buyer demand seller to pay for duty, refuse to except package. use seperate id to email me,

hi, I am from Canada and I have a buyer from Germany that emailed me saying she got an email from her custom department asking her to declare duty. she acted like the end of the world and gave me bunch of example of her ordering from amazon that doesn't need her to pay duty. kept saying seller should cover it.

I explained to her that it is her own responsibility and she stopped replying and I look at the tracking it's not moving since its in the custom for the last 8 days already. so It looks like she just going to ignore the package and let it go back to me.

if that happens I would have to pay for the return shipping cost by Canada postal when it arrive back in Canada.  plus if she files a item not recvcied  i'll be losing the initial shipping cost as well.

is there anyway to prevent this?

also she used another user id to email about the situation not the one she used to make the purchase as well.

Message 1 of 29
latest reply
28 REPLIES 28

buyer demand seller to pay for duty, refuse to except package. use seperate id to email me,

add to that, it would cost me around $50 or so for it to come back, and the cost of sending it out initially  so if the package return back to me it'll be out at least $100 on the transaction  so I would really want to avoid that.

Message 2 of 29
latest reply

buyer demand seller to pay for duty, refuse to except package. use seperate id to email me,

The buyer knew full well that this was going to happen. Over there their government charges duty/taxes (called vat) on the shipping cost as well. They know this, they live there.

 

To help keep this from happening and to get any related bad feedback removed you need to put something like the following in each one of your listings that ships outside Canada:

 

Any taxes, duties or VAT charged by your government has nothing to due with us and are the buyer's responsibility.

 

Message 3 of 29
latest reply

buyer demand seller to pay for duty, refuse to except package. use seperate id to email me,

thanks.

i think she is demanding me to pay for the duty while fully understanding she has more chips on the barging table from the get go.

i'll have to pay the return shipping and shipping there to Germany out my pocket if she end up just simply refuse to collect the package from the custom. she has nothing to lose because she'll be protected by the money back program by ebay getting the full amount back at the end, while on my side if she doesn't claim the package I am doom either way paying for the return international shipping fore and back.

I am trying to see if anyone know if ebay have anything on this that would help me out here or how to get her to just claim the package.

Message 4 of 29
latest reply

buyer demand seller to pay for duty, refuse to except package. use seperate id to email me,

"she has nothing to lose because she'll be protected by the money back program by ebay getting the full amount back at the end"

 

Maybe not.

 

Call eBay and explain the situation.  The fact she is using two different user ids tells me she is quite experienced in getting away with that kind of stuff.

Message 5 of 29
latest reply

buyer demand seller to pay for duty, refuse to except package. use seperate id to email me,

You might also think about cut an pasting the email into your response using the eBay messaging system that way it is documented for them to see as well....
Message 6 of 29
latest reply

buyer demand seller to pay for duty, refuse to except package. use seperate id to email me,


@maximus7001 wrote:

The buyer knew full well that this was going to happen. Over there their government charges duty/taxes (called vat) on the shipping cost as well. They know this, they live there.

 

To help keep this from happening and to get any related bad feedback removed you need to put something like the following in each one of your listings that ships outside Canada:

 

Any taxes, duties or VAT charged by your government has nothing to due (? do) with us and are the buyer's responsibility.

 


Your wording sounds too confrontational. Better to use the eBay recommended text in this help page. It is neutral sounding.

 

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/pay/ship-internationally.html

 

International Buyers - Please Note:


Import duties, taxes, and charges are not included in the item price or shipping cost. These charges are the buyer's responsibility.


Please check with your country's customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to bidding or buying.

Message 7 of 29
latest reply

buyer demand seller to pay for duty, refuse to except package. use seperate id to email me,

She used another id to email you through the ebay message system or did she email you with a different email than what is on her ebay account? If it is the latter, you should do what ricarmic recommended which is to copy and paste the email into ebay messages when you respond to her. (include email headers) 

 

If she sent a message through ebay, I would copy and paste that message with a reply to her in the id she used to buy the purchase. You could say something about wanting to keep all the information under the same id in order to confirm that it is the purchaser making the request...I can't think of the best wording right now.   You want a record of what she asked because according to the ebay MBG - "Generally, the buyer is responsible for accepting the item when it arrives. If the buyer refuses delivery, their claim is not eligible for the eBay Money Back Guarantee" 

 

It also states that "The buyer is responsible for paying any customs and duty fees for international shipping."

