Ebay's Global Shipping Program charges Canadians 10% extra by mistake, how can I tell them?

[milk_man2100]

Canada has a 5% tax on books but Ebay's GSP charges 15%. When buying novels or comics through the GSP im paying hundreds extra for their mistake. Is there any way to contact Ebay and request they update their system to properly categorize and tax items?

[ypdc_dennis]

Since when did GSP start telling buyers what part of the import fee was sales tax?

The GSP import fee includes duty, tax and handling fees.

[milk_man2100]

GSP's "duty, taxes and handling fees" comes to exactly 15% on all purchases, which coincidentally is the same amount as HST sales taxes. Whenever a seller ships without using the GSP I pay exactly 5% to the mailman at the door. Unless ebay is charging a 10% handling free, I don't see how there can be such a discrepancy.

[femmefan1946]

The service charge is ~$5USD or  ~$6.25 Cdn.

Does that change the arithmetic?

What was the purchase price of the item?

Where was it manufactured?

https://www.crossbordershopping.ca/duty-tax-import-guide/canada-customs-duty-rates-tariffs-and-taxes

There apparently is no duty on books no matter where they were printed.

Keep in mind with duty, it is manufacture not purchase that is important.

[milk_man2100]

An example would be today I purchased a comic for $339.99 and the GSP added $51.24 which comes to 15%. This is the case for every comic listing I can see that ships this way. The comic is coming from America and produced in America (in the early 1960s) and should be classified as a book. As your link shows, there are no duties or miscellaneous fees on books (largely due to the North American Free Trade Agreement) and the total tax is listed at 5%. Why they charge 15% remains a mystery and seems like a classification mistake. Ive had non-ebay sellers declare comics as "novelty goods" to Canadian customs which would be taxed at 15% but this is a mistake. Every time ive been reimbursed by customs.

[ichopshop]

Is that 15% the totality of the fees you paid, or just a portion of them?

Ian

[ypdc_dennis]

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@milk_man2100 wrote:

An example would be today I purchased a comic for $339.99 and the GSP added $51.24 which comes to 15%. This is the case for every comic listing I can see that ships this way. The comic is coming from America and produced in America (in the early 1960s) and should be classified as a book.

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It is classified as a "periodical" if it was a regularly produced comic. HST applied.

Graphic novels should be treated as real books.  GST only.

www.comicbookdaily.com:

"Let’s apply this to comics since this is a comic site. Any comic “book” (softcover or hardcover) only has the 5% tax applied to it. Any periodical (your monthly comics) has the full HST applied.

Unfortunately there’s no distinction between new and used books and periodicals so the same tax rules apply to back issues."

www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency:

"comic books, magazines and other periodicals purchased on a per copy basis" -- HST applies

In this case a "book" is not a book.

-..-

[milk_man2100]

Thank you!! This is really surprising since as I said, Canadian customs has refunded me after I told them I was charged 15% for comics and ive had hundreds of packages with comics clear customs as "books". Im guessing this means the hardcover/softcover comics that are charging 15% with the GSP have been misclassified in ebay's system? For example, this listing quotes $40.10 in fees for a $259.99 purchase (15%). Ill have to be vigilant in making sure sellers are properly classifying their items.

[femmefan1946]

If it has ads in it, and most comics do, even if they are only for the same company's other products, it is a periodical.
OTOH, "new" comics are usually well below the duty-free allowance of ~$15USD. 

Vintage comics could be anywhere, depending on scarcity and demand, of course.