Skip to main content

Global Shipping Programme

Seller Terms & Conditions (Version June  2021)

Effective Date: Immediately for those users who opt into or are enrolled into the Programme after 28 June 2021, and from 1 July 2021, for all other users.

The Global Shipping Programme (the "Programme") makes certain items ("GSP Item(s)") that you list for sale on eBay.co.uk available to buyers outside of the United Kingdom ("Buyers"). The Programme enables Buyers to obtain parcel processing, international postage, and customs clearance services (the "Services") at checkout.  It is facilitated by a third party global technology and postage provider, Pitney Bowes Global Ecommerce UK Limited and its affiliates and third party providers. ("Pitney Bowes").

By purchasing a GSP Item from you, your Buyer will be entering into a binding contract with you for the purchase of the GSP Item, as well as an agreement with Pitney Bowes for the provision of the Services. You acknowledge and agree that these Global Shipping Programme Seller Terms and Conditions ("Terms") apply to you as well as any GSP Items that Buyers purchase from you through the Programme. Once effective, these Terms will apply to all of your eligible new listings and existing listings.

  1. Applicability of eBay User Agreement

    The eBay.co.uk User Agreement including the International Selling Policy, the eBay User Privacy Notice and all policies posted on our site apply in addition to these Terms. If there is an inconsistency between these Terms, the User Agreement and our policies, these Terms will prevail as to all matters expressly addressed in these Terms.

  2. Relationship between eBay and Pitney Bowes

    eBay and Pitney Bowes have entered into an agreement to make the Services available to you and/or the Buyers. eBay is not providing or responsible for any of the Services, and Pitney Bowes is neither owned by, nor affiliated with, eBay.

  3. Your Relationship with Pitney Bowes

    1. Services

      You authorise Pitney Bowes to provide the following Services in connection with your sale of GSP Items to Buyers:

      1. Parcel processing service: when your Buyer has paid you for the GSP Item, you will post the GSP Item to a parcel processing facility located in the United Kingdom ("UK Shipping Centre"), which is managed by Pitney Bowes and operated by a third party logistics provider. Pitney Bowes will oversee the processing of the GSP Item at the UK Shipping Centre in preparation for international postage to your Buyer. Pitney Bowes will decide if your GSP Item is eligible for GSP and may open and inspect it without notice.
      2. International postage and tracking service: Pitney Bowes will arrange for the international postage of the GSP Item from the UK Shipping Centre to the Buyer's delivery address provided by the Buyer (or to a collection centre near your Buyer designated by the postal carrier).
      3. Customs service for shipments: based on information provided by you, Pitney Bowes will designate you as the exporter of GSP Items (or, at its discretion, will designate itself or one of its service providers as the exporter) and will manage the export on your behalf and import clearance of GSP Items on behalf of the Buyer. You authorise Pitney Bowes to act as your direct agent and customs broker/freight forwarder (with permission to further delegate that authority) to (a) deal with customs business with all relevant customs and revenue authorities on your behalf, (b) remit your Buyer's payment of import charges to applicable authorities, (c) make export classifications, and export filings, (d) make on your behalf all declarations (including declarations of value) and filings in connection with the export of the GSP Item from the UK and the import of the GSP Item into the country into which it is being imported , (e) select and amend product and service codes and Harmonized System Codes or such commodity classification codes as shall be applicable, (f) manage any disputes with such authorities and (g) do any other act that may be necessary in connection with the exportation or importation of a GSP Item. If required, you will be responsible for preparing and sending any documents or records to be filed for the sale and export of GSP Items and for providing full and accurate information to Pitney Bowes to enable it and its service providers to perform the Services. You will be the "declarant" for the purposes of all customs declarations, the legally declared exporter and responsible for the accuracy of the information provided.
      4. The authorities, authorisations and approval granted by you in this Section 3 shall also apply if eBay and/or Pitney Bowes exercise their right under Section 11 to return the GSP Item to you provided that neither eBay nor Pitney Bowes shall be under any obligation to claim a refund of any excise duty paid on your behalf or on behalf of your Buyer.

