eBay

what-a-guy-2002 · ‎03-10-2013

Member since 2010 (632 100% feedback). I have been experiencing the new compulsory "import fees" policy on items from USA. Surprising! I am disappointed with this policy. It is a negative one on many levels notwithstanding for USA and eBay revenues, as many like myself will now be sure to be motivated to resource items outside of USA, and outside of eBay.

Also disappointing is a story I was told that USPS recently (January 28, 2013) redefined Canada from being an 'intermediary' to an 'international' country, and therefore shipping fees from the USA to Canada have risen 80%!

Must be people in rooms in the USA racking their brains on how to support the USA economy versus just printing money.

rockp5233 · ‎10-28-2013

That is call ''Section 321 - Informal''

marnotom! · ‎10-28-2013

@rockp5233 wrote:

''Import Charges'' are simply an extra shipping charge... That's it !

Not really. From the terms and conditions page for buyers, section 3(b) "Description of Program Fees":

"Import charges": this Program Fee consists of charges associated with the customs service described above and is comprised of the following variable amounts: sales, goods and services, and value added taxes, duties, tariffs, excise taxes, and other amounts assessed or levied by any government authority in connection with the importation of goods into the applicable country of importation (but excluding income taxes) ("Commodity taxes"); third party brokerage fees (including advancement and disbursement charges and customs brokers handling and filing fees); penalties (but excluding any customs duties, taxes, surcharges, fines, penalties, or other charges which may be imposed on you by customs or tax officials after a GSP Item has successfully cleared customs and been delivered to, or made available for pickup at, the delivery address that you specify); classification charges associated with the assignment of a Harmonized System ("HS") classification code; charges for export compliance screening and verification and the assignment of an Export Control Classification Number (ECCN); and operational expenses associated with short-term loss recovery and the management of variances between the quoted Import charges and actual costs. Note: at eBay's discretion, applicable classification and export compliance charges, third party brokerage fees, and operational expenses may instead be included within the Shipping amount that is quoted to you.

Short version: "Import charges" on a GSP item go toward taxes and duty--theoretically the same taxes and duty you'd pay if you bought the item from a store--plus various customs clearance and export-related fees.

Sometimes items sent through the mail get charged taxes and duty, too. In the event that happens, Canada Post charges you C$9.95 on top of those taxes/duties to collect them from you and remit the monies to the Canada Revenue Agency.

claymate4391 · ‎10-29-2013

I was just browsing amazon..... they have import fees now too!!! ugh.

marnotom! · ‎10-29-2013

@claymate4391 wrote:
I was just browsing amazon..... they have import fees now too!!! ugh.

I suspect Amazon has had "import fees" for a while but they've simply folded them into the price of the item. I once compared the same smartphone from the same seller on A.com and A.ca and the phone on the Canadian site was considerably more expensive, but I couldn't purchase the one on the .com site. I started going through the checkout process on .ca and noticed that the invoice had "0" for GST and HST to me in BC, which I found a bit odd. It would have been interesting to see--had I gone through with the purchase--if the printed invoice had charges for these taxes and the price of the item adjusted accordingly, not to mention tax registration numbers.

able_walker · ‎10-31-2013

Stuff "Made in USA" is not supposed to have "duties" and when sellers from USA ship by Mail they hardly ever collect on the Canadian side...this is a huge scam and unless the item is a SCREAMING deal I'll not be dealing with any of these sellers on ebay.

able_walker · ‎10-31-2013

The Canada Post fees if any are way cheaper than the fees being pulled out of thin air by Ebay!

pierrelebel · ‎10-31-2013

"Stuff "Made in USA" is not supposed to have "duties"

That is correct.

However, consumption taxes (GST/HST/PST) still apply to taxable goods entering by mail from the USA if the value exceeds Cdn$ 20.00

Do not take my word for it. Chreck the official Government of Canada website:

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/postal-postale/duty-droits-eng.html

In addition to taxes, Canada Post charges $9.95 administration fee if taxes are collected.

marnotom! · ‎10-31-2013

@able_walker wrote:
The Canada Post fees if any are way cheaper than the fees being pulled out of thin air by Ebay!

Do the number crunching. Subtract the taxes owing on an item (see Pierre's excellent post) and see what's left for Pitney Bowes. Sometimes it's more than the C$9.95 Canada Post charges for collecting taxes on behalf of Canada Border Services and the Canada Revenue Agency, sometimes it's less.

And don't forget that just because you may not be charged taxes on an item doesn't mean that the item isn't taxable. It's a bit like driving 60 km/h through a school zone. Just because you're not caught speeding doesn't mean that it's OK to do it.

able_walker · ‎10-31-2013

Give me a break.....Ebay is a **bleep** shoot...you might pay $50.00 on something actually worth $5.00....don't ask me to start paying more fees and taxes on top of that....the spirit of ebay has always been helping out fellow collectors and hiding the actual price paid from greedy govts.....well that's what it used to be.

marnotom! · ‎10-31-2013

@able_walker wrote:
Give me a break.....Ebay is a **bleep** shoot...you might pay $50.00 on something actually worth $5.00....don't ask me to start paying more fees and taxes on top of that....the spirit of ebay has always been helping out fellow collectors and hiding the actual price paid from greedy govts.....well that's what it used to be.

