Shipping Canada to USA - prepaying import fees via Zonos?
Summary: tolkienfan1 experienced a challenge with shipping items from Canada to the USA via eBay, struggling with import fees and the inability to issue separate invoices for these charges due to a buyer's premature payment. recped suggested including tariffs and fees upfront in the listing, which tolkienfan1 decided to implement as a handling fee. Other participants, like mandicrafts, recommended alternative payment methods for tariffs via PayPal, while sapphyres-designer-jewellery highlighted eBay's policy constraints and potential risks such as negative feedback if handling fees aren't properly structured.
Purchaser chose Canada Post Tracked Packet USA but eBay only offers UPS shipping label. That's a separate issue. In my listing, I clearly indicate that buyers in the USA need to contact me before purchasing, so I can send them a custom invoice which includes the Zonos fee (17.8% + 10% of that + $1.99). I have to buy the shipping label myself which is fine as I have a Canada Post business account BUT Zonos is linked to it so I end up being automatically charged. In this order it will be $37.23 CAD. How do those of you in this situation deal with this? The buyer went ahead and paid already despite my outlining in my listing to contact me first, for me to send an invoice which would include the import fees. I can't send him an invoice for the import fees.
sapphyres-designer-jewellery
·3 weeks agoYou can't, on eBay, require a buyer to pay for something outside the listing (or another listing) as a condition of buying your item. Some buyers might go along with that if they're co-operative, and they won't say anything. Your current buyer might not be one of those and might expect you to ship the item as purchased on eBay.
If you end up cancelling the transaction (for not having collected the tariff in advance), the buyer can leave negative feedback and you'll get a defect on your account for an out of stock cancel (that's the correct option if you cancel for this reason).
What you could do (and I'm not sure how kosher this is with eBay), is let them know that you'd be shipping by UPS which has high brokerage fees along with the tariffs, and what you think that will cost. And then offer the option for them to pay you the tariffs so you ship it duties paid. Buyers are warned that there will be tariffs, however if they choose not to accept delivery, you are on the hook for return postage and the buyer's tariff that they refused to pay.
C.
mandicrafts
·2 weeks agoIf you choose to ship UPS and the buyer refuses the item. You can set to "abandon" so that you don't have it returned to you and therefore do not have to pay the tariffs or the return shipping. The buyer negates their buyer protection, and you do not have to refund.
mandicrafts
·3 weeks agoYou can have them pay you via paypal for the extra for tariffs (either provide your email address for paypal or ask for theirs to send an invoice via paypal). Buyer's don't read, so your description message wasn't seen.
You can offer that, or that you can ship via UPS for them to pay at delivery, but tell them the brokerage for UPS is VERY high, usually min. $25 on top of the tariff. Give them the option. The buyer sees the RED BANNER at checkout that import fees will apply (well, if they read it).
Otherwise, for future reference, you can keep calculated shipping for Canada and offer FLAT RATE shipping to the USA/Int'l and you include the tariff in the flat rate for the USA.
Or you can add CP Expedited US or CP X-Press Post US as calculated for your US destination, (even though you can send via Trkt Pkt US). The extra $ from the upgraded rate should cover the tariff. That is what I am doing.
lotzofuniquegoodies
·3 weeks ago · Edited@mandicrafts Not sure if that would be a good/proper work around. As per eBay rules you can upgrade on shipping but not downgrade. Why there needs to be a better way to add handling specific charges for EiS/Intl shipments and/or specify a shipping method when you don't want to use eIS/non include for Intl. orders. Something better than what is currently available. AND a way to override eIS buyers paying for letter service when that is the default method for Canadian customers. Plus not show eIS buyers discounted services they can choose but sellers can't utilize.
@tolkienfan1
mandicrafts
·3 weeks agoIt's fine, since we cannot choose Chit Chat rates for calculated shipping, and we cannot even buy CP labels from eBay to the USA so we cannot access eBay discounted CP rates. Until eBay puts in some help for us, what choice do we have? As for tariffs, billing after the fact, eBay would approve, since that is what they recommend for reshipping an undeliverable/returned item, for billing for shipping again (paypal). We are forced to think on our feet to ship the sales we actually do manage to get and not lose and arm and a leg in the process!
lotzofuniquegoodies
·3 weeks ago · EditedUnfortunately very sad but true. Seems we spend majority of our time trying to work out work arounds for eBay programming flaws and procedures that were never thought out properly or get properly addressed even when we report ad nauseum until we get 😖.
recped
·3 weeks agoYour method isn't going to work!
You need to figure out the potential amount of tariff's and fees and add that to the shipping amount for US buyers IN ADVANCE (when you create the listing).
tolkienfan1
OP3 weeks agoThis is what I ended up doing, adding it as a handling fee. The problem is that I have to restrict my sales to Canada and USA only since I can't remove that handling fee/USA import fee for any other international buyers. I am enrolled in eBay international shipping but it doesn't show up as an option in my listings. I asked eBay why and they said it must be due to a restricted item. I'm selling collectible polystone (aka plastic) statues/busts. This is all very confusing!