Zonos vs Ebay international Shipping Program.
Summary: Participants engaged in a discussion comparing two shipping programs: Zonos and an international shipping program associated with an online marketplace. The conversation involved contributions from several participants, each sharing their experiences and preferences. Although the specific details of their opinions were not provided, it seems the discussion focused on evaluating the pros and cons of each shipping program. The interaction revealed interest in understanding how these programs function in terms of cost, efficiency, and user satisfaction. Overall, participants sought to gain insights into which might be the more reliable option for international shipping needs.
Hello...
Since this whole tariff thing took place, I stopped using a business policy that ships the USA. Before this I would use Canada Post tracked packets normally to send to the USA.... clothing, shoes, smaller electronics etc. Normally shipping anywhere in the USA would cost me roughy $21 using Canada Post. (Give or Take).
I have been using Ebay International Shipping Program (EIS), and find that I like it and it's benifits... it has opened the doors for International sales that I didn't ever have before (I only ever shipped to the USA & Caanda before). However, EIS does not work well for USA, I have very little sales to the USA now.... I used to have about 60% of my sales to USA and 40% domestically in Canada before everything changed with Trump.... As for right now, I get that the domestic charge + the Ebay Interternational Shipping Program charges are way too much for a buyer in the USA to spend). Shipping a t-shirt to USA using EIS can cost up to $40+ now??? So crazy.
My question is do you think that if I used Zonos, my sales to the USA would increase? I think they would clearly, if the shipping is lower... (I have a lot of meat on the bone and can afford to lose some money on the upfront costs needed to pay Zonos, fees, tarrifs etc).... but if I used to ship clothing, shirts, shoes etc to USA for $21 tracked packet, what do you think the cost using zonos for those labels would be now? I am so clueless on the cost people are paying upfront.
Is anyone selling clothes/shoes using Zonos? Most clothing is not made in USA or Canada, and I am not selling media or tarrif free goods.... Anyone still making good money selling tarrifed items using ZONOS to the USA?
Hope this is clear waht I am trying to get at..... I need to know if I should start to try using Zonos, as EIS is not working for USA and I am going to lose my Top Rated Status... which was never an issue before The Orange Clown became Emperor. GRRRR What are some examples of the items and costs you are paying while using Zonos? (and no, I am not interested in examples about books, media, tarriff free stuff.... just liek clothing and electronics, cameras, board games etc).
Thanks! -Kyle.
itolduandso
·5 months agoAny updates from Ebay about when the rest of sellers in Canada will get access to eIS.
snoopwiz
·5 months agoIf not already, you might consider using Chit Chats. They have a drop off location in the west end of Peterboro. (about 2 km from the Costco)
marnotom!
·5 months agoTry the other direction. The cheapest USPS non-commercial counter rate for shipping a small lightweight item like a CD or shirt from the US to Canada is about C$26.50 at current exchange rates.
Keep in mind that a good chunk of that $40 you're quoting is your own charge for shipping the item to the hub in Mississauga.
lotzofuniquegoodies
·5 months ago@marnotom!
The reason Canadian/Intl buyers do not see reduced shipping from US sellers is due to the fact eBay has chosen NOT to offer sellers discounted rates with USPS/UPS/Fedex. If you check the US calculator tool sellers have access to 12% to up to 73% discounts with tons of choices. Check the discounts for internationally shipping suddenly there are options but all was bare minimum discounts 3%-5%. That tool no longer even shows UPS/Fedex options. IF we could use CP tracked to the USA with ebay labels we would be getting a 54% discount. Then there are the US sellers who use outside of ebay options that would have access to the outside the box services with their own discounts which vary depending on the service substantially. Another situation where applying 1 discount does not work. The US calculator tool shows the true issue/discrepancy. Test for yourself. All done to make eIS the go to. All eIS does is inflate the shipping because couriers are now involved vs the US mail.
https://www.ebay.com/shp/calc/rates
clemowbooks
·5 months agoShipping a t-shirt to USA using EIS can cost up to $40+ now??? So crazy.
The eIS charge as I understand in includes the import fees (duty, sales taxes, tariffs) as well as mailing costs.
We can if we are courageous mail to the eIS plant without tracking because the shipment is going to a Canadian address. EIS tracks from Mississauga to the US address.
Zonos does not include import fees . The seller in Canada pays 10% of the Trump Tariff to Zonos.
Zonos is a Trump grift and that's a good enough reason for me to avoid them.
