eBay

robbwell · ‎10-31-2016

I committed to Buy It Now for a Netis WF2419 router sold in Canada by a seller with a very good rating.

As I was about to pay, I noticed the Seller had added 13% sales tax when it should be 5% for YT.

Before paying I sent a message asking if Seller could correct this so I could pay.

Nothing happened but on trying to buy it again I noticed the Seller is now declining purchases from me.

I didn't think this is the way eBay works.

momcqueen · ‎10-31-2016

Unfortunately, you may have discovered that ebay allows its sellers to manually block anyone they like for any reason that strikes their fancy. It's also possible that the seller didn't block you. Some of those blocks are automatic like for unpaid item limits or reports of misbehaviour.

The issue with the sales tax may have been a red herring. It's possible that the listing was showing you 13 per cent because it knew you were Canadian only and not registered to Yukon until you are logged in to pay. What did you see when you added it to your cart?

But you cannot add it to your cart any longer, is that correct?

robbwell · ‎10-31-2016

When I attempt to buy the item now the message is "The seller isn't accepting bids or offers from you.".

When I bought it two days ago, I got the eBay page asking me to Pay Now. So I was one click away from paying the price plus 13% tax.

The request I sent to the seller was this:

I have committed to buy this item but notice the sales tax is incorrect when I went to pay. Sales tax for YT is 5%.

If you can correct this I will proceed with payment.

I have never bought from this account before and have an unblemished record of payment and feedback per the info posted by eBay for the seller to view.

momcqueen · ‎10-31-2016

That message is specific to a manual block as far as I recall. Another member may come along to say otherwise if it isn't the case.

Buyers can only have unblemished positive feedback, anything else left is grounds for removable.

Fair or not, it would appear the seller has blocked you. Maybe he didn't want to ship to Yukon. Do you have a physical address or a postal box? Some sellers use couriers so shipping to the latter isn't available to them.

momcqueen · ‎10-31-2016

Or perhaps the seller thought you were taking issue with having to pay retail sales tax not that you thought the percentage tally was incorrect.

robbwell · ‎10-31-2016

My address is a street address.

I don't mind sellers blocking me for their own reasons but I thought that the seller's offer when accepted by my commitment to buy was binding. It goes to the integrity of eBay's process.

momcqueen · ‎10-31-2016

If you bought it, pay. It will be in your Purchase History. Otherwise, an unpaid item will be opened. If the seller doesn't want you to proceed with payment, he will have to send you a Cancellation. Are you saying you want to buy two? That may be an auto-block again. Those that limit purchased may also apply.

robbwell · ‎10-31-2016

No, my intention was not to buy two but to try to understand what went wrong with the order I pushed the Buy It Now button two days later. (I would have taken two.)

I should point out that a seller must legally apply the correct amount of sales tax ... not none and not extra. And it is probably my obligation to point the seller to any error. It seems that it was after the seller got my request to correct the tax that I got blocked.

kitschnvintage · ‎10-31-2016

Sales Tax for This Item

Seller collects sales tax for items shipped to the following provinces:


	Province	Sales Tax Rate



	Alberta (AB)*	5.000 %
	British Columbia (BC)*	12.000 %
	Manitoba (MB)*	13.000 %
	New Brunswick (NB)*	15.000 %
	Newfoundland and Labrador (NL)*	15.000 %
	Northwest Territories (NT)*	13.000 %
	Nova Scotia (NS)*	15.000 %
	Nunavut (NU)*	13.000 %
	Ontario (ON)*	13.000 %
	Prince Edward Island (PE)*	13.000 %
	Quebec (QC)*	14.975 %
	Saskatchewan (SK)*	10.000 %
	Yukon (YT)*	13.000 %

kitschnvintage · ‎10-31-2016

I am not sure if this is a table the Seller builds into ebay or if it is a pre-set table ? But this is the tax rates the Seller is charging ....so if the table is wrong the Seller needs to know ... which you have tried to do ... but if the actual ebay item doesn't show in your purchase history then I guess there isn't much you can do and at least you don't need to worry about an unpaid strike then ... if it doesn't show up

i.am.vivian · ‎10-31-2016

@robbwell wrote:
I should point out that a seller must legally apply the correct amount of sales tax ... not none and not extra. And it is probably my obligation to point the seller to any error. It seems that it was after the seller got my request to correct the tax that I got blocked.

Maybe send your seller this link and tell them you will gladly pay any taxes you legally owe. Explain that the seller needs to change their tax thing on eBay because they could be in a lot of legal trouble if they got reported. Only those sellers registered with the Canadian government to collect tax are allowed to do it, and they must charge only the correct amount. It's not your obligation but you'd be doing them a favor.

http://www.calculconversion.com/sales-tax-calculator-hst-gst.html

i.am.vivian · ‎10-31-2016

Using the Item Location thing I looked for a Netis WF2419 and found only one canuck offering this item. I did not see that other tax chart on the seller's listings anywhere. It looks like this seller is a drop-shipper, based on the comments. If you look at the negatives and neutrals, lots of unhappy people there.