 

You'll find those statements under when a buyer doesn't receive an item. If I were you, I might point out those statements to the buyer. There is also a ? in the shipping information area of each listing that if clicked on...tells the buyer that they may be charged fees etc.  The buyer may have purchased the item on the German site so you might want to check for it there and point that out to her as well.

 

If she did purchase the item on the .de site then she is covered by their buyers protection policy...I believe they are all very similar but I'm not sure if the German site has these exact same policies. I would try to figure it out but i'm pressed for time right now.

 

Also, report the buyer and then phone ebay about her. Keep in mind though that they don't always give the best advice. I have to run and no time to proofread so I hope what I said makes sense. lol

Message 8 of 29
latest reply

buyer demand seller to pay for duty, refuse to except package. use seperate id to email me,

I'd take Pierre's advice and call eBay to see if you can get this situation sorted out.  If she does not claim the parcel, especially for reasons to do with customs charges, that should not be your fault under the MBG programme. 

 

Personally it sounds to me as if any further communication with this buyer is futile and may cause you even more trouble.  I wouldn't get into any sort of discussion with her.  The fact that the buyer first blew up at you in anger, then used a different user ID to message you, then stopped communicating altogether once you indicated that she was responsible for customs charges, tells me she's unlikely to be receptive to any "reasonable" discussions about customs.  

 

Europeans are generally very much aware of the taxes on personal imports, so I'd say she's just trying to wear you down with complaints. 

 

BTW, when you're speaking to eBay, I'd mention that I'd expect any negative/neutral FB and DSRs from this buyer to be removed by eBay.  And don't forget to block this buyer once the dust has settled. 

Message 9 of 29
latest reply

buyer demand seller to pay for duty, refuse to except package. use seperate id to email me,

gave me bunch of example of her ordering from amazon that doesn't need her to pay duty.

 

Because Amazon has been using something equivalent to the GSP for years and she had paid the duty and taxes when she ordered not on her doorstep.

 

 

 

Message 10 of 29
latest reply

buyer demand seller to pay for duty, refuse to except package. use seperate id to email me,


@reallynicestamps wrote:

gave me bunch of example of her ordering from amazon that doesn't need her to pay duty.

 

Because Amazon has been using something equivalent to the GSP for years and she had paid the duty and taxes when she ordered not on her doorstep.

  


Aha!  That's exactly what I was thinking, but didn't know for sure.  Which I suppose (I have to grudgingly admit) proves the point eBay has been trying to make with U.S. sellers about the GSP removing any headaches they might have with international sales, at least insofar as import taxes and duties are concerned.  They pay up front, they're done. 

Message 11 of 29
latest reply

buyer demand seller to pay for duty, refuse to except package. use seperate id to email me,

Thank you everyone, I have called eBay once before after the first email but the operator kept telling me to just take a hit suggest to buyer I would offer to pay half the duty off instead of giving me any sort of worthy advice.
I also notice I got another transaction to similar located country on the exact same day same product that looks to stuck in the same sent to custom department tracking update and it stopped moving just like this one . Now I look at it the addressed person name both started with a J makes me very very nervous abt this ones future as well
Message 12 of 29
latest reply

buyer demand seller to pay for duty, refuse to except package. use seperate id to email me,

The fact that either of the id that were used to make the purchase never replied to a single email worries me as well
The only email I got were from the third unrelated id and that stopped as well

If the MBG protect seller on refuse pickup how abt on the Paypal side? And if that is safe as well how abt if they fill thru credit card charge back?i have came to learn cc charge back is deadly , seller almost never win if they use reason other than non delivered
Message 13 of 29
latest reply

buyer demand seller to pay for duty, refuse to except package. use seperate id to email me,

We experience very similar situation 10 months ago with two buyers in Indonesia with same last name also. They both requested we pay duties on their item or they would not pick up item.

 

They both open INR cases and both of them won since all tracking stopped at Indonesia Custom Services. So ebay responded with instant refund to both of them.