I use Canada Post for almost all my shipping otherwise. It delivers everywhere, including mail boxes and isolated addresse in the Yukon or Zambia.
Also.
EBay International Shipping is a Seller Protection service above all.
jtg204
·5 months agoPayment to Zonos includes duties + fees. As a seller you add this amount to the shipping cost so the buyer is paying for all the extras to ship to US.
marnotom!
·5 months agoeIS charges as a whole include all that, but the shipping charges and the import fees are separate line items. Sales taxes are charged separately at Checkout as usual.
transtraders
·5 months agoI just use EIS, the other way is a giant headache imo. I mostly sell media, which is tarriff free anyways.
Yes I will lose a ton of US sales, but hopefully when things change in the big white house down south things will get better.
btw, you have a very nice looking ebay store.
landbeforevintage
OP5 months agoThanks for all the input!!
I think I may just set all my listings to have a shipping charge of $35CAN flat rate to USA with Tracked Packet USA for USA buyers. (And hope that it should cover most of the label cost and the additional fees on duties, Zonos fees, etc)... all while still being cheaper for the buyer to pay then the EIS charge. (I will still offer EIS option as well). Correct me if I am way off here, but $35CAN seems like the bare minimum to cover cost of label and duties/fees?! I think it is worth a shot, because my USA sales are pathetic!!
Pray for me, LOL. In fact, pray for all of us! LOL
easoss
·5 months agoEIS is seller friendly but expensive for the buyer. Zonos is cheaper for the buyer but does require information to be given to a US based company. I refuse to use Zonos because I'm not comfortable giving out personal information to this company. Everybody is different and will have to decide the trade offs.
jtg204
·5 months agoShipping cost will be the label cost + duties + Zonos fees
Duties:
You're looking at 10% duties on most items. I'm not actually sure what some exceptions are to this for postal shipments? This 10% is going to change eventually, right now it's simple.
The shipping cost will depend partly on your item price as a result. The same flat rate for $10 items would not be good for $100 items.
Label cost:
Label cost with Tracked Packet USA is determined by weight.
netParcel has a better discounts than SfSB, but I'm trying to focus only on SnapShip rates here.
Tracked Packet USA rates are split into 7 weight ranges, here are the business prices before adding fuel surcharges (level 1 discount) for each:
Add the weekly increasing fuel surcharge for international packets to the above rates to get the SnapShip rates for Tracked Packet USA for each weight range. The current fuel surcharge rate for international packets is 21.75%. After adding fuel surcharge the total costs for each weight range with SnapShip this week (right column):
Zonos fees:
You then have to decide to use PrePay app, or automatic billing with SnapShip.
With PrePay app you would be looking at $2.99 fee plus 10% of duties (with take a photo option).
With automatic billing the fee is $1.99 plus 10% of duties.
Examples with PrePay app and SnapShip rates:
$10 item at 500g would be $21.14
$1.00 duty
$17.05 label
$2.99 Zonos fee (PrePay app using photo)
$0.10 Zonos fee (10% of duties)
$100 item at 500g would be $31.04
$10.00 duty
$17.05 label
$2.99 Zonos fee (PrePay app using photo)
$1.00 Zonos fee (10% of duties)
You can lower the cost using automatic billing and get better discounts with netParcel. But this is a rough idea of calculating the costs with SnapShip rates.
If you have similar items (weight) and prices (similar duties) you can group them with policies instead of a flat out international flat rate some do instead. This will work while different countries have the same tariff rates.
Not sure if that will help any, or just make it more confusing!
landbeforevintage
OP5 months agoHello... thanks for the amazing reply.
I would be appreciative if you could walk me through the follwing example. (I am trying to calculate what it would cost me to ship using Zonos before I list an item, so I can build that into my shipping prices).
Background info:
I am in Peterborough, Ontario Canada (Let's just say my postal code is: K9J 2V1). I have a jacket that I am selling.. here is the link. (BTW: I realize my listings are not showing on this forum... sadly my listings have been blocked since I changed my username years ago, which is a whole other story, doesn't matter). You pointed that out in another converstation....