    2. Data Privacy.

      eBay's collection of personal information in connection with the Programme is governed by the privacy policy that applies to your use of the eBay.co.uk website. However, in order for Pitney Bowes to provide you with the Services under the Programme, Pitney Bowes requires certain personal information in addition to your order information, including, but not limited to: your name, user ID, address, email address, telephone number. You are responsible for the accuracy of this information and acknowledge that you are authorized to provide this information for the purpose of processing, export and customs clearance any GSP Item. By agreeing to these Terms, you consent to eBay to provide this personal, order and GSP Item information to Pitney Bowes on your behalf so that Pitney Bowes may provide you with the Services under the Programme. You acknowledge that Pitney Bowes may disclose this information, however collected, to its affiliates, service providers, and other third parties (such as customs and revenue authorities) as necessary to perform the Services (for example, contacting you to verify certain information and details of a GSP Item, providing your name and address information to customs brokers and shipping carriers so that they may clear customs on your behalf). By accepting these Terms you also agree that eBay may transfer this information directly to Pitney Bowes’ service providers to perform the Services that you have requested. Pitney Bowes, its affiliates, and/or its service providers may contact you directly in order to collect or confirm certain personal, order and/or GSP Item information. Your personal, order and/or GSP Item information will be collected, used, and disclosed by Pitney Bowes only for the purpose of providing the Services in accordance with Pitney Bowes's privacy policy, which may be found here, with the exception that Pitney Bowes shall not provide, rent, sell or otherwise share the foregoing information for marketing purposes. eBay does not control the privacy policies of Pitney Bowes, its affiliates, or its service providers, and you are subject to the privacy policies of those parties, as applicable. eBay and Pitney Bowes are acting as dual data controllers.

  4. Eligibility.

    1. Item Eligibility

      Not all listings on eBay.co.uk are eligible for the Programme. eBay may alter or amend the eligibility requirements for GSP Items without notice. You agree not to sell any ineligible items through the Programme. More information about ineligible items may be found here. You agree that Pitney Bowes shall have the right to decide if the GSP Item is eligible for the Programme. You agree that in respect of any items found to be ineligible, Pitney Bowes may (at its discretion) dispose of or liquidate GSP Items in any manner that they prefer, including without limitation, (a) returning the item to you at your costs, (b) handing over the item to the authorities or (c) destroying the item without notice.

    2. Country Eligibility

      The Programme is not available for shipments to all countries. The delivery address specified by your Buyer must be in a country eligible for the Programme. eBay reserves the right to expand or limit the countries eligible for the Programme at any time, without notice. However, we will provide notice of any additions to the list of eligible countries by posting on the Announcement Board on eBay.co.uk. Any such additions will automatically be effective 10 calendar days after notice is initially posted, at which time (i) all GSP Items will automatically be made available to Buyers in the additional countries and (ii) your existing, live listings that offer GSP Items will be automatically updated to permit sales to Buyers in the additional countries. The countries currently eligible for the Programme may be found here.

      If eBay determines that one or more of your listings is eligible for sale to certain countries, but not to certain other countries, you authorise eBay to exclude the listing from being available to Buyers in just those ineligible countries.

    3. Member Eligibility and Participation Limits

      eBay may require that you meet certain minimum performance standards before making your listings available to Buyers through the Programme.

    4. Accepted Payment Method

      If your eBay account is not enabled for eBay managing your payments, your Buyer must pay for GSP Items using PayPal . If your eBay account is enabled for eBay managing your payments, your item must be purchased using any of the payment methods available in the eBay checkout processed by eBay. Therefore, only your listings that offer PayPal as a payment method or are enabled for eBay managing your payments are eligible for the Programme. Your use of the PayPal services is subject to the relevant PayPal User Agreement and Privacy Policy, including all applicable PayPal fees described in your PayPal User Agreement (for example, PayPal's cross border and currency conversion fees for international payments).

    5. Programme Rules

      You will comply with the following rules for any GSP Items that you sell through the Programme:

      1. Upon receipt of payment from the Buyer, or, if your eBay account is enabled for managed payments, upon eBay's notice that the Buyer has paid for an item, you will promptly post the GSP Item(s) to the UK Shipping Centre address provided to you in accordance with your listing;
      2. You will package all GSP Items appropriately, and in accordance with Programme weight and dimensions limits. More information about any package or other applicable limits may be found here;
      3. You must ensure that the address on the package includes the Buyer order reference number and if you fail to do so, eBay, Pitney Bowes and/or any third party they designate may conclude that the GSP Item is undeliverable;
      4. You are required to include an order packing slip in the package;
      5. You will accurately specify, whenever possible, each package's weight and dimensions plus the item's country of manufacture (if known) in your listing. If eBay or Pitney Bowes conclude that the weight and dimensions information you provide is inaccurate when processing the GSP Item at the UK Shipping Centre, you authorise eBay, Pitney Bowes and/or any third party designated by either of them to correct this information on your behalf ; and
      6. You will post all GSP Items contained in a single order to the UK Shipping Centre in one package;
      7. You will not combine multiple orders (either belonging to the same Buyer or different Buyers) in a single package.
      8. You will not post ineligible items. Details of ineligible items can be found here.

