WHY IS EBAY CHARGING INTERNATIONAL FEES WHEN AN ITEM IS SOLD IN THE UNITED STATES?

[marviolet]

A buyer sent an offer on an item and I accepted.  The buyer purchased the item and I shipped the item to the address eBay has on file in the United States.  I was unaware the buyer's registered address was in China until I viewed my "Fee Details"  and noticed that I was charged an International fee.  How is it I am charged an international fee?  What is happening?

[femmefan1946]

you are not understanding the simple fact that the buyer's location was in the United States and the buyer's address was in the U.S.

My inlaws spent every winter in AZ to escape the Canadian cold. They owned a home there  and got their mail there, including their Canadian pension cheques.

Their banking was done through a Canadian bank. Their credit cards were with that bank.

Others who may live in the USA but hold foreign credit cards:

University students.

Diplomats.

NATO soldiers on maneuvers.

Landed immigrants (I think you call them resident aliens).

Tourists and other travellers.

Professionals on short term contracts.

And of course, the address an eBay seller may be shipping to could be a freight forwarder.

These are the second safest addresses we can ship to, since our responsibility for delivery ends at the US address, and there are limitations on the Money Back Guarantee when a third party forwards goods to the buyer.

But the buyer would not be in the USA and would not be buying in US dollars. Managed Payments and the credit card company allow him to pay in euros, or rupees, or yen, handles the currency exchange and  the seller gets  paid in dollars.

Did you look up the address on Google Maps?

If it is a strip mall or an industrial park, your buyer was using a forwarder.

[dbfolks166mt]

you are not understanding the simple fact that the buyer's location was in the United States and the buyer's address was in the U.S.

My inlaws spent every winter in AZ to escape the Canadian cold. They owned a home there  and got their mail there, including their Canadian pension cheques.

Their banking was done through a Canadian bank. Their credit cards were with that bank.

Others who may live in the USA but hold foreign credit cards:

University students.

Diplomats.

NATO soldiers on maneuvers.

Landed immigrants (I think you call them resident aliens).

Tourists and other travellers.

Professionals on short term contracts.

     It does not matter where their bank is located or if it is a foreign credit card. The international fee is assessed when the buyers registered address is outside of the US. The buyer could have a domestic bank account or credit card but if their registered address is foreign you get hit with the international fee. 

[pereirahawk]

There is a gray area regarding use of a freight forwarder voiding Ebay MBG; Ebay has stated, even on these forums: "the buyer would have to admit to using a freight forwarder".  I really don't think Ebay is going to care if the buyer is registered in another country.  Meaning, the argument that the buyer is a foreign Ebay Member, therefore they must have used a freight forwarder to get said item, and thus voiding their protections. 

If I'm wrong about this information, please correct me.  

[dhanuramakr_0]

useful

[albertabrightalberta]

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@pereirahawk wrote:

There is a gray area regarding use of a freight forwarder voiding Ebay MBG; Ebay has stated, even on these forums: "the buyer would have to admit to using a freight forwarder".  I really don't think Ebay is going to care if the buyer is registered in another country.  Meaning, the argument that the buyer is a foreign Ebay Member, therefore they must have used a freight forwarder to get said item, and thus voiding their protections. 

If I'm wrong about this information, please correct me.  

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I think you missed the point of the topic.

The OP's complaint was about being charged international transaction fees. The OP believed that because she/he doesn't ship outside the US that buyer's wouldn't be making payments on which there's an international fee. 

The explanation is that the buyer could have been visiting the US, going to school here or using a freight forwarder to purchase from a seller who doesn't do international shipping.

But you are correct in your statement that buyers who use FF lose MBG protection.

[jil444]

I have read each thread in this discussion and still don't understand why I was charged an international fee on a sale that I had no choice in.  After the buyer paid, I printed out  the shipping label and her address was in the USA - and THEN, I look at transaction breakdown and see an international fee of $7.72. - On top of all the other fees charged for this one transaction,  just blew me away.  

[dbfolks166mt]

I have read each thread in this discussion and still don't understand why I was charged an international fee on a sale that I had no choice in.  After the buyer paid, I printed out  the shipping label and her address was in the USA - and THEN, I look at transaction breakdown and see an international fee of $7.72. - On top of all the other fees charged for this one transaction,  just blew me away.  

     The fee is based on eBay's published policy and fee schedule. You actually do have a choice if you don't desire to sell internationally. I always look at the order details but I am also pretty used to the FF locations and addresses. I generally have no issue with shipping items through FF's or paying the 1.65% fee. However, there are countries that I will not sell to Russia and China being at the top of that list. 

     If I notice the buyers registered address is in China or Russia, along with a few other countries, I simply cancel the order due to problem with the buyers address. EBay frowns on this but they are also inconsistent in standing behind their seller protection when the buyer uses a FF and eBay's policy means nothing in the event of a chargeback. 

