New compulsory "Import Fees" from USA to Canada

[what-a-guy-2002]

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.

[rainbow71113]

I didn't see anything inside and just checked all the recent parcel discards and didn't see anything stuck to an envelope.  If I remember correctly it came in with a bar code on the envelope but even that I'm not sure.

[jimoore54rj]

Pitney Bowes hijacked a purchase I made with reg shipping and additional 9$ customs fee that The seller knew nothing about, and gave a wrong address to ship!.

 I objected and made  a claim ' not  as described' as it looked like his sale page was hijacked- he did nothing and said it was my prob so opened a claim- got my money back after 25 emails etc etc but not in my favour

 PayPal did nothing to support my complaint xcept refund.

Pitney Bowes are a parasite imo and  I am going to be super carefull to watch for their unwanted ship buttons

 Ebay and Paypal stonewall you if you need help- ebay wants 3 bucks to talk with them!

shtunks

[rainbow71113]

are you talking about the

BEHRINGER FCA202 FIREWIRE AUDIO INTERFACE?

if so this was a listing with GSP/Pitney Bowes...and have you checked to see if both ebay and paypal have your correct mailing address?

[bhwiebe]

I am very unhappy with the new system and will not be purchasing from anyone using it.

Who would go to a retail outlet that had a purchase price with a surprise surcharge to

allow you to out of the door with the purchase? I want to know my total cost before buying.

I refuse to pay shipping then have to pay an added middleman fee. The shipping fee gets

it to my door just fine, if customs likes, they charge me PST which I pay at the post office,

so I really don't need to pay extra for a non-service.  

I was spending too much money on ebay anyway so maybe it's good that they're encouraging

me to stop.

[kashka]

Well,I found a work around the GSP..I just won't buy off ebay anymore.problem solved..other venues don't have this BSP and there I will pay the shipping quote in the listing.Easy peasy.

[manofwax]

If US Sellers think by adding the Global Shipping Program (GSP) to their auctions they are somehow going to increase sales, they have another thing coming. I just noticed these added fees on auctions I was watching, so I deleted all of those auctions from my watch list.

I WILL NOT BUY FROM SELLERS WHO HAVE ENLISTED IN THIS PROGRAM!

I will only buy from Sellers who will ship my items via the USPS. Our postal system (Canada Post) will broker the items themselves and absorb the fees, thus NO BROKERAGE FEES, just tax (HST 13%) here in Ontario, but most of the time, no charges at all, not even the HST. Now the GSP means that I will not only have to pay the 13% tax every time I buy something, but also brokerage fees, extra shipping fees to Pitney Bowes, and shipping fees to the seller as well, are they nuts?

Shipping fees from the US are all over the place and in a lot of cases just plain ludicrous, with some sellers asking $65.00 to ship a $30.00 item while others can charge $12.00 to ship the same item. The shipping calculators are out of whack and do nothing to help increase sales for US sellers. I will check with all sellers what my actual cost is to ship the item to me before I buy, and usually they come up with a much more reasonable shipping rate than what the shipping calculator suggest, and if they don't, then I don't buy. Some buyers may not go to the trouble and just walk away, thus the seller loses another potential buyer and dosen't even know it.

ebay is "feeing" us to death, and that is going to cost sellers business, not help them as ebay suggests.

I would almost be sure that ebay is also getting a kick-back from Pitney Bowes for the so called "GSP" service.

The Global Shipping Program (GSP) is going to cost US sellers International Business.

[rb1952]

This is nothing more than a blatant rippoff. I am quite capable of paying any import or other duties if applicable when the item arrives. 90% of the time they are not applicable. But if this new system stays in place and is adopted by every seller we will be getting ripped off 100% of the time by paying up front for nothing.

