eBay

chriluh0 · ‎03-15-2023

eBay charges Import/Duty Fees on goods imported into Canada, upfront at the time the purchase is made. There is no breakdown on these charges. Canadians aren't aware that exempt items according to the USMCA, CETA, agreements signed by Canada, as well as any Antique/Vintage goods are exempt from import/duty fees. The US, Mexico, Canada agreement states items made in these countries are EXEMPT from these fees. CETA agreement states that items made in European countries are exempt from these fees. Antique/Vintage items are items made prior to and including 1973, are exempt from import/duty fees. They are charging Canadian buyers for fees on all these exempt goods. There is no option to eliminate paying these fees because they are added on your invoice at time of purchase. Canada customs told me these charges are fraudulent and are not charged by them. They are unable to intervene in order to stop these charges or obtain a refund for the Canadian buyer on eBay. The seller does not add these fees and does not charge the buyer for them. eBay may be aware (should be given they have a tax department and sell goods internationally) but ignore these agreements which are the law. eBay is inaccessible to address these issues. Customer service will foist you on another service rep, department such as shipping, or just say they will pass the information on to someone else. In other words, do nothing. I recently itemized each purchase I was charged import/duty fees, with item #, date purchased, item cost, shipping cost and import/duty fees, total of purchase. I did this on an Excel spreadsheet, printed it, signed it and submitted the list of 25 items along with the SST form available on the website, in PDF format. Look for it under customer service, buying, international taxes, SST form. I then compiled all these document and uploaded them to send to eBay. The total refund should be $440.00+ for all the import/duty exempt items (25). I don't know if they will give me a refund, but the service rep who I spoke with on the phone said I will receive a refund for the total amount of import fees on all the exempt items. eBay does this in conjunction with their GSP and the buyer and seller have no choice, other than to refrain from buying from eBay. Etsy does not do this, never has. Recently I obtained a US postal address and have goods shipped to it. I can then cross the boarder, pick up the packages and bring them across to Canada. The shipping charges are negligeable because the goods are shipped within the US. They amount to under $5.00. I am fortunate to live in a border city, other Canadians who do not live in a border city do not have this option. Once collected, I can declare the items, have a print out of my purchases from the eBay website, and declare the goods at the border. If import/duties fees apply, I will pay them, but these items all all exempt. HST will be charged if customs deems so but often times it is not worth their time to do so. All in all this is a great solution for me. I can do other shopping while in the US, eat lunch or dinner and make a day of it. My husband & I both worked in the US and crossed the border to do so, so we have earned US money, which means we are not paying to exchange Canadian to US money. We have a US bank account and Canadian Bank account with US credit cards, so we pay in US funds. The added import/duty fees are a scam, fraudulent and the buyer is helpless to avoid paying them. eBay doesn't care either, as much as they try to convince you they do. They are raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars and more by doing this. I doubt the Canadian government even receives these monies, but I haven't verified this as fact. eBay in in cahoots with the GSP so they each are making money from every buyer who imports goods from the US. I have purchased goods from Britain, European countries and have had items shipped by eBay sellers directly with no shipping fees, or minimal shipping fees and NO IMPORT OR DUTY FEES collected by Canada customs! At most, I've had to pay HST taxes, which is fair game. At least I am not taxed twice...by the seller's country as well as Canada. I am now planning on contacting a US seller to determine if they can ship directly to me in Canada. I could then take my chances on having to pay import/duty and HST. I will follow up to share my findings on this community page. If sellers can choose the way they ship, then Canadians may be able to avoid this scam. If they have no choice how items are shipped then you are at eBay and GSP mercy. GSP can open packages received by sellers then repackage them before shipping to the buyer. They can charge whatever they want without consequences or repercussions. This should be transparent so that buyers are aware of their practices. eBay monopolizes the world market on their selling platform. If they had more competitors they wouldn't be able to do business this way. Perhaps Canadian buyers should unite and form a coalition to address the US and Canadian Federal governments to intervene. As an individual we will get nowhere, but as a group, there is power in numbers. Someone knowledgeable needs to form a group to join together to fight these issues. I would but have no idea how to go about it. We have to stand united or be victims to being grossly charged for imported goods from the USA. I hope this information helps at least one member.

femmefan1946 · ‎03-15-2023

Antique/Vintage items are items made prior to and including 1973, are exempt from import/duty fees.

