eIS shipping carrying on where GSP left off

[theoldestfart]

It has been years since I purchased anything from US sellers and eIS program is why.  I got the UPS tracking number and UPS said the item I was waiting for would be delivered on Thurs. I was excited UNTIL I realized that the delivery was to eBay Illinois depot since the item was purchased via eIS. It took the package 3 days to get to the depot where it has sat for 3+ days and has not moved. It has been a week since I purchased the item and now I noticed that the eBay tracking shows no movement and now says delivery "Was scheduled Monday Nov 18" 

I'm sad to say this is why I purchase a lot more things on AliExpress these days than on eBay. I can get the items in 2 weeks, and sometimes in a week.  Heck even Temu only takes 10 days to deliver items. 

eBay is my last resort in Canada when I need to buy something I can not find elsewhere. 

[theoldestfart]

Well 2 days after item entered Canada I finally got a notice from IntelComm that low and behold the item was in the local depot. Thankfully the item was delivered the next day after a scheduled appointment. However the item, a used laptop, is being returned. The keyboard is faulty. Now I have to pack it up and hopefully not pay for the shipping back to the USA. I will also have to seek a refund of the GST / PST paid. Is there any gotchas with that?

[marnotom!]

@theoldestfart, my understanding is that if you file a “not as described” case through the Money Back Guarantee process, you will be issued a return label for the eIS shipping hub and the return will be dealt with there.

As you paid taxes at the time of purchase, they should come back to you in the refund along with what you paid for the item and shipping.

[theoldestfart]

Ok thanks. From now on I am just going to stick with buying stuff from within Canada

[theoldestfart]

I looked at a replacement item it shows the following:

It shows shipping charges but says you have to checkout to determine duties but this is a buy it now item. There is no mention of GST/PST  so does one assume if that is not shown then you are going to get hit with it once CBSA processes the shipment?

This listing has a "?" which when clicked on shows this pop up

The listing shows $0 Duties but does not mention GST/PST at all.  I find that eBay's eIS UI inconsistent regarding additional charges. Some listings mention no additional fees outside of shipping. Some mention Duty, GST/PST (one I am returning did) and this one shows $0 Duties but makes no mention of GST/PST but mentions taxes in the info blurb above. 

[marnotom!]

If you put the item into your cart and then view the cart's contents, you should see a line item for the inaccurately named "import taxes" paid at Checkout. (I say that they're inaccurately called that because they're the same taxes you'd pay on a domestic purchase.)  You can then remove the item from your cart if you don't like what you see.

In addition, the listing doesn't have the warning along the lines of authorities may apply duty, taxes, fees, yadda yadda, upon delivery, so that's another clue.

You're somewhat correct about the inconsistency with eIS, but it's not a UI issue.  eIS sometimes charges taxes, etc. at Checkout and sometimes it leaves it to the carriers concerned to collect those charges.  And sometimes it gives buyers the choice between the two options.

[theoldestfart]

Thing is that some of these items are Auction items and can not be added to one's cart to see the Duty owed. Sorry but I can not see how that example I copy and pasted will make it across the Canadian border without being assessed PST and GST by CBSA or Canada Post.

I found yet another inconsistency with eIS. Here is yet another variation

 It mentions the two options available to the buyer.  Something that you do not see for Buy It Now items until you add it to your cart and proceed to the next step.

If the listing does not clearly show a breakdown of GST/PST paid, I again can see that, in my case, an additional 12% is tacked on to the price once the item crosses into Canada. . 

[theoldestfart]

I believe you are correct re In addition, the listing doesn't have the warning along the lines of authorities may apply duty, taxes, fees, yadda yadda, upon delivery, so that's another clue. With auction items one has to manually calculate sales taxes on the current high bid.

[marnotom!]

Just to recap, when I did a bit of listing searching, I found a Buy It Now listing that showed $0 in duties in the same manner as your very first screenshot and I put it in my cart.  As the cart preview showed a line for "import taxes," I would say that there's a very, very good chance that an auction that shows $0 in duties would also have taxes charged at CJheckout, especially as the warning about possible duties, taxes, etc. being levied at delivery doesn't show up on the listing or auction page.

However, do note that for eIS shipments, tax is charged on the shipping portion of the item as well as the item price, so keep that in mind if you're manually calculating tax for an auction.  Actually, it sounds as though you might know that already.

As far as your last screenshot goes, I'm pretty sure I've seen Buy-It-Nows that offer the choice of paying taxes at Checkout or on delivery.  The delivery cost used to be almost the same for the two, but recently the shipping prices have gone up considerably for items where the taxes are paid at delivery.  Based on other posts on the discussion boards and what you've been saying, I'm thinking that eIS-forwarded items where the taxes are paid on delivery are being handled by DHL, rather than Asendia.

Final thing:  Could you clarify your statement If the listing does not clearly show a breakdown of GST/PST paid, I again can see that, in my case, an additional 12% is tacked on to the price once the item crosses into Canada.   I haven't run into any listings for items where eIS is used that state the taxes that would be payable on the item.  Did you misspeak yourself or do you have an example of a listing like this for which you can provide a screenshot?

