eBay

xenotime · ‎07-17-2014

This is one case where I could have done better with the GSP. I paid $80 for a Blu-ray box set. I chose this particular seller because he wasn't enrolled in the GSP. I got it today and had to pay $20 at the door. If I had got it from another seller, who was using GSP, I could have got it for $20 less.

You just can't win in Canada.

pierrelebel · ‎07-17-2014

So you had to pay tax just as you would have if you had purchased from a local merchant.

xenotime · ‎07-17-2014

$20 in tax? Anyway, from now on I'm using GSP for anything under $100. I can't imagine what I'll have to pay on my $150 headphones I just bought from the states.

xenotime · ‎07-17-2014

I seriously have to move to Australia:

For goods that are worth equal to or under A$1,000, there are no duties, taxes or charges to pay.

femmefan1946 · ‎07-17-2014

That would be 5% to 15% sales tax on $80.

Plus applicable duty, if the item was not manufactured in a NAFTA signatory country.

And $9.95 service charge from Canada Post for shepherding the thingie through customs.

Sometimes the GSP does have the best overall cost on importation.

Canada Post and CBSA don't always assess postal imports for duty and tax, but if your item is in certain categories, and electronics may be one of them, or is high priced, or is bulky, you may lose the gamble.

Don't bay any lottery tickets this week.

xenotime · ‎07-17-2014

I'm requesting a refund on this. The item was actually $75 (doubt that will make a diff) so I'll see what happens...Hey it doesn't hurt.

Anyway, from now on I'm just going to use GSP. I don't like playing the c r a p shoot game with Canada Customs and I hate fumbling around at the door, trying to find my credit card.

pierrelebel · ‎07-17-2014

US$75 = Cdn$ 80 x 13% tax = $10 or so + Canada Post $10 = $20 (give or take a few cents)

There is nothing to appeal.

rockp5233 · ‎07-17-2014

Another way to avoid this situation is to buy from a canadian seller... 😉

xenotime · ‎07-17-2014

"Another way to avoid this situation is to buy from a canadian seller... 😉"

I read that a lot around here and quite frankly and really pi*ses me off. (Yes I noticed your smiley)

There are rarely any Canadians who sell what I buy online in the USA. And of they do, it's usually 25 to 50% higher. If I bought this box set in Canada it would have cost me another $50+ at Amazon.ca. Anywhere else in Canada and it would have been another $100. Walmart Canada is selling it for a whopping $305. (By contrast, Walmart USA is selling it for $135...Yes I could buy two of them at Walmart USA and it would STILL be cheaper.)

Also keep this in mind for DVD/Blu-ray's... When you buy in Canada you usually get French on the package. Most Canadians hate it (including those from Quebec) and American's despise it. So the value of it is severely reduced, on the second hand market.

pjcdn2005 · ‎07-17-2014

For most buyers, it seems to be quite rare for Canada customs to assess taxes on items that are below $100 or $200. For myself, it seems that first class international is assessed less often than Priority mail, regardless of the value.

The gsp can be less expensive in some situations and more expensive at other times so I think that it is a good idea to check both both gsp and non gsp sellers when shopping.

pierrelebel · ‎07-17-2014

" When you buy in Canada you usually get French on the package. Most Canadians hate it (including those from Quebec) and American's despise it."

eBay posting rules do not allow me to adequately and candidly respond to this comment about our Canadian bilingual labeling laws.

toby_le_pue · ‎07-17-2014

So the way I see it you got your item quite a bit cheaper by buying it

in the USA even paying the $20.00 in taxes and handling charges to

the Canadian government.

You don't believe in paying taxes and you don't recognize Canada's

2 official languages.

Ayez un bon jour.

xenotime · ‎07-17-2014

I speak ENGLISH. I do not need my personal items to have French on them. That includes my washing machine and my computer keyboard, and my freakin' pill container.

It may surprise many of you how many Canadians are POed about this and it may surprise a great deal more how many French speaking citizens from Quebec are too...Especially those who want the ORIGINAL packaging, not the watered down Canadian packaging with the micro sized fonts to fit two languages. (Which I can't read without my glasses) As far as movies, there are so many ways to over come this, like having a slip case in French or an insert with French on one side and English on the other.

As for accusing me of not wanting to pay taxes, that's a bold statement. What I would like to know is why the threshold is $200 for going to the US via car and $20 via mail. So are the people who drive dodging taxes?

pierrelebel: Question... How much money does Canada Customs get from a sale using GSP?

afantiques · ‎07-18-2014

How much money does Canada Customs get from a sale using GSP?

They get whatever is the applicable tax for that item with no leeway for low value items, between $20 and $100 unlike the situation with items sent by post.

For importing countries GSP increases their tax take, unless they happen to be in the EU where by an amusing quirk of the way stuff is handled, all the tax goes to Britain.

jt-libra · ‎07-18-2014

@xenotime wrote:

It may surprise many of you how many Canadians are POed about this and it may surprise a great deal more how many French speaking citizens from Quebec are too...Especially those who want the ORIGINAL packaging, not the watered down Canadian packaging with the micro sized fonts to fit two languages. (Which I can't read without my glasses) As far as movies, there are so many ways to over come this, like having a slip case in French or an insert with French on one side and English on the other.

I've bought hundreds of DVD's over the years and it never occurred to me, not even once, that they should be unilingual English. I'm not French but the bilingual packaging or the inclusion of a French track matters not at all to me. Why should it?

I've also sold hundreds, to both Canadians and Americans, and again, not once, did anyone complain that they were in two languages. In fact, many of my sales were to Quebecers who appreciated the French version and Americans couldn't have cared less, as long as the price was right.

I'm sure there are some collectors who have a preference ... that's totally understandable ... but given that the DVD will soon go the way of the dodo bird and given the various ways that people watch movies now, on their phone, iPad, computer, etc., packaging is basically a non-issue.