Is global shipping a scam that costs more and delays?

Summary: johnnesbitt expressed frustration with eBay's transition from the Global Shipping Program to the new International Shipping program, citing slower delivery times and undefined customs costs from the US to Canada. marnotom! shared a similar experience, noting a 20-day delivery time, ...

Fuel prices are a major consideration. When oil prices rise, shipping companies often pass those costs on to customers. This fluctuation affects how much you pay. Another significant factor is distance. The further the destination, the more it costs. Shipping routes are rarely direct.

While that situation is not a daily occurrence, the growth of fast shipping, combined with the steady uptick in e-commerce sales each year, is putting its own stressors on the logistical capabilities of our global shipping network. In order to keep the global supply chain from collapsing as e-commerce volumes increase, and to boost environmental protections, it may become more necessary over time for customers to make trade-offs and accept slower shipping times.

Thanks to eBay International Shipping, you will generally see lower shipping costs* and have peace of mind with eBay handling any returns and managing refunds. With eBay managing the international shipping process, including customs and duties, your item will be shipped with trustworthy carriers, and delivered on time.

International deliveries made through GSP include customs clearance so you don't need to handle any extra paperwork · Once you've paid for your item, the seller sends it to the global shipping center. From there, it's sent to you. When you pay, your payment will be split into two transactions: The first payment goes to the seller to cover the item price and any domestic shipping costs to send the item to the global shipping center

... Requires manual parcel declaration in the forwarder’s system. Slightly longer shipping time compared to GSP if you consolidate orders. Import taxes still apply based on Singapore regulations.

One of the "selling points" of this latter outfit is that the Customs Fees are already included in the shipping costs, so buyer does not have to arrange for and pay for the Customs clearance upon item's arrival.

Coincidentally I also won a different auction from another UK based seller on 22nd December who also uses Global Shipping. I paid for the item on the day, the order details show the import charge as £0.00. If I now go to the listing page for this item the import charge shows as £11.07. ebay changed something on 23rd December, my guess is they are hedging against any fees that come in after Brexit but Support will not confirm this. The UK has not left the EU yet, ebay should not be charging import charges to EU based customers.

As it was explained in GSP article, this is too avoid any paperwork so customer will receive the package without having to pay customs fees because they'll be payed automatically by GSP.