Customs Fees charged by UPS to Buyer Upon Delivery
Summary: The discussion focuses on the challenges faced by eBay sellers when buyers refuse shipments due to customs fees imposed by UPS. flipistics questions eBay's policy on chargebacks in cases where buyers refuse shipments, and several participants discuss the seller protection policy and its applicability in such situations. One participant emphasizes that while sellers might refuse to refund the buyer, they may still incur fees like UPS brokerage and return shipping. There is also a call for clarity on eBay’s long-standing policy regarding undeliverable shipments.
Sold an item for $25.00 US plus $19.99 shipping to a person in California. No communication from Buyer whatsoever. UPS was not able to deliver because Buyer Refused delivery. UPS claims that there was $53.00 US Customs owing to Buyer at the door. UPS called and asked me to pay it! In order for me to receive the item, I have to pay the $53.00 US. Anyone else experience this? This is June 2025. Thank you.
movie_galaxy
·1 year ago22 days ago, I sent a movie to a US customer and paid $12 for UPS to deliver it.
I received an invoice today for an adjustment of $7 and change to bring the price up to $20.
So, I lost money on the transaction. I essentially gave the item away for free.
So many obstacles and headwinds and things just keep getting worse.
I don't know why I was charged the extra $7 - was it for a return/refusal by the customer?
I can't even select any option for UPS to dispose of the package even if I wanted to in such cases as UPS doesn't give me that option when I buy the label through Netparcel.
If I turn off US listings, this will affect my Canadian sales as the algorithm doesn't seem to like that.
If I keep my US listings active, I experience problems with customs and courier fees.
And now that US customers are being charged extra fees upon delivery by UPS and others, even if the tariffs get removed some day in the future, it's likely that we, as Canadian sellers, will lose those American customers forever - as in they won't buy from Canadians even after the tariffs are struck down.
john_koenig99
·1 year agoMan, that really sucks.
Did you try to contact UPS to get an explanation for the extra charge? (Not that they have the most stellar costumer service; ask me how I know 🤨) Does the tracking indicate that it was succesfully delivered, or does it show that delivery was refused?
vintagerosanne
OP11 months agoYes, UPS stated Buyer REFUSED Parcel!
sapphyres-designer-jewellery
·1 year ago$7 doesn't seem to be enough for tariffs/brokerage fees... even cheap brokerage fees are what, $10?
I'm thinking they re-evaluated the size of your package (perhaps in error) and are charging you additional shipping. I'd call to find out the reason for the charge, then let us know here.
C.
vintageandglamor
·1 year agoI've had not the greatest consistency with UPS. The last time I called, he informed me, as the shipper if the item is returned, the Brokerage fees DO NOT get chargered to me, and I would only be charged returned shipping. I made him create a case to reference to with confirmation.
sapphyres-designer-jewellery
·1 year agoThey may waive the brokerage fees (if I believe that), but IEEPA tariffs will still apply.
In answer to the previous post, if you don't buy a label on eBay they will still charge the tariffs back to the seller if the buyer doesn't pay. I have a FedEx account linked to my credit card, they will get their money from that. If I buy my postage in a UPS store and pay at the counter, I presume they just send a bill and then send it to collections and add it to your credit report if it's not paid.
C.
reallynicestamps
·1 year ago@devon@ebay
We need clarification that eBay will stand by their long-standing policy on Undeliverable shipments.
https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy?id=4210#specialcoverage-inr
https://www.ebay.ca/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy?...
recped
·1 year agoNo clarification needed, the policy is the policy, if tracking shows refused by buyer due to duty/tariffs they lose the MBG rights. The tracking notation must be very specific, the the issue must not be the result of a sellers failure to correctly declared the item description and value on the customs declaration.
In the OP's case while they may be able to refuse to refund the buyer they are stuck with the UPS brokerage fees, return shipping and any duty/tariff paid. In this case keeping the buyers money still isn't sufficient to cover all the UPS charges. eBay isn't going to cover any of that.
reallynicestamps
·1 year ago@recped @flipistics
I agree that no clarification should be necessary.
