Why is ebay forcing us to pay import duties on duty free items?

[ck_kwan]

Dear All,

I am getting sick with eBay.

1. More and more ads in their web page.

2. Shipping is getting slower every day

3. Forcing me to pay tax on duty free items (USD5 on a USD30 items, almost 20%)

No wonder they are losing out to Alibaba and Taobao. Is there anyway for us to complaint?

Thanks in advance

[momcqueen]

What is the value of the item on which you were charged import fees?

The de minimus value for importing by post is $20 CAD. Right now, that's $14.749 USD. Everything above that is subject to taxes and possibly duty as well as a handling fee for collecting it, regardless of who your shipper is.

Also, ebay isn't your shipper. The seller outsources that to a postal system or courier. 

[ypdc_dennis]

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@ck_kwan wrote:

I am getting sick with eBay.

1. More and more ads in their web page.

2. Shipping is getting slower every day

3. Forcing me to pay tax on duty free items (USD5 on a USD30 items, almost 20%)

No wonder they are losing out to Alibaba and Taobao. Is there anyway for us to complaint?

---

Complaining -- you just did.

1) A valid eBay complaint. Do you use an ad blocker for your browser?

2) eBay has nothing to do with shipping speeds.

3) Forcing you? Don't buy from sellers that use the Global Shipping Program.

Taxes are payable on items valued at more than $20 Canadian when shipped into Canada -- it does not matter if there is any duty on the item, it does not matter if the item is new or used. Shipping companies, unlike the post office, are on the hook financially if they don't collect duty and taxes.

http://community.ebay.ca/t5/Buyer-Central/Questions-about-the-Global-Shipping-Program/td-p/149063

http://community.ebay.ca/t5/Buyer-Central/Comments-about-the-Global-Shipping-Program/m-p/149059

-..-

Most Wednesday's there is an open thread with an actual eBay.ca person in the Weekly Chat Session forum if you have an eBay complaint/problem/concern/question.

-..-

[momcqueen]

Also, it would appear you tend to shop from sellers in Asia and the USA. All those orders have to clear customs as well as travel hundreds if not thousands of kilometres. For faster shipping, stick to Canadian sellers. Those can have your items on your doorstep in many cases within the week. 

[strange*highways]

The OP is in Malaysia so sticking to Canadian sellers won't help him.

[momcqueen]

Good catch. I assumed he/she was a Canadian buyer.

[femmefan1946]

Taxes are supposed to go to the government.

Import fees are made up of (Malaysian in your case) duty and sales tax plus a fee to the shipping company (whether a freight forwarder like the GSP, a courier like FedEx or DHL or your post office.) These are collected and remitted by the shipping company.

If your seller is collecting taxes and is not sending them to HIS government, they will be very annoyed.

The seller chooses the shipping service.

Are your sellers choosing the cheapest way? Those services are usually slow.

Does the seller offer a faster, more expensive service?

Is the seller advertising a fast service (Air Mail or Express) and using a cheaper , slower service? That is a Not As Described dispute.