We're supposed to pay the duty/tariff when sending to the US?
Summary: aramatic raises concerns about Canada Post's regulation requiring duties to be prepaid for parcels entering the US, questioning its practicality as UPS parcels he's sent have had no such duty charges. reallynicestamps advises caution, sharing a report where UPS charged a seller for unpaid import fees. aramatic reiterates confusion about how to incorporate unknown tariffs into pricing. ilikehockeyjerseys explains the terms of service might cover these charges indirectly, suggesting the eBay International Shipping program as a potential solution that assumes all duties and shipping logistics for the seller, albeit with higher shipping costs. There's mention of a new program where eBay facilitates duty calculations and covers the process, although this could increase shipping costs for buyers.
According to Canada Post "Under U.S. regulations, every parcel entering the country by mail must have duties prepaid". Apparently this doesn't apply to delivery services, as I've sent several parcels to the US by UPS since 29 August without paying any duty. Nor have any of these parcels been charged extra on receipt in the US.
I find paying duties/tariffs in advance puzzling. Since they're only calculated at the time of mailing we can't know what they'll be and so can't charge them to the buyer. The present arrangement for postal services seems to conform to Trump's mistaken notion that tariffs are paid on exports rather than imports. Or am I missing something?
ilikehockeyjerseys
·1 year agoThere is no practical way to calculate duties on most platforms yet. You also cannot technically collect them on your own because you aren't a customs broker.
Some of the threads here end up being long with a lot of repeated info and speculation, but it would be a good idea to read back through them. A lot of this stuff has been discussed, but the short version is that calculation and collection of duties is a bottleneck for most sellers so they aren't selling to the USA.
Using me as a personal example, I only opened shipping to USA for DVDs & CDs because they are duty free. My other items don't ship to the USA because of that bottleneck.
Based on what you've said in this thread so far, the solution that you would be most happy with is the upcoming ebay International Shipping program. With that program, the customer pays the duties. Additionally, eBay dies all the legwork and calculations based on the info you provide about your item (dimensions+COI). From your side, you only have to ship the item to eBay's facility in Canada (most likely near Toronto). Then you're completely out of the transaction. eBay handles all international shipping, duties, and even takes the item back if there is a return by the customer.
The downside of the program would be that shipping costs are excessive. So if you previously were attracting customers with $8 Tracked Packet shipping via eBay labels, it might not be viable. Your international customers have to pay double shipping (domestic rate + international rate).
reallynicestamps
·1 year agosent several parcels to the US by UPS since 29 August without
There has been at least one report already of a buyer refusing to pay the import fees to UPS, the parcel being handed over anyway, and UPS charging the seller's shipping account for the unpaid import fees .
So keep your fingers crossed.
byto253
·1 year agoWas there a case of the buyer being billed after delivery for a $10 processing fee on a $0 tariff item?
aramatic
OP1 year agoI haven't a shipping account and wouldn't pay a US tariff even if I had. It's complete nonsense. The buyer is responsible, not the seller. What I can't understand is how, if using Canada Post, we would build the tariff into the price of the item when we don't know what the tariff would be.
ilikehockeyjerseys
·1 year agoYou most likely agreed to it in the TOS of the courier you used, knowingly or unknowingly. When you send with most couriers who take an item without collecting the duty from you, you still pay the duty. The courier just does it on your behalf and they try to collect it back from the customer.
If the customer doesn't pay, you already agreed in advance to reimburse the courier for the amount they paid in duties+brokerage for you.
With eBay labels, eBay is the shipper so UPS will charge eBay and eBay will then apply the amount to your eBay balance.
I will note that I am unsure if there is a distinction between duties from refused packages, or the invoices sent by letter in the name of the customer after a package is accepted. I am unsure if they will still backcharge you if the customer accepts the package thinking there are no charges and later is invoiced.