But eBay should also confirm that their 'bots and AI have been programmed for the tsunami of Undeliverables due to Refusal.
Belt and suspenders.
visual-sound
·1 year agoThe answer is simple - Stop selling to the US. That's what I've done. Yes I'm losing some sales but I'm saving myself a lot of hassles!
recped
·1 year agoThat is not the answer, the correct answer is to never use carriers like UPS or FedEx for cross border shipping. This has been true since forever, long before the Trump tarrifs or the end of the de minimis exemption. Those two things have just made it MUCH worse.
FYI - FedEx has always been the absolute worst as they deliver packages and then a week or two later they send a bill to the recipient. Since the buyer already has the package there is no incentive for them to pay FedEx. In this situation FedEx bills the unpaid amount back to the shipper, if you are using eBay's accounts they bill eBay who takes the money from the seller, if you don't pay it your eBay account will get shut down. At least with UPS you can get your goods back (at a steep cost), with FedEx you lose your money, you lose your item AND you are forced to pay all the outstanding brokerage fees and duty which under the new Trump rules are not refundable.
vintagerosanne
OP11 months agoI agree! No more selling to the United States.
ecgt
·1 year agoWe had this happen in May (buyer refused UPS delivery). UPS charged us return shipping in July via eBay and then we were hit with additonal charges (duty, tariffs and brokerage fees) through eBay at the beginning of September.
Buyer lost their dispute through eBay because they refused delivery, but we still ended up being on the hook for more than $100 in additional charges. This was a $35 item that was made in China.
We will only use UPS for domestic shipping now, as it's not worth the risk to ship via UPS to the USA.
morepleaseshop
·1 year agoThank you for sharing your experience. It is as I suspected...
I now got one more refusal to pay and this one is also mentioning chargeback. The others might try it too I suppose if they are despicable enough not to own their ignorance.
At least it's the last one. I have blocked US sales now, but these 3 went out pretty much together, I had no chance to have this experience with just one.
What makes me really angry is why ebay allows UPS to do it. They say those charges are buyers responcibility, but they don't act on it and let UPS (or Fedex) punish us. Instead of forcing buyers to be responcible, UPS goes the easy way and ebay washes their hands off. And what if I didn't buy the label on ebay? who will they charge then, some other random seller, because they "have to get someone to pay"?! What an interesting concept.
When Fedex was just added to ebay labels and was cheaper than Can. post I had one buyer call them and change the address after I shipped the item. Fed ex just silently charged me the fee that doubled my cost of shipping. And ebay, again, said it's not our problem, but they do allow them to create that problem and do not protect us. UPS and others can directly reach into our pocket and that's totally wrong!
flipistics
·1 year agoI'm pretty sure this is mentioned in the terms you agree to when you create a UPS label in eBay. The more interesting one would be a chargeback. I don't know what happens in that scenario. I don't recall that being one of the things the seller protection policy covers for chargebacks, but I may have missed it.
@devon@ebay what happens if a buyer refuses a shipment because of tariffs but then initiates a chargeback? Are sellers covered for this type of chargeback under the seller protection policy?
morepleaseshop
·1 year agoI don't remember it in the terms, but you are most likely right. I have difficulties digesting the kind of language they use in the legal documents, might've missed it.
As for the chargebacks, i've never had to do it myself, but don't you have to have a valid reason to do one or does the bank accepts any kind of noncense?
flipistics
·1 year agoI've never done one, but they'd probably accept the buyer saying they never received the item. That doesn't mean they'd win.
As a seller, I've only had one buyer do a chargeback against me and I won the case (the buyer's bank ruled against their own client). The reason for them filing it was complete and total nonsense though.
morepleaseshop
·1 year agoWell, I'm saving the screenshots of tracking where it said they refused and hope the bank people are not stupid.
All this is such a nigthmare...
recped
·1 year agoIt's not a bank you need to satisfy it's eBay Seller Protection. Regardless if a seller "wins" eBay is on the hook for any chargebacks. It would be a rare situation for eBay to actually win a chargeback.