Many say the seller claims to ship with Canada Post but doesn't and instead uses a courier. That may be why the Yukon order was ignored. Another commenter said a Yukon order was cancelled because the seller doesn't want to ship there. If this is the same seller then the FB comments say a lot about the kind of person running the business.

No indication what province the seller is in and a lot of items are being forwarded from Amazon. The buyer buys, the seller places an order on Amazon, who sends it to the buyer. I am wondering if the actual eBay seller is really even in Canada. A real Canadian should be more tax savvy after that many sales. An overseas drop-shipper would not be, and would not see the problem in arbitrarily adding "close enough" amounts to the bottom line, not when real Canadians are so used to paying up to 15% more for everything that they don't question it but just click "Pay Now".

robbwell · ‎10-31-2016

Well thanks to all the constructive replies.

I invited the seller over to this forum to see this discussion.

Since the seller is not responding, my guess is that the seller has a window between seeing who bought the item and it being paid for to refuse the order. I gave him that window by asking for the sales tax to be corrected. The seller may have then realized that the shipping to YT was a dollar or so more and he wasn't going to collect the extra tax ... so he took the easy way out by refusing the order.

And no it never showed up in my purchased items. I note from above that he is also collecting 13% from NT and NU. I hope he is forwarding that full amount to CRA.

I noted from feedback left for him that he has been "drop shipping" from Amazon so I went there and found the Netis WF2419 router for $1.16 less and that's direct from Amazon. So I bought it and eBay lost this sale to Amazon.

i.am.vivian · ‎10-31-2016

@robbwell wrote:
Well thanks to all the constructive replies.

I invited the seller over to this forum to see this discussion.

You're still thinking this is a Canadian seller who would actually be interested in correcting his errant ways. I have stopped thinking this is could possibly be a real Canadian. I'd bet a year's income it's an Asian drop-shipper adding, on average, 12-15% to every sale. Correct taxation is important to a legitimate Canadian business. This person seems not to care.

@robbwell wrote:
my guess is that the seller has a window between seeing who bought the item and it being paid for to refuse the order. I gave him that window by asking for the sales tax to be corrected.

Until you have paid you have not "bought" an item. Putting it in your eBay cart is like putting it in your grocery store cart. You haven't paid until you have gone through the checkout and have a receipt in your hand with the money out of your account. That's why it didn't show up in your Purchase History. There was no purchase.

He blocked you when you questioned the tax and he saw you were from the Yukon. He does not ship to the Yukon, even though he claims to ship to Canada. Another reason I am thinking it is not a Canadian. A seller on the other side of the world might not know Canadian geography and that the Yukon is part of Canada. Also the couriers he uses might not deliver there, I don't know. You'll find out when you get your parcel from the other place, how it was delivered.

@robbwell wrote:
I hope he is forwarding that full amount to CRA.

LOL! A Canadian business would know how much they have to forward on and therefore how much to charge customers. This whole thing stinks but it would not be the first seller to pretend to be Canadian for Canada when it is an overseas drop-shipper, seeming to offer competitive prices while raking in an extra 12-15% off the top. EBay makes that sort of thing easy. Just always read a seller's feedback and that will give you a good idea what they are like. And where they really are.

kitschnvintage · ‎10-31-2016

Hi, the chart can be found under the "shipping and payments tab" in that Canuck listing if you click on the: Seller charges sales tax in multiple provinces

momcqueen · ‎10-31-2016

In any event, I'd say this is a transaction better avoided.

I don't know if I'd feel any safer buying this item from the same seller on any other online venue either.

I'd look for someone trustworthy. Selling their own stuff actually in their possession. Cheapest is not best.

afantiques · ‎11-01-2016

Looking on the bright side, mention of the Yukon made me revisit Hank Snow reading Robert Service's 'Tales of the Yukon'.

ypdc_dennis · ‎11-01-2016

@themodernowl wrote:
Sales Tax for This Item

Seller collects sales tax for items shipped to the following provinces:

Province Sales Tax Rate
Alberta (AB)* 5.000 %
British Columbia (BC)* 12.000 %
Manitoba (MB)* 13.000 %
New Brunswick (NB)* 15.000 %
Newfoundland and Labrador (NL)* 15.000 %
Northwest Territories (NT)* 13.000 %
Nova Scotia (NS)* 15.000 %
Nunavut (NU)* 13.000 %
Ontario (ON)* 13.000 %
Prince Edward Island (PE)* 13.000 %
Quebec (QC)* 14.975 %
Saskatchewan (SK)* 10.000 %
Yukon (YT)* 13.000 %