Upcoming Tariffs

rob@ebay  Sorry Rob- No idea who else to annoy.  eBay has to create a policy that follows the norm with standard international trade policies and send out an email to every buyer and seller- by the looks of it- WORLDWIDE, but in particular the countries that it's going to affect most - sellers and buyers- in Canada, US and Mexico and explain what the policy eBay has come up with- I know you guys won't want to cross 'The Donald'- but facts are that tariffs are a form of duty- by the international norm- that is the buyers responsibility- regardless what dump- sorry, I mean the leader states.  Americans have been sold a bill of goods- although most mainstream media in the US have clarified that it's not the exporting country that pays the tariff; it's the actual American business/consumer.   I'm about to stop selling in the US because I don't want to get in the middle of the pending craziness-  the only thing eBay is saying is that you are 'monitoring the tariff situation'- that's not good enough- Buyers AND Sellers need to know what's going on.  March is coming quickly, and all of Canamerica needs to know what's happening (sorry- couldn't resist).  

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Re: Upcoming Tariffs

If D.T. doesn't know what the H he is doing, what exactly do you expect eBay to do &/or how do you expect eBay to proceed with any sort of advisement/plan/action,etc?? It is unrealistic to expect eBay to take measures when no one yet knows what is going to be thrown at any given country by DT. So in the meantime, It is exactly that >"monitoring the tariff situation"/"a wait and see"...

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Re: Upcoming Tariffs


@mrdutch1001 wrote:

If D.T. doesn't know what the H he is doing, what exactly do you expect eBay to do &/or how do you expect eBay to proceed with any sort of advisement/plan/action,etc?? It is unrealistic to expect eBay to take measures when no one yet knows what is going to be thrown at any given country by DT. So in the meantime, It is exactly that >"monitoring the tariff situation"/"a wait and see"...


It would be nice to at least know they're working on something though.  They need to start by requiring country of origin on all listings and displaying a clear notice in the checkout that the buyer could have to pay duty upon receipt. 

 

Bringing in an (optional) global shipping program to Canada would also be very helpful as that way there would be no surprises at all for the buyer and would allow sellers to not have to navigate the rapidly changing laws of each international destination if they don't wish to. 

 

Redirecting Canadian users to eBay dot ca by default would also be useful (with an option to go to the USA site if they wished). Many people just type dot com for everything and are likely unaware the Canadian site even exists. Listings by Canadian sellers that don't ship a given item to the States won't show up to Canadian buyers on the USA site.

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Re: Upcoming Tariffs

Simple- eBay send an email to affected buyers and sellers saying that this is eBay's policy- whatever they may be - that will be put in place when or if the tariffs are put into force- That way, everyone knows what to plan for.  It's unfair for a company the size of eBay with a world audience to keep it a secret- If you sell something- and it gets returned by US Customs- who's responsible?  Who is going to pay the $35 shipping cost? eBay? The buyer who hasn't received the item?  EBay collects all the applicable taxes and duties in Canada for any jurisdiction a seller ships to. They need to clarify their position.  We aren't talking rocket science.  It's safe to say- whatever tariffs, if any, will be put on Canadian or Mexican goods - those countries will apply similar tariffs.  If eBay had the policy before anything happened, it would take all the guesswork out of the issue and make it easier for buyers and sellers.  Does anyone believe ANY company is not making plans on what to do?  I've already received suppliers' emails from both sides of the border on their action plans.  Any seller that is serious about eBay being a business has to be prepared for the potential ramifications- if not, there is a good chance they won't be in business in a couple of months from now- what's the old saying- wish for the best, but prepare for the worst?

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Re: Upcoming Tariffs

 

eBay is not going to use its personnel or resources on something until it knows what is needed...

A global shipping program for Canada is never going to happen...

.CA is a very minor portion of the eBay world...

Canadian sellers need to realize that we have to work with what is provided for us and stop all this wishful thinking. Sellers always want more,more,more >More comes with a price, so do they want more fees too?

 

 

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Re: Upcoming Tariffs

therein lies the problem:" when or if the tariffs"...eBay cannot clarify anything until eBay knows what is expected of them...There are some things things that just cannot be worked out until there is something to work out. No one knows at this point how any of this is going to affect any given Marketplace facillitator and/or who is expected to collect tariffs, so trying to put the cart before the horse just ain't gonna work.

yes perhaps supplers can anticipate the necessary plan of action and/or work on whatever they need to do because they are SUPPLIERS and they most likely already deal with tariffs...eBay is NOT a supplier, eBay is a Marketplace Facillitator.

