any new countries added to the list then your items will be automatically shown to the buyers from the newly added countries.

eBay Global Shipping Program Tracking

When shipping your item to eBay’s shipping center, don’t forget to add the tracking details and the reference number on the posting label. This is done automatically for you when you create a shipping label on eBay.

Once you upload a tracking number, it is converted into a Global tracking number that you can use to track the order and the same tracking number can be used by your buyers to track the package as well.

If you are not using eBay to create shipping labels, then add the tracking number when you receive it from the carrier you use. Also, include the reference number o the label as well. Once your item is received at the eBay shipping center, the international tracking number will be added automatically so you and your buyer can track the order.

How to sign up for eBay Global Shipping Program?

You can opt in and out of the eBay Global Shipping program very easily. Follow these steps to do so:

  1. Go to Site Preferences in the My eBay tab.
  2. Click on Show besides Shipping Preferences.
  3. Click Edit alongside the “Offer the Global Shipping Program“, and then select Opt-in/out.
  4. Voila! You have now signed up for the Global Shipping program on eBay. If you choose to Opt-out then you will have to wait 24 hours before you can opt-in again.

Not everyone can just sign up for the eBay Global shipping program. You need to have a seller rating above standard or even higher, and also you need to meet the following criteria:

  • Your products must be physically available in the U.S.
  • Your products must be listed on eBay.com.
  • The products may not be illegal, prohibited by eBay, have export restrictions, etc.
  • You should accept PayPal as a payment method for your listings.
  • For most of the International countries, the shipping address of the buyer must be a residence address and not a P.O. Box.
  • Your products’ sale price should not exceed the maximum of $2500 (Varies for different foreign countries).

For more details, check out the official guidelines page for eBay’s Global shipping program.

How long does eBay global shipping take?

There are no official estimated dates provided for the delivery of international orders. eBay clearly states that the International delivery of items may take longer which varies depending on several factors that include but not limited to the destination country, customs clearance, order size, order pricing, and more. However, on an average, the delivery takes anywhere from 14-18 days to arrive at the buyer’s doorstep.

How much does eBay Global shipping program cost?

There are no sign-up fees or monthly subscription fees to join the Global shipping program, but there are still some charges that will apply to you and your buyer. However, these are the charges that are normally applicable on all eBay listings.

Seller charges

Sellers have to incur the standard eBay listing fees and also the PayPal fees for each transaction. The final value fee for you is calculated on the total amount of the sale which includes domestic shipping charges as well.

Buyer charges

In your products listing, buyers will see an estimate of the shipping and import fees; the complete costs will be available at the checkout.

The shipping charges that buyers see will also include US shipping charges that the seller has specified along with the International shipping and any other handling fees. Buyers are also responsible for the import charges which include custom clearances fees, regional taxes, and any other fees applicable in the destination country.

Related Article:
Dropship from Amazon to eBay

Is the Global Shipping Program worth it?

The Global Shipping Program is not for every niche out there.  If you are selling low-cost and lightweight items, then it’s probably not a good fit for you. Also, if you are already selling a few items internationally, then there’s no reason for you to switch to the GSP at all.

You know the saying, “If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.”  The GSP is only good for sellers that have no idea how to sell internationally on their own or sellers who are not able to sell internationally because of all the hassles and costs associated with international shipping.

Conclusion

eBay’s Global Shipping Program aims to make it easier for all eBay sellers to sell their items internationally. It provides sellers an opportunity to list their product for millions of international buyers and makes the entire process of international shipping easier. The seller only has to ship the products domestically while eBay takes care of everything else.

So, if you want to sell the product internationally and don’t want to trouble yourself with all the procedures and processes associated with International shipping then GSP is definitely a program worth a try.

Do let us know what you think of eBay’s Global Shipping Program and if you’ve ever used it yourself. Comment below.

Dilawar Hussain

Dilawar Hussain is a professional blogger who loves gaming, technology, and ecommerce. He spends his time testing new strategies, hacks, and tricks to help the ecommerce community.

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