The Global‑e alternative for brands frustrated with the middleman
You've sat with the report and couldn't make it add up. You've asked to switch a carrier, change the checkout, price two products differently, and the answer was no. Something's not right, and there's nothing you can do about it.
With Glopal, you can fix all four, right away.
You're probably paying more than you should.
You may not even see it: the fee, the FX margin on every order, shipping marked up on top. Together that's often 10 to 15% of your margin. Go direct with Glopal and most of it comes down. For some brands, up to 40% off the cross-border bill.
Set it up the way you want.
Price a €40 accessory differently from a €400 coat. Use the carrier you actually rate. Change the checkout, run a local promo, handle returns your own way in Germany. With Glopal the stack is yours, so you set it how your business actually works.
Finally see where the money goes.
Every cost sits right on the order: the fee, the shipping, the duty, what you keep. You can break down any order, reconcile the month, and know exactly what cross-border is making you. No more guessing at your own P&L.
Fix things the way you want, fast.
Deal with your carrier directly instead of waiting on a middleman to pass the message along. A stuck order gets sorted in hours, not weeks, and your money lands in days. When something needs changing, you change it.
No. We still carry the hard part.
The reason brands put up with a merchant of record is that it's hands-off. You don't want to register for tax in twenty countries or learn customs codes, and you won't have to. Glopal takes that on as the deemed supplier, on our own registrations. You keep the parts of Global‑e that made life easy. You just stop paying for the parts that made it frustrating.
Glopal vs Global‑e, on the things that frustrate you
Pricing is quote-based on both sides, so this compares how each one works, not a sticker price.
Real numbers from brands who left Global‑e
Cost of selling cross-border after going direct, roughly 40% less per order.
Import duty on 754 orders for one brand, a 62% drop, by going direct.
Currency markup in one customer's own report, never shown as a line item.
After moving international payments and duty handling. Mazeys, published case study.
"We're a year in and we still haven't managed to find a month that reconciles."
Owner and director, one year on Global‑e
What brands ask before they leave Global‑e
01Why do brands leave Global‑e?
Rarely one reason. It builds up: a cost they can't reconcile, an FX spread and marked-up shipping they can't see clearly, one rigid markup per country, a checkout and carriers they can't change, fraud rules that block legitimate orders, slow support because everything routes through a middleman, and money held for one to three weeks. Individually each is annoying. Together they're why brands start shopping for an alternative.
02Isn't going direct more work than a merchant of record?
No. Tax registrations, VAT filing, duties and customs stay with us as deemed supplier. What comes back to you is the checkout, the carrier relationship and the pricing per market, which is exactly the part you wanted control of. We still do the heavy lifting on carrier integrations.
03Will I lose payment methods or reach if I leave Global‑e?
No. Your own payment provider (Stripe, Adyen, Shopify Payments) now offers more local methods than a merchant of record does, and Glopal covers 100+ ship-to countries with tax handled. Reach stays. What changes is who the customer buys from: you.
04How much can I actually save?
Brands that have run both put it at roughly 40% off the all-in cross-border cost, fees, FX and shipping together. That's a range from real settlement reports, not a quote. Send us yours and we'll give you your own number.
05How hard is it to switch?
Your store and checkout don't move. We connect duty and tax at checkout, set up your carrier accounts, and run the first market in parallel with Global‑e so nothing drops. Most brands switch market by market over a few weeks.
06Do I still get tax and duty fully handled?
Yes. Glopal acts as deemed supplier for tax while you remain the seller of record. Duty and VAT are calculated at checkout, collected, filed and paid on our registrations. You don't register anywhere.
Happy with Global‑e and only want the growth side? See how Glopal grows cross-border sales.
See exactly what leaving Global‑e is worth to you.
Send us your latest Global‑e settlement report. We'll audit it line by line, show you what you're really paying, what you'd save, and what it takes to switch.
