eBay

canuckchat · ‎11-23-2006

If you reside in Canada - and purchase an item from the USA - you need to educate yourself as to the fact that you WILL be paying applicable taxes and possibly duties on the item when it crosses the border into Canada.

Yes, if the item is shipped by postal service, your "brokerage handling fee" will be a nominal $5 or $8 - plus the applicable taxes for your province (and possibly duties, but seldom are they charged.)

And yes, MANY times the items shipped by postal service are NOT charged taxes or duties incoming - so sometimes you will escape paying the taxes that are due to the Canadian and provincial governments.

However, you should ALWAYS - and I stress ALWAYS! - calculate the cost of the taxes and possibly duties into the decision to make a purchase internationally.

Additionally, if your item is sent by the USA seller (or other international seller) through a courier service (for example, UPS, FEDEX, DHL, etc.) then your applicable brokerage fee will be upwards of $25, on a sliding scale dependent upon the value of the incoming item.

Yes, these fees (brokerage, tax, duty) are ALL part of the cost of buying an item internationally and having it shipped to you in Canada.

It is NOT up to the seller to pay these for you - YOU are the importer of record - YOU are the one who will be billed for these charges - YOU are the one who will NOT get your parcel until you pay these charges.

So - before hitting the "BID NOW" button, do a bit of calculating and make an informed decision to see if it is really worth getting that imported widget!

Happy Bidding, Folks!
:-D

boneroller68 · ‎10-09-2010

Great info. Thanks very much. I need a little further education:

applicable brokerage fee will be upwards of $25, on a sliding scale dependent upon the value of the incoming item.

Yes, these fees (brokerage, tax, duty) are ALL part of the cost of buying an item internationally and having it shipped to you in Canada.

Brokerage fee: If they are charging me this, then they should do what a broker gets paid to do - negotiate the best deal possible, shouldn't they? I should tell them what I'm looking for and hear back from them when THEY have researched ebay, found the best price/deal available and arranged for it to get to me. I wonder if small claims court is the place to go if I'm paying for brokerage services but not receiving them?

pjcdn2005 · ‎10-10-2010

The seller has nothing to do with brokerage fees. A brokerage fee is paid to the courier for collecting and remitting duty and taxes to the government. I somehow don't see the government being willing to negotiate on the amount of taxes or duty owing so there is really nothing to negotiate.

You can however, be your own broker but you would have to research how to do it first.

In some cases Canada Post will charge a small brokerage fee of $5 or $8 but couriers tend to have higher brokerage fees.

russkelownabc · ‎10-21-2010

I have purchase many items from the US without any problems..... just so you know.

lorrainer35 · ‎10-27-2010

And as many have stressed again and again, here and elsewhere, avoid buying items from the US that are shipped via UPS. Here is the link to see their customs clearance fees:

http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shipping/cost/zones/customs_clearance.html

GST/HST/PST is extra as is possible duty.

lorrainer35 · ‎10-27-2010

I'm new to e-Bay and so far I'm not happy. This simply adds to my frustration. I believe that in GOOD FAITH, this issue should be at the very start of signing into e-Bay. I think it's unfair to have to stumble across something so important.

1262edward · ‎11-03-2010

The canadian government knowing full well there's nothing worth buying in this tin-horn country; wants to charge duty for something you want from a real country. Then they proceed to waste said money, as they do with all tax dollars employing the 11 million people who work for the government of canada, sleep on the job, can't speek english, and are as rude as they can be . o-canada.

church3249 · ‎11-06-2010

seller sent item via postal service. Never delivered but shipping charges of 43 dollars on a small item as well as the cost of item were charged to me. Seller much more interested in getting me to remove my negative feedback that making the transaction work. Though I have now been reimbursed, I gotta wonder at the choice of shipping method. Not much space to submit meaningful feedback on the transaction and a Neutral comment will never reveal the whole story.

jhay4737 · ‎11-26-2010

What if the item is used? Why should I pay taxes on an item that's already been taxed? And how do they know how much an item is worth if it's used?

jakeeangel · ‎11-27-2010

You pay taxes when you buy a used car or house right? Same thing applies.

jacktraderjack1 · ‎12-04-2010

I just was sent a padded envelop containing a few small items valued at $25.00. The listing said shipping was by USPS. It was shipped by UPS.
I never buy anything where the shipping is by courier.