  5. Compliance with Applicable Laws

    You agree not to sell or export any GSP Items through the Programme in violation of any applicable laws or regulations of the countries eligible for the Programme. By not opting a GSP Item out of the Programme, you are representing and warranting that your sale, transfer, export or import of the GSP Item does not violate any applicable laws or regulations of any eligible country and that you as a seller have taken all necessary steps to ensure you are in the position to export items outside of the United Kingdom including where applicable, obtaining an EORI number (Economic Operators Registration and Identification number) for export including to the European Union . You are responsible for ensuring that your sale and exportation of the GSP Items complies with all laws, regulations and requirements of the country from which it is being exported and in which it is being sold. You will provide to Pitney Bowes all necessary information required by it regarding the GSP Items sold and exported by you and regarding the international movement of the GSP Items. You hereby represent and warrant that GSP Items posted by you do not require an export license and that the export of the GSP Item does not violate any applicable laws.

  6. Fees and Payment

    Standard eBay fees (including international fees) and fees for eBay managing payments (e.g. currency conversion fees for international payments) or PayPal fees apply (including PayPal's cross border and currency conversion fees for international payments), as applicable, to items that you list and sell to Buyers through the Programme. Where applicable, your Buyer will have paid for the relevant postage and import charges that apply to the purchase of GSP Items during checkout. Your Buyer's payment will be split between you and Pitney Bowes in the following manner: if your eBay account is not enabled for managed payments, the portion of your Buyer's payment consisting of the GSP Item price and the amount, if any, charged by you for postage the GSP Item to the UK Shipping Centre in the UK will be transmitted to your PayPal account. If your eBay account is enabled for managed payments, those funds will be received by the responsible eBay payment entity on your behalf and disbursed to you in accordance with the Payment Terms of Use. PayPal or the responsible eBay payment entity will transmit the balance of your Buyer's payment to Pitney Bowes.

  7. Risk of Loss

    The passing of risk of loss or damage to a GSP Item shall be treated in accordance with any statutory right your Buyer may have under such laws as shall be applicable to that transaction. In all other cases and/or in the absence of statutory provision governing this aspect, the risk of loss or damage to a GSP Item shall remain with you until the GSP Item is accepted at the UK Shipping Centre or has been returned to you by Pitney Bowes from the UK Shipping Centre. Subject to any statutory rights your Buyer may have, the risk of loss or damage to a GSP Item shall transfer to your Buyer when the GSP Item leaves the UK Shipping Centre for export.

  8. Transfer of Title

    The passing of risk of loss or damage to a GSP Item shall be treated in accordance with any statutory right your Buyer may have under such laws as shall be applicable to that transaction. In all other cases and/or in the absence of statutory provision governing this aspect, the risk of loss or damage to a GSP Item shall remain with you until the GSP Item is accepted at the UK Shipping Centre or has been returned to you by Pitney Bowes from the UK Shipping Centre. Subject to any statutory rights your Buyer may have, the risk of loss or damage to a GSP Item shall transfer to your Buyer when the GSP Item leaves the UK Shipping Centre for export.

  9. Payment Reversals

    If eBay, Pitney Bowes, or Pitney Bowes's service providers determine, after your Buyer has purchased a GSP Item, that the GSP Item is ineligible for the Programme or cannot be sent to your Buyer (for whatever reason), eBay and its affiliates shall have the right to cancel your sale of the GSP Item in lieu of proceeding with the processing and/or shipment of the GSP Item and, upon exercising this right, shall have the right to reverse the payment that your Buyer made to you and to Pitney Bowes for the GSP Item and will process the GSP Item as an undeliverable item and elect to return the GSP Item to you, as described below.

  10. VAT accounting on your GSP Items - Exports

    The items sold under the Programme are considered as exports for VAT purposes.

    Exported goods are not subject to UK VAT. In certain cases eBay or Pitney Bowes will use the information you provide on your listing to determine the net (pre-VAT) price of your item (export price). The export price will be charged to the buyer, along with any buyer taxes due. PayPal or the responsible eBay entity will remit the export price to your account as defined in section 6. The balance of your buyer’s payment will be remitted to Pitney Bowes.

  11. Lost, Damaged, or Undeliverable Items.

    1. eBay Money Back Guarantee and PayPal Buyer Protection Programme.