1973? I doubt that. Normally the date for antiques is 100 years old which is currently 1923.

Can you show the regulations from CBSA or from Revenue Canada?

Canada customs told me these charges are fraudulent and are not charged by them. They are unable to intervene in order to stop these charges or obtain a refund for the Canadian buyer on eBay.

The buyer does not pay these fees under the Global Shipping Program. The fees are paid by the GSP with money collected from the buyer.

CBSA will only refund to the payer of record and that is the GSP.

but the service rep who I spoke with on the phone said I will receive a refund for the total amount of import fees on all the exempt items.

The phone clerks will say anything to get you off the phone.

And are notorious for bad advice.

Try asking the same question of one of the social media Chat workers.

You get a transcript.

 https://www.facebook.com/eBayForBusiness/ — Message button in upper right on landing page.
 https://twitter.com/askebay?lang=en

 https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/How-do-I-contact-Customer-Support/m-p/32016431#M1783851 -> Automated Assistant, type AGENT -> enter. You will then get more options.  
The social media Chat accounts are covered by trained eBay employees with some authority.
And you get a transcript so you can compare what you heard with what you were told.
. I doubt the Canadian government even receives these monies, but I haven't verified this as fact.

You could, of course, notify Revenue Canada that eBay is cheating on their taxes.

They have auditors.

Your MP could help.

You can make paragraphs by clicking on the Return key.

I gave up on that Wall'o'Text.

marnotom! · ‎03-15-2023

I think we’re looking at yet another instance of someone believing that the GSP’s “import charges” consist of duties when, in fact, those charges are usually estimates based on GST or HST. From what I can see, sales of antiques are subject to taxes.

This vintage thread may be of interest:

https://community.ebay.ca/t5/Buyer-Central/Another-Global-Shipping-question-Antiques/td-p/388863

It would be useful to see an example of a listing for an antique where the import charges are believed to be out of whack.

marnotom! · ‎03-15-2023

Also keep in mind that the maximum allowable value of items sent through the GSP is $2500. I think somewhere in the archives is a thread that suggests that items valued at more than that really mess up the “GSP bot” calculating the import charges.

chriluh0 · ‎03-16-2023

“Articles produced more than 50, but less than 100 years ago:
You must indicate the year in the description of the goods. Articles over 50 years old (up to 100 years old) are to be classified using their regular tariff classification, followed by the use Annex Code 9989 – This will make those goods duty free.” This from the web on import of antiques. I did not invent this.

chriluh0 · ‎03-16-2023

I did chat with a customer service rep. She directed me on how to use the SST form and upload it. It took me chatting with 6 reps before I found one who could help. Most can’t help with most issues. The articles on eBay are mostly useless as well.

chriluh0 · ‎03-16-2023

Sorry about the “wall of text”. Yes, I should have been concise but had so much to cover. I also normally indent, I do know how. I failed to do so, was too focused on this issue and frustrated with the runaround. When I cross the border after buying in the US I will let you know if my info on exempt items is correct. I will also make the post short and sweet. Thanks for your input.

chriluh0 · ‎03-16-2023

I don’t know if it is the GSP who collects the import fees or HST for Canada. I do know that items not shipped by them have arrived with no customs fees or HST added on. Maybe it depends on if sellers use USPS, international shipping or the GSP. I do know the import fees charged are inconsistent. Some items the same size and weight but 50% more in price, had no customs fees or taxes added when shipped to me. This does not make sense. Some items went to customs and I had to pay HST, which is fair. The inconsistency is crazy. How doesGSP know how much to charge on import fees and why aren’t they informed about exempt items made in the US, Mexico and Europe?

marnotom! · ‎03-16-2023

The GSP is (or was, as it’s being phased out) a glorified forwarding service. The seller sends the item to Kentucky where the item is processed for customs pre-clearance. The item then gets trucked up to Canada, finishes the customs clearance process based on the information gathered on it in Kentucky and goes to a hub in Canada where it gets shipped out to its final destination.

