PET PEEVE of the Day: Canadian Buyers NOT paying applicable/invoiced taxes

[moltencore]

First off, we state in all our listing descriptions that Canadian buyers must pay applicable sales taxes.
So...buyer buys item.

I invoice Ontario buyer showing and describing applicable sales taxes and our GST registration # to boot.

I also send buyer a personal detailed EOA notice email showing all info including applicable taxes etc.

Buyer then pays through paypal for item but doesn't pay the taxes.

Then I have to explain that they still owe the taxes etc etc. and suddenly I look like the bad guy.

This B.S. has been rampant as of late. Do some buyers think that just because the economy is in freefall that they can pay whatever they feel like these days? That sellers are so desperate just going to roll over and be thankful they made a sale at all?

just blowing off steam.

but I'm just wondering... is this happening to anyone else out there these days? or am I the only lucky one?

:|

[recped]

This B.S. has been rampant as of late

It's been a problem since day one!

The biggest wingnut I ever encountered on eBay was over GST on a total purchase including shipping of less than $6.

Had all the classics..."my brother the policeman will be investigating you for fraud"....."I have reported you to revenue Canada"....etc. etc. etc.

My favorite line has always been "only a real business can charge GST".

[fatdane]

I have been in the mail order business since the early 60's, and mail order customers have been trying to dodge paying any kind of sales tax ever since I started and Ebay is just a quicker way of conducting a mail order business. I refund incorrect Paypal payments and ask that the customer send the proper amount, and I have a firm policy of no tax payment no shipment.If I send and ask that the customer emit the tax due the customer rarely sends it, and if they do then I end up paying double Paypal fees. Collecting the sales taxes due is a pain in the backside, but dealing with tax auditors when taxes have not been collected is worse.

[ecbluestar]

In my case I have taxes automatically calculated and added to each transaction based on location and that acutely works perfect. Few days ago I bought something around $30 from my province of Ontario what I paid for instantly not even thinking about taxes, few hours later I had email asking for C$3.11 tax, what I paid after that email, next day again I had email asking me for tax money again, all took few email exchange to straighten things up an prove my payment. My point is that why some of the sellers don't include taxes in option available to them and then irritate buyers by asking and waisting time?

[gifts_of_elegance]

Sometimes the place where you can mark taxes is hidden on the listing form and is not part of the listing. I suffered the above problems until I was finally able to have it show as part of the listing.

[dipmicro]

... My point is that why some of the sellers don't include taxes in option available to them

I would think that the automation solution they use was not designed with Canadian sales tax in mind. For example the one we use required a small customisation to calculate tax properly. Some sellers may find annoying customers with extra emails easier than fix their solution themselves or spend $50 to get someone to fix it.

[recped]

My point is that why some of the sellers don't include taxes in option available to them and then irritate buyers by asking and waisting time?

Most sellers do, well at least I do and I'm sure the OP does but still there are many times when these taxes are not applied correctly during the eBay/PayPal checkout process.

[canadianclearances]

i have the same problem daily i tried to correct the problem but does not work any solutions ????

[ampurtle]

I use the automatic sales tax option as well, never a problem, always works and never get shorted by a customer because it's on the invoice they get, generated by eBay.

If your tax table is setup correctly there will never be a problem or a discrepency. I ship world wide and I've never had to correct the automaticly generated eBay invoice.

[duujogl]

Well, I'm not a newbie but I'm obviously one of those who hasn't set up the tax table correctly because I'm still getting tax avoiders/evaders. Any hints??

I THOUGHT I had it set up as automatic, but obviously not. Any help and/or advice will be gratefully accepted!

[recped]

Check both eBay AND PayPal, they both have tax table settings.

[moltencore]

Most sellers do, well at least I do and I'm sure the OP does but still there are many times when these taxes are not applied correctly during the eBay/PayPal checkout process.

this is true sometimes, and sometimes buyers will circumvent by sending their payment directly through paypal, not linked to the eBay invoice I send which includes the taxes owing which is what this particular did.

btw: They ended up paying the taxes with an apology that they didn't understand which taxes applied to which provinces (??)

[cartoonsinabox]

I got a negative feedback last week because someone did not want to pay GST sales tax and we have have it stated in our listing that canadian customers will be charged GST.

I find this so unfair of Ebay & Paypal for not fixing this problem.

Frederic

[ampurtle]

Don't forget you also have to set the checkmark in the listings, to apply your tax table.

[cartoonsinabox]

Don't forget you also have to set the checkmark in the listings, to apply your tax table.

It was done.

[whoscloset]

Oy, I gave up on this one long ago.

I just add the applicable GST to the shipping charges to Canada on ebay.

If the product is in Ontario I take the PST out of the shipping charge and swallow it...as I charge flat rate shipping for N.A. it usually balances out if the customer is in Ontario.

[ampurtle]

Costs go up, it's a fact of life. Price increases were announced months ago but I seem to recall letter rate wasn't changing. It's a minor annoyance compared to supplies going up 20% because the dollar has tanked again. It you have a 10% increase in shipping costs and a 20% reduction in the value of the dollar, your international customer is still ahead of the game.

CP has been printing letter rate stamps without a value on them for years to cover that problem. For other circumstances it doesn't matter how may they print because they are always face value, and they can always flog the excess off to Pierre :^O

[asiscanadian]

Paypal use to have a setting , were it would charge GST on all Canadians based on the postal code. About 8 months ago they changed something in that area of the program and added more options

I tried the NEW options ..in the tax setting
It does not work correctly and I cant get it back to JUST GST
Basically the old adage. I shouldn't have played with what worked ...
I have been on the phone with paypal and spoke to my REP she says it should add the taxes ..Every payment that came in for a week was wrong
I now Manually add the tax ..However I get people whom pay really quickly that I cant get to in time. Its a pain to have to explain to them I have to refund and resend a correct Canadian invoice ..I nicely tell them the auction comments that we have to charge taxes

[cartoonsinabox]

Monique,

I am actually doing the same as you. But when shipping to Alberta or BC(we are in Quebec). We get some clients that pay before we even get a chance to send invoice with taxes. Then I have to email them explaning that we are a registered company and we collect GST... There's always someone that claims they do not have to pay GST and I get negative feedback (so unfair).

Frederic