eBay

aramatic · ‎10-27-2021

I've asked this before and haven't received a satisfactory answer, or one that I've understood: Why do import charges rise when the price of an item is reduced?

I'm looking at an item whose Buy It Now price is US$79.99+$20.46 shipping+$8.34 import charges. The seller has offered a discount of 15%, bringing the cost to $67.99+shipping $20.46+$14.74 import charges. Since import charges are presumably based on the value of the item, this is back to front. The item is reduced by $12 and the import charges rise by $6.40.

There is nothing to account for this. eBay has the same information about my location if I select either Buy It Now or Review Offer.

marnotom! · ‎10-27-2021

If you're not understanding the explanation I've given to you twice in other threads, why don't you ask some questions about it?

aramatic · ‎10-27-2021

What am I supposed to ask? The replies you mention don't satisfactorily explain how a reduction in item value leads to an increase in import charges when all other factors remain the same. If I click on Buy It Now at the original price I commit to paying $8.84 in import charges; if I click on Review Offer at the discounted price I commit to $14.74 in import charges. Lower price, higher charges. It's a simple as that.

reallynicestamps · ‎10-27-2021

Which province are you in?

We don't often pay duty-- Canada has so many Free Trade Agreements that there is rarely any duty worth mentioning-- but sales tax starts at $40 for imports from the USA and Mexico and at $20 for the rest of the world.

aramatic · ‎10-27-2021

I'm in BC, but I don't see that that's relevant, since the location is the same whether I choose Buy It Now or Review Offer. However the import charges are arrived at, they surely should not rise when the value of the item is lowered. It doesn't make any sense.

pjcdn2005 · ‎10-27-2021

I don't know why it happens but as I mentioned in another thread that I've read elsewhere that once the offer is accepted, the import charge goes down. From what I understand it's a problem with the offer/gsp window but you don't actually pay that higher amount.

Disclaimer - I'm going by what I've read not by first hand experience so I'm curious if you have had that experience or if you always rejected the offer.

marnotom! · ‎10-28-2021

From GSP 101: The import charges are considered an approximation or an estimate until checkout.

On the listing page, the import charges are based on the postal code entered in the "shipping" portion of listings. It is not based on any of your "ship to" addresses you may have on file with eBay and they're not final.

From an eBay International Trading help page (screenshot from my phone):

Try changing the postal code in the shipping section of the listing page to one in Ontario or Newfoundland. You'll see that the import charges change.

With a BC postal code entered into the shipping section of the listing page, you'll see import charges of 5% GST plus whatever Pitney Bowes is charging in brokerage and sundry fees. On the offer page, you'll see import charges of 15% HST plus the Pitney Bowes charges. Apparently, in Checkout one will see the appropriate tax charges (GST or HST) based on the address supplied at Checkout plus the Pitney Bowes charges.

I don't think it's a glitch. The GSP bot simply has nothing on which to base the import charges in the "offer" process so it goes with a "worst case scenario". The GSP bot does have something on which to base the import charges once the buyer supplies their shipping address at Checkout.

Any questions?

aramatic · ‎10-28-2021

None of this explains why import charges rise when the price of an item is lowered. It would be odd if they even stayed the same.

Assuming that the "correct" import charges will work themselves out at checkout is an act of faith.

marnotom! · ‎10-28-2021

Yes, it does explain why the import charges rise when the item price is lowered.

5% of $80 is $4

15% of $68 is $10.20

Then there will be Pitney Bowes’ processing charges on top of the GST/HST.

By all accounts, if you go through Checkout and use your BC address as the “ship to”
address, the final import charges will be 5% of $68—or $3.40—plus the PB charges.

aramatic · ‎10-28-2021

Why is 5% applied to $79.99, which is the undiscounted price? The bottom line is that all this sleight of hand requires an act of faith. When import charges of $8.34 inflate to $14.74 based on the same information the result is to confuse to deter a buyer who wants to know the total cost exactly before committing. Perhaps I'm alone in this, but I'm not used to clicking on a box and hoping for the best in financial matters. Surely eBay can manage a more transparent method of showing us how much money is being sucked from us through the GPS as opposed to direct shipping by USPS.

marnotom! · ‎10-28-2021

@aramatic wrote:

Why is 5% applied to $79.99, which is the undiscounted price?

The import charges estimated on the listing page are based on the postal code you've provided eBay to use in the "shipping" section. If you go into the "shipping" section of the listing and change your postal code to that of an HST province, the import charge estimate will go up, reflecting the higher tax in that province.

@aramatic wrote:

The bottom line is that all this sleight of hand requires an act of faith.

Importing items is always a bit of a gamble. While items shipped directly by mail from the United States (or anywhere else for that matter) tend to get ignored by CBSA when it comes to assessing and charging applicable taxes and duty, it could happen.

@aramatic wrote:

When import charges of $8.34 inflate to $14.74 based on the same information the result is to confuse to deter a buyer who wants to know the total cost exactly before committing

It's not the same information.

The only information the Listing page has is the postal code that the buyer has put in the "shipping" section of the listing at some time or another. It may or may not be the same as the postal code with the address they have on file with eBay.

The Offer page has no information like that to work with so it goes with the highest possible import charge scenario. Does the Offer page say anything to the effect that the import charges are estimated and will be recalculated or confirmed at Checkout the way the Listing page does?

@aramatic wrote:

Perhaps I'm alone in this, but I'm not used to clicking on a box and hoping for the best in financial matters. Surely eBay can manage a more transparent method of showing us how much money is being sucked from us through the GPS as opposed to direct shipping by USPS.

Have you ever had an item sent to you from the United States by FedEx Ground or UPS Standard? Many Canadian eBayers have and had no idea at the time they paid for their purchase that to receive their item, they would be looking at customs processing charges way higher than anything the GSP would charge. The GSP may not be perfect, but it's miles better than the Charge on Delivery method employed by major cross-border carriers for ground shipments.

If Canada had one value-added tax that applied to all ten provinces and three territories, this wouldn't be an issue, but we don't. If you can think of some way that eBay can display more accurate import charge estimates for a GSP-forwarded item prior to the Checkout process, I'm sure someone there would love to hear your suggestion. As it is, the help pages and listing page are pretty clear about the fact that the import charges are considered approximations or estimates until the buyer's address is confirmed in the Checkout process.