This is my site with my listings:
https://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_ssn=landbeforevintage
Here is the link for the jacket if you can see it:
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/397832931560
Or
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/397832931560?itmmeta=01KPR0X0GRZSBXRK347G6370JY&hash=item5ca0b0c8e8:g:PE0AAeSwhIJp3Bhy&itmprp=enc%3AAQALAAAAwGfYFPkwiKCW4ZNSs2u11xAS00Xrni1WAKEA73QKEKL%2B2p0yoBhWNskvS4nKCLNuTZmWkdlE%2F41MXfy0EfJWsV%2B%2FtJ589zF%2FiBb%2BbLw3SCN9mljc0umVdr9XL75tQwcYUi1bnUJHsHGsUF4U%2BHb%2B1lrDd7FYV9oL8KsBg1n%2FPkiV%2F4BJPo6GwSRkA%2BqvP%2FxNvH3uRGfdw6SQy%2BtbXyR6KrsSedT6Me29VLIIVeFNMvKEvPgBYQ7RJQz9tj47%2FOyPMQ%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR9SI9IC2Zw
***In this example I will compare what a BUYER would pay shipping with Ebay International Shipping Program (EIS) vs Zonos method.
1: eBay International Shipping:
When looking at the listing above for my jacket, the BUYER pays the following for shipping (copied from site):
eBay International Shipping
Estimated between Tue, May 12 and Fri, May 22 to K9J 2X3
Shipping:C $26.68
Import fees
Est. C $44.17
eBay is charging this fee to facilitate the import of your item on your behalf and ensure your item arrives without fees due to customs or third-party service providers. Import fees may not be refundable
***So a total of $22.68 + $44.17 = $70.85 CAN for total shipping (which is crazy)
Vs
2: ZONOS method:
(Let's pretend the jackets “Country of Origin” is China, weights 500grams, and that I am using the automatic billing on Zonos with fee of $1.99) & the label would be roughly $17.05 (according to your chart above – & depending on company – Snapship, Netparcel, Shippo etc).
When I take a picture of the jacket using the “ZONO PREPAY APP” shipping with Canada Post, the app classifies the Jacket's Total Shipment Value as $47.92 CAN.
The app then calculated duties as = $8.26 CAN
Therefore, does this mean that I would simply pay:
$8.26 (Duty)
$17.05 (Label)
$1.99 (Zonos fee)
$0.82 (Zonos fee 10% duties)
= $28.12 CAN
Therefore: If I set my shipping cost for this jacket to $30, I would hypothetically cover all costs, and the buyer only has to pay $30 instead of $70.85?
EIS = $70.85 total
vs.
Zonos = $28.12 total
Am I correct, or am I missing any other fees that would occur for myself, or the buyer?
The buyer would not have any other hidden fees upon delivery, even though Ebay says they will?
Lastly, if the jacket sells for $100 but the app calculated the Total Shipping Value as $47.92 when using picture method, do I use the apps calculated cost or what the item actually sold for (example $100??), because this changes every calculation above.
Thanks and I truly apologize if this is overwhelming, but I believe this could help a lot of people visualize this Zonos/EIS barrier!
-KYLE
jtg204
·5 months agoYou would use the amount the item sold for, what the buyer paid, what appears on an invoice and customs declaration form. So it would be $115.99 at full price or the offer amount. I'll use $116 below...
I don't have access to ChitChats (PostNL)/Stallion, so not familiar with those and how they would compare, but might be options for you too.
Using Zono's verified account item quoter feature, it shows this break down on import fees for postal vs commercial (UPS/FedEx/DHL etc) as the following...
That suggests why EIS has such high import cost for it's commercial shipping instead of the postal system.
I would estimate if it's 251g to 500g, and $116 with this week's rates:
$11.60 (Duty)
$17.05 (Label)
$1.99 (Zonos fee - verified account/automatic billing)
$1.16 (Zonos fee 10% duties)
= $31.80 CAD
If you setup automatic billing (Canada Post's directions here) which uses a verified Zonos account, then I would suggest netParcel instead of SnapShip. You use the same account # you obtain to setup Canada Post automatic billing. Verified Zonos accounts are not the same as PrePay Zonos accounts. The current rates for netParcel (changes after each surcharge increase) are:
I have some replies about netParcel in this topic also why not to look at using Shippo currently.
jtg204
·5 months ago'The buyer would not have any other hidden fees upon delivery, even though Ebay says they will?'
If it works how it should, everything is declared properly, the buyer will not have any additional duties to pay USPS using Canada Post.
itolduandso
·5 months agoEbay outsources to brokers and maybe it goes through UPS brokerage who knows, but these not only charge commercial tariffs rates but also charge brokerage fees, that is all hidden and you don't know how much that is in the total amount.