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Re: Upcoming Tariffs

I agree that Canada, according to the latest stats I can find, represents just over 1% of total sellers- it's a little more difficult to see the number of actual sales in Canada- although most of the traffic is from the US and the UK- but you have to understand- this isn't just a Canadian/Mexico (which has almost 1.5% of ebay traffic)- the tariff threats is being made to the EU-   Look at the numbers- 31% of all sellers are from the US.   The UK has 29%, Germany 15%, Italy, France, and Belgium another 4% in total- that means including the UK and the EU, the total number - over 48% of the sellers are from the UK, and just for fun- add on Canada, Mexico- we are at over 50%-  Then of course there is 12% from China, 1%- Hong Kong, and a surprise to me- 4%- Australia.  Yes, Canada alone may not mean much- although getting accurate data on sales for individual countries is challenging.  These tariffs will affect more than us- and we ALL need to be prepared.  For fun, log into the UK or FR sites and look at their chat rooms. They are acting and getting ready, and we must do the same.  It doesn't take much for eBay to create an email- IF the tariffs go into place, this is what will happen- what happens to us- will send a clear message to the rest of the eBay GLOBAL community.    You say that sellers want more and more- but what exactly are we getting for the money we are paying?  Honestly, I would gladly pay more if my store had a worldwide reach- but all we get are empty promises. 

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Re: Upcoming Tariffs

We sellers have no way of knowing what is going on behind the scenes, and IF there is need for an announcement eBay will do so when it becomes necessary...again, it is pointless to speculate, and pointless to go around in circles with the WHAT IF.

BTW, if you are so unhappy with eBay and the way it runs its business, why are you still a seller on eBay?

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Re: Upcoming Tariffs

I'm kind of curious if it's 1% listing on dot ca or 1% of sellers physically located in Canada. A significant number of Canadian sellers seem to list on dot com.

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Re: Upcoming Tariffs

The world's decision-making is based on 'if's'.   Don't you think the world is preparing IF the US pulls its support of Ukraine?   Do you believe that the businesses are making plans just in case IF there is a downturn in business?  People have insurance because IF they are suffering a loss- they want to protect themselves.   You honestly don't believe that eBay isn't prepared for the possibility of what happens IF the tariffs are applied?  I'm sure even rob@ebay will tell you they do.   EBay sent out emails weeks in advance of the postal strike of the possibility IF it were to happen and to warn sellers to make other arrangements in case it were to happen.   I suggest they let us know the plan- just like they did when Canada Post went on strike.    Regarding your other comments- when looking up the numbers after your comments last night about how 'unimportant Canada is to eBay, ' I made an interesting discovery- they are number THREE in e-commerce sites- globally.   If Canada isn't important to eBay, what AM  I doing here- that is a good question.   

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Re: Upcoming Tariffs

All the numbers say is that just over 1% of sellers are in Canada- they don't say physically or using the .ca site-  Then there are people like me who use both.  Think about it- if you have a .dom site- what are you going to do IF the tariffs happen- I guess if whatever product you have has that good of a profit margin, you could take the loss- but most can't.  With 90% of the Canadian population living near the US border, it's not unusual- myself included (I'm in Hamilton) for people to have PO boxes in the US- however, eBay doesn't allow you to use PO boxes- because of potential tax implications- which I get.  When I asked about them- they said I would need to open a US Bank account (I already have one)- and proof of legal US residency.  I would use the PO box for my US suppliers- and I would go and pick them up. usually, I don't have a problem at the border- occasionally, I have to go and pay HST- which is fine.  The sad part is I've already told my US suppliers that I wouldn't buy anything else from the US because of the pending trade war. I will buy from almost anywhere but the US (with a few exceptions), concentrating on Canadian suppliers whenever possible. 

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Re: Upcoming Tariffs

The world can play the "IF" game which is totally different from eBay ...When no one knows who is going to be responsible for collecting tariff monies, eBay has to wait on the processes as to how they will be applied to Marketplace Facillitators, so get over it, eBay will do what eBay needs to do when eBay has been authorized to do so...and insisting that sellers need to be"warned" is somewhat overly dramatic, but then again maybe you are a drama queen/king...so be it...I tend to be one that takes things in stride ...

C'est la vie!

Que sera,sera!

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