eBay

zjose4u · ‎10-21-2014

It limits my shopping with Ebay lately. I can go direct and find shipping 0 to 1/4 of Ebays charges...........................

amokesignal · ‎11-08-2016

I believe that sellers are using the "shipping" fee to earn more for their items. They advertise a low purchase fee to get buyers attention - BUT totally unreasonable shipping fee. The same item can range from $15 to over $100! Come on! Only a fool would buy an item that would fit in an envelope and pay $50 for shipping!

Example- 50 foot Fish tape:

C $16.39
List price: C $73.71
Buy It Now
+C $127.31 shipping
From United States

I can buy the same fish tape from Home Depot for $35.95

This type if abuse has me annoyed with both the sellers and eBay for allowing this practice to continue.

marnotom! · ‎11-08-2016

@amokesignal wrote:

I believe that sellers are using the "shipping" fee to earn more for their items. They advertise a low purchase fee to get buyers attention - BUT totally unreasonable shipping fee. The same item can range from $15 to over $100! Come on! Only a fool would buy an item that would fit in an envelope and pay $50 for shipping!

Example- 50 foot Fish tape:
C $16.39
List price: C $73.71
Buy It Now
+C $127.31 shipping
From United States
I can buy the same fish tape from Home Depot for $35.95
This type if abuse has me annoyed with both the sellers and eBay for allowing this practice to continue.

I found the listing in question, or at the very least a similar one from the same seller.

The seller is in the United States and offers "free" shipping within the United States by UPS. They offer an unspecified "Standard Int'l Shipping" service to Canada. My guess is that it's a UPS express service of some sort. If they wanted to make money off of their shipping charge, they wouldn't be offering "free" shipping domestically.

femmefan1946 · ‎11-08-2016

Ive had to drop my shipping below the real cost and offer my products lower then anything similar.

It's a truism that some things are not meant for mail order.

I see that you are listing on dotCA. Have you considered listing the items (mostly coins) that can be shipped LetterPost/LightPacket on dotCOM and using Flat Rate or ever Free Shipping>

Don't Panic!

Free Shipping just means including the price of shipping in the asking price for the item.

Which is cheaper:

Your uncirculated loonie for $3.50 plus $1.50 shipping? or the same coin for $5 with Free Shipping?

And if you list it on dotCOM those numbers become $2.80/$1.20/$4

And of course those are the same amount, but emotionally the item sounds cheaper in US dollars and buyers looooooove Free Shipping. Nothing rational about it. But it works.

Frankly, the ornaments and similar bulky items you are offering seem perfectly reasonably priced to me. And your feedback shows that your customers are very happy with your product and service. Congratulations!

Your purchases from US sellers have higher shipping for a couple of reasons, again a mixture of rational and emotional.

The actual cost of USPS shipping has risen. https://ircalc.usps.com/ and the cheaper but still delivery confirmed rates are on the second page. (Did you notice there is a second page?). So that's rational.

Many of your buyers are suffering from the Trump Effect and are more xenophobic and risk-averse than they were a few years back. Which is saying something about our neighbours. They are demanding protection against evil foreigners.

Which brings us to the Global Shipping Program. I won't get into that-- there are two 5000-post threads about the stupidity and bloodymindedness of the GSP.

monm_wo_psara5ur9m · ‎07-13-2017

I live in Canada and have been buying from eBay but didn't notice that most of the time my purchases cost LESS THAN THE SHIPPING !!! I feel like a a#*hole for lowballing the sellers but when shipping and "import fee" are so high nobody can afford to pay the sellers there fair price!l I have noticed that many people are starting to sell stuff"especially Lululemon stuff thru Facebook groups!! You will get a way better price and your buyers will not feel like they are ripping u off!!!

reallynicestamps · ‎07-13-2017

Yep.

That's the emotional response.

Buyers detest paying ANY shipping, and even more when the shipping is higher than the selling price.

But look here:

https://postcalc.usps.com/?country=10440

Make a few guesses and throw a few numbers at that site.

Shipping has nothing to do with the value of the item.

The cost of shipping is based on the dimensions, weight and (important for Canadian buyers) the destination of the shipment.

And Canada starts assessing duty (and SALES TAX) on imports at $20 Cdn (about $16 USD).

people are starting to sell stuff"especially Lululemon stuff thru Facebook groups!!

If you have time to pick the item up that can be a real money saver although the minimum wage here in BC is 18 cents a minute..

But if the seller is shipping, she's still working with USPS and Canada Post shipping costs.

