eBay

towa-7019 · ‎03-14-2021

So I recently purchased an item from a seller based in Japan. The item listing wrote that the item will be sent through EMS or registered air, which is the reason I bought from the seller as they are usually hassle-free.
The seller however, chose to send the item through DHL without letting me know, and I received an email that I need to pay 22 dollars in duty and "fees" to get my item. The item was worth 65 dollars.

This is entirely unreasonable and I would have avoided this seller if I knew they use DHL, and upon contacting the seller I was told to "please pay the fees to receive my item". Ebay deemed a refund is not possible because the item appears to be stuck in customs awaiting pick-up. What should I do in this situation, maybe I should just take my medicine and avoid this seller at all cost in the future?

marnotom! · ‎03-15-2021

Not the answer you're wanting, but, yes, I think you should suck it up.

My rationale is that even items sent by mail can be hit with customs charges; it's just that Canada Border Services isn't as diligent about assessing and charging them as they used to be when my wife and I started buying on eBay in the late 1990s.

I don't know what province or territory you live in and what your item is, but let's say that it's not subject to duty. It would still have HST or GST and PST charges. If you're in Ontario, those charges would be $8.45; if you're in Alberta, $3.25. Sent by mail. you'd be looking at another $9.95 charge from Canada Post to collect that HST or GST/PST. So if your seller had sent your item by EMS or registered, you could have been looking at additional charges ranging from $13.20 to $19.70 depending on your province/territory.

As I mentioned earlier, I'm not even factoring duty into all this. Your DHL charges seem reasonable to me in this context. If you don't pay, you're not going to get a refund through eBay anyway. I'm thinking your seller thought they were doing you a favour by using DHL as COVID has made the mail so unpredictable lately, so don't give them a rough ride over this. Just chalk it up as part of the learning curve of importing, just as my wife and I did over twenty years ago.

reallynicestamps · ‎03-15-2021

The duty-free allowance has been $150 since July1,2020.

So those import fees would be sales tax* plus the customs brokerage fee from DHL.

*Tax -free allowance on imports is $40. Sales taxes would be charged on the full $65.

marnotom! · ‎03-15-2021

@reallynicestamps wrote:

The duty-free allowance has been $150 since July1,2020.
So those import fees would be sales tax* plus the customs brokerage fee from DHL.

I know it's confusing, but that $150 duty-free threshold applies only to courier shipments from the US and Mexico. It's a CUSMA / USMCA thing.

https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/services/cusma-aceum/lvs-efv-eng.html

@reallynicestamps wrote:

*Tax -free allowance on imports is $40. Sales taxes would be charged on the full $65.

No quibbles there. Just keep in mind that the $40 threshold is for items sent by courier. Items sent by mail are still subject to the old $20 limit.

darak10 · ‎03-16-2021

apparently im not able to post links here but google "DHL hidden fees CBC article" and give it a read, it may help you. There are ways around these DHL fees apparently and as the article says it involves going to your local customs and border control office (theres one in every major city to my knowledge, Edmonton has one for example) to clear the item manually yourself, apparently you can do that and get around the fees. Check out the article for more information.

femmefan1946 · ‎03-16-2021

Yes, you can do your own customs brokerage on any imports.

The question then becomes whether you have more time or more money.

Driving (or worse, bussing) to the CBSA site -- probably out by the airport-- then doing the paperwork? Set aside an hour or more. During business hours.

Then compare the cost of your labour at either minimum wage OR your own hourly wage. It may be cheaper to pay the shipping company.

On the other hand, anything that gets us out of the house at this time is a New Adventure!

marnotom! · ‎03-16-2021

Yup, yup. And I really don’t see what’s so onerous about DHL’s charges in this instance. They certainly compare favourably to the charges UPS slaps on ground shipments from the States.