And the letter of law has always been that items with declared values of above C$20 are subject to taxes and duties. If you don't want to pay more than you feel is necessary for an item, there's nothing to stop you from finding a more accommodating seller.

Incidentally, items can be declared for their sale value and Canada Border Services can disregard that declared value and base a new declared value on market pricing. It's happened to me and my wife on one occasion.

carlmarxx · ‎11-05-2013

@timakire wrote:
i am in total agreement! maybe i missed an Announcement (i don't think so) but was there any warning to Canadian buyers about this? it's not small change - i got stung for almost 40% of the purchase price of an item yesterday and it came as a total surprise. there was nothing in the listing about Import charges being added and i didn't know about them until AFTER i had committed to buy the item.

is this only applicable to sellers who opt into this Global Shipping Program (and i'll have to vet them before buying)? or is it all US sellers (and i'll have to quit buying from the US completely)?

when you add this to the recent increase in shipping charges and the lower Canadian dollar, Ebay just isn't a great deal for the Canadian buyer anymore

THIS GSP SELLER'S ONLY !!

jean-philippe.vert · ‎11-05-2013

Marnotom and Pierre,
I just find your patience admirable. You keep trying to explain again and again to all new posters what are the GSP, consumption taxes, duties, etc. This should be a sticky to save your time and effort.

abecadlo · ‎11-05-2013

Agreed 100% ,..I have no problem with paying custom fees (if I have to ) but LEAVE IT UP TO ME.

I hope it back fires on ebay...I am not buying there !!!!

tonerama · ‎11-05-2013

I spend about $3000 a year on eBay and most of that around christmas time. This global shippping system and mandatory import fee is a total scam rendering eBay completely useless. I figure the only way I can by pass this sham system is to set up a US address and purchase system. Do I really want that hassle. EBay Good while it lasted, but I have to believe sales to Canada will now dramatically drop off. It's practically useless to a consumer looking for a deal.

Recent example $30 Gap Jeans for my wife. Shippint $23 Import Fee $16. Total $60 - well that is the price at Gap Canada, so why bother?

Talk about fee yourself out of the market.

marnotom! · ‎11-05-2013

@tonerama wrote:
This global shippping system and mandatory import fee is a total scam rendering eBay completely useless.

It's not a scam. Perhaps you're not used to having taxes and clearance fees being collected on your postal imports, but that doesn't make what the GSP is doing a "scam".

Unless you mean something by the term "scam" that I don't understand.

@tonerama wrote:
It's practically useless to a consumer looking for a deal.

I stopped looking for "deals" on eBay a long time ago. The shipping price--even by mail--on the items that tend to interest me tends to kabosh any cost advantage eBay might have over brick and mortar shopping. Instead, I use eBay to source items that I have trouble locating locally.

@tonerama wrote:

Recent example $30 Gap Jeans for my wife. Shippint $23 Import Fee $16. Total $60 - well that is the price at Gap Canada, so why bother?

Just for grins and giggles, I compared the price of a pair of jeans on Gap Canada to the same pair on Gap USA. Gap USA uses a system similar to the GSP for shipping to Canada. The jeans on Gap USA were three dollars cheaper.

How much would it cost to ship a $30 pair of Gap jeans to Canada by mail? Many U.S. sellers ship jeans by mail in Priority flat-rate envelopes which are US$20. A bit of a cost savings overall, I suppose, if your jeans aren't hit by taxes and Canada Post's ten dollar processing fee which can (though admittedly rarely) happen.

dirtshirt63 · ‎11-15-2013

I'm glad somebody other than myself noticed this.

figgy1978 · ‎11-16-2013

I recently discovered this new way Ebay had implemented regarding international shipments which includes shipping to Canada. I have found that most sellers I have contacted are aware of this new method however, some are not willing to adjust their shipping costs to help with the end total. If an item is priced at $50 and weighs lb most are shipping international priority or another high end cost which means I am paying $24 to ship this item plus another $24 in custom, broker fees et which boils down to $100 for an item that is half that price. Also worth nothing is that on the custom, import fees it says estimated will adjust at end. If I commit at that time to buy the item and then the brokerage fees go up which they probably will then I am on the hook for much more. As a Canadian I can cross the border into the US and buy goods and if deemed pay the 13% HST fee. Am not sure why Pitney Bowes is being used and why the power to shipping individually was taken from the seller, all I know for sure is that I have stopped buying on EBay due to this reason as I can buy the item in Canada for close to the same cost without all the added uncertain fees.

afantiques · ‎11-16-2013

I can buy the item in Canada for close to the same cost without all the added uncertain fees.

It is a special plan to boost the Canadian economy and improve the balance of payments.

regalservice · ‎11-17-2013

if your jeans aren't hit by taxes and Canada Post's ten dollar processing fee which can (though admittedly rarely) happen.

Never would any Canadian be charged for something like this ...............

scrap the global shipping program

marnotom! · ‎11-17-2013

@supersales2u wrote:
if your jeans aren't hit by taxes and Canada Post's ten dollar processing fee which can (though admittedly rarely) happen.
Never would any Canadian be charged for something like this ..............

Canadians do get charged taxes and a Canada Post handling fee for some items imported through the mail.