Part of the customs clearance process is ensuring that taxes and processing fees (and duties, if applicable) are accounted for. Pitney Bowes is considered the “importer of record” for GSP-forwarded items and they’re on record as having paid taxes, etc. The “import charges” you see on the listing page are an estimate based on the information the seller provided, particularly the stuff in the “item specifics” section and the category in which the item was listed. One of the GSP’s weaknesses is that as the “import charge” process is all done by computers, nobody knows what the item actually is until it reaches Kentucky. As I mentioned in the other thread, the accuracy of the “import charge” quote is dependent on the accuracy and quality of the information on the item that’s been provided by the seller.

reallynicestamps · ‎03-16-2023

This from the web on import of antiques.

"the web"?

A link would be preferable. Is that on the CBSA website?

Maybe it depends on if sellers use USPS, international shipping or the GSP.

CBSA and Canada Post had an informal agreement when duty (and sales taxes) started with the miniscule value of $20 to ignore low value imports. At one point a vicepresident of Canada Post told the Globe and Mail that they ignore 93% of such shipments.

But that only applied to the postal system, USPS and Canada Post.

The idea was that it cost the taxpayer more to assess and collect those import charges than could be collected.

The GSP was/is run by Pitney Bowes, and is not part of the postal system, although like many couriers it did "last mile" shipping by Canada Post. PB/GSP subcontracted to many other companies.

"International Shipping" would be one way to describe a myriad of couriers, like UPS and FedEx, who again are not part of the international postal system.

Those private companies are not part of the CBSA/Canada Post agreement, and must collect and remit applicable duty (usually not much if anything)and sales taxes. Most of the money collected would be for sales taxes. The age of the item is not important for sales tax. Second hand goods are still taxable.

It took me chatting with 6 reps before I found one who could help.

Do you mean social media Chats, which are written and give you transcripts ? Or do you mean oral chats on the telephone?

The advantage of a transcript is that we can review it to see if what we heard was what we were told.

Most can’t help with most issues.

I agree.

I had been posting that the phone reps work for a sub-contractor and are poorly trained. I have been pink-slapped twice now for posting that.

The employees who do post here insist the phone reps are the same employees who post to FaceBook etc. but the track record makes me think "for a certain value of..."

pjcdn2005 · ‎03-16-2023

How much was the item that you purchased?
How much were the import charges?

Which province are you in?

chriluh0 · ‎03-18-2023

I purchased 26 or more items. Here is just one of them:

Item number:155010067942

Category: Antique Jewelry, Cameo Ring

Price: $229.00

Ship: $ 19.97

Import:$. 39.93

Dutties: $. 2.98

Total: $291.88

All moneies in USD

Some items I purchased were in the same category, antique, would be the same weight, different prices. One item was $55.00 and I was charged import fees. The same type of item, antique cameo brooch, was $125.00 and no extra import duty fees were charged. They are very inconsistent on these charges. It doesn't make sense they charged me for the $55.00 cameo, but not the $125.00 cameo.

They were shipped to the same address as well, from whatever shipping company it was. I tried to check which was used, GSP or International shipping and it does not say on my purchase history or item details.

