eBay

sylviebee · ‎12-02-2015

I recently had to return an item to a seller valued at about $400.

The seller was difficult and I had to escalate the case and won.

Ebay sent me a FedEx label for the return. Since CPO labels can't be printed from the US they are now sending our FedEx labels.

I knew from the start that this wouldn't go well, and sure enough, it grew into a complicated process but the item was shipped back as per eBay requirements.

I just got a call from Fedex telling me that the seller was refusing to pay the $65 brokerage fees. ( I don't blame her and this was 100% predictable.)

I learned that when using couriers to ship to the States buyers are required to pay brokerage fees even when no import fees are owed.

I was given a choice to pay $65 or have the item returned to me and it's on the way back now.

I'm about to call eBay but before I start dealing with CS I'm posting here to get an idea of what comes next.

Has anyone ever had a similar experience?

dutchman48 · ‎12-02-2015

I am getting tired of buying stuff from the US due to similar issues. To many problem sellers and badly described products in the last while. Did Ebay actually give you a Canadian Fedex shipping label to send it to the US.

What should have happened is you would have had to take the item across the border yourself and then have it shipped from the US.

I had do do it once with UPS but it was a US UPS shipping label. I was fortunate as I make regular trips to the US.

sylviebee · ‎12-02-2015

I've had a horrible time with purchases and way too many items have damage and issues hidden by sellers.

eBay sent me the label. (I wonder how much that cost?)

I had to drive out of my way to the Fedex office and then spend more time on paperwork way beyond what the CPO requires.

I learned a lot about shipping to the US via courier. It's actually very complicated.

I knew it wouldn't go well when they told me that brokerage fees are due on ALL shipments to the US. $65 US is a lot!

(Unlike here where there are no brokerage fees on items over $20.)

This was so predictable.

I'm dreading the call to eBay already.

pocomocomputing · ‎12-02-2015

@sylviebee wrote:
I've had a horrible time with purchases and way too many items have damage and issues hidden by sellers.

eBay sent me the label. (I wonder how much that cost?)

I had to drive out of my way to the Fedex office and then spend more time on paperwork way beyond what the CPO requires.

I learned a lot about shipping to the US via courier. It's actually very complicated.

I knew it wouldn't go well when they told me that brokerage fees are due on ALL shipments to the US. $65 US is a lot!
(Unlike here where there are no brokerage fees on items over $20.)

This was so predictable.

I'm dreading the call to eBay already.

I must be misunderstanding you. All I read in these forums that couriers from USA to Canada have similar high brokerage fees as well as collect sales tax. Unless prepaid by the USA shipper.

dutchman48 · ‎12-02-2015

If anything comes by courier from the US there are brokerage fees of about the same cost.

I am just about finished with buying from the US for exactly the same reasons. I have better luck buying from Europe.

Please post what Ebay says about this mess because as usual, their info on return shipping is a joke. I see no reason why Ebay can't send you a return label from Canada Post or let you send it by CP and they reimburse you which they have stated previously could be done if seller can't send a label.

And of course, Ebay never speaks with forked tongue or double talk

sylviebee · ‎12-02-2015

@pocomocomputing wrote:

I must be misunderstanding you. All I read in these forums that couriers from USA to Canada have similar high brokerage fees as well as collect sales tax. Unless prepaid by the USA shipper.

No, you're not misunderstanding me.

Courier shipments I've received in the past are just dropped at the door if they are valued under $20.
If there is no duty or tax owing there are no brokerage fees when coming from the US to Canada.

That means that a return via courier would have no brokerage fees.

Coming this way, from the US to Canada, Items which are over $20 have high brokerage fees plus import charges.

(I've just learned that, in the other direction, brokerage fees are always due.)

At least that's been my experience with couriers in the past.

sylviebee · ‎12-02-2015

I'm waiting to call eBay until I have the item back in my hands.

In the past sellers have just refunded return shipping when they received the item back.

It seemed like a viable system.

However, when I spoke with them as I was doing the return they explained to me that this system didn't work because they can't just go into a seller's account and withdraw funds for return shipping.

It sounds like a lot of sellers were refusing to pay on their own.

It's hard to understand why CPO labels can't be bought in the States.

This new Fedex system is the solution they've arrived at.

Apparently it's a "Returns Program" which is obviously doomed to fail because of brokerage fees.

I also have no idea where the money came from to buy the return label.

I know it's much more expensive than CPO labels.

I wonder if they went into the seller's account for that money.

