Seller had to pay a custom clearance tax on returned item.

[trishatakashi]

Hi,

Buyer(US) send the item back to us for refund. After we shipped it out from Japan, before the package arrives to our buyer. Buyer e-mailed us that he changed his mind, so he wants to return the item for refund.  So there is nothing wrong with our product.

we offered free shipping on this item. and unfortunately  this item was taxed  for custom clearance in Japan. We ended up paying a tax on our product back from US.

When I will refund to our buyer, much should I pay to him?

Because he changed his mind. It costs us $15 for shipping to US plus $31 for a tax by Japanese government. We should be able to ask our buyer to pay for the expense without risking a negative feed back. Or shall we give in for avoiding a negative feedback?

Thank you for your time.

[chaldo2010]

I hope you had mentioned to buyers in your listing to check with their country's customs and see what they get taxed on when purchasing goods abroad. Otherwise, you may have misled the buyer(s) and eBay may take that into consideration.

I would call eBay and explain to them what happened.

If it's 45 days after the sale, the buyer may not be able to give you any feedback at all.

[femmefan1946]

You are in Japan.

Your buyer is in the USA.

This is a Board in CANADA, and we have different laws here.

However, if you were a Canadian seller who had a parcel returned from a foreign country, there would be no customs or sales taxes due. Canada Border Services Agency would call this "returned merchandise".

All Canadian duties and taxes would have already been paid before it was shipped out of the country.

I would suggest that you take the parcel, along with the emails exchanged and the original invoice, the payment and the refund paperwork to the Japanese Customs Office and explain the problem.

Ask for a refund of the money charged in error.