Tariff Negative Feedback Removal
Summary: peakxv expressed frustration with a negative feedback issue on eBay related to tariffs being misrepresented as additional shipping charges. They described challenges in resolving the matter with eBay despite clarifying that the charge was due to tariffs and not a backdoor shipping fee. flipistics and others offered advice about using prepaid tariffs to avoid future misunderstandings, while marnotom! highlighted issues related to changes in tariff regulations, suggesting that many buyers may be confused about the nature of these charges. peakxv also discussed systemic issues and the impact of international trade policies on sellers. The discussion underscored the complexities sellers face due to tariff changes and regulatory adjustments in international trade.
Feedback removal. American Buyer left negative feedback claiming courier backbilled them for "shipping Charge"
when it was acutally the Trump Tariff. Claimed I backdoor billed them $70.00 extra for the shipping label through the courier.
This whole tariff thing is a complete nightmare. I have filed and called with Ebay and nothing done in three days. Buyer is standing
by their claim that it was a backdoor shipping charge and not a tariff of any kind, but Ebay knows because they sold me the label.
In the past 6 months. I have had more issues than in the previous 25 years - all do to tariff ignornance is bliss . The thing, is those major
courier companies can be pretty sleazy, and it is not known really how they word/justify their charge to the recipient. That's the million
dollar question in this whole thing.
viforg-58
·3 weeks agoIf the tariff bull is not taken off , American and Canadian ebayers are starting to not purchase each others products, I have had a 50% drop in sales because of all the stupidity of politicians across our country and theirs, it was just fine before, now I pay for it on my end and the american neighbours pay for it on their end SO STUPID
john_koenig99
·3 weeks agoWelcome to the brave "new" world of globalized economy.
peakxv
OP3 weeks ago · EditedBecause Temu and Shein caused the U.S. to eliminate the de minimis framework globally, Canadian e-commerce companies lost their single biggest competitive tool for selling to U.S. consumers. That's the low-down on how things have changed they way they have.
Trump originally claimed that they weren't going to penalize the "little guy", and the phase one plan acutally backed the claim. But as soon as the U.S. banned de minimis for packages originating in China, Chinese e-commerce giants and manufacturers adapted overnight. Instead of mailing a parcel directly from Shenzhen to New York, they began shipping freight containers of bulk goods to warehouses in Canada and Mexico.
Under the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and decades-old international treaties, Canada is legally required to allow "freedom of transit." By law, any foreign goods stored inside a bonded warehouse can sit there for years without paying a single cent of Canadian duty or tax. Bulk containers from China were unloaded directly into these Canadian bonded zones.
Then workers inside the warehouses broke the bulk cargo down, packed them into millions of individual packages < $800USD, labeled them with U.S. addresses, and loaded them onto trucks bound for the U.S. border. Boom! Tax Free Chinese Entry from Canada worth between $25 billion to $35 billion USD of dirt-cheap products sold to Americans annually,,, and impossible to filter from Joe Shmo's Mom and Pop Canadian sales to Uncle Sam. That's what happened.
The massive incentive and door opener for Chinese product was the passing of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act, raising the de minimis limit from $200 to $800 USD to cut down on paperwork for customs agents .... but leaving the door wide open for plotting Chinese e-commerce.
femmefan1946
·3 weeks agoAppeal the feedback.
One of the reasons feedback can be removed is for complaints about foreign import fees.
marnotom!
·3 weeks ago · EditedMight be tricky as the buyer believes the charge was for additional shipping charges and states as much in their feedback.
peakxv
OP3 weeks ago · EditedIt was eBay's shipping label. Any additional 'shipping' charges would be routed through their platform. Therefore a fraudulent claim used to bypass negative feedback screening.
marnotom!
·3 weeks ago · EditedDid you have a look at the thread I linked to in an earlier post? The US seller mentioned has a fair bit of negative feedback from Canadian buyers who think their charges for taxes and processing are COD shipping charges. Either the seller is just shrugging it off or else they’re unable to get rid of it.
peakxv
OP3 weeks ago · EditedThanks but t's irrelevant
marnotom!
·3 weeks agoI wouldn’t have posted a link to the thread if I thought it was irrelevant.
peakxv
OP3 weeks ago · EditedNo, I did. The matter has been resolved.
peakxv
OP3 weeks agoYes, I did - thank you. They said there would be a response within 48 hours via email during a recorded
phone conversation with eBay. No response as of yet.
flipistics
·3 weeks agoDon't send items directly via courier unless you send it with the tariffs prepaid. Depending on where you live you can use Zonos & Canada Post, a cross-border shipper, eBay's eIS, or UPS DDP through a company like Click Ship.
If you send them DDU, you're going to continually have issues. Most buyers have no clue about anything to do with tariffs.
peakxv
OP3 weeks agoEbay should not being offering their discounted commercial labels until they can integrate transparent, pre-calculated duty systems. Plain and simple.
flipistics
·3 weeks agoI agree, but since they are sellers should avoid using them when they know they'll likely cause problem with the buyer.
peakxv
OP3 weeks agoImpossible to know as it was fine up until the end of last month. Ebay needs to be more proactive with these fast changing times.
marnotom!
·3 weeks agoIt’s actually been an issue since the US administration eliminated the $800 de minimis (tariff/duty-free limit on casual imports) a year ago. Your other US buyers probably had to pay similar charges but they didn’t make a stink about it.
peakxv
OP3 weeks agoOne to think to make a 'stink' about it, quite another to falsely claim that it was a backdoor seller charge.
marnotom!
·3 weeks agoI'm reminded of this post from almost half a year ago. Similar sort of deal, except that the buyers are Canadian and the seller is American. If your buyer received a notice of "COD" charges rather than tariff/duty-related charges, that may be where their confusion lies.
https://community.ebay.ca/forum/buying-21/topic/seller-listed-free-shipping-but-is-charging-cod-when-the-item-is-recieved-3781/
john_koenig99
·3 weeks agoWhy not? It's up the the seller to educate themselves on how shipping works.
peakxv
OP3 weeks ago · EditedThese are unprecedented times, and the Courier Companies themselves admit to not being
100% transparent about their charges. I once challenged Fedex to a phantom $38.75 charge
back-billed after delivery was made, that took two years to decipher. As it turned out, it was for
the transfer of a document from one desk to another. The charge was eventually withdrawn. A
seller need not have to have a PHD in Corporate "junk fees" or "gotchas" sleuthing to post a simple
parcel to a buyer. And in my case, the buyer is on record claiming that the charge incurred was
a hidden shipping charge that I pocketed myself .... with eBay holding the evidence and knowing
that it is a completely false accusation.