2 ?'s - Canada Customs & 'Accidental Bidders'

[avallach2001]

Hello everyone - I'm a new powerseller and have learned a lot, and gotten a lot of laughs out of the existing threads on this discussion board! I have two questions I wondered if anyone could help with.

I sold a wallet to someone and she didn't like it etc. so in the interest of customer service I offered her a refund and a few extra dollars to send it back to me. I've gotten a notice from Canada Post indicating there is a return package for me and that I should bring 14.73 with me for customs (the wallet was about $40). As this was originally my wallet, can they charge me customs for someone sending it back to me? That seems incredibly odd - especially since she didn't have to pay any! I mean, I like the wallet, but I found it at a thrift shop, and it's not really worth $15 - any advice?

Secondly, this has now happened to me twice - where I've listed an item (in one case a Louis Vuitton bag, in the other, a vintage Francesco Biasia bag) and the highest bidder emailed me saying they 'accidentally' added an extra zero in their bid etc. and so they're not going to pay. I know I can't make them, but is there anything else I can do other than filing for a Final Value Fee? It just doesn't seem fair, especially when you can retract a bid, which neither of these ebayers did, and then stuck me with the mess.

Looking forward to your (collective) advice!

[ospreylinks]

Customs doesn't know that you are in fact the owner of the goods and they are being returned to you. When it was returned, the person sending it should have been instructed to advise the Postal Clerk of this and such a notation would have been made on the customs paperwork and the goods should have been returned to you without duty or GST. To late now though although I guess you might be able to plead your case with Canada Customs directly, they should have a phone number in local area that you could call and they might do some kind of refund.

I the same thing happened to me a couple of years ago when a customer returned a set of golf clubs. Legally he was returning goods that originated in Canada and remained mine in title, but it was not correctly documented and I ended up paying duty and GST on my own goods. I didn't bother attempting to gain a refund at that time, but did research and found out that the goods should have been listed as warranty/repair.

In terms of question #2.... welcome to Ebay!

Jeff

[avallach2001]

Thanks for the quick response. I think I'll pay the customs, and then 'plead my case' as you say. Appreciate the advice.

[www-labels4less-com]

On the back of the customs receipt that you will get, there is an address. Include your original auction page and anything you have with the original buyers address like a copy of an invoice you created originally. You will receive a cheque from customs in about 2-3 weeks after you mail in your claim.

I once made a purchase where the amount written on the customs form was $8.00 but it looked like $18.00 and I was charged a few bucks. I printed out the auction page from ebay and mailed it in. I received a refund on the tax etc.

[whoscloset]

When a customer is returning an item to me I simply request that they write "PURCHASE RETURN" on the paperwork. This has worked for me so far, no customs or GST fees!

Monique

[muminlaw]

Monique, that works for me as well. But I have wondered, when you're charged GST on a returned item, can you claim it as an input tax credit on your next GST return? If that's allowed, it might be the simplest and quickest way to handle it!

Glenda

[coastwindchimes]

Hi, www-lebels4less is right. On the back of the form is a refund claim. I have claimed for just about everytime I've been charged for GST (four or five times) as Customs has always made a mistake. It has taken longer than 3-4 weeks, though, for my refunds. But you will get your refund.

[shooger]

Yeah, I live in the same city as the customs office, and it takes 6-7 weeks for the refund to come. But it will come, assuming you provide proof that a mistake was made.

As for accidental bids, the buyer is at fault because there is a way to retract a bid if they mis-typed it. They didn't do that, so they are to blame. File a NPB alert if they don't pay. Maybe you could sell the item to the second highest bidder, or relist it.

[amberwoodottawa]

The GST is not the problem as they will always refund (I usually wait only 2 weeks). The biggest problem is if your item has been returned via UPS or FEDEX or some other carrier as you will incur brokerage charges on the value of the item and on the GST collected.

I have managed to get my brokerage charges back from UPS on 2 ocassions however it can be difficult if the item has been cleared by a 3rd party brokerage house (UPS has their own).

Malcolm

[shooger]

I've never heard of brokerage charges... in fact I don't think I've ever hard that word before. I've had a lot of stuff come over the border and cost me GST and associated fees, but never had to deal with "brokerage" before.

[amberwoodottawa]

shooger
Any item worth more than $20 Canadian is subject to brokerage charges to 'handle' the item clearing customs.

So whether you are purchasing something or having something returned by a customer, you are liable to be hit with brokerage charges which often exceed the cost of shipping.

In fact in many cases, the cost of shipping plus tax plus brokerage charges will often exceed the value of the item when that item is less than $60 in value.

With USPS/CP, they have been limiting these charges to a flat $5 and only charge 60% of the time. All other carriers (UPS, Fedex etc.) will charge a brokerage charge as a percentage of the value of the item PLUS a brokerage charge on the collection and remittance of the taxes to the Federal Government.

The items that you are selling fall below that $20 valuation so anything being returned will not be subject to any brokerage charges. I assume that anything that you have purchased from the US also either falls below the $20 or has been sent via USPS/CP.

If you someone is intending to purchase from the US on a regular basis, then it is adviseable to negotiate with a customs broker for a flat rate or a lower percentage charge and have them appointed as your broker for all imports. You can save at least 50% over the counter rates.

I prefer to request that all my purchases be sent via USPS/CP.

If someone is returning somthing to you, make certain that they do not overstate the value for insurance purposes. I have had that happen before. My item cost was $15 but the brokerage and tax charges were $47 as the customer insured the item for more than what even he paid for it. I was able to prove to the broker that the item cost was far less & recovered most of the GST and brokerage charges however I still got stuck with paying some brokerage charges on a "returned" item which is ridiculous.

Malcolm