Prices may actually be higher because eBay sellers can buy discounted shipping labels through Paypal and other shipping sites that have negotiated contracts with eBay. Some sellers use these discounts to reduce what they charge the customer.

TL/DR

Is the amount you paid satisfactory? Why do you care how the seller splits it up?

joseph_scallywag · ‎07-30-2017

I don't buy from the USA unless it's completely unavoidable .I've looked at the shipping invoices and I've been charged double ,even triple the amount for shipping that is shown on the invoices.I've been told that it's because of Customs duties.But that simply isn't true since most items from the USA fall under the NAFTA agreement .You may be charged some GST but that is a small amount comparatively.Some one please explain to me why I can buy from any other county in the world and not be hit with these absurd charges.I've got stuff from the UK far far cheaper than the same thing from the USA and still received my purchase in a more than reasonable time. So much for free trade.

marnotom! · ‎07-30-2017

@joseph_scallywag wrote:

I don't buy from the USA unless it's completely unavoidable .I've looked at the shipping invoices and I've been charged double ,even triple the amount for shipping that is shown on the invoices.I've been told that it's because of Customs duties.But that simply isn't true since most items from the USA fall under the NAFTA agreement .You may be charged some GST but that is a small amount comparatively.Some one please explain to me why I can buy from any other county in the world and not be hit with these absurd charges.I've got stuff from the UK far far cheaper than the same thing from the USA and still received my purchase in a more than reasonable time. So much for free trade.

I'm going to hazard a guess that you've been purchasing items from the US that have been shipped by ground through carriers such as UPS and FedEx. While their shipping costs may be pretty reasonable, their fees related to customs clearance and processing ain't.

reallynicestamps · ‎07-31-2017

ZOMBIE THREAD FROM 2014

The problem with zombie threads is that information in them may be out of date and inaccurate.

reallynicestamps · ‎07-31-2017

But that simply isn't true since most items from the USA fall under the NAFTA agreement .

Only if they are made in the USA, Canada or Mexico.

Canada has Free Trade agreements with several other countries, including Costa Rica and Chile.

But if the item was made in China, it doesn't matter where it was purchased,

The location of the MANUFACTURER is the reason for duty.

And Canada has no Free Trade agreements with China.

And sales taxes are both provincial and federal.

All imports*, no matter where they were made, are subject to GST/HST/PST , which is between 5% and 15% depending on province.

The Global Shipping Program is used by US and UK sellers.

It is a Seller Protection Program designed to reassure US and UK sellers who are historically loathe to deal with foreign buyers.

The GSP, like any courier,charges duty and taxes and a small (~$5)service fee BEFORE the seller ships.

It is not designed to help the buyer.

It is not designed to speed up delivery.

*Used goods are not dutiable, but they are still taxable.

joseph_scallywag · ‎08-02-2017

Never use UPS or Fedex .All purchases have been sent USPS.

marnotom! · ‎08-02-2017

@joseph_scallywag wrote:

Never use UPS or Fedex .All purchases have been sent USPS.

Okay, then I'm confused by this statement:

I've looked at the shipping invoices and I've been charged double ,even triple the amount for shipping that is shown on the invoices.

Can you go into a bit more detail, perhaps provide a specific example?

herchenrader0rck · ‎09-26-2017

if the item you've ordered is less then $20 there are no Canadian duties. I've started to shop more elsewhere. Ebay will lose most of my purchases to other vendors with fairer rates. Even Amazon does not charge what Ebay does.

reallynicestamps · ‎09-26-2017

Amazon does charge appropriate duty and sales taxes.

They don't break those costs out, so many people are unaware of them.

They also have low shipping costs since they are selling from their own central warehouses and get better rates than the thousands of independent eBay sellers.

Duty and sales taxes on items over $20CDN (~$16USD) are the law and any commercial shipper would be foolish to ignore it.

CBSA does informally ignore the law, on the basis that it would cost the taxpayer more to assess low value imports than could possibly be collected. CBSA officers' wages start around $40,000 annually.

marnotom! · ‎09-26-2017

@reallynicestamps wrote:

Amazon does charge appropriate duty and sales taxes.
They don't break those costs out, so many people are unaware of them.

I second this. I've compared the price of exactly the same item on the .com and .ca sites, and the purchase price on the .ca site is a lot higher. A lot. I've run the item through checkout (before cancelling) and the site appears not to charge taxes and duties as separate line items, but I think one can easily conclude where those charges are ending up instead.

tyler@ebay · ‎10-13-2017

Hey everyone,

Due to the length of time that has passed since this thread began I have locked it from future replies. If this is still an issue that warrants discussion, don't hesitate to begin a new thread!

Tyler,