eBay

recped · ‎03-26-2013

Perhaps you have received an email for eBay's latest buyer promo for Canadians.

https://www.paypal-marketing.ca/dutyfree/

Duty duty duty, I don't see any specific definition of "duty" that would confirm if they mean TAX & duty or just duty.

If it's only the duty then buyers are in for a rude surprise if they still are getting hit for GST/HST.

Do you think PayPal knows the difference?

"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915
- answering Trolls is voluntary, my policy is not to participate.

Anonymous · ‎03-26-2013

What is with those people being so obsessed about duty fees? I have received hundreds of parcels for years and years, an average of 20 per week, and was never been dinged for the custom/duty fees at all. expect 2 times in 3 years which I expected to pay the duty fees for a huge heavy boxes of fabrics but nothing else.

And what more with eBay's expecting us to join the insane Global Shipping Program too. It is becoming more insane now. 2013 seems to be the year that they need to be more greedier than ever or what? Hope not!

Hope eBay will "retire" the Global Shipping Program like they do retire eBucks for the Canadian buyers as they claimed it didn't meet their expectations for eBucks and I hope it will be the same for the Global Shipping Program. With US sellers joining the Global Shipping Program, they are hanging themselves by losing the potential Canadian buyers that will not want to buy their items when they see the "import charges" in their listings. I had to cancel 2 transactions and asked my sellers to cancel my bids on their listings after I realized they have "import charges" in their listings. So actually it is going to cost a lot for the US sellers to lose the Canadian buyers that way.

In fact, 2 of them were upset as they lost me which I was one of their best customers and just because they joined the Global Shipping Program which cost them a lot by losing me. It was too late for them to revise as they had bidders on their listings.

And now with PayPal offering us this insane promo.

I prefer to take risks when my packages arrive in Canada and I may be dinged with the custom duty fees but that is okay but I am not willing to pay the import charges for every item that are bogus and that are not necessary in the first place. Whoever "invented" this bogus program is making a huge amount of $$$$ for that purpose. What a pity that they need to do that. Hope many of US sellers will opt out of this bogus programs.

tobyshitzu · ‎03-26-2013

"I have received hundreds of parcels for years and years, an average of 20 per week, and was never been dinged for the custom/duty fees at all. expect 2 times in 3 years which I expected to pay the duty fees for a huge heavy boxes of fabrics but nothing else.

"

All those places operate like amzn and charge everything owing up front, so its irrelevant that parcels often aren't assessed if you want to order from them. Most of them are clothes and shoes that would have 18% duty

recped · ‎03-26-2013

The problem is not with the GSP concept itself the problem is that eBay has made no effort to inform clueless US Sellers when it appropriate to use and when it's not.

If you order a $500 camera or computer from the USA chances are very slim it's going to pass through Canadian customs untaxed. For this type of shipment GSP can offer a "safe" delivery (safe for the seller) for less than what it would cost using regular mail.

Unfortunately with no guidance US sellers are using GSP on low/modest value items which as you say are rarely taxed. In other situation where packages are very heavy the lower shipping costs can outweigh any taxes you might be forced to pay (presuming the package would slip through normally), in that situation the GSP also works well.

The problem is that nobody at eBay and very few sellers have the insight to know when it's good to use and when it's best to avoid.

It's like all the US sellers who are now thrilled that there is supposed delivery confirmation on First Class packages while at the same time they ignore the fact that for small items the shipping costs have doubled in exchange for that delivery confirmation.

Just tried to explain to a seller of $10 items who is opening up their sales to Canada that the new delivery confirmation service for First Class was costing them over $3 per shipment extra, hardly a good deal to pay $3 to "protect" a $10 item.

"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915
- answering Trolls is voluntary, my policy is not to participate.

pierrelebel · ‎03-26-2013

"Do you think PayPal knows the difference?"

You must be kidding.

It is a "trick" question, right?

It is easy to get confirmation.

Call PayPal help centre, identify yourself as Canadian and ask if they charge HST on their fees. "HST? what do you mean?" I am sorry, I meant GST. "GST? what do you mean?"

🙂

fatdane · ‎03-27-2013

Canada Border Services Agency sometimes has trouble with the difference between "Customs Duty" and Taxes. I declared a shipment I picked up at my US address and was sent inside to pay as I expected to. When I mentioned that the shipment was duty free ( Postage Stamps for Collectors) the agent disappeared and spent close to 20 minutes consulting with his fellows and came back to say that it was not duty free because I had to pay the HST. Told him that I knew I had to pay the Harmonized Sales TAX, but that a TAX is not a Duty. Perhaps I am just a cranky old man, but I think the highly paid civil servants of CBSA should know the difference between a tax and a duty.

godboma · ‎03-27-2013

I also import a lot. Mainly boardgames and magazines. They come from Europe and USA. I never paid duty on them and I pay taxes on about 50% of the shipments. Which I do not mind since I get it back...

pierrelebel · ‎03-27-2013

There were no individual or corporate income tax cuts in Thursday’s federal budget, but these boutique tax changes may draw a bit of spark in Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s otherwise tame stay-the-course budget.

The prices on goods from China, Brazil and Korea, however, are likely to jump after the federal government said it plans to hike tariffs on countries formerly considered as "developing." Seventy-two higher-income and trade competitive countries will no longer benefit from Canada's General preferential Tariff (GPT) that offers lower-than-normal tariff rates on developing countries as a way to spur their economic growth

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/03/21/canada-budget-2013-surpri_n_2919842.html

In other words, you may see a lot more charges for "duty" in addition to GST/HST later this year once the badget becomes law.

godboma · ‎03-27-2013

There were no individual or corporate income tax cuts in Thursday’s federal budget, but these boutique tax changes may draw a bit of spark in Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s otherwise tame stay-the-course budget.

The prices on goods from China, Brazil and Korea, however, are likely to jump after the federal government said it plans to hike tariffs on countries formerly considered as "developing." Seventy-two higher-income and trade competitive countries will no longer benefit from Canada's General preferential Tariff (GPT) that offers lower-than-normal tariff rates on developing countries as a way to spur their economic growth

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/03/21/canada-budget-2013-surpri_n_2919842.html

In other words, you may see a lot more charges for "duty" in addition to GST/HST later this year once the badget becomes law.

Yes I was aware of that part of the budget. Most of the items I sell are published by European, American or Canadian companies but they are mostly made in China.

We have a free trade agreement with USA and will have one with EU one day, but I think it is the country of manufacturing that counts... so we will have to wait and see the impact of this on our cost (and selling price).

tobyshitzu · ‎03-27-2013

"Mainly boardgames and magazines. They come from Europe and USA. I never paid duty on them"

There isnt any duty on board games (or almost anything in the toy category) to be charged, so this has no effect on them

i*m-still-here · ‎03-27-2013

"I have received hundreds of parcels for years and years, an average of 20 per week, and was never been dinged for the custom/duty fees at all. expect 2 times in 3 years which I expected to pay the duty fees for a huge heavy boxes of fabrics but nothing else.

"

Shhhhhhhh.....................

Ditto............ well, I've paid more than 2 or 3 times and I don't get 20/wk., but my items can be pricey and that's close enough to my experience as well.

Shhhhhhhh..............