eBay

zee-chan · ‎01-29-2022

Now that we're in 2022, just curious how everything is coming along for sellers selling to Europe? eBay is still collecting VAT at point of sales. Are your buyers still getting double charged on VAT upon arrival? Anyone with experience selling to France lately?

Thanks in advance 💛

sammac_9107 · ‎01-30-2022

Hello zee-chan,

I know a few French friends and I can confirm you that they have to pay 20% more from the price of the item and once the customer gets the item, they sometimes have to pay customs fees which are around 9EUR ($12.90CAD) . France puts a 20% VAT fee on all items that are exported from outside the EU.

From the seller's side, I can't tell you more, I'm not experienced in this.

msau4301 · ‎01-30-2022

Hello!

I stopped selling to Europe for a while last summer after the VAT charge started. I had one package that took 5 months to get to Italy! Fortunately this was to a long time (about six years) buyer and she never opened a case or asked for her money back...she actually waited! She had talked to customs and knew it was sitting there but had to wait for it to be released. It took from July to December! I have sent a few packages to her this month (someone with that much patience deserves special treatment!), one got there in two weeks, still waiting on other two. She is still charged the taxes when it gets there.

I also have sent to a long time buyer in Spain, packages have gotten to her quicker than Italy but still get charged the VAT. I don't know about France, back in the good old days France was one of the quickest places I found a package going by Small International Air would get to (less than a week) but like I say that was a couple of years back.

Warn them about the VAT taxes that may be charged twice (although if they buy here often they would already know), sometimes they may still be willing to buy if they really want the item. My buyer in Italy showed me a screen shot before of how my listing looks om the Italian site and the VAT eBay charge is right there on the page for them to see. It's like if we buy with Global shipping, we see the import charges right there with the listing. Good luck!

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎01-30-2022

@zee-chan wrote:
Now that we're in 2022, just curious how everything is coming along for sellers selling to Europe? eBay is still collecting VAT at point of sales. Are your buyers still getting double charged on VAT upon arrival? Anyone with experience selling to France lately?

Thanks in advance 💛

This is not perfect but has worked for me with my recent VAT applicable orders. Make sure you mark customs documents with the VAT code attached to each sale. You highlight on each copy of your label. Also it never hurts to either send a PDF of documents to the customer after parcel has been dropped off this way they can prove VAT was already paid in situations where customs is claiming otherwise.

-Lotz

pjcdn2005 · ‎01-30-2022

It might still be a problem. There are a couple of recent posts from buyers in other EU countries who had to pay VAT (and service charge) to receive their parcel even though they had already paid it to eBay. I have no idea if the problem is in just in a few countries or why it is happening. According to a post in November ebay states that when eBay labels are used the information is sent electronically to the applicable countries.

If you are interested in reading it, it's an older thread but there are some recent posts on the last page. https://community.ebay.com/t5/Shipping/IOSS-woes/m-p/32655739#M408104

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎01-30-2022

@zee-chan

The last announcement from eBay regarding the VAT changes attached. 07-07-2021

https://community.ebay.ca/t5/Announcements/Canada-Post-and-EU-VAT-Regulations-IOSS/ba-p/462834

Please be advised that Canada Post has not yet updated their services to follow the new EU VAT regulations (IOSS) which went into effect on July 1, 2021. If you sell an item valued up to €150 to a buyer in the European Union, eBay is obliged to automatically collect the VAT from the buyer. This means that, should you ship your item with Canada Post to your buyer in the EU, they may be forced to pay the VAT amount again at the time of delivery or reject the package to be sent back to you at your cost. Your shipments to Canada, US, and countries outside of EU are not affected.

There was never any followup on this from eBay.

CanadaPost FAQ:

https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/support/kb/sending/rates-dimensions/eu-vat-faq-support...

https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/blogs/business/shipping/changes-to-u-s-and-international-ship...

-Lotz

PS. As per previous discussions on the topic, it is important that a cell/addy are included with the customs paperworks according to the assorted EU/AU/NZ mail services as a requirement to speed up the delivery process.

reallynicestamps · ‎01-30-2022

The buyer's address includes VAT PAID and a number.

Although I usually ship LetterMail, I write that note on the envelope.

So far, so good.

I have been assuming that just as GSP sellers never see the import fees their customers/we have paid, neither do we see anything more than that note.

ricarmic · ‎01-30-2022

So far as I know no problems, at least nobody has complained back to me.

As you'll recall I'm a stamps on the box kinda guy, I highlight the VAT etc code on the address I put on the package.....(I put my own on in addition to the PO generated label just for safety sake and sometimes the PO generated one is not as complete as the one I've been given).

reallynicestamps · ‎01-30-2022

and sometimes the PO generated one is not as complete as the one I've been given).

