Is there any point to buying on eBay in Canada?

[nojusticenopeace]

Now that I've played with eBay for a few months, I'm starting to understand the rage I've been seeing expressed on the forums from fellow Canadians.  Anything crossing the border has to be less than $20 or you'll get hammered with duty, taxes, and extortionate brokerage fees.  But anything less than $20 is still going to cost you $20-$50 in shipping fees, which means even if someone was giving it away free it would still probably be cheaper to buy it retail locally.  At best there seems to be a tiny niche market for certain specific, used items with a high value-to-weight ratio which don't have duty applied to them.  (For example, I buy used smoking pipes, and even though I end up paying more for shipping than I do for the pipes themselves, it still works out cheaper than buying new.)

The only use I can find as a Canadian for eBay is buying stuff from Canadian sellers which doesn't have to cross a border, but since Canadian sellers are virtually locked out of the US market by shipping costs, there's not many Canadian vendors to begin with.  I find myself spending two hours hunting through eBay and not finding a single thing to buy I couldn't get cheaper at a local store.

[pierrelebel]

"Anything crossing the border has to be less than $20 or you'll get hammered with duty, taxes, and extortionate brokerage fees."

Not always.

Start reading here:  http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/courier/menu-eng.html

Now that is how the Government of Canada sees it when you import by mail or courier. Anything over Cdn$ 20 should be charged GST/HST (plus duty if applicable) plus a service charge (brokerage of $9.95) at Canada Post.  Couriers charge more.

Now, reality is that many (most ?) parcels coming by mail will be delivered without taxes being charged.  However if coming by courier these guys have no choice but to obey the law and charge taxes (and duty if applicable) accordingly.

If the American or British seller uses the Global Shipping Program (GSP) then the taxes and brokerage fees are prepaid (paid to Pitney Bowes - the consolidator - through PayPal soon after purchase) and no tax or fees are due at time of delivery..

If the seller does not use the GSP, then you stand a chance of getting the parcel without payment of taxes and fees if coming by mail.

" I find myself spending two hours hunting through eBay and not finding a single thing to buy I couldn't get cheaper at a local store."

That is not unusual if you have access to a retail store selling what you are looking for.  Mail order (through eBay or other venues) is not for everything or everyone.

[momcqueen]

Pierre is correct.

It is generally better to avoid outside-Canada sellers that use couriers to ship internationally since the brokerage fee that goes to a courier is often more than the total amount of sales tax and applicable duty. The couriers may offer faster delivery but you pay for it as a buyer, both for the shipping beforehand and the brokerage at the doorstep.

[femmefan1946]

One of the very very few benefits of the (spit)  GSP (/spit) is that paranoid and xenophobic American sellers are encouraged to ship outside the lower 48.

It's amazing how many Yanks have hissy fits over shipping to Puerto Rico. You'd think they believe Hawai'i is a town in Kenya!

But the introduction of the program was hamfisted and stupid. Or as usual with eBay: SNAFU.

At best there seems to be a tiny niche market for certain specific, used items with a high value-to-weight ratio which don't have duty applied to them. 

Yep.

Well, there is a lot more. Books for example, especially comics and manga, in addition to the rare items. Stamps and sportcards. Anything manufactured in a NAFTA signator.

[m3399]

PITNEY BOWES (GSP) is delivering by mail, like any seller who walks to his local post office and ships.

It takes long to receive the items,as they first are shipped within the US to some Pitney Bowes dispatch locations which the last one before beeing shipped to Canada is in Erlanger.

Ask the sellers to opt out of the GSP (if they don't want to miss the opportunity to sell to international buyers) and they can ship direct to you using a shipping option with tracking and delivery confirmation.(As safe as the GSP).

[momcqueen]

The Global Shipping Program wasn't created by eBay with the Canadian shopper in mind. It's made for USA and UK sellers who would otherwise refuse to ship outside their domestic comfort zone.