      GSP Items purchased by your Buyer (and sent to your Buyer's specified delivery address or a collection center near your Buyer designated by the shipping carrier) may be covered by an eBay Money Back Guarantee or PayPal Buyer Protection programme in countries without eBay Money Back Guarantee.

      In general, you will be responsible (under the eBay Money Back Guarantee or the PayPal Buyer Protection or otherwise) for the loss of, or damage to, a GSP Item until it is accepted at the UK Shipping Centre or if the item has been returned to you from the UK Shipping Centre. For example, you will be held responsible for eBay Money Back Guarantee cases or for PayPal Buyer Protection programme cases or other disputes (whether or not a GSP Item can be repackaged or returned to you) where eBay (or PayPal as applicable) finds that:

      1. A GSP Item that you sold was not received at the UK Shipping Centre.
      2. A GSP Item that you sold was noted as damaged by the domestic carrier when received at the UK Shipping Centre.
      3. A GSP Item that you sold was found to be damaged upon opening after receipt thereof at the UK Shipping Centre.
      4. A Parcel contains the wrong or no GSP Item associated with the Buyer's order, or more items than contained in the Buyer's order.
      5. One or more of the following pieces of information provided by you is incorrect or indeterminable (and it is not practicable for Pitney Bowes to correct):
        • Country of Manufacture
        • Item Category
        • Harmonized System Codes or such commodity classification codes as shall be applicable
        • Item condition
        • Weight of Parcel
        • Dimensions of Parcel
        • A Parcel is oversized and/or overweight and cannot be sent through an upgraded service.
        • A GSP Item that you sold requires destruction (e.g., contraband).
        • A GSP Item is restricted or prohibited for export.

      You will not be responsible under the eBay Money Back Guarantee or PayPal Buyer Protection Programmes for the loss of, or damage to, a GSP Item after its acceptance at the UK Shipping Centre. However, if eBay (or PayPal as applicable) finds in the Buyer's favour in an eBay Money Back Guarantee case (or PayPal Buyer Protection claim) relating to a GSP Item, you will only be responsible for the amount that has been paid to you by your Buyer (GSP Item price and the amount (if any) charged by you to post the GSP Item to the UK Shipping Centre).

    2. Undeliverable Items

      eBay and Pitney Bowes shall have no liability and shall have, in their discretion and in any manner that they prefer, the right to dispose of or liquidate GSP Items that eBay or Pitney Bowes conclude are undeliverable, for whatever reason.

      If eBay or Pitney Bowes concludes that a GSP Item is undeliverable and elects to dispose of it or sell it, title to the GSP Item shall transfer automatically from you to a third party that eBay and Pitney Bowes may designate and you will keep your Buyer's payment.

      Alternatively, eBay or Pitney Bowes may elect to return to you at any U.K. address that you have on file with eBay any GSP Item that eBay or Pitney Bowes concludes is undeliverable and require reversal of the PayPal payment that your Buyer made to you. If an item is returned to you, you may be responsible for a return postage fee.

      You acknowledge that eBay's or Pitney Bowes’ election to dispose of or sell the GSP Item and to allow you to retain your Buyer's payment for the GSP Item is sufficient consideration for the transfer of title to any third party that eBay and Pitney Bowes may designate.

  12. International Returns

    To the extent permitted by applicable law, eBay may choose not to display the returns policy field of your listings to Buyers. If you are a Business Seller, eBay will extend your domestic return policy for EU Buyers. You are responsible for complying with all laws and regulations about returns that may be applicable to the sale of GSP Items to international buyers. Pitney Bowes will not be responsible for posting the GSP Items back to the UK.

  13. International Selling Options

    1. Opt-Out

      You may opt out of the Programme at either an account or listing level by adjusting your account settings within My eBay, or the postage options within the international postage section when listing your item. Your opt out may take up to 72 hours to process and will not apply to any existing listings restricted from revision (e.g. there are pending bids or a pending best offer).

    2. Country Exclusion Lists

      If you have previously restricted international buyers from purchasing your items by creating and applying a postage exclusion list to your listings, your exclusion list will also apply to GSP Items unless you choose to override your exclusion list. If you do not currently have an exclusion list in place and wish to create one, you must update your account settings within My eBay. If you have any items listed on eBay.co.uk that, for whatever reason, you suspect cannot lawfully post or import to a country eligible under the Programme, then you should restrict international buyers in that country from purchasing your items by creating and applying an exclusion list within My eBay.