 

Now the return shipping on both parcels was a bit of a joke by Canada Post. Bear in mind we are located in the backwoods of Ontario near Algonquin Park and Canada Post is still operated by a Mom & Pop shop in a general store. The first parcel came back and we were charged less than $5 by the clerk for the return shipping fee..lol..fair size box weighing in at about 3 kg.

 

The next day we arrived to the store and found the second return parcel left on our front steps with no charge whatsoever. So the return shipping fee can obviously get waved sometimes depending on how knowledgeable CP employee is.

 

However both of our packages had also been open by Custom services with a nice little note stating they needed to open item for security purposes...lol.....The parcels should have contained expensive and very rare Wade figurines but these were gone and were replaced with pieces of wood.....yup good old dead wood which we burned in our fire pit that same day in case bugs were in it.

 

So do not expect ebay to be of any help whatsoever in these cases. They told us oh well too bad and moved on...lol.

Message 14 of 29
latest reply

buyer demand seller to pay for duty, refuse to except package. use seperate id to email me,


@berubegirl wrote:

We experience very similar situation 10 months ago with two buyers in Indonesia with same last name also. They both requested we pay duties on their item or they would not pick up item.

 

___________________________________________________________________

 

I thought that Asian countries have very high tax/duty free limits for importing items.

 

Do you know what it is for Indonesia?

 

It sounds like you shipped with tracking............. and eBay still refunded?

 

Did you have the items insured and if so did you recover any money via insurance or through seller protection?

Message 15 of 29
latest reply

buyer demand seller to pay for duty, refuse to except package. use seperate id to email me,

it's been well more than 10 days for the first listing and 8 days for the second listing's package been in their custom and not picked up.

no reply what so ever. i guess they are indeed the same person now.

I guess i'll have to try call ebay again tomorrow and see what they say, this is just stressful and discouraging. it doesn't look like this would end well at all.

worst case scenario i'll be paying two international package shipping to Germany and back' return shipping out the window.

wonder under which situation the MBG says how if buyer refuse package they won't be protected.

do they have to actually declare to post office they want it turn back to start the return shipping processed or simply not claim the package and wait until the expiring date to post office to start the return process would do the same.

since this is what seems to be happening here. she just ignore the package from custom and stop all response toward this.

 

Message 16 of 29
latest reply

buyer demand seller to pay for duty, refuse to except package. use seperate id to email me,

You shouldn't have to pay anything it is pretty clear under the price that they have to pay taxes and to figure out how much they will be paying there are calculators for this on the internet.

 

Most of the time eBay employees side with the person calling in and if the first person doesn't try again in a few hours or the next day. It has clearly arrived she just won't take it she is just not fulfilling her part of the contract were she must pay.

Message 17 of 29
latest reply

buyer demand seller to pay for duty, refuse to except package. use seperate id to email me,

Hello Sylviebee,

 

To answer your questions:

 

1- Duties limit and prices based on our past experience with Indonesia is whatever policy the employee of the day decides it is. We were told that it is not unusual for one package to have duty requested more than once also especially if paid via Credit Card or any other way than cash money at the post office/custom office and take package in your hands before paying.....yeah pretty sad!

 

2- No we are not sure of the exact amount since it seems to fluctuate depending on employee.

 

3- Yes we shipped with tracking by Air. Ebay waited until the 28 days predicted for reception then allowed another 7 days because we had tracking. Problem was that the tracking never showed that buyer refused to pay duty. So to an outsider it appears from the tracking that the package was simply lost in Customs.(explanation given by ebay rep at the time to explain full refund given)

 

4- Yes we had the parcel insured via a third party insurance. They paid some of the value but we still lost quite a bit of money on this transaction.

 

Thanks!

Message 18 of 29
latest reply

buyer demand seller to pay for duty, refuse to except package. use seperate id to email me,

Interesting as I thought Asian countries all had a limit of around $200.

BUT........... I did a quick check and it seems that Indonesia allows $50 US tax free.

 

 

Why did you only receive some the value via TPI?  Was it because you only insured for a portion of the selling price?

 

Who did you use?

Message 19 of 29
latest reply

buyer demand seller to pay for duty, refuse to except package. use seperate id to email me,

 

It's up to $50 duty free not tax free so VAT may still be charged.

Message 20 of 29
latest reply