Import fees (Having to Pay Twice?!)

[michaefrymu0]

I just bought a used item off eBay...

It was extra for shipping ($20) - understandable

Then there was an extra 'Import Fee' ($30) - What?

Now I'm getting a notification from the shipping company that I owe them more money for the import fee ($30)

What is going on here?!

Where did that original $30 "import fee" go to?

Why do I have to pay an additional import fee of $30???

Never buying from eBay again!

What a scam

[femmefan1946]

Import fees are made up of duty, SALES TAXES , and the shipper's service fee (which has various names and can vary from $5 to $25or more).

The term "import fees" is usually used by Pitney Bowes/ Global Shipping Program.

Look at the original listing.

Does it say , below the price,

Customs services and international tracking provided

That is the signal that the GSP has been used.

BUT

Sometimes the seller does not use the proper shipping system.

He is supposed  to send your item to Erlanger KY (the GSP plant) and they re-ship to your doorstep.

All fees are paid by that original $30 (duty, sales tax, service charge.)

But if he decided it would be a good idea to ship directly, say be UPS, they don't know anything about the $30 import fees and will charge you their own import fees.

SO

Start with your seller.

Ask him for the date of shipping, the service used and the tracking number.

That will tell you, when you check the tracking number, if it went to Erlanger.

If it didn't come back here for further advice.

[michaefrymu0]

Looking at the tracking it is at Erlanger , Kentucky

[momcqueen]

I'm skeptical that notice came from the Global Shipping Program. Did it have an urgent tone and require you to click an embedded link? 

[femmefan1946]

@momcqueen Was the notice attached and then removed by the mods?

[momcqueen]

No, no. It just seems suspicious to me that the 'carrier' would suddenly demand more import fees be paid if the parcel is, in fact, being handled by the Global Shipping Program as the OP has now confirmed is the case. Even if the GSP/PB somehow undercharged the buyer in this instance, I do doubt they'd try to shake him down for more funds, more likely it would just come from the pot and be chalked up to an 'adjustment'. It seems hinkey. 

[momcqueen]

Or if it is a legit notice maybe it’s from fedex for an entirely separate transaction. We all know their modus operandi. I almost hit the roof the first time I got one of the after-the-fact bills in the mail. That was 12 years ago now.

To the OP: have you recently had delivered any online goods imported into Canada and dropped on your doorstep by a courier service as opposed to Canada Post? Like Fedex or UPS or DHL or canpak or dynatex?

[michaefrymu0]

It was an automated call at first, I got three of them I believe and an email. And it was from FedEx

[momcqueen]

You’ll have to call them back to see which parcel this is about. Given that it’s fedex, I’m 98.5 per cent sure this is an entirely different order, one you had delivered from outside Canada within the past 45 days by Fedex. Never order internationally from a seller, any seller on eBay or outside eBay, who uses a courier to deliver their international orders. The couriers collect on every item valued over the $20 de minimums by mail AND they charge a hefty brokerage fee to do it. Also, unlike UPS who hits you up on the doorstep for that, Fedex sends you the bill afterwards. Like you’re seeing now. It’s a legit bill but it has nothing to do, I’m sure, with your GSP order.

[marnotom!]

I support @momcqueen's hypothesis that the telephone call from FedEx likely concerns a completely different order.

@michaefrymu0:  If the last scan of the order you made on eBay is in Erlanger, Kentucky, and it still states that the item is being processed by the Global Shipping Program, it's likely that it hasn't reached Canada yet.  If the tracking information has been updated and it appears that it's made it into Canada, there should be a way to track your item on the carrier's website.  It would be useful to see if FedEx is indeed the Canadian carrier for this item.

You can also track items forwarded through the Global Shipping Program here.  The information may be a little more detailed than what you're getting through eBay:

https://parceltracking.pb.com/

[marnotom!]

I will add that my wife has also received automated calls and emails from FedEx and DHL about items she's ordered from outside of Canada that won't be released to her until she pays by online banking, but I believe they were items she ordered from Asia, not the United States. 

[momcqueen]

Further to that, the automated messages will also start if you don't pay your bill within the timeframe requested. I had a mixup with a fedex shipping bill (not for import fees but for sending a package) which I thought had been posted to my FedEx account but apparently hadn't, so I ignored it for a time. FedEx really won't just ago way. 