    3. Alternative International Postage Options

      You may continue to sell items that are not eligible for the Programme and/or to countries where the Programme is not available using other international postage services that you specify in your listing. For items that are eligible for the Programme and that are offered to Buyers in countries where the Programme is available, you may choose to override the Programme with your own international postage options by adjusting your settings within My eBay.

  14. Other

    Additional information about the Programme, including information about how feedback works in connection with purchases made by Buyers through the Programme or information about detailed seller ratings for transactions involving GSP Items, can be found on the Programme's help page.

  15. Disclaimers and Liability.

    1. The Services are provided by Pitney Bowes, and its affiliates and third party service providers. eBay and Pitney Bowes expressly disclaim to the extent permitted by law all express, implied, and statutory representations, warranties, and conditions relating to the Programme and/or Services, including, but not limited to, warranties regarding the security, reliability, timeliness, usefulness, performance, accuracy, or quality of the Programme and/or Services.

      eBay and Pitney Bowes will not be responsible for any disruptions or delays in the use of the Programme and/or Services or in the performance or delivery of Services or any loss or injury associated with any such disruption or delay. 

      eBay shall not be responsible for damages of any kind arising from the misuse of personal information that eBay has disclosed to Pitney Bowes in connection with the Services provided to you by Pitney Bowes.

    2. eBay and Pitney Bowes (including our/their parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, joint ventures, directors, officers, agents and employees) shall not be liable to you in contract, tort (including negligence), statute or otherwise for any business losses, such as loss of data, profits, revenue, business, opportunity, goodwill, reputation or business interruption or for any losses which are not reasonably foreseeable by them arising, directly or indirectly from:
      1. these Terms;
      2. your use of, misuse of, or reliance on the Programme and/or the Services, or your inability to use the Programme and/or the Services;
      3. the GSP Items sold under the Programme;
      4. the availability of the Programme and/or the Services;
      5. the interruption, suspension or termination of the Programme and/or Services;

      Some jurisdictions do not allow the disclaimer of warranties or exclusion of damages, so such disclaimers and exclusions may not apply to you. This is especially so if you are a consumer.

      Regardless of the previous paragraphs, if eBay or Pitney Bowes (including our/their parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, joint ventures, directors, officers, agents and employees) is found to be liable pursuant to a claim arising out of the Programme or Services, eBay's and Pitney Bowes’ liability to you or to any third party is limited to the greater of (a) the amount of fees in dispute not to exceed the total fees which you paid to eBay in the 12 months prior to the action giving rise to the liability, or (b) £100.

    3. Compensation. You will indemnify and hold harmless in full eBay and Pitney Bowes (including our/ their parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, joint ventures, directors, officers, agents and employees) against any third party claims or actions for losses, fines or other costs, including reasonable legal fees arising out of your use of the Programme, the Services, the export or import of any GSP Items through the Programme, or any violation of these Terms, eBay's policies, any law or regulation, or the rights of any third party.
    4. Nothing in these Terms shall limit or exclude eBay's or Pitney Bowes’ liability for fraudulent misrepresentation, for death or personal injury resulting from our or Pitney Bowes’ negligence or the negligence of our or Pitney Bowes’ agents or employees or for any other liability that cannot be limited or excluded by law.

  16. Other Terms

    1. No agency, partnership, joint venture, employee-employer, or franchiser-franchisee relationship between you and eBay and between you and Pitney Bowes (except to the limited extent as set out in Section 3(a) above) are intended or created by these Terms.
    2. Except as otherwise provided herein, these Terms are the entire agreement between you and eBay and between you and Pitney Bowes with respect to the Programme. eBay's or Pitney Bowes’ failure to enforce any provision of these Terms will not be construed as a waiver of any provision or right.
    3. If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid, void or for any reason unenforceable, such provision shall be struck out and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions.
    4. We may at any time, in our sole discretion, with or without notice to you:
      1. amend, replace, suspend temporarily, and/or discontinue permanently, the Programme, its name, any of the Services, features, and/or functionality offered under the Programme, and/or the service providers used to provide the Services
      2. limit, prohibit, refuse, cancel, block, suspend and/or terminate your sale of GSP Items through the Programme if you violate any of these Terms, our policies, or any applicable laws.
    5. These Terms may be amended at any time by email, or via the Messages section of My eBayor by posting the amended terms on co.uk. All amended terms shall automatically be effective 30 days after they are initially posted (except as stated otherwise in Section 4(b) of these Terms).
    6. You and eBay intend that the terms of this Agreement shall be enforceable by Pitney Bowes and its affiliates as a third party as defined in the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.
    7. The following sections of these Terms will survive any termination: 3(a), 3(b), 11, 15 and 16.