eBay

Anonymous · ‎01-22-2018

I bought an item for 99p (UK) and paid 13.33 pounds for the shipping. (What did I know perhaps it cost that amount to ship to Sweden) I received the package and noticed the actual shipping cost was 2.90. I contacted the seller over the charges it seems all she received from Paypal was 3.99.

How can e bay justify charging four times the actual amount.

GOUGING IS NOT THE RIGHT WORD

momcqueen · ‎01-22-2018

What you are describing doesn't, in fact, add up.

Sellers receive roughly 93.5 to 96.5 per cent of any transaction in funds. The remainder is paypal fees.

ebay isn't 'justifying' anything. The seller is setting their own prices and postage. Many sellers use a 'handling fee' on postage to offset any number of fees or costs. UNLESS THIS UK SELLER USED THE GLOBAL SHIPPING PROGRAM in which case your overage was, in fact, your pre-paid customs fee. Canadians owe taxes on virtually everything sent by mail over $20 CAD.

As a buyer, you need to look at total cost to determine what is worth your while.

And be prepared to pay your import taxes like every other good Canadian.

femmefan1946 · ‎01-22-2018

If the seller did use the Global Shipping Program from the UK to Sweden* , there would not be duty because both countries are part of the European Union.

There would be (Swedish) VAT based on the value of the item that it sold for.

You can import up to 4300Kr** duty free , and most countries don't charge tax on items that are under the duty-free limit.

And the US/GSP service charge is about ~$5.

The difference is -- oh gosh-- there are three different currencies in there.

Around $6 or so?

I'd call Customer Support- NOT the eBay Canada one which gives you the USA clerks who barely understand that Canada exists and Ghu help you with concepts like "Euro". "sweden", and "VAT".

Ask for a GSP specialist and for an explanation of the charges.

*you do know you are on the eBay CANADA boards, right?

**Sweden is in the EU but kept the kroner? Interesting.

ypdc_dennis · ‎01-22-2018

Why is a buyer from SWEDEN complaining about a UK purchase on the CANADIAN forums ?

Ask on the https://community.ebay.co.uk

Anonymous · ‎01-23-2018

I am a Canadian living in Sweden, what's odd about that? I registered in Canada many moons ago,

if I close my Canuck account and open a Swedish I lose all my feedback that I've accumulated over 15 or so years.

There was no duty on the goods just a whopping big profit for e bay!

reallynicestamps · ‎01-23-2018

Duty is usually a very small part, it's the sales taxes that are killers.

How much is sales tax in Sweden?

If your UK seller was using the Global Shipping Program, the 'import fees' correct or not went to the Swedish government, and to Pitney Bowes, not to eBay*.

What happens is that GSP conglomerates all the packages going to Sweden and based on the seller descriptions and selling prices, comes up with the amount they think they owe the Swedish** government.

If the seller isn't clear about what is being sold, they extrapolate which mean making it up.

We see complaints about non-dutiable goods being charged 'import fees' all the time. Mostly bullion and coins for some reason.

What really throws me is that your item is only valued at 99p. Which should be waaaay below the duty-free allowance.

*We don't know the deal eBay has with PB to run the GSP, they may pay PB to run it or PB may pay eBay for the opportunity. Up in the air.

**Or Canadian or German or Indian...

afantiques · ‎01-23-2018

There would be no taxes at all on a British item sent to Sweden.

We are still in the EU for now, and it is a tax free customs union like the states of the USA or Canadian provinces.

The shipping charge was probably split seller to UK hub in Derbyshire, and UK hub to buyer in Sweden. Seller only gets the UK part of the shipping.

Reading the listing again should show mention of the GSP. Whatever the situation, the total shipping cost should be shown on the listing.

It would, however, be possible to see only the UK shipping version, BUT you would need to have set the listing option 'ship to' address as UK, something you would probably not do accidentally. And even then the actual purchase screen should have shown the cost to Sweden as it would then be using your registered 'Ship to' address to get your location.

momcqueen · ‎01-23-2018

Right, Sweden. Good catch.

Anonymous · ‎01-23-2018

Bottom line here is that the shipping should be no more than 6 pounds at the most, all I want to know is where does the rest of the fee go to? There is no duty or Vat to pay. I don't mind sellers making a little on the shipping, but more than double is a rip off. I also sell on e bay and only charge what I am charged at the PO.

And once again, I am a Canadian living in Sweden with an e bay account registered in Canada.

momcqueen · ‎01-23-2018

Bottom line is that you have every right to question it but your seller also has every right to set their own handling fee*. As a buyer, you have to look at the total purchase price to determine whether it is worth it to you. It sounds like you already tried to speak about the handling fee to the seller and they fed you some fudge. Was there special packaging involved in this item? Was it particularly fragile? Was the extra cost spent on third-party insurance? You don't know. If you regret the purchase as a result of the handling fee issue, ask about a Return.

*As a seller, I don't charge any handling fee because, as a buyer, I feel the same about it as you do. So you have my sympathy but, in reality, according to policy here your seller did nothing terribly wrong.

afantiques · ‎01-23-2018

It would seem sensible to establish if this was a GSP transaction before castigating the seller further.

Regardless of whether the cost was handling or shipping, it would have still appeared on the listing as a shipping and handling charge (or postage and packing in the UK) and should have come as no surprise.

pjcdn2005 · ‎01-23-2018

@Anonymous wrote:
I bought an item for 99p (UK) and paid 13.33 pounds for the shipping. (What did I know perhaps it cost that amount to ship to Sweden) I received the package and noticed the actual shipping cost was 2.90. I contacted the seller over the charges it seems all she received from Paypal was 3.99.
How the &%€# can e bay justify charging four times the actual amount.
GOUGING IS NOT THE RIGHT WORD

This was sent through the gsp correct? If the seller received just under 4 pounds that means they received the item cost plus the postage that the seller paid (2.90) for shipping to the UK gsp center. Then the gsp (Pitney Bowest) charges about 3 or 4 pounds as a service charge for handling and processing the package. That leaves about 6 pounds to pay for the carrier to take the package to Sweden.

Personally, I would never buy a low cost lightweight item from a seller using the gsp because it can add so much more on to the price. Shipping for heavy or expensive items sent from the US to Canada is often cheaper through the gsp than if the seller had sent them directly. I don't really understand why a seller feels the need to use it for a 99p item but the shipping price is listed on the listing so it is up to you whether or not you are willing to pay that cost.

momcqueen · ‎01-23-2018

@afantiques wrote:
It would seem sensible to establish if this was a GSP transaction before castigating the seller further.
Regardless of whether the cost was handling or shipping, it would have still appeared on the listing as a shipping and handling charge (or postage and packing in the UK) and should have come as no surprise.

I couldn't agree more. If you read the complete thread, you will see that my first reply (Message 2 of 12) assumed the seller used the Global Shipping Program. As an alternative, my next response assumes they did not. We have no clarification from the Original Poster in the meantime.

marnotom! · ‎01-24-2018

If the buyer "noticed" that the actual shipping charge was £2.90, I don't see how this could have been a GSP shipment. Unless things have changed, my understanding us that GSP items don't travel by mail within countries other than Canada.

EDIT: Sorry, I'm tired. The £2.90 is obviously the charge for shipping the package from the seller to the UK Global Shipping Centre.