Duty, Tax and other charges from FEDEX
Summary: lybr8512 purchased shoes from a US seller with free shipping to Canada but received an automated call from FedEx about duty, taxes, and other charges needed to avoid delivery delays. fh991586 explained that cross-border shopping typically incurs such fees, separate from seller obligations. They shared their own experience of receiving a similar automated call and paying over the phone, confirming this process as legitimate. fh991586 advised setting up an online account with FedEx for easier management of such issues. aa-0074 added that USPS shipments under $50 usually clear without any fees.
Just purchased shoes ($100 USD) from a seller in the US who has free shipping to Canada. Item have been authenticated and is being shipped to Canada. However, I have received an automated phone call from FEDEX advising that I need to pay duty, tax and other charges first, in order to NOT delay the delivery as scheduled. Did not see any mention of additional charges from description of this item on eBay, and also messaging to the seller have been turned OFF so cannot validate this with the seller. Is this a legitimate authentic phone call and charge? Please advise.
Thanks!
fh991586
·4 years agoAny item going through the border will be assessed for duty or taxes. Private sales like theses usually only trigger sale taxes, fortunately. This has nothing to do with the seller, and he is not responsible for this, so no point to contact him. He would surely not include those fees in the "free shipping"!
I purchase something this year that was shipped from the USA by FedEx, and I expected something to be paid (taxes & brokerage fees) because of the high declared value (over $500). I did receive an automated phone call in advance, when the item was at the local clearing station before being admissible for delivery. I followed the steps, and I then made the payment on the phone. So it can definitely be legit. I then received an email as a payment receipt, but without any paper proof. I had to request the bill later from FedEx for the taxes & fees breakdown of this bill (which I got in PDF form).
If you don't pay in advance, there might be a delay in delivery, as they won't leave you the item without paying those fees. If you are never home, it might cause problem...
For FedEx (as for UPS too), it's easy and free to set up an account online to be able to monitor such shipping issue, and deal with the payment with an official email notice. Even if it only happens once a year...
aa-0074
·3 years ago