I have no idea.

pocomocomputing · ‎12-02-2015

@sylviebee wrote:
@pocomocomputing wrote:
I must be misunderstanding you. All I read in these forums that couriers from USA to Canada have similar high brokerage fees as well as collect sales tax. Unless prepaid by the USA shipper.
No, you're not misunderstanding me.

Courier shipments I've received in the past are just dropped at the door if they are valued under $20.
If there is no duty or tax owing there are no brokerage fees when coming from the US to Canada.

That means that a return via courier would have no brokerage fees.

Coming this way, from the US to Canada, Items which are over $20 have high brokerage fees plus import charges.
(I've just learned that, in the other direction, brokerage fees are always due.)

At least that's been my experience with couriers in the past.

What you wrote in post 4 was

(Unlike here where there are no brokerage fees on items over $20.)

I think you meant under $20, not over $20. Hence my confusion.

sylviebee · ‎12-02-2015

@pocomocomputing wrote:
What you wrote in post 4 was

(Unlike here where there are no brokerage fees on items over $20.)

I think you meant under $20, not over $20. Hence my confusion.

Yes, my typo.

I had no idea it was different in the other direction, but eBay has no excuse for initiating a program that's doomed to fail.

What a waste of everyone's money and time.

pierrelebel · ‎12-02-2015

Did the Customs Declaration on the parcel you sent through Fed-Ex showed "returned to seller"?

sylviebee · ‎12-02-2015

@pierrelebel wrote:
Did the Customs Declaration on the parcel you sent through Fed-Ex showed "returned to seller"?

Not only did the printed label sent from eBay state that it's an International Return, but I also made sure to put in bold lettering on the form I had to fill out.

However, as stated above, ALL items regardless of value or reason for shipping are subject to brokerage fees when shipped by Fedex (and I assume all couriers) over the border.

That's something I discussed with the guy at Fedex as we were filling out the paperwork.

I told him at the time that the receiver wouldn't pay. That was an easy prediction.

pierrelebel · ‎12-02-2015

Over the years I have shipped many large (over $1,000 value) parcels with a Customs Declaration showing "Return to seller" without any fee being charged.

sylviebee · ‎12-02-2015

@pierrelebel wrote:
Over the years I have shipped many large (over $1,000 value) parcels with a Customs Declaration showing "Return to seller" without any fee being charged.

Were you shipping via courier or the PO?

If by courier, then I don't know why the difference in this situation.

I was told that there would be a fee at the Fedex office so I wasn't surprised that the seller refused.

Perhaps it's only Fedex or maybe you were shipping via the PO?

pierrelebel · ‎12-02-2015

According to Raphael:

"The FedEx return shipping labels provided by eBay should never incur costs of any kind for the sender or for the recipient."

sylviebee · ‎12-02-2015

@pierrelebel wrote:
Over the years I have shipped many large (over $1,000 value) parcels with a Customs Declaration showing "Return to seller" without any fee being charged.

When you returned your items to the States and there was no charge were you using courier or the PO?

If courier, which courier did you use?

pierrelebel · ‎12-02-2015

I have used both the Post Office and courier, depending what the seller wanted to use.

sylviebee · ‎12-02-2015

@pierrelebel wrote:
According to Raphael:

"The FedEx return shipping labels provided by eBay should never incur costs of any kind for the sender or for the recipient."

That's confusing as well.

Does that mean that eBay is paying for these labels?

I shipped Monday and it would have arrived yesterday had the seller paid $65 and accepted the shipment.

That seems like an expensive over-night service that no seller would be happy to pay for without a fight.

In my situation, I filed a case and the seller refused to respond.

I escalated and had the label within the hour. Bing Bang Boom!

sylviebee · ‎12-02-2015

@pierrelebel wrote:
I have used both the Post Office and courier, depending what the seller wanted to use.

Did you use Fedex or a different courier?

pjcdn2005 · ‎12-02-2015

I don't have personal experience with this but I believe that if a buyer or seller refuses a package, they are no longer covered

by buyer or seller protection. I know that I've read of that happening when a buyer has refused a package because they didn't want to pay duty/taxes and I believe the same is true if a seller refuses a return for that reason or for most other reasons.

pjcdn2005 · ‎12-02-2015

Found the info...

When an item is returned to the seller

The buyer must return the item in the same condition in which it was received.
The seller is required to accept the return at the same location specified in the listing.
The cost of return shipping is the seller's responsibility. For return of items with a total cost of $750 or more, we require signature confirmation.
The seller pays for any customs charges on the returned item.

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/policies/money-back-guarantee.html

When I saw that last statement I thought it was odd because I have never had to pay duty or taxes on a return and didn't think that a seller would be charged for a returned item but perhaps they added that line in for situations like yours.