The USPS is the best way to ship anything to Canada to avoid tag on or add on fees from UPS and Fedex alike. As an example Fedex  do not deliver to all areas of Canada as they do in the States. Fedex made an agreement with Canada Post to transfer some packages destined for rural areas to them at the border. They then have the nerve to charge an additional handling fee of $10.00 to make the transfer to do a job they are incapable of and they want that up front also.So you can pay for expidited service from Fedex and end up with snail mail delivery and pay through the nose for the insult. I just bought an item for .99 it cost me over $20.00 to get it here too late to cancel as this is not the sellers doing and it would be disrespectful to do that to them.  This is just another example of how corporate greed is ruining your country and pushing customers away. I don't live there and I cannot fix it. Anyone care?

[pmlinne]

Canadian buyers need to be aware that if a seller uses the Global Shipping Program, their parcel might take longer to reach them.  One I bought used GSP and ended up travelling from California to Kentucky and then to Alberta.  I know parcels are sometimes delayed at Customs, but it sure doesn't make sense to have to pay to have something shipped cross country and then back again. 

[boris4555]

The new GSP shipping program is a disaster. It forces Canadian buyers to prepay customs and taxes which in 8 out of 10 cases are not normally charged. Much worse, it forces buyers to prepay outrageous BROKERAGE FEES levied by UPS. They average $24.00 on top of taxes and the shipping fee already paid to the seller.

Items shipped via USPS are taken over in Canada by Canada Post. Their "brokerage fees" - if any - are minimal ($4.00) and that's only if the customs office decide to impose taxes - which only happens in 15% of the cases. The rest, 85%, is just delivered to the buyer with no extra fees of any kind.

Many US sellers have noticed a drop in sales to Canadian buyers as more and more people realize how expensive the new shipping system is. Many Canadian buyers are no longer even considering purchasing items from US sellers using GSP shipping scheme. It is much more cost efficient to buy from Canadian, Asian and even European sellers.

[electric-pixel]

Just goes to let you think that if Canadians buyers start to punish US sellers with bad ratings on dsr for shipping and shipping, i wonder how they would react.

I mean it is just "fair" to say that the shipping has been intentionally delayed thru the usage of services that are not really necessary to complete a transaction. As i have said before somewhere else or here. Ebay existed and thrived without these kind of gimmick so.

Why would i give a seller a good rating if he has used a system that actually delays a transaction when ebay itself promotes that a seller should ship within a day or so after the transaction yet will tell sellers to use a system that actually delays the transaction and cost the buyers more money in unnecessary fees.

I guess ebay head office would start to "feel" the resentment of people after lets say a few thousand Canadians give poor ratings or even neutral transaction rating based on the usage of the program by sellers.

Imagine a good batch of people calling in ebay and complaining that they received poor dsr's and get neutral feedback based on the sole fact of the gsp.

After all, fair is fair. Ebay has put a weapon into the hands of some sellers, why not pay back in kind....

Sometimes things need to be stirred for a change to happen!

[electric-pixel]

The new GSP shipping program is a disaster. It forces Canadian buyers to prepay customs and taxes which in 8 out of 10 cases are not normally charged. Much worse, it forces buyers to prepay outrageous BROKERAGE FEES levied by UPS. They average $24.00 on top of taxes and the shipping fee already paid to the seller.

Items shipped via USPS are taken over in Canada by Canada Post. Their "brokerage fees" - if any - are minimal ($4.00) and that's only if the customs office decide to impose taxes - which only happens in 15% of the cases. The rest, 85%, is just delivered to the buyer with no extra fees of any kind.

Many US sellers have noticed a drop in sales to Canadian buyers as more and more people realize how expensive the new shipping system is. Many Canadian buyers are no longer even considering purchasing items from US sellers using GSP shipping scheme. It is much more cost efficient to buy from Canadian, Asian and even European sellers.

The problem with this is that many items ( collectibles ) are only available in the US in plentiful quantities at good price versus Canada who has not stock or high price.

[rainbow71113]

Imagine a good batch of people calling in ebay and complaining that they received poor dsr's and get neutral feedback based on the sole fact of the gsp.

seriously....?  have you noticed that people can get negatives saying that the buyer thought they were buying a dvd when the title clearly states book!  just try to get a negative removed...really....try....I've tried for mine and it's ridiculous- apparently the buyer's perception is more important than the facts.  as for a few Canadians punishing a few US sellers well, that's just a drop in the bucket, isn't it.  Besides, most US sellers don't even KNOW what the gsp does in reference to other countries.

