Why do my CUSMA products have import fees via EIS?
Summary: rdemaree discussed issues with using eBay's EIS for shipping handmade oil paint, experiencing unexpected import fees despite compliance with CUSMA. They noted confusion about whether EIS calculates CUSMA exemptions and were informed it doesn't. marnotom! suggested EIS might not handle CUSMA-related documentation. rdemaree shared frustration over false import fee warnings affecting sales and expressed skepticism toward the value of EIS. Another user, reallynicestamps, shared a separate challenge with shipping using Canada Post and Zonos, highlighting difficulties with country of origin settings for exports. mandicrafts offered a solution for overriding Zonos' default settings.
I spoke to an ebay rep about EIS and theyre telling me I can ship my handmade oil paint via EIS. I was under the impression that I couldnt because AI would go haywire over the words "oil" and "paint"
So I turned on EIS and I am noticing hefty import fees for my CUSMA listings (they are not effected by the 50% tariff on Canada). Does anyone know why this is?
They should all be 0% tariffs and little to no brokerage (less than a dollar per package via chitchats). I expected the actual shipping cost to be higher but why am I seeing 10%+ in import fees on all of my listings now?
I only want to use this temporarily until ebay gets rid of the false import fee warning on my listings but I might need to rethink.
Why do my CUSMA products have 16% in import fees?
marnotom!
·1 week agoAre your paints made with completely Canadian materials, including the tubes?
rdemaree
OP1 week agomostly, but either way they qualify for CUSMA and have shipped to USA with chitchats duty free since MArch 2025.
I spoke to an ebay rep earlier that told me EIS doesnt calculate or handle CUSMA exemptions at all.
Is this true or was I misinformed?
marnotom!
·1 week agoIt sounds plausible. The documentation required for supporting a casual export/import of a CUSMA-compliant item may be out of eIS’s purview.
rdemaree
OP1 week agoYeah, it appears as if there is no way to not have buyers scared away. ITs either they see an actual fake tariff on your listing or they see a fake warning about tariffs on your listing.
The only way around it is to have your product physically in the USA it seems. Im sure larger companies have shifted to stocking product in the USA but its rough out there for smaller sellers.
Might change if blanket tariffs on the USA disappear, thus making EIS palatable for all sellers but I dont see that happening anytime soon.
rdemaree
OP1 week agoThis honestly goes back to my original feeling that EIS is pointless. As long as you can be bothered to keep track of your own COO and HTS codes and tariff rates for them the EIS doesnt provide much if any value.
The only reason id like to even use it is to avoid the mandatory tariff warning on non-EIS listings, which is an ebay imposed problem and not a real problem.
We are in a game of wait and see. I dont see things improving until ebay changes their warnings and a trade deal is reached.
lotzofuniquegoodies
·1 week ago · Edited@rdemaree
Or being able to ship via Canada Post tracked/expedited using a discounted rate with BUYER being responsible for any applicable tariffs/customs charges. The shooting match needs a reasonable de minimus.
With eBay offering similar options for USA to Canada sales/shipping and OUR gov. increasing the allowable limit per transaction. 40.00 is nothing.
Darn rabbit holes.
Canada ist now collecting between C$5 billion and C$6 billion annually in baseline tariffs (officially categorized as "customs import duties") during stable economic periods. However, due to ongoing trade disputes and retaliatory economic measures, annual collections have recently fluctuated between C$9.9 billion and C$20 billion.
The US Gov. The US government collected $194.9 billion in customs duties and tariff revenues in Fiscal Year 2025. On a full calendar year basis for 2025, gross collections reached $264 billion, driven up by expansive trade policies and executive orders.
For Fiscal Year 2026, the Tax Policy Center estimates that the government will raise approximately $177 billion.
Historic Highs: Due to widespread tariff hikes, collections surged drastically from the baseline of $78.9 billion in 2024. In late 2025, the average effective tariff rate climbed to 11.4%, a level not seen since the 1940s.
The 2026 Supreme Court Ruling: In February 2026, the US Supreme Court struck down a major portion of these tariffs that had been enacted under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). As a result, the federal government was ordered to issue roughly $129 billion to $165 billion in refunds to affected US companies. This legal shift substantially lowered net tariff revenue projections for the middle of 2026.
Current Status: The administration has pivoted to using alternate legal authorities (such as Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974) to reinstate various border duties. This includes brand-new escalations, such as the 50% tariffs on selective Canadian goods implemented in August 2026.
marnotom!
·1 week ago · EditedeIS and its predecessor were created in simpler times when many US and UK sellers viewed shipping out of the country under their own steam as onerous (Oh, those danged customs forms!) and a one-way ticket to Fraudsville. It wasn't designed for the type of trade environment we have now. I suspect that some eBay executive tasked the eIS development team to put the program on steroids for us hapless Canucks and fast-track its rollout, but the combination of integrating eIS with the site's ancient coding and the rapidly changing situation with tariffs has made the Canadian version less than a complete success so far.
eIS isn't for everyone, although the eBay marketing team seems to try to portray it that way. Something unique such as what you're producing and selling is going to pose it some challenges. Several if not many sellers seem to be doing okay with it if what they're selling isn't throwing it for a loop.
rdemaree
OP1 week agoYeah like I’ve said many times before I don’t see any practical benefit to the program beyond convenience of not knowing COO, HTS codes etc. and not wanting to deal with potential returns.
These are all things I can very easily handle myself and certainly not worth the price tag or transit times of EIS imo.
reallynicestamps
·1 week agoI had my first experience shipping with Canada Post and Zonos today- not an eBay sale.
It took over 38 minutes just to get a QR code. NO LABEL.
And Zonos kept insisting that every item (postage stamps) was Made in China- when they were actually from New Zealand.
I don't know what I would have done if they were from Nyasaland.
So now I have to take this to the PO to mail it - a hassle since
DH is no longer allowed to drive. At least the
Post Office is on a bus route that runs outside my window.
I would have gone with UPS but apparently they will not ship stamps.
I am more grumpy than usual.
mandicrafts
·5 days agoYou can override the zonos default saying "China" and just change it to whatever the COO is. And using Canada Post you can print a label AFTER you enter the zonos code there. Zonos gives both a QR code and a alpha numeric code that you enter within the Canada Post label flow.
reallynicestamps
·5 days agoThat makes it easier. I had worked out the override, but it's a pain to do it for an album page with 9 stamps when Zonos picked each one out individually.
I had the selling price noted for the entire page.
EIS may handle this better. But this was not an eBay sale.
Still feeling discombobulated.