Just like eBay favors buyers, banks and credit card companies favor their cardholders, THEY hold all the cards and no merchant or money processor can walk away from Visa or MC.
vintageandglamor
·1 year agonhl_automotive
·1 year agoDon't ship Chinese made items to the US right now or your buyer will not only pay tariffs but the huge brokerage fees which is what your buyer is seeing.
printerwarehousecalgary
·1 year agoyup! Sold an item for $550US Duty and brokerage somewhere around $450US. Am now told I have to pay the 450 + 38 for return shipping. Thats $488. to have the item returned. Oh by the way if I do not want product back I still have to pay the $488. At least ebay didnt give the buyer a refund. Thus I get 550 from Buyer and pay US government $488. Boy was that ever fun. Item not yet returned, but hopefully soon.
vintagerosanne
OP1 year agoeBay is taking care of me. You should NOT be paying to have your merchandise returned. That is on UPS and covered by eBay!
morepleaseshop
·1 year agoHi,
I was wondering how and when UPS charged you for shipping on that item? Did they just charge a normal shipping from you to the buyer or did they try to slap you with all thouse charges through ebay?
I got 2 buyers in 1 day to refuse to pay to UPS so they say they will ship them back. The shipping charge didn't show up in my records yet and I wonder if they (UPS) might decide that the easiest way to get all those money that the buyers didn't pay is to charge it as "shipping costs" to the seller's account...
ilikehockeyjerseys
·1 year agoIf the buyer refuses, it will be charged to your eBay balance at a later date. You can find social media posts with horror stories about this. This is assuming that you printed the label via eBay labels.
I'm currently using UPS, and I message each buyer before I ship the item. I let them know they may get a large brokerage charge, and give them 2-3 days to cancel before I print the label.
Keep in mind, that buyers refusing items over customs fees invalidates buyer protection. Based on the terms the buyer agrees to when they shop on eBay, you would be within your rights to keep the item to fund the unrecoverable costs of the buyer refusing delivery. Legally, whether the buyer could come after you for the refund in small claims would be a different discussion, I don't know the answer to that.
morepleaseshop
·1 year agoThis was exactly my worry. If the UPS will try to recoup their charges from me. Yes, I printed ebay labels.
I don't have any sosial media,so, can't see thouse, but I found this thread and wonder how it worked out in the end.
I wonder if contacting UPS and stopping them from shipping items back will help...
So far the buyers are not demanding anything, but I'm more scared to be charged with what they refused to pay and more.
sapphyres-designer-jewellery
·1 year agoNo, you have to pay the customs fees on refused shipments whether you get the stuff back or not. UPS pays the fees to import and needs to recoup from someone, if the buyer doesn't pay, the seller will have to.
This hasn't happened to me since I don't use couriers, but there have been a few anecdotal posts in this forum of people having to pay fees that their buyers refused to pay.
C.
reallynicestamps
·1 year agoThis is an Undeliverable item since the buyer refused it.
https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy?id=4210#specialcoverage-inr
EBay will not require you to refund anything.
Tell UPS to return it.
You will be out the cost of shipping.
vintagerosanne
OP1 year agoUPS wants me to pay $53 US to return the item. I said Abandon it!
vintagerosanne
OP1 year agoUPS wants the $53 US to return it! I said - abandon it! NO MORE UPS!
vintagerosanne
OP1 year agoeBay is contacting UPS to Return the item to me! I am not paying, I am covered. This is on UPS. Din't fall for the Extortion that you have to pay to receive your shipped item. It is yours, not UPS!
byto253
·1 year agoHas the item been returned to the local UPS and they are holding it wanting payment?
That happened to me with a return and UPS tried to charge fees, even though the parcel was correctly identified as a return. I called UPS and spoke with the brokerage people. After a PITA process I was able to go to a Customs Canada office to do clearance myself and UPS did not charge after getting the customs form.
