Sellers are facing difficulties trying to mail orders to certain customers due to how eBay is handling US tariffs and a Canadian postal strike. Sellers based in Canada, and sellers outside the country who ship to Canadian customers, are facing a potential strike by Canada Post workers made more likely after the CUPW postal workers union issued a 72-hour strike notice to Canada Post on Monday.
In addition, eBay UK dropped the US from its Global Shipping Program due to tariffs, which an eBay seller reported in a Letter to the Editor this week. A moderator confirmed eBay UK had “temporarily paused UK GSP support to the US while we implement changes to reflect new US policy requirements.”
However, the eBay UK moderator provided an update on a different thread on Wednesday:
“Select GSP listings have begun to appear for US buyers, allowing some UK sellers to start seeing sales to the US. We will continue to work on ensuring that GSP service coverage is maximised, as customs requirements evolve. Until then, if you are not yet seeing GSP coverage for your item and wish to list items for US buyers, you can specify a shipping service to the US.”
Sellers say shipping carriers are more expensive than mailing through their domestic postal services, but during the recent holiday shipping season, packages became stuck in Canada for weeks due to a Canada Post postal workers’ strike.
Some sellers were concerned when eBay accepted payment for a package to be sent via Canada Post, but they were unable to buy a shipping label through eBay. In response, one seller wrote, “Because not all sellers buy labels through eBay. eBay is not the only way to ship an item via the USPS, you can get a label at the post office, on PayPal, or PirateShip, or anywhere else.”
On Tuesday, an eBay moderator replied in a discussion board thread as follows: “For US sellers that are shipping to Canada AND are no using eIS will be protected for cancellations as long as the final destination is Canada. Also to note that we encourage sellers to use eIS as the final carriers would be rerouted to go through UPS, FedEx, etc.”
eBay finally warned US sellers on Wednesday of the expected strike and explained how it would impact them, posting the following on the Seller Announcement board:
“The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) are expected to strike as of May 23, 2025. This will disrupt normal delivery schedules throughout Canada.
“If you use eBay International Shipping, you are automatically protected from late or no delivery claims and your seller performance standards and service metrics won’t be affected by international shipping. Any negative or neutral feedback from handling during international transit will be removed from your account.
“As eBay International Shipping has the capability to pivot and leverage multiple carriers around the world, eBay is utilizing alternate delivery providers in Canada and anticipates only minor disruptions to eBay International Shipping deliveries in Canada at this time.
“If you have already shipped or are shipping directly to Canada, you are protected from late delivery claims as long as you meet your stated handling times. Be sure to upload valid tracking in order to benefit from enhanced protections to sellers.
“We are continuing to monitor the situation and will adjust estimated delivery dates for Canadian buyers as needed.
“As always, thank you for selling on eBay.
“The Shipping Team.”