GSP, is this a lie: "No additional import charges at delivery!" ?

[a53split]

I'm considering buying an item from a US seller that uses the GSP.

The item is around $25CAD, and shipping is $35CAD.  The seller is in Montana, I'm in Vancouver.

When PB calculates the tax, I assume it is based on $60CAD and not $25.  Is this correct?  And since they're collecting tax, they will apply a fee for this service.  How much is that?

I'm trying to get an idea of the total damage by the time it arrives.

Thanks in advance for any tips.

[femmefan1946]

The duty-free allowance is $150.  There will be no duty.

The tax-free allowance is $40.  There will be sales taxes on your purchase.

The GSP fee is ~$5USD.

However all of this is included in the amount you pay, which happens BEFORE the seller ships. And you are told the amount before you pay.

There is no further cost when the item arrives.

NOTE-  The Global Shipping Program is a Seller Protection program that offers nothing in particular for buyers. For the seller it means most of her responsibility under the Money Back Guarantee ends at the GSP plant in Erlanger KY, after which those responsibilities are covered by the GSP.

[marnotom!]

Just to add to @femmefan1946’s excellent post, make sure you’re looking at the listing page on the eBay.ca site rather than the eBay.com site, that way you should see the import charges (taxes plus processing fees) before you hit the “buy” button.

If you’re seeing import charges of “$0.00,” it means that the import charges have been added to the shipping charge. (The tax portion of the import charges is based on the item charge, by the way, not the item plus shipping.)

[reallynicestamps]

Sales taxes confuse me.

I would think the GSP (Goods and SERVICES) would be charged on shipping. But not (necessarily) the provincial portion.

But I'm not a tax expert.

[snoopwiz]

If so inclined, you can message the seller and ask them nicely if they would consider shipping it to you using 1st class mail?  (if it is light enough)   No guarantee it will be cheaper but, you most likely would not get hit with any additional charges.  Some/many sellers still are not aware that they are in the GSP program. 

[marnotom!]

The calculation of shipping charges likely does factor in an estimate for GST or HST, but that tax would be part of the shipping charge.  What I meant was that the "import charges" are calculated on the price of the item, not the item plus shipping, pretty much the same way that CBSA only calculates and charges GST/PST or HST on the item and not its shipping price when it assesses an import sent through the mail.