eBay

5992chris · ‎05-19-2014

This is **bleep**. I will not be buying item from the US anymore. I thought Ebay was an entity unto it own. How can you allow this to happen ? Because our companies here can't compete because of taxes and greed, we as consumers suffer. I would like to buy North American but you are forcing me to shop else where.

afantiques · ‎03-20-2017

Even if not liable to import sales tax the item may have been dutiable, and even if not the courier may have a standard clearance charge for imports.

maggiebvintage2010 · ‎03-20-2017

You specify the shipping charges in Canadian dollars, but you haven't specified the currency of the $15 purchase. Depending on the time of purchase, if that was $15USD, it could have a Cdn$ valuation of over the $20Cdn exemption. Although duty and sales tax is not charged for articles imported by mail worth less than $20Cdn, the courier company still charges their fee for processing the paperwork which proves this to customs. By law every courier company must prepare and present customs documents to Canada Customs for every parcel it brings into Canada. The seller did not keep the money you paid for the shipping portion, the $19.95 fee seems to be a pretty standard courier charge for customs clearance paperwork and presentation, which is always the buyer's responsibility. eBay states this pretty clearly in every listing just below the shipping charge.

When you bought the item, was the method of shipment specifically indicated? Or did it just say something generic, such as "standard international shipping"? The onus is on you as a buyer to ask the seller PRIOR to purchase for shipping details. Over the past 15 years, there have been many many posts on these boards about the courier charges for clearance - most knowledgeable buyers try to avoid courier shipments unless the purchase value makes this an acceptable shipping solution.

Of course eBay decided in the seller's favour, he shipped and attempted delivery as promised, you refused the package and by so doing gave up any eBay Buyer's Protection.

I feel your pain, but consider it as a lesson learned, the blame does not rest on the seller or on eBay.

femmefan1946 · ‎03-20-2017

If that's $15 Canadian- then you are right.

You can get the duty (and possibly sales taxes back) by calling the CBSA. The phone number should be on the back of your invoice from the courier.

If it was, as is more likely in this global economy, $15USD, that would be about $20.02 CDN and dutiable.

http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?From=USD&To=CAD

This site give mid-market rates. Useful, but most retailers (including banks ) actually charge more to have profit margin.

And the rates change constantly, as in second by second. Retail exchange rates are normally only changed once a day except in very volatile times.

In addition to the duty, sales taxes also apply. And in addition to that there is the courier's service charge (customs brokerage fee) which varies from ~$5USD (Pitney Bowes/GSP) to $9.95 (Canada Post) to $25CDN (UPS).

Next time we smuggle stock, let's make it somethin' smaller. -- Zoe Washburne

marnotom! · ‎03-20-2017

I doubt that a nice, neat charge of $19.95 would be for "duty". maggiebvintage2010's hypothesis of it being a customs processing charge makes the most sense to me.

tudopietrean-0 · ‎03-23-2017

Maybe they appraised the item at more than $20 and you pay duty on that amount regardless of the actual price paid? I remember the good old days when I could buy tobacco online - they would charge the same duty regardless of the price I paid.

maggiebvintage2010 · ‎03-23-2017

It's very true that Customs in any country can assign their own valuation for any item - it does not need to match the invoice. This can be appealed after the fact (ie after payment of all duties and taxes assessed, and using the receipt and completing all the proper forms or hiring a Customs Broker to represent you in your appeal).

pjcdn2005 · ‎03-26-2017

@tudopietrean-0 wrote:
Maybe they appraised the item at more than $20 and you pay duty on that amount regardless of the actual price paid? I remember the good old days when I could buy tobacco online - they would charge the same duty regardless of the price I paid.

I'm not poisitive but I think that the duty on tobacco is one set amount per package and not based on the 'value'. But the tax portion would be based on how much was paid and your location.

greyhounds0815 · ‎04-03-2017

I was not informed of a customs charge from a jpn seller for fishing reel. I ended up paying way more then the reel was worth. Never again will I purchase from ebay

maggiebvintage2010 · ‎04-03-2017

Sellers are not required to tell potential buyers about customs regulations in the buyer's country. That is the buyer's responsibility. Every listing has the following information from eBay, placed just below the shipping charges on the listing, about the possibility of customs charges:

International items may be subject to customs processing and additional charges.

The question mark beside that leads to this info:

International Shipping - items may be subject to customs processing depending on the item's declared value.

Sellers set the item's declared value and must comply with customs declaration laws.

As the buyer, you should be aware of possible:

- delays from customs inspection.

- import duties and taxes which buyers must pay.

- brokerage fees payable at the point of delivery.

Your country's customs office can offer more details, or visit eBay's page on international trade.

marnotom! · ‎04-03-2017

@greyhounds0815 wrote:

I was not informed of a customs charge from a jpn seller for fishing reel. I ended up paying way more then the reel was worth. Never again will I purchase from ebay

Your issue is with the seller and their choice of shipping service. Not all eBay sellers use the same shipping services.

Avoiding eBay because of a problem with a particular seller is a bit like avoiding shopping at a large shopping mall because a kid working at the food court gave you the wrong change.

scootnwilly · ‎05-06-2017

Although I'll continue to buy from ebay, I for one will be very selective in choosing a seller from the USA.