[theoldestfart]

"Final thing: Could you clarify your statement If the listing does not clearly show a breakdown of GST/PST paid, I again can see that, in my case, an additional 12% is tacked on to the price once the item crosses into Canada. I haven't run into any listings for items where eIS is used that state the taxes that would be payable on the item. Did you misspeak yourself or do you have an example of a listing like this for which you can provide a screenshot?"

This is a listing where "taxes" are specifically mentioned. This was an auction item only.  the inconsistency of the auction items listings is what is so dam frustrating to buyers and eIS.  You never know what additional fees are going to be tacked on with auction items when the item crosses the border and what fees are paid upfront when you pay for the auction.

Buy It Now items one can add it to the cart to find the price paid and whether taxes are included. It is the darn auction items whose listings are inconsistent and vague at times and it frustrates buyers.

[marnotom!]

Thanks for that post, @theoldestfart. I misunderstood your observation about "duties and taxes" appearing in the listing page, thinking that the actual amount the buyer would be paying was showing up on the listing page.

I agree that the different ways it's expressed on the listing page that all fees will be covered at checkout is a source of confusion and frustration. When I first saw the "duties paid at checkout" note many months ago, I too wondered if that included taxes as even Canadian buyers seem to confuse duties with taxes. It also doesn't help that computer hardware is duty-free anyway (correct me if I'm wrong) so in some ways, stating this is mentioning nothing new. I guess the rule of thumb is to see if the warning about extra charges on delivery appears on the listing page. If it doesn't, I think it's a safe assumption that those fees will be covered at Checkout.

devon@ebay, could you pass along to the appropriate team that here in Canada we're seeing three different notes on listing pages where eIS will be charging taxes and duties at Checkout, and only one of them (the one that specifically mentions "duties and taxes" and not just "zero duties") actually clarifies what's going on?

[theoldestfart]

Thanks @marnotom!. As a buyer in Canada, I have been frustated since eIS was first brought on line by eBay. eIS inconsistent listing practises makes Auction items a confusing mess with buyers unable to easily determine all the charges and fees & whether additional fees will be payable once item reaches Canada. eBay needs to standardize on the wording and provide clear suscient information up front in a list page.

[theoldestfart]

This is yet another frustrating example of lack of information for eIS buyers. It is totally missing the 12% sales taxes which is about $63 CAD

Show us buyers the final total. The final total at check out is useless for auction and best offer!

[marnotom!]

I've never made an offer on an item listed on the Canadian site, @theoldestfart. Do taxes show up on the offer screen for those?

I think what we're running into with the listing in your latest screenshot is that taxes can't be confirmed on the item until Checkout because at the "offer pending" stage, the buyer hasn't confirmed their shipping address. I think this was a problem with offers and the GSP as well.

Will add that the "Duties and fees: $0" note is annoyingly confusing, and something different than the app's message shows up on the desktop version of eBay.

[theoldestfart]

Apparently in the prior screenshot one can click on Go to Check out to see a grand total including taxes with out committing to accepting the deal. I am always hesitate clicking on buttons in these types of situations in the fear that I will commit myself into buying an item. 

I have no idea if this is the same behavoir on the eBay Canadian site or not. These work around seem to be kludges to try to fix old code in eBay to work around issues with eIS. 

[marnotom!]

Legend has it that Pierre Omidyar coded the original AuctionWeb site over the course of a Labour Day long weekend, and we’ve been paying the price for his speed since.

[marnotom!]

I don't know if you realize this, @theoldestfart, but you've posted this to the Answer Center.

Did you have a question?

[theoldestfart]

If one won an auction on an item shipped via eIS and GST/PST was included in the total amount paid and duty was shown as $0, I assume that no further collection of funds will occur? This includes no additional brokerage fees etc once item crosses into Canada?

I am asking because after the item sat for 5 days in eBay's depot some unknown carrier used by Asendia United States is transporting it to Canada where lovely IntelComm is the last mile carrier. 

[marnotom!]

Yes, @theoldestfart, just like with the GSP's "import charges," if you're charged GST/HST/PST at checkout for an item forwarded through eIS, you shouldn't end up paying anything along those lines when you receive the item.  And the "0" duty should hold, as well.  There's actually a lot of stuff that gets into Canada duty-free, so I'm not surprised you're not seeing a duty charge.

For what it's worth, you may not be familiar with Asendia, but it's a pretty major player when it comes to mail consolidation.  It was actually started up as a joint venture between the Swiss and French postal systems, and has a market presence in over a dozen countries.  Canada isn't one of them, however, but as far as I know items handled by Asendia go through Canada Post on this side of the border, but perhaps Intelcom is being used in your case because of the possibility of labour disruption with Canada Post.

Incidentally, posts on the discussion boards suggest that five days isn't that bad for an eIS-forwarded item's side-trip at the hub.  I'm starting to think that aside from what's probably been staffing cuts, a lot of the delays at the hub are the result of sellers not preparing their items properly for handling by eIS and a lot of extra work has to be done at the hub to prepare the items for export.

[theoldestfart]

I have found over the prior years IntelComm tracking was next to useless. They would never indicate that they even had the package let alone where oarcel is. I am not always home and am in an apartment so someone needs to be home the day of the delivery. Apparently the item is in Canada somewhere.