International Shipment, Item Taken by Customs

[Anonymous]

This is a hypothetical question. Does eBay hold a seller responsible for refunding an INR claim if the item is on a country's list of prohibited items and confiscated by customs?

[adkhighker]

I would imagine so because the seller is supposed to research which items are prohibited in those countries before selling to someone there. Besides that, ebay always holds sellers responsible for anything involving an INR.

[impalajohnny]

Yes which is another reason to use a bland and general description on the customs form.

[siamdao]

I feel the onus should be on the buyer to know the laws of importation of his or her country.

[emerald40]

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@siamdao wrote:

I feel the onus should be on the buyer to know the laws of importation of his or her country.

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The one who needs to know is the one who will be refunding if the item is confiscated by customs.

[textbooksinc]

what is the probability that an item is inspected or seized by customs? 

is it worth it if the margins are small?

[reallynicestamps]

If there is any reason your items might be confiscated (I had a classic sociology text confiscated by Pakistani customs*) American and UK sellers can use the Global Shipping Program.

Your responsibility for delivery ends at the GSP plant doorstep in Kentucky.

* I never heard anything from my customer in Pakistan. I hope the worst problem was seizure of his book. This is not a country working under Rule of Law. 

[ittybitnot]

Does eBay hold a seller responsible....

Of course.

[gracieallen01]

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@siamdao wrote:

I feel the onus should be on the buyer to know the laws of importation of his or her country.

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Just because a buyer orders something, that doesn't mean that they don't know that it isn't legal for shipping to their country.

If they can get a seller to ship it in - or try to - so much the better if it gets through.  If it doesn't get in, the buyer gets their money back and can try again.

[textbooksinc]

so the buyer is going to get their money back from Ebay if the item doesn't pass customs even if we have a no returns listing?

[lwl_sales]

Glad I stopped shipping international, waste of money and merchandise, either you get screwed by customs, scamming customers hacking paypal accounts or ebay themselves as they never have the seller's back in disputes.

[siayan]

I don't feel like looking up the rules but I believe eBays rules are that the seller is not allowed to sell prohibited items therefore the seller is responsible for a refund for selling a banned item.

[siayan]

"Listing items for sale internationally is a great way to help increase your sales, but it's important to make sure your items aren't prohibited on our global sites.

Members are responsible for checking that their transactions are lawful in the buyer's country, as well as in their own."

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/prohibited-restricted-items/international-trading-policy?id=4338

[7606dennis]

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@textbooksinc wrote:

so the buyer is going to get their money back from Ebay if the item doesn't pass customs even if we have a no returns listing?

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Yep!

[gracieallen01]

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@textbooksinc wrote:

so the buyer is going to get their money back from Ebay if the item doesn't pass customs even if we have a no returns listing?

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Quite probably. It isn't ebay's fault the buyer ordered it and they can't prove the buyer 'knew better'. They aren't going to research postal regulations to see if it was above board, in the first place, either. It is all on the seller.

On ebay, though the seller may post 'No Returns', but that doesn't necessarily equate to 'No Refunds'.