I wasn't home when the envelop arrived but the UPS driver attempted to collect $49.79 from my wife. She had no money so the driver went on his way.

I do not intend on accepting this package as in my opinion, the item was significantly not as described.
Is that the correct path?

cking_closure · ‎12-06-2010

Aaaaaahhhhhh :_|
I am F___d ....BIG TIME 😮

scifan57 · ‎12-13-2010

I just was sent a padded envelop containing a few small items valued at $25.00. The listing said shipping was by USPS. It was shipped by UPS.
I never buy anything where the shipping is by courier.

I wasn't home when the envelop arrived but the UPS driver attempted to collect $49.79 from my wife. She had no money so the driver went on his way.

I do not intend on accepting this package as in my opinion, the item was significantly not as described.
Is that the correct path?

If the listing stated that shipping was by USPS and the seller shipped with UPS,then yes,you could open a significantly not as described dispute on the basis that the shipping was not as described.If you refused delivery on the package it would be returned with UPS tracking to the seller who would be biled for the return shipping charges.
What you need when you open the dispute is the UPS tracking number so you can prove that the package has been returned to the seller.You will need this proof to get your refund from paypal.

jakeeangel · ‎12-13-2010

If the listing stated that shipping was by USPS and the seller shipped with UPS,then yes,you could open a significantly not as described dispute on the basis that the shipping was not as described.If you refused delivery on the package it would be returned with UPS tracking to the seller who would be biled for the return shipping charges.
What you need when you open the dispute is the UPS tracking number so you can prove that the package has been returned to the seller.You will need this proof to get your refund from paypal.

Um...good luck with that Scifi. As described or not as described refers to the item not the shipping.

scifan57 · ‎12-14-2010

Jakeeangel,how would you deal with a seller who quoted a shipping price and method in the listing,such as USPS but shipped with UPS,without informing the buyer,causing significant extra expense for the buyer on receiving the package.The buyer should not have to pay the extra cost(read UPS brokerage fee) associated with the use of a non approved delivery service.

pjcdn2005 · ‎12-14-2010

Scifan, I'm not certain about this, but I think that a "refused" package would be an item not received.

The one time that I had a seller send by UPS instead of USPS as the listing stated, I suggested that I pay the tax and duty and she pay anything else owing to UPS. She wasn't happy, but she agreed.

anticostideerguide · ‎01-11-2011

This guy has it as clear as it gets,to bad i didn't read this when i joined ebay. I learned the hard way.

Great thread.........Thanks

lokijeep · ‎01-11-2011

We all learned the hard way...

mrmudd1988 · ‎01-18-2011

I am an immigrant in Canada just bought a 1800$ expensive camera form the states it shipped via USPS express to new brunswick does anybody know what my total will be?

bignosycat · ‎02-11-2011

I buy lots of items from the USA and lots over $100 - I got nailed for one item $152.00. The seller packed this item in a huge box he could have put 8 of them in there. Customs does not charge tax on every item that comes into Canada. Most of my items are small and small percent shipped Priority post. I think PP gets nailed more than International First Class.

So in 30 items over $20 I paid duty once. AND this is the item I had to ship back - lost my customs slip want to get the money I paid to customs.. Can it be done when you lost the slip?

Note I never ask a seller to lie on the claim form the correct price is on there. One thing I have asked in the past is to put the actual price on the slip. I had a seller put a high value on the slip she thought it would get better care! NO I paid duty and had to apply to get the money back. I also had a seller put the cost as item cost + shipping price - nailed on that one. I think I paid duty on 6-7 times out of hundreds of purchases over $20