[danieldanny3572009]

I recently bought a lens on eBay from an USA seller for 28.00 dollars shipping was 18.00 and ebay charged 7.58 for brokerage and imports fees. something that I didn,t have to pay before. so from now on, I either going to buy from sellers not involved in the global program, or buy form canada sellers only. (I live in Canada). so in a way this is going to hurt a lot of sellers.

eBay is using the same tactics that UPS uses, that is why I don,t use them for shipping

[Anonymous]

Well this finalizes my decision to cancel my Ebay membership. It's bad enough the US sellers charge  $30.00 to mail somethihng that will mail for 1.75, and get away with it. I was checking Stampin Up items,  After the cost of postage it's way cheaper to buy NEW from Stampin UP. I've had it with  EBay, it was so good when it was first started and was actually a real" Auction". 

[22-twainguy]

As a Canadian,..I think this a rip off..I have one more parts buy and then I'm done. I might as well wait till I drive over and buy. Free trade for who, the US ? ,..and Candians pay ?????

  Mike

[melissasminis]

    Who gives Pitney Bowes the right to collect taxes for our government? Just like when sellers from the USA charge us taxes, I thought only Canadians were allowed to charge Canadian taxes, boy was I wrong! These forced import charges are just like UPS charges. Someone digging in your pockets! Tired of it! Most of the time we over pay for items on ebay, for the convenience of shopping online and having it shipped to our door. Now I'd rather go and shop locally or in the busy malls, it's way cheaper. It ruins the shopping experience on ebay for me. Now, I just feel ripped off!

    By the way, if an item that is shipped through Pitney Bowes doesn't arrive, who pays for that? Does the seller have to issue a refund in that case? Or is it Pitney Bowes who is responsable for the refund, if the item is lost in the mail for example? I wouldn't want to ship my item to someone, have them ship it to my customer, and then my customer say they never got it, and I would have to refund full price. I wonder!

    Also, How would the USA buyers feel if we charged them mandatory import charges? Don't you think they would look elsewhere, and not buy from us Canadians if we charged these import fees? We'd lose business big time! Just a thought.

[pierrelebel]

"Who gives Pitney Bowes the right to collect taxes for our government?"

Our Canadian government did.

As they did with thousands of American retailers (such as LL Bean for example) and wholesalers collecting GST/HST/PST on behalf of the Canadian government for goods shipped to Canadian buyers.

Most Canadian buyers appreciate the system as it saves them the trouble to have to pay taxes and added brokerage fee at time of Customs clearance and delivery. Since taxes have already been collected, the parcels generally get delivered faster.  Most Canadians who have purchased extensively from American businesses over the years have encountered such HST/GST retailers.

[crafty_cat_lady]

In my experience, Canadian magazine subscribers get dinged GST (and the provincial portion, I guess; Albertans don't have that headache, thank goodness). It's been that way for decades.

[antique.collector]

This extra fee only applies if the seller has chosen to ship via the global shipping program. The fee it charges will show up as "import charges" on the eBay invoice. this fee is extra on top of the shipping

example:

when I won an item at $1.77 USD, the import fee this program charges is $3.34.

when I won an item at $63 USD, the import fee this program charges is $11.94.

According to Canada law, any good valued at $20 or less is exempt from duties and taxes. So what gives eBay/Pitney Bowes the right to collect duties on an $1.77 item when Canadian laws says you do not have to pay duties on good with a value less than $20 CAD?

Avoid buying from sellers using global shipping program will save you tones of money.

[culo01]

This new export fee is a load of dooky. Ebay just start find a new way how to squeeze money out of the seller and the buyer... dont forget this is not the only site where you can buy, trade, or sale.. im not really happy with it and that keeps buyers away from purchasing. . Ill b considering if I should keep dealing with ebay on the future unless the can guaranteed every time your purchase an item it will be delivered to you when it supposed to..