If the seller states that the item will be shipped via the Global Shipping Program with "No additional import charges at delivery", I will stay away from his site.

I purchased an item for $27.20 CAD [$20.00 US], which was a fair price in my opinion. The seller charged me $14.77 CAD for shipping plus $8.88 CAD for import charges. Unfortunately I assumed that my purchase was finalized. Then a day later I find out that I was also charged an additional $24.41CAD by Pitney Bowes for whatever. That added an extra $48.08 CAD, bringing the cost of the merchandise from $27.20 CAD to $75.28 CAD. That's a 177% increase. How can that be justified?

I had opted for what I thought was a lower price by buying from the US. I should have purchased from Newegg in Canada and paid $62.14 CAD tax included and saved $13.13 CAD. Oh well, live and learn.

marnotom! · ‎05-07-2017

@scootnwilly wrote:

Although I'll continue to buy from ebay, I for one will be very selective in choosing a seller from the USA.
If the seller states that the item will be shipped via the Global Shipping Program with "No additional import charges at delivery", I will stay away from his site.
I purchased an item for $27.20 CAD [$20.00 US], which was a fair price in my opinion. The seller charged me $14.77 CAD for shipping plus $8.88 CAD for import charges. Unfortunately I assumed that my purchase was finalized. Then a day later I find out that I was also charged an additional $24.41CAD by Pitney Bowes for whatever. That added an extra $48.08 CAD, bringing the cost of the merchandise from $27.20 CAD to $75.28 CAD. That's a 177% increase. How can that be justified?
I had opted for what I thought was a lower price by buying from the US. I should have purchased from Newegg in Canada and paid $62.14 CAD tax included and saved $13.13 CAD. Oh well, live and learn.

Sounds as though the seller's shipping charge somehow got separated from Pitney Bowes' shipping charge on this one. Normally both charges should be combined into one shipping charge. I'm thinking there might have been something in your settings that prevented the Pitney Bowes shipping charge from being added to the seller's charge for shipping the item to Kentucky, or else you were viewing the item on a mobile phone. Information associated with GSP listings doesn't always show up properly when viewed on a phone.

Are you comfortable sharing the listing number for this item so we can take a look for ourselves?

femmefan1946 · ‎05-07-2017

I'm wondering if the original $23.65CDN and the later $24.41CDN are the same charge but expressed differently because of changes in foreign exchange rates.

Does your PP account show two or one payment related to this transaction?

I can't see that there would be so much duty and sales tax (import fees*) on a $27.20CDN item. Unless it was one of the very few items that have duty in excess of 75% of value.

*The PitneyBowes service charge is ~$5USD, nearly half that of Canada Post.

marnotom! · ‎05-07-2017

@femmefan1946 wrote:

I can't see that there would be so much duty and sales tax (import fees*) on a $27.20CDN item. Unless it was one of the very few items that have duty in excess of 75% of value.

The import charges seem to be in line with the formula you mention in your footnote. 13% Ontario HST on a C$27.20 item would be C$3.54, which would mean that Pitney Bowes would be asking C$5.34 or so to recover processing and clearance costs.

scootnwilly appears to have been blindsided by the shipping charges, not the import charges. You do suggest a good point, though, in that there should be two separate PayPal invoices for the sale, with the first being what the seller receives and the second being what Pitney Bowes receives. The shipping and import charges more or less add up to the Pitney Bowes invoice charge, so it may not be a fee in addition to what was quoted on the listing page after all.

nkitts99 · ‎09-04-2017

arcticone2 · ‎07-09-2018

This is a great thread, I hope that it carries on.

One thing I did not see discussed was the various brokerage fees levied by courier companies. Those 'after the fact' fees can add up and could easily have been the $19.95 levy discussed previously.

Most of my ebay purchases are vintage items over 50 years old. It gets frustrating to see the import charges listed on those items. I have generally avoided any seller than subscribes to the GSP - I would rather take my chances that the item will make it through without any charges. I will purchase the occaisional GSP fee item if it is something unavailable in Canada, or the fees (when combined with shipping) are not outrageous.

One other thing not addressed previously is that part of the GSP rationale by eBay (and PayPal) was due to the number of Buyers claiming that items had not arrived (even when proof showed they did). This was one avenue to minimize such claims by ensuring that all GSP items came with a tracking number. Unfortunately that tracking comes with a cost for special shipping and for import.

Oh well, these all be first world problems. I doubt those that are starving and have no homes have similar discussions.

mcrlmn · ‎07-09-2018

Unless I'm stateside for an extended period, I keep my transactions under $20.

mrdutch1001 · ‎07-09-2018

ZOMBIE THREAD from 2014

readyflake · ‎07-10-2018

I have yet to have Canada post charge me any duties or taxes on anything under 200$ that i have purchase from International sellers in the past. So why is Ebay charging ridiculous shipping, duties and handling charges. Even Canada Custom don't charge Duties or Taxes if you keep your purchases reasonable while on a day trip to the USA. SO **bleep** Ebay why do you?