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[Downhome]

If so, what are your experiences with it?

I sell a number of items a month and I opted into this program when it started a while back. Long story short, the program is where you can sell to buyers from all over the world but you only ship it inside your country (my packages go to Kentucky) and the costs are the lower domestic rates, and you can even use media mail. Once they arrive there, eBay has a service that then ships it off to the buyer. I have no clue how the buyer then takes care of the shipping costs from that location to where they are. They only pay me, the seller, the shipping costs from my location in SC to KY. I assume they end up paying the rest to eBay on their end?

Anyway, I sold a 10lb+ item recently and they opened a case on me once they received it. They were super nice about it, but said it looked like it was damaged in shipment to them, and it was damp as if it had been wet and torn open a bit. Since the packages go through KY and must not be damaged to go to the next level, it's obvious that it was damaged once it left here.

I wasn't even aware of this but under the GSP it states the following...

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/shipping-globally.html

How sellers are protected

With the Global Shipping Program, you're protected in the following ways:

You qualify for automatic 5-star protection on shipping and handling charge detailed seller ratings when you provide free domestic shipping to the US shipping center. If you receive a rating below 5 stars for shipping and handling charges, it won't count against your seller performance standards.

You qualify for automatic 5-star protection on shipping time detailed seller rating when you ship with same day or 1-day handling, upload tracking information within 1 business day of receiving cleared payment, and the item is delivered to the US shipping center within 4 business days. If you receive a rating below 5 stars for shipping time, it won't count against your seller performance standards.

Any negative or neutral feedback that can be attributed to the Global Shipping Program from item handling during international transit will be removed. See details.

You aren't responsible for item loss or damage that occurs after the item is forwarded by the US shipping center. Once an item has been forwarded by the US shipping center, you won't be responsible for refunding the buyer if an eBay Money Back Guarantee or PayPal Purchase Protection case is filed against you for one of the following reasons:

A buyer claims an item isn't received or
A package is damaged in transit

I just contacted eBay and what they did was totally refund the buyer from their side of things, and are allowing them to also keep the item. They have closed the case and the funds that were on hold in my PayPal account have been released.

I was just shocked at such a positive experience on eBay after a problem was presented. I have never had an issue resolved so quickly before on there, especially when eBay had to get involved.

I have heard some people say not to opt into this program, that there can be all sorts of problems, but I've been using it since it started and I've never had a major problem. Then, when something did happen and a claim was opened against me, eBay completely took care of it. Amazing.

Here is the email from eBay summing it all up...

Hi XXXXXXXXX,

eBay opened a case because of an issue with an item purchased from you. We reviewed the case and have decided to issue the buyer a full refund of $xx.xx. The refund includes the purchase price plus original shipping. The hold on this PayPal transaction has been removed.

This case is now closed. You are not required to reimburse the buyer or eBay, and this case will not be counted in your seller performance evaluation.

You can view the details of the case in the Resolution Center.

Comments:
Your shipment was received at our distribution center, but it was damaged en route to the buyer. We issued the buyer a refund. You will not be required to reimburse the buyer or eBay. Because we decided in your favor, this case, any feedback left, and all detailed seller ratings left, will not affect your seller performance. In addition, any feedback left for this transaction will be removed. Note: It may take up to 24 hours for these updates to reflect in your Seller Dashboard.