Possible overcharge on duties fee by ebay international shipping. Who do I contact?

[1313.musicmonger]

I live in Greece and have bought several guitar effects pedals over the past year from the USA and my last purchase, a Meris Polymoon pedal which has not arrived yet (Item number: 176286609963), has a significantly higher percent as fee for duties, collected by ebay. Is it a mistake (on ebay’s part or ???) and, if so, how do I get my money back for the overcharge for duties/customs/import tax or whatever it is?

For comparison:

a) This is the order info on my Meris Polymoon (bought March 19, 2024):

1 item              US $182.50

Shipping       US $32.19

VAT*                US $61.16

Duties            US $40.15

Order total   US $316.00

b) This is the order info on my Keeley Super Mod Workstation (bought March 10, 2024):

1 item              US $175.00

Shipping       US $41.28

VAT*                US $53.31

Duties            US $5.84

Order total   US $275.43

c) This is the order info on my Meris Enzo – same brand, different pedal (bought February 21, 2024):

1 item              US $160.00

Shipping       US $43.46

VAT*                US $48.83

Duties            US $0.00

Order total   US $252.29

I believe there is a miscalculation of duties tax. Duties fees for my last three guitar pedal purchases of similar price have risen from US $0.00 to US $5.84 to US $40.15. Can somebody/ebay explain this to me?

[1313.musicmonger]

Since I seem to be the only one responding to my own question / problem, which is not just UNRESOLVED but in fact untackled, one week after I posted it, I would like to add the following:

1. Before posting this question here, I tried to communicate my problem to the AI ebay assistant bot twice, to no avail. It assumed I was a seller at first, to which I clarified that I was a buyer, yet the advice / guidance I was given on where I could find the answer to my question was more or less the same as before and did not resolve my issue. So this is why I pose the question to the ebay community.
2. I have read the following ebay help pages:

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/taxes-import-charges?id=4121

https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/paying-items/paying-tax-ebay-purchases?id=4771

https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/shipping-delivery/changing-delivery-address-method/international-pu...

and, while they may be helpful in providing an overview of the whole process, they neither provide me with a plausible answer on why I had to pay over $40 as duties tax nor the specifics of the calculation, should I decide to contest it (Is this even feasible? Where would I present my case to, in front of ebay? I cannot present it to the Greek Tax Authorities because I have nothing to show them since: i) my duties tax has already been paid for and ii) I may have the sum paid but I do not have the actual calculation for it, so basically I cannot contest it, I assume it is wrong because that is not what I paid last month for a similar item.) What has changed within those 30 days?

I understand that the reply I may (or may not) receive is a recommendation only and is not binding in any way regarding ebay the company. I apologize if I have posted to the wrong forum / bulletin board, feel free to direct me to the right one.

I would also be forever thankful to the person / entity that will provide me with a direct ebay link where I can present my problem in written form and receive an actual, relevant, ebay-binding, problem-solving answer back as response.

[lacemaker3]

@1313.musicmonger,

I'm sorry that you didn't get the help you were hoping for, but this forum is not part of eBay customer service. It's a member-to-member forum, where eBay users try to help each other. This is the forum for eBay.com, which is based in the USA, so most of the members here are based in the USA as well.

Your question went unanswered because nobody thought they were able to help you. We don't have any regular posters here from Greece, as far as I am aware, so there may not be anyone here who is in even as good a position as you are to find out the answer.

With VAT and customs duties, eBay strictly follows the laws and regulations that are laid out by the countries involved. They don't make mistakes in math, but there may be a misunderstanding or a change in the regulations, or the interpretation of them (which is done by the country involved, not by eBay). If there is a possible misunderstanding, then eBay will (usually) take the most conservative interpretation, until they get  official instructions from the country, in order to reduce the chance of liability or financial obligation falling on eBay.

You need to research what the rules are for importing items into your country. As the buyer,  you are the importer on record. Since you live in Greece, you are in the best position to find out what the laws and rules are. You may need to contact an expert in this area, such as a commercial lawyer or an importing consultant.

• Some countries have an exemption for items valued under a certain threshold; for example, Canada allows individual items up to CAN$150 to be exempted from customs.
• In some countries, there's an exemption per buyer/recipient/importer for items totaling up to a certain amount per year; for example in Brazil I have heard that this can cause difficulties because they may block delivery of items that are over the individual's yearly limit.
• You should look into whether the calculation is based on the purchase price only, or whether (like VAT) the calculation includes the cost of shipping as well.
• There may be a limit on how many items of a particular type you can import, which may be part of a difference in the rules affecting businesses as compared to individuals.
• It's also possible that there may have been a change in the law, regulation, or interpretation.

[1313.musicmonger]

Lacemaker3,

Thank you for troubleshooting my problem, however your reply has not provided me with an explanation or resolution.

I checked the laws and rules as best I could on my own (getting a lawyer or an importing consultant in order to contest the sum of $40.15 would be an exercise in financial folly because he/she would cost me more than that). The latest relevant law seems to be from 2016. The threshold for not imposing duties is 150 Euros (including shipping, I think – your Canadian example), the next category being 150 to 500 Euros. I have a hard time believing that buying used pedals one at a time turns me into Sweetwater. Likewise, I am not aware of a yearly quota (your Brazilian example).

Regarding the calculation of Greek VAT (24%), it is calculated by adding the item’s purchase price, the shipping costs and “duties”, as can be verified by doing the math in the three cases mentioned. Adding up purchase price and shipping costs only, we have a) $214.69, b) $216.28 and c) $203.46 respectively, newest to oldest purchase. Why is there such a huge discrepancy in duties when they practically cost the same?

Perhaps the answer lies in “duties” (or also called “sales tax”) and what it entails. Does it include brokerage fees? How are those calculated, if at all? I don’t know. At this point I might add that the item has arrived and there was nothing (no paperwork or document) to indicate brokerage fees. I remember buying items using ebay Global Shipping Program and believing it was the cheapest and easiest way to go overall, now (with the ebay International Shipping Program) I am not so sure.

In conclusion, your reply has made me none the wiser, I have yet to find the magic “contact us (email us) – we are ebay human”, not the ebay assistant bot nonsense.

PS. An Amazing idea Reverberated in my mind: “I may not have a “business” but perhaps I should look elsewhere.”