Thank you @dinomitesales
You have put a great deal of effort into creating a temporary workaround.
If I use your method I would have to hide a $57 import charge into the shipping cost of a business card.
I understand you suggest sellers conceal tariffs and and admin fees into "Shipping" although tariffs and admin fees are not shipping costs. You would then have to split them out of your expenses for tax purposes later as they will distort your shipping income and expense figures.
Transparency with Respect To Taxation
The business of concealment and then back charging buyers telling them tariffs, admin fees and shipping are the same thing seems a bit the same as if Canadian businesses didn't indicate PST, GST or HST on any sales receipts. The business of transparency with respect to taxes, eco fees tariffs etc has been a major point of contention for Canadians ever since sales tax began. How long will eBay get away with allowing it before someone forces them to break out the import charges?
Does the Correct Use Of eBay Categories Cause Tariff Discrepencies?:
" I'll also add that eBay is likely applying that $57 USD import fee based on the fact that it's assuming the item is a piece of collectible art because of the category it's in (i.e. something within Chapter 97 of the US tariff schedule). That's just a flaw of the system, unfortunately."
I sell in 54 different eBay categories. This item is correctly listed in the eBay category [Collectibles & Art/Rock & Pop/Artists J/Joplin, Janis]
Your suggestion to bundle shipping/tariffs/admin fees into shipping might work for sellers in one or two eBay categories selling light packages with insigificant or zero import fees it but it does not work for many of us. You have pointed out the current system will need changing.
You sent a photo to Zonos and it came back with a $57 discrepancy compared to eBay. That should be brought to eBays's attention. The EIS system and/or the Zonos systems are not in sync then. I don't have a Zonos account. If you fill out the recent eBay EIS survey in the email they sent you about the webinar the survey has a spot to let them know.
You have brought about some interesting points.
Takeaways:
1. How long will eBay and other platforms allow foreign sellers to conceal tariffs and admin fees by calling them "Shipping"?
2. Will Revenue Canada allow individuals to claim tariffs and admin fees as "Shipping" expenses.
3. If the eBay International shipping program does not agree with Zonos how will buyers react to sellers (and eBay) when they find out they have been overcharged $57 because the services are flawed?
"I read your post. The other two options were "selling in batches" and "not list at all". Neither of which have anything to do with my suggestion of "increase shipping rates to US buyers"."
I understand your reaction to this terrible situation. Sellers want to stop the dam from leaking any way they can. I find myself repeating this but it's important to note sellers are all differnt. We have differnt niches and differnt experiences. I remember a similar argument when I owned a large retail center. Back then all of the goods I purched from distributors had FST transparent on the invoices. Canadians became furious because it wasn't shown of the final sale receipts. Because of that and some others reasons like ITCs, if you work in a retail store your receipts have taxes, fees and charges laid out clear and simple. Oh yes, and then there was Mulroney's GST referendum... almost forgot about that.
Maybe I'm wrong but I always thought on an income & expense report (P&L) tax/tariffs/shipping must be shown seperately coming in and going out otherwise, at the end of the year people say, "Gee whiz why didn't eBay make this easier? eBay may allow concealment for a time but unles the CRA says it's OK to combine these things it won't last long.
For these reasons I feel "Option "D" has relevance for certain sellers but you do you.
Option 😧 Wait until the dust settles. Rather than take the hit subsidizing import fees and hits from rising eBay fees to simply put them back in the vault and wait. I've had fire sales before. 3, 6 or 12 months after them I've regretted losing that profit when something changed. They are over 20 years old anyway. All it would take to restore gross profit for many eBay sellers is a cross border decision to implement a $50 US de minimis after they tire from processing. No more Zonos and for ephemera no EIS on singles.
If you have 5 wine boxes of ephemera with 1000 $20 items in each box you may have an $85,000 gross potential (BIN - 15%) by waiting instead of having a fire sale. You might be better off to put the boxes back in the closet.
Disclaimer: My comments are simple observations not advice or suggestions. It's a point of view that some might find helpful for them offering alternatives rather than closing their stores in this awful online selling climate. We all have different experiences and we all use eBay for different reasons. You do you.