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

There is another possibility here. The item may have been purchased for a particularly low value and that's what was declared on the original customs documents. Upon physical inspection someone decided it was worth a lot more and re-accessed duties and taxes and that could have caused the additional charges. Example: Someone declaring an item, a book for $2.00. Open the package and book says on back $19.95. It's a judgement decision on customs part or its just way too obvious. Not fair but what can happen.

-CM

[momcqueen]

True. But that wouldn't be the  OP's Global Shipping Program order which was his/her initial concern. It may certainly explain the bill from FedEx though. 

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

I'd personally like to see exactly what a seller using GSP does and includes with each package to get it to Erlanger and then what happens once it arrives. Quite sure there never was an actual webinar for that!! I know that shipments sent by DHL from Canada get processed and inspected by US Customs in Cincinnati,  Fedex is Memphis. So very likely is the same situation in Erlanger. US customs/package screening is a higher power with my past dealing with them. Another possibility an item could be re-assessed would be if it was declared with an incorrect HS code. The new code "could" have a higher duty rate attached to it.

-CM

[momcqueen]

Also a good point. 

[marnotom!]

---

@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:

I'd personally like to see exactly what a seller using GSP does and includes with each package to get it to Erlanger and then what happens once it arrives. Quite sure there never was an actual webinar for that!! I know that shipments sent by DHL from Canada get processed and inspected by US Customs in Cincinnati,  Fedex is Memphis. So very likely is the same situation in Erlanger. US customs/package screening is a higher power with my past dealing with them. Another possibility an item could be re-assessed would be if it was declared with an incorrect HS code. The new code "could" have a higher duty rate attached to it.

-CM

---

https://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/faq/global-shipping.html#m22_tb_a2__2

I just sold an item with the Program. What do I do next?

When a GSP item sells you simply ship the item to the Global Shipping Center in Kentucky. The GSP takes care of the rest. This includes filling out customs forms, paying import fees, and providing international shipping to your buyer. The GSP also includes end-to-end international tracking so you can stay up to date throughout the process. You should also upload your domestic tracking number to the order, and include the GSP reference number on your domestic shipping label.

[marnotom!]

---

@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:

I know that shipments sent by DHL from Canada get processed and inspected by US Customs in Cincinnati,  Fedex is Memphis. So very likely is the same situation in Erlanger. US customs/package screening is a higher power with my past dealing with them.

---

I'm a bit confused by this.  Yes, of course US customs is responsible for processing and inspecting imports from Canada, just as the Canada Border Services Agency is responsible for processing and inspecting imports from the United States, China or where-have-you.  In other words, no kidding.  

You do have a point that for whatever reason, the United States is pretty obsessed with accounting for its exports and I believe that's dealt with at the Global Shipping Center.  GSP shipments are dealt with by professional freight forwarders and logistics companies and it's up to CBSA to make sure that the paperwork done makes sense from an import perspective when they make it into Canada.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

My apologies...There was a bit of polite sarcasm thrown in a US direction included with that post regarding GSP. In most situations it would be very easy for sellers to ship without using the GSP system for lower dollar value shipments. Customs paperwork is now a lot simpler to fill out on either side of the border. Takes me less than 5 minutes to package and process an international shipment and my shipments rarely get delayed. My major complaint with GSP is it Guarantees that you will pay customs clearance fees and duties(Without GSP its entirely at the inspectors discretion) on your order along with delaying the delivery due to increased handling and bad routing. Personally I try to avoid a seller using GSP at all costs.

-CM

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

What I'm thinking is that Erlanger may have customs inspectors from  both US Customs & Canada Customs in their facility involved with inspections and or pre-clearance and very likely because shipments are going out with multiple carriers - USPS, DHL, Fedex, UPS  etc they also have offices in that same building to reduce handling once the freight is approved for forwarding. The process is supposed to be paperless, but there are still a number of steps involved to get freight on its way. Random additional inspections can happen again when the freight reaches either border and that in a very large nutshell is what can cause delays.

-CM

PS. Previous experience involved shipping and customs paperwork for 15 to 20 Major Tradeshows in the US,  shipping sample prototypes to customers worldwide for presentations with on-time requirements and shipping final assembled orders.