Your situation looks to be different but I would call UPS Canada and follow the prompts to get hold of the brokerage office and explain the situation. i.e. Customer refused delivery so it is a return back to Canada to you. That may not get you further but speaking to the brokerage folks is much better than the general reps.
vintagerosanne
OP1 year agoYes, and I will not pay for it! That is called EXTORTION! They can keep it! NO MORE UPS! They break stuff, kick the parcels around, and deny any wrongdoing. NO MORE UPS!
ilikehockeyjerseys
·1 year agoAs far as I know, I have not had any customers who buy items below the de minimis get charged any import fees by UPS. I used UPS for a 2 week span in June, so the sample size is reasonably high.
I mostly ship items with a country of origin of Canada, USA, Indonesia, and Mexico. I use the proper HTS code, include a detailed description, and I include a clear shipping bag with invoices on the outside of the package. My physical items are also clearly marked as Made In XXXX. If the marking isn't extremely evident, I add one using an address label sticker over a poly bag.
Did your item have a China country of origin?
When you ship something to the USA you usually have to fill out a CN22 form that includes a description of goods, HTS code, and country of origin. Did you not mark the country of origin, or not include an HTS code? Did you not include an invoice?
It is possible that your package was charged because the item was either of Chinese origins, or they could not reasonably determine that it wasn't of Chinese origins because the CN22 form was not complete on your end (HTS code, etc). That's just a guess.
As far as your responsbility to your buyer, they waived their buyer protection when they refused the package. You're not on the hook for refunding them. You can choose to abandon the item if it makes more fiscal sense.
As far as the UPS fees go, I do not know if UPS will come after you for the fees if you do not pay them. You would have to figure out whether you are obligated to pay them if you abandon the package.
Although, if they were charged because you made an error with the
easoss
·1 year agoAnother UPS victim. I was contacted by them about a package destined to me. It was from Panini and was a redemption trading card I submitted 4 years ago. I had no idea what it was but the charge to me to receive it was $17. I paid it with a sneaking suspicion the item inside wasn't valuable at all. And guess what, the card inside was worth $10. The card was printed in the USA. This is nothing more than a blatant cash grab by the courier companies.
My advice, use the post office and hand write your address labels. I have had no issues when I do this. Nothing attracts tariff interest like printed labels and invoices on packages. Their suspicion radar goes up substantially.
vintagerosanne
OP1 year agoI'm NOT using UPS anymore! I would rather pay Canada Post and wait for the extra delivery time. UPS has broken so many of my items it's ridiculous! They tell you it's not their fault! Oh, so the large parcel looks lik someone ran it over with an airplane!!! That could be why the contents were broken! NO MORE UPS!!!
john_koenig99
·1 year agoThat amount sounds like a DJT tariff. Was the item made in China?
Have UPS given you a breakdown of the fees?
ilikehockeyjerseys
·1 year agoA large chunk of that $53 is likely fees related to the service that the carrier provided clearing the item. UPS and Fedex charge large fees to import items.
For example, I have a recent Fedex invoice for something I imported from USA to Canada. The total price of the goods imported was around $200 CAD. The invoice from Fedex for importing it is for about $150. Out of that $150, around $65 is fees from the carrier for clearing it. Only $32 is GST/HST (which I can claim). The rest is "customs duty".
Compare that to UPS/Canada Post, who only charge $9.95 CAD in fees to clear a package. I could be wrong, but they also rarely apply tariffs, only GST. GST/HST. GST/HST is able to be claimed as a credit by businesses who are registered, so it's not a major issue, but duty is an issue because it cannot be claimed the same way.
I understand the above exampe is USA into Canada, not Canada into USA. But it is meant to illustrate the kind of fees that some carriers charge to import goods. $65 of $150 is fees, so a $53 fee on a cheaper item isn't a surprise.
vintagerosanne
OP1 year agoMade in China, and no breakdown on the fees. Just that UPS had to clear it and charged me!
vintagerosanne
OP1 year agoExactly what I thought! This is ridiculous! DJT has spoiled the eBay Seller Stores!