Sold a book (Canada to USA) and buyer got hit with huge duty fee. I thought used books are duty free
Summary: wax.nostalgic sold a book from Canada to the USA and the buyer was unexpectedly charged a large duty fee, despite the belief that used books should be duty-free. Other participants (reallynicestamps, mrdutch1001, marnotom!, byto253, fh991586, and stringers_books_and_collectibles) responded to the initial concern with various comments, but specific details of their responses are not provided. The discussion revolves around understanding why the duty fee was applied and seeking clarification on the rules regarding used books and international shipping fees.
I sell a lot of books on eBay, often shipping to the USA from Canada. To my knowledge, none of my buyers have been hit with big duty/import fees. I believe books are duty-free.
Anyway, I sold a book to a buyer in the USA for $580 USD. I shipped via UPS Standard as I always do, and they are now being told they need to pay $245 USD to get the book. That's a crazy amount! That's like almost half the value of the book.
The buyer refuses to accept the book, but still WANTS it, so they asked me to contact UPS. I reached out and they told me to fill out a form so I did, and now I'm waiting to hear back, but I'm not very hopeful.
I'm not sure why this happened, again, since books are duty free. I included the proper HTS code for books as I usually do. I'm hoping UPS has made an error in classifying the item.
Has anyone had this happen before? What is the likely outcome? Also, if the buyer refuses will the book be sent back to me? And if so, will I have to pay the $245 USD? What a headache of a situation.
Thanks
stringers_books_and_collectibles
·1 month agoDo not ship books via UPS or FEDEX (and don't have anything shipped to you in Canada with them either). Both couriers charge excessive brokerage fees regardless of HS codes, published in US, or whatever. Send it regular Canada Post to USPS. Enter the HS code and country where it was published on the custom forms and should go through fine (as long it was not published in China).
flipistics
·1 month agoJust as a note, you can also ship DDP via UPS with guaranteed rates provided you give the right HTS code. I haven't tried doing so (I'm only shipping eIS atm for international orders), but the option does exist with some of the third party label companies.
byto253
·1 month agoI put in the info in Zonos prepay webpage for a $50 book with HS code 4901.99 and made in China. The duty and fees came in at $0 so it looks like the exemption for books is also good for china if that
HS code applies.
fh991586
·1 month agoWhat HS tariff code did you use, and where was this book printed? It would be easy to point out to UPS where they made a mistake looking in the form you supplied and entered in their files.
byto253
·1 month agoI had UPS charge me duty on a return from the US last year, which is different than your situation. But one thing I got from that is to have a phone contact and keep on them, do not let it slide.
As @mrdutch1001 indicated it may not be a duty or tariff but the crazy UPS charges. Canada Post and Zonos is the better way to ensure no fees are charged.
marnotom!
·1 month agoI posted this link to your thread on the US discussion boards, but I’ll post it here as well in case anybody’s interested in all the possible charges UPS can slap on an item sent by UPS ground/standard/whatever from Canada to the States:
https://www.ups.com/us/en/shipping/international-shipping/import-fees
wax.nostalgic
OP1 month agoYeah, I'm hoping I can get in touch with them and rectify the situation. The breakdown of the price on the UPS tracking website says $215 USD of it is 'duty'. Again, this should be zero. The other charges are fine, that's normal, but yeah, hoping to get this duty taken care of. thanks.
mrdutch1001
·1 month agoDue to the high value of the book, those fees were most likely some sort of collection processing fees, brokerage fees, courier handling charges. Remember, there is NO deminimus anymore for USA buyers so USA buyers are responsible for whatever charges/fees are deemed applicable from within the shipping processes/shipping company/courier company,etc,etc....
reallynicestamps
·1 month agoThe book will probably be sent back to you but returns are never a priority for shippers.
If the book is refused (because of import fees) by the buyer, eBay deems it Undeliverable.
EBay will not require you to refund anything at all.
https://www.ebay.ca/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy?...
Which doesn't mean the buyer can't make a chargeback on their credit card.
No refunds without return.
Let the customer know about eBay's Undeliverables policy.
Best wishes.
wax.nostalgic
OP1 month agoThank you! What about the $245 USD charge? If the buyer refuses and the book is sent back, am I on the hook for that? Is there a potential situation where I'd have to pay hundreds of dollars just to get the book back even though I did everything properly?
john_koenig99
·1 month agoI think so. They are reported cases in this discussion community, about sellers having to pay the due fees, if they want their refused items back. E.g. :
ups recipient refuse delivery, cost for sender - Page 2 - The eBay Canada Community