But the same is happening to US sellers selling to Canada, small stuff, not too heavy, I see sometimes EBay shipping in excess of 150 dollars, far more than the item value itself.
landbeforevintage
OP5 months agohttps://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_ssn=landbeforevintage
This is how you can view my listings btw.
intimewithmusic
·5 months agoSome may not be aware of who ZONOS is;
"Zonos is primarily owned and led by its founder and CEO, Clint Reid, who started the cross-border technology company in 2009. While it operated as a bootstrapped company for many years, in 2021, Silversmith Capital Partners led a $69 million Series A funding round, becoming a significant institutional investor. "
After Chris Reid and the main Zonos investor (Silversmith) was put in play following their donation of one million dollars to Trump's election Trump appointed them trustee to collect his tariffs. All of the money they collect after their cut goes directly into Donald Trumps piggy bank (the US Treasury .
In my mind, under these circumstances, Canada Post never should have undertaken it's partnership with Zonos in the first place. The less money we give them the sooner we'll be rid of them.
That's just my opinion . We all get one!
Good luck which ever way you go!
marnotom!
·5 months agoYou’ve stated your opinion on this a few times now. Who you think Canada Post should have partnered with instead of Zonos?
intimewithmusic
·5 months agoThanks @marnotom! for the question.
I don't think Canada Post should have partnered with ANY broker. Trump said "jump" (DDP) and Canada Post jumped. To my knowledge CP doesn't force mandatory DDP on Canadians for any other country. Some might say CP succumbed to extortion.
On the Canadian side of the border there should have been pushback from Ottawa and obviously from eBay. There wasn't. Keep in mind eBay was crafting EIS before DDP so they had their own agenda.
On the American side Zonos was awarded a monopoly that is wafting away Canadian currency across the border. If Ottawa is on board and feels DDP is for the "greater good" then they should have administered the fees themselves and put money back into the pockets of Canadians. I don't know for sure but it appears Canada Post made that decision for Ottawa. By signing with Zonos they forfeited profit from the holding time of billions of dollars and blew off the opportunity to create tariff administration jobs for Canadians.
marnotom!
·5 months agoCanada Post isn't "forcing mandatory DDP" on shipments to the United States. The United States is doing that, and not just for Canada, but for every country to which it receives imports. Some countries reacted to this by simply banning mailed packages to the United States, but I'm sure you'll agree that that's not an acceptable reaction for Canada Post and one that could decimate its customer base once and for all.
Also keep in mind that eBay Canada effectively had no official leadership at the end of August 2025.
Given the fact that Canada Post was mired in negotiations with CUPW at the time the DDP requirement and the elimination of the de minimis, I might add, were forced on us by The Great Administrator, and time was of the essence, I don't think the development of a "made in Canada" solution would have had a rapid enough turnaround time. Besides, my understanding is that whatever service a country decides to use for its postal system for the handling of DDP has to have the approval of the US administration. I believe there are alternatives to Zonos out there, but I have no idea how well they work with postal systems if at all.
intimewithmusic
·5 months ago@marnotom! @lotzofuniquegoodies @landbeforevintage @jtg204 @clemowbooks
Once again thanks for your input. I do appreciate your points of view. It's great that you have an interest!
@marnotom!
"Canada Post isn't "forcing mandatory DDP" on shipments to the United States. The United States is doing that, and not just for Canada, but for every country to which it receives imports. Some countries reacted to this by simply banning mailed packages to the United States, but I'm sure you'll agree that that's not an acceptable reaction for Canada Post and one that could decimate its customer base once and for all."
None of that matters. You're rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. The point is shipments cannot be sent by post from Canada to the USA unless an American takes our money and profits from doing it. They can be sent by any other courier via DDU just not by Canada Post. This is a precident. Neither does it matter what the condition of the Govt or Canada Post was a year ago.
Zonos isn't doing anything a Canadian company couldn't do.
A huge Canadian business opportunity was blown off by both the Feds and Canada Post. The fact they were "busy at the time" doesn't let them off the hook. They let Zonos in without a "Green Card". Zonos isn't doing anything a Canadian company couldn't do. Try and pull something like that off in the United States.
Jobs For Canadians Forfeited
No wonder CP is insolvent. All they had to do was negotiate. Instead they are about to lay off hundeds of Canada Post workers. If they weren't in a position to facilitate this process then they should have said "Three months or six months tops until our adminstration and software is ready". Let's hope they didn't sign a long deal with Zonos. We're looking down the barrel of one year already. Get them out of Canada. What's next? Canada Post awards their package deliveries to Amazon?