Canada customs charges import and duties according to their Federal laws which are public information. Items made in the USA, Mexico,Canada, and European countries are all exempt. Customs did not charge me for a purse from Italy shipped to Canada. They only charged me HST. eBay has charged me import fees on numerous S/S bracelets made in Italy, which were listed as such. I also bought S/S jewelry from Mexico and import fees were charged. If these identical items were shipped from the seller, or a different company, Canada customs would not charge import fees. So eBay's ignorance of the USMCA, CETA agreements signed by Canada, US, Mexico and European companies is why they are collecting money illegally. They already know about the USMCA agreement, it's law in the US. I checked on computers coming into Canada from the US, they too are exempt. Sellers list items that are antiques in their listings. There is no place on eBay's website where they define antiques or vintage. These facts about agreements and duty free items are the reason customs told me they are fraudulent charges.

The total import charges added to my purchases is USD $440.00 and change. It adds up. Imagine how many Canadians are charged for imported exempt items X the amount of purchases and you are likely talking about hundreds of thousands of USD. This has to stop. I don't know if our government can do anything about this or not. There must be some Canadian agency that can intervene to address this. I will contact my MP.

marnotom! · ‎03-18-2023

@chriluh0 wrote:

I purchased 26 or more items. Here is just one of them:
Item number:155010067942
Category: Antique Jewelry, Cameo Ring
Price: $229.00
Ship: $ 19.97
Import:$. 39.93
Dutties: $. 2.98
Total: $291.88
All moneies in USD

This purchase must go back quite a ways because I can't find a listing with that number.

I've never seen a listing or purchase for an item handled by the Global Shipping Program list duties as a separate line item from "import charges" as "import charges" are supposed to include an estimate of the taxes, duty, and other customs-related charges that Pitney Bowes pays on the buyer's behalf. It doesn't make sense to separate them like this.

eBay International Standard Delivery and eBay International Shipping don't charge import-related charges at the time of payment and would leave it up to the carrier and whoever processes the shipment through customs to charge you when delivery is made.

Your paragraph about compliance with CUSMA doesn't make a lot of sense because you seem to be claiming that you shouldn't be charged "import fees" but doesn't acknowledge that HST is considered part of the "import fees" you're charged.

@chriluh0 wrote:

The total import charges added to my purchases is USD $440.00 and change. It adds up.

Those "import charges" were likely made up of HST and various fees related to processing and clearing the item through customs. If you'd like us to analyse the duties you claim you've been charged, please provide a more recent example for which we can see the listing or provide a screenshot of the fee breakdown.

loulou1958 · ‎04-22-2023

The same applied to me. Ebay GSp is charging duties on items that are exempt because they are made in the US. Here is my example below. Taxes are indeed applicable but the $7.50 duties is not. The item I purchased was a silver Tiffany bracelet. The seller was locatedin the US. It is a small amount of money in my case but out of principle how do we fix this???

1 itemUS $150.00

ShippingUS $20.32

GST/HSTUS $8.89

PST/QSTUS $12.45

DutiesUS $7.50

marnotom! · ‎04-22-2023

@loulou1958 wrote:

It is a small amount of money in my case but out of principle how do we fix this???

Are you sure that the bracelet was handled by the Global Shipping Program? I've never seen the GSP break down its "import charges" the way you're showing them. Many items are now being handled by a new program that's gradually replacing the GSP called simply "eBay International Shipping" (eIS).

eBay International Shipping is supposed to be leaving customs charges to be paid at the time of delivery, not at Checkout the way the GSP does/did, but I've seen some eIS listings that state that those charges will be added at Checkout. When were you charged for taxes and "duties," @loulou1958?

I'm thinking that one of two things happened here:

1. The "duties" charge is actually for various customs-related charges, sort of like the C$9.95 Canada Post charges to collect taxes and duties when Canada Border Services assesses an item for those charges. Whoever programmed the system that generates invoices forgot to add a line for those charges, or

2. The seller didn't specify in the "item specifics" section of the listing that the bracelet was made in the United States, so the "bot" that calculates eIS charges calculated a charge for duty.

Hope that makes sense.