AHA!

This may be why some customers are having problems.

Sellers should double-check those VAT numbers on general principles.

ricarmic · ‎01-30-2022

If you use the online customs form, you CANNOT put the VAT codes etc into the address, the address complete at the physical PO zaps them off (so this means Canada Post still isn't able to automagically include them yet) even if you manually put them in, they'll be lost when they create the label and it makes their job harder to find the address.

What I meant by complete is Unit numbers or apartment numbers etc sometimes don't show up on the CP created address, but they, along with the VAT#s etc are on mine.....there are no VAT etc numbers ever on the CP created address.

dinomitesales · ‎01-30-2022

Yeah, the online customs form is used for processing at retail, and as the CPC FAQ link above specifies, you can't enter tax information at retail. The field is there when printing your postage online, but that doesn't help the folks who do stamps-on-a-box unfortunately.

pjcdn2005 · ‎01-31-2022

@ricarmic

The way that I understand it is that the information has to be submitted electronically. According to posts from EU buyers, just showing it on an invoice or on an envelope is not always accepted. Since you haven't had any problems, is Canada Post somehow entering that information electronically for you?

ricarmic · ‎01-31-2022

@pjcdn2005

Hi! Nope, the post office can't put it in anywhere, so the only place it is is on the manual address label I attach and of course on the packing list that I include.

So far, touching wood, I have not had anyone complain or advise that they had to pay the tax a second time, that doesn't mean there haven't been any though....

My own belief is that the other postal systems are being "relaxed" about it until CP gets their act together. (I can't imagine we're the only country with this problem).

darak10 · ‎02-03-2022

no problems ever to France mailing from Alberta. 10 - 14 days delivery time average, shipping there continually since beginning of pandemic with exactly zero problems, quicker shipping time than to Germany oddly. YMMV I suppose.

none of my customers are getting double charged VAT, even the UK have gotten with the program now. Items I am sending to the UK are getting there faster and faster, it is not as fast as pre Brexit but monitoring my tracked times its taking about 2 weeks now, down from 2.5/3 weeks in the lead up to Xmas and 4-5 weeks from July to September/October.

Buyers from Europe on my end though have mostly disappeared though following VAT introduction. For German customers, I'm at a small fraction now compared to what it was pre VAT. My UK market is starting to return a bit - Im at about 1-2/10ths of what it was before Brexit, up from blocking UK buys altogether over last summer due to the insane shipping delays going on back then when I was refunding a UK customer every second day because the item hadnt gotten there in 6 weeks - but most of my EU customers outside of Germany and France are long gone, I dont suspect they will return. Norwegians have money and still come around, but they are practically the only ones who come around with any regularity (they pay VAT on stuff too, they have their own code like everyone else). I wouldnt want to pay an additional 20% on an item, so while I miss their business I dont blame them for disappearing. Globalism as related to e-commerce sales has been chasing chiclets since Brexit, pandemic and EU VAT laws came down, and I dont see things reversing in those markets.

darak10 · ‎02-03-2022

yes you can put it on the customs form online.

you type in their regular address, then click 'change address' and add the VAT number on address line 2 (optional). When you print the label, its right there in black and white for anyone to see. I've never had a single one printed out where its not been right there on the label.

I do that with all stuff I send thru there to Oz or wherever, never any problems or reports of double payment from anyone.

ricarmic · ‎02-03-2022

@darak10 Yes we can put it in the online form, and that's what I used to do, but at least in my case and PO once our post office moved on to the new system, the address lookup will not include it when they scan it in. It drops it as it applies the autolookup version to the physical label they print and it does not show on the physical label they print. Is your post office on the new system? If it is, the manual VAT number you put in comes out on the physical label? That would be great if it does, let me know!

I've always attached a manual address as well, that one I have the VAT number and I highlight it as well.

darak10 · ‎02-07-2022

I believe they are...but I might be wrong. I'll check again today as I have a German order to ship out and will advise sometime this afternoon.

If thats the case, they are going to need to fix it pdq, but knowing CP they'll just tell us they dont think they have to do it which will force us to write it on. Chit Chats labels have been known to cut off parts of addresses to European destinations but the advantage with them is they listen to and act on feedback and fix stuff when its gone wrong, its why I try to use them as much as possible.

ypdc_dennis · ‎02-07-2022

I sent out one today to Germany -- put the VAT/IOSS number in the "Tax ID / IRS number" field for customs.

Did not include it with the address this time. I'll see what happens.

Have used the "company" line for some UK shipments when the second line is already in use. No problems (but those sales had 0% VAT so don't really count as an indicator).

-;-