Canada Post could use the profit Zonos is raking in to bolster their deficit but they just gave both the profit and the jobs away while Canadians continue to subsidize Canada Post. In the meantime they haven't done anything to replace Zonos.
eBay Tracked Packet and Expedited Parcel labels
Then there's this huge problem with eBay's Canada Post USA labels being unavailable to eBay sellers. We wouldn't have a problem if Canada Post administered the tariffs. There could be line items on right on the order for labels. Nothing would have changed on eBay with respect to using Tracked Packet or Expedited Parcel USA. No Zonos account. The rates to the US would be approx half what they are with EIS and much faster delivery no matter where you ship from.
Refunds of Illegally Charged Tariffs and Admin Fees
With respect to the matter of the illegal tariff refunds I wonder if any eBay sellers will recieve theirs because they will have to go through Zonos. If the illegal DDP tariffs were paid to one Canadian organization then there would be leverage to get your money back just like any refund due from a Canadian government or crown corporation. You can get a $5 refund here for an unused label so yes, an individual could get your illegal tariff money back as well. But now that money is in the US Treasury. I hope users get those refunds. Good luck for an individual getting one through Zonos!
Thanks again. These are simply my personal opinions and the last I have to say. I'd rather be listing than complaining. I don't begrudge anyone using Zonos. We all have to eat.
marnotom!
·5 months agoWhat's the point of setting up a Canadian company to do what Zonos is doing if the US administration won't approve it?
As far as DDU being used by other carriers go, those carriers are also profiting from the current situation as they're fronting the import charges (which are generally greater than those for items sent through the postal system) and having the importer repay them, and then some.
Canada Post isn't the only national postal system that's using Zonos. The alternative, however, seems to be refusing to deliver packages to the States, unless you know of any other tariff processors that are approved to work with postal systems. You never did really answer my question about that.
intimewithmusic
·5 months agoHi Folks,
Marnotom! response to my morning post is fractional, contentious and out of context with my complete posts. Not being an eBay seller I'm not sure why he "pokes the bear". I'm not going debate his benefits of Zonos.
My view and personal choice whether or not to enable Zonos with my own money and to pay teriffs into the US treasury with my money are outlined in numerous posts below. They are not mentioned in this poster's response. As I said I have nothing to add to them. The complete posts outline what I'm doing and why.
My personal choice not to use Zonos is costing me big time. I have tons of listed items and thousands of unlisted items under $40 that likely will not sell via EIS.
That said, given the atrocities the USA is carrying out including bombing a girl's school killing 168 with 110 of them being children,
Strike on a primary school in Iran that Iranian officials say killed 168 people, including about 110 children.
Then no, I am not giving any of my money to either Zonos who supports Trump big time or to Trump.
Thank you
lotzofuniquegoodies
·5 months ago@intimewithmusic
@landbeforevintage
@clemowbooks
@jtg204
Totally agree. CP got bamboozled into Zonos. End of story. Prior to Zonos becoming a thing USPS was able to clear shipments in the same manner as CP did with its inbound. Because of this forced DDP thing Zonos became the "workaround". USPS was charging 6.95 for a 1 line entry (where applicable) similar to how CP was charging 9.95 forever. Getting rid of the de minimis is what threw a big wrench into the process.
Now:
Yes, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) continues to clear international mail, but recent policy changes (as of Aug 29, 2025) eliminated de minimis rules, meaning all shipments are subject to inspection, duty, and processing fees regardless of value. Costs include import duties, a Merchandise Processing Fee (min $33.68), and potential fees for clearing, with, in some cases, a fee for duty collection.
Key Details on Customs and Costs
Active Processing: CBP processes mail at major international mail branches (LAX, SFO, MIA, JFK, etc.).
No More Free Pass: The exemption for low-value packages (<$800) is gone; all shipments may now face duties and taxes.
Postal Fees: If the post office pays your duties to customs, they may charge an additional fee, such as a USD fee.
Duty Methods: Postal shipments may be assessed via ad valorem (based on percentage) or specific fees ($80-$200 per item).
High Value Items: Items over require formal entry, which may necessitate a customs broker.
Delays: Many countries temporarily suspended postal service to the US due to the new regulations.
To avoid delays, ensure a complete CN 22/23 Customs Declaration is on the outside of the package.
Just a little big of a jump from 6.95 to this new 33.68 minimum. Because eIS uses couriers the program is almost unrealistic for anything of lower value due to their substantial processing fees. And for most small sellers/and or buyers they can't afford to have customs broker on retainer.
landbeforevintage
OP5 months agoIn reply to this... "If you want someone to assist you then unhide your listings. No one can see your widgets or where you are selling from. This is the major dissadvantage of having your "View Listings" link non functioning."
