Massive amount of UPS fees being charged to buyer

[m_arn_mach1]

Sold a 1100 dollar Canadian jacket to a US buyer. He was already charged tax by eBay and it cost around 80 Canadian to ship the item to him from Canada. He received a UPS message today saying he needs to pay 400 dollars for duties/taxes. **bleep** is this? I have sold tons before and a buyer has never had to pay even close to this. Who would be paying this? Is my buyer going to pay it cause I can't expect them to? Am I expected to pay literally half of the cost after all fees? Should eBay be paying this? This is unreal.

[brettjet38]

The Buyer is responisble for all Duties/Fees & Taxes as per eBays own policy.

And UPS is known for its assorted and varied "Fees"

International shipping - items may be subject to customs processing depending on the item's customs value.

Sellers declare the item's customs value and must comply with customs declaration laws.

C $85.00 (approx US $59.03) UPS Standard United States. 

International shipment of items may be subject to customs processing and additional charges.

Located in: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

As the buyer, you should be aware of possible:

• Delays from customs inspection.

• Import duties and taxes which buyers must pay.

• Brokerage fees payable at the point of delivery.

Your country's customs office can offer more details, or visit eBay's page on international trade.

https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/postage-delivery/changing-delivery-address-method/international-pur...

3 min article

International purchases and shipping for buyers

[m_arn_mach1]

I got a breakdown of it. They charged duties when they should not be. It's a Canada Goose jacket made in Canada

Duty Total: 222.43
Other Government Charges: 2.62
Brokerage fees: 44.50
Grand total: 269.55 USD

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

DM both the UPS Canada and general UPS account on Twitter with the tracking number and explanation that a duty was charged when taxes were already collected. Ask them for the number+e-mail for the proper department to dispute it. 

If there is a mechanism to resolve it within UPS, this would be the quickest way to get to the right department. You can either do the legwork, or you can instruct the buyer to. 

The buyer also might want to contact the appropriate customs department and ask them what they should do to get a refund on the double-taxes. Keep in mind, they won't get the brokerage fees refunded. 

As others have said, the buyer is responsible for any brokerage fees or to handle anything related to clearing the package. So while I understand wanting to help them out, you're not technically obligated to. If they refuse the package, their buyer protection is voided. 

[marnotom!]

The item was not double-taxed, @ilikehockeyjerseys. It was assessed duty (which eBay doesn’t handle) possibly because the jacket’s country of origin was missed on the customs documentation or ignored, or because its declared value was above the US$800 de minimis.

[dinomitesales]

If it was over $800 USD that's where the duty is coming into play (but $1100 CAD is less than $800 USD so I'm not sure that math is mathing - what was the actual declared value you specified on the customs declaration?).

@m_arn_mach1 did you buy the shipping label directly through eBay, or did you purchase it from UPS in person? You made sure to indicate on the customs declaration that the country of origin of the garment was Canada? Which HS Tariff code did you specify?

If it was properly declared as being made in Canada then it shouldn't have had any duty on it as a result of CUSMA. The most obvious issue here is that someone made a mistake with the country of origin.

[marnotom!]

---

@dinomitesales wrote:

If it was over $800 USD that's where the duty is coming into play (but $1100 CAD is less than $800 USD so I'm not sure that math is mathing - what was the actual declared value you specified on the customs declaration?).

---

I'm now wondering if the declared value was read or entered as US$1100 rather than CAD$800.  

[marnotom!]

Of course I meant “CAD$1100” in that sentence.

[darak10]

1100 CAD = 756 USD approx.  If you sold it to this person in Canadian dollars, that should have been under the USD $800 daily import allotment, so if this is correct, it looks like they were charged in error.  Looks like the agent may not have noticed the 1100 amount was in Canadian currency, not USD.  On this note, I have also been charged customs duties in error because our guys didnt convert the currency over from the declaration either.  Took me ten seconds to figure this out, but they schmuck in the chair charged me duty plus their lovely 5 dollar admin fee for making their mistake.  Alot of intl customs forms are hard to read, confusing, in stupidly small letters, and in currencies agents may not know anything about in terms of valuation. 

I suppose they could file a complaint, whether it would get anywhere or theyd get any money refunded god only knows. 

[visual-sound]

As bad as Canada Post is, your situation is why I never use a courier service!

[recped]

I have a feeling the OP's issue is the result of faulty paperwork. Shipping via a courier is a different ballgame than sending through the postal system, appropriate documentation is essential.

@m_arn_mach1 

Did you buy the UPS label via eBay? Were there other declaration forms other than the shipping label? (I don't buy any shipping from eBay).

[itolduandso]

Maybe they have looked up the SRP retail price for the jacket and calculate the import taxes on that price. Top of the line Canada Goose jacket costs about 2900 dollars with taxes plus. I believe shipping is not included. So that may actually be the duties. It's a luxury item, doesn't US have different rates for luxury items? As for why they had calculated SRP, maybe error, maybe the selling price wasn't there, maybe customs invoice wasn't there. Was is UPS label purchased in Ebay? Did you directly purchase UPS lable? Did you use an intermediary like Stallion or Chitchats? Or did you create the shipping documents? Did you put all the details about the hacket in the customs decladation? They require now all details to be there precisely, the models, value priceetc.. and it needs to be in correct way filled in. As an example, any information of this incorrect, items sent to EU would get taxed again even though EU buyers alreay pay import VAT.  With UPS you also need to select the US harmonized tariff code, I believe, if that is missing, it may lead to delays and issues. Have you disputed it in the UPS billing centre, ask for direct contact there. If everything fails, you prepare documents and go to dispute the taxes with the US Customs. Now this all takes time.