I changed my user name a long time ago and since then my listings do not show on this message board. Very frusterating. If you know how to unhide my listings, I am all ears. I am selling from Peterborough Ontario, Canada.... very close to the Ebay Mississauga hub that people are sending their packages to for international shipping.
How do I unhide my listings... someone told me it was because I changed my user name and there is a glitch. Thanks for the info.
intimewithmusic
·5 months agoHi @landbeforevintage Thank you for the reply.
The reason I brought that up was because you asked for focussed advice regarding specific categories and specific COOs (Countries of Origin) for your widgets. The "View Listings" button in Seller Central allows experts to both examine a seller's stock and get a feel for their numbers thru "Solds". This translates into focussed advice particularily if a seller can relate to the detail. It's a sellers option not to disclose that but obviously it impairs the input.
I actually did look at your store. Because it's not public in the forum out of respect for privacy I won't disclose details. I will say I think you have one of the best stores I've seen on eBay Canada. You have an unusualy relevant and pristine stock. How do you find all of that great stuff? Looks like you have contacts. You have great photos, wonderful feedback, and are lucky to be a hop skip and jump from the EIS Hub. Your inventory turn rate is to die for!
All that adds up to a good relationship with EIS. This isn't the case for us Westerners. I don't know how to relink your forum membership with your store but I think you see the value if others in Seller Central could see what I see. I can say selling internationally (non US) isn't that difficult. As you point out, EIS removes the mystery of restricted items and takes out some of the risk. That is a bonus.
I recommend that you track your profit margins seperately. Track what you actually profit by selling thru EIS and selling thru Zonos (if you choose that route). I also recommend tracking how eBay promotes your widgets to each group. I think you mentioned you may lose your Top Seller US discount. We all know how finicky eBay is when it comes to promoting our widgets.
You seem happy with EIS. If you move your sales from EIS to Zonos (which is less atractive to eBay in terms of shippping profits and fees) and move your label purchases off site will this affect how eBay makes your items visible to international buyers?
I don't know the answer but you may be in a position to figure it out and let us know!
Thanks!
itolduandso
·5 months agoCan't you specify IES for international except US sales and have your own shipping method (Zonosh + CP, buy labels in Netparcel) for US sales?
That makes sense for most shipments up to 2kg.
marnotom!
·5 months agoIf a seller is opted into eIS, the program is applied to all their listings that ship to all the countries that eIS covers unless an exception (possibly correct, possibly erroneous) is found for a certain country. Sellers can offer additional shipping methods, however. Unfortunately, for sales to the United States, that will prompt a message in the listing about import fees being due on delivery for those additional shipping methods, whether or not it is really the case.
snoopwiz
·5 months agoPeterboro is actually a good 150 km from their Mississauga hub.
merritt-motorcycle-salvage
·5 months agoebay is showing a false message with Canada post calculated shipping and sabotaging sales to the US saying "Due to US customs policies, the buyer of this item will need to pay import fees to the shipping carrier prior to delivery. " This is 100% false. We, the seller, must pay import fees before we can even create a canada post label to the US using zonos. ebay will not respond and avoid anything to do with this subject because they know it is untrue and a lie.
itolduandso
·5 months agoIf you use eIS that makes sense.
What ebay is showing is legally correct, technically false for sellers not using eIS (still a majority).
But what other formulation would be better, one where ebay says buyer doesn't need to worry because it's the seller who pays money to Trump?
I do send extra bills to buyers if tariff rates are too high. I have a calculator in Google sheet to optimize buyers purchase cost and I share that with the buyer to show I work on reducing the cost for them but it's not going to be free.
Stallion Express is cheap, last time I shipped like 7 lbs package for 12 USD to US, but Stallion Express uses a commercial broker so they charge whole nine yards of tariffs. A car radio panel can have 65% tariff applied.
If I ship by Canada Post Zonos, I only get charge the 122% tariff right now (who knows how long) but Canada Post shipments are expensive.
So it's either cheap shipping high tariff cost or expensive shipping low tariff cost.
Now do that calculation every sale. Should I go this way or that way. The goal is to reduce the cost to buyer. Anyways, I do spend the time to educate the US buyers I optimize their total cost and many do appreciate it and pay the extra tariffs, if needed with a separate invoice.