[marviolet]

I started this discussion post by asking the question and like you, still have no idea why I was charged.  Apparently, there is no plausible explanation.  I even had a member let me know how much I, as quoted,  "Clearly, you didn't "fully understand" how ebay works because you questioned one of your charges that wouldn't have surprised you had you understood that just shipping to the US doesn't mean that the buyer's payment is in USD"   What the heck?  After all the selling on eBay, I have no understanding.  I fully understand your experience, mine exactly.

[slippinjimmy]

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@marviolet wrote:

I started this discussion post by asking the question and like you, still have no idea why I was charged.  Apparently, there is no plausible explanation.  I even had a member let me know how much I, as quoted,  "Clearly, you didn't "fully understand" how ebay works because you questioned one of your charges that wouldn't have surprised you had you understood that just shipping to the US doesn't mean that the buyer's payment is in USD"   What the heck?  After all the selling on eBay, I have no understanding.  I fully understand your experience, mine exactly.

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The answer has been posted several times! eBay charges an International Fee if any one of the following is true:

- Buyer is registered in a country other than the US

- The shipping address is anywhere other than the US

FYI - This fee is the same as PayPal always charged (slightly different rate) but PayPal never showed it as a separate line item.

If you want to know the origins of this fee look no further than the cabal of Visa, MasterCard and the big banks who totally control system.

[marviolet]

eBay sellers who have had this experience are fully aware of the discussion.  This transaction was about deception.  Again, the buyer purchased an item using a US address.  I printed my eBay shipping label and shipped the item.  When I received my invoice with the  "fee details" only then was I made aware that I was being charged an international fee for a buyer whose location is in the US and whose address is in the US.  I used to ship to overseas buyers and was very aware of being charged international fees.  I made a conscious effort to discontinue shipping overseas because of the exorbitant cost of shipping, and some countries handling of items.  This is not about being unaware of eBay and international fees.  This is not about the buyer.  This is about eBay not letting you the seller know up front that a particular transaction is going to require you the seller to pay additional fees because the sale is not a domestic one.  We are already paying a lot of fees.  All I am asking is that eBay find some way of alerting the seller that a buyer with a US address is not exactly that.

[quicksilverwholesale]

I am on customer service chat now because I ran into this and was shocked. These are "junk fees" It is a deceptive trade practice and the FTC requires that all fees be disclosed. So you are charging me a fee, I don't get to see that the buyer is outside the US when it is shipping to Deleware or any other 3PL shipping address in the US. I have no way of knowing where the buyer is located or any way to add that fee to their side of the transaction post-sale. I only see it when the sale is completed and by then it is too late! No "add surcharge box" on the sale. I intentionally do not sell internationally on eBay bc of their fees and problems when selling overseas. Mercado Libre doesn't pull this sh ** and they have an international selling program for sellers in the US FYI. On top of that eBay is overcharging every fee for different countries. We are top-rated and sick of this company altogether. Way to go Jamie Iannone real bang-up job.

[albertabrightalberta]

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@marviolet wrote:

This transaction was about deception.  

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There's no deception. It's clearly shown in the TOU (link and pertinent section below): 

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/selling-fees?id=4822&st=3&pos=1&query=Sellin...

International fee

If your registered address is in the US, we charge an International fee if either:

• The delivery address for the item (entered by the buyer during checkout) is outside the US, or
• The buyer's registered address is outside the US (regardless of the delivery address for the item)

This fee is calculated as 1.65% of the total amount of the sale and is automatically deducted from your sales.

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@marviolet wrote:

Again, the buyer purchased an item using a US address.  

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And the buyer did nothing wrong. You don't ship internationally and the buyer supplied a domestic shipping address. 

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@marviolet wrote:

I printed my eBay shipping label and shipped the item.  When I received my invoice with the  "fee details" only then was I made aware that I was being charged an international fee for a buyer whose location is in the US and whose address is in the US. 

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No, you have the wrong order. You would have been made aware of the international fee as soon as the payment was made by the buyer (before ever printing a shipping label). Had you gone to your orders and looked at the order details then the "see payment details," it was all there. 

That you weren't aware isn't ebay's fault. 

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@marviolet wrote:

I used to ship to overseas buyers and was very aware of being charged international fees.  I made a conscious effort to discontinue shipping overseas because of the exorbitant cost of shipping, and some countries handling of items.    

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But you are NOT shipping overseas and you are NOT paying the exorbitant cost of shipping. You are doing domestic shipping, just as you want to do and it you're doing it right, either by building shipping into the item prices or by charging for shipping, it's the buyers who pay for shipping. 

And buyers' contracts with the freight forwarders for the prices they pay for having items reshipped to them in their countries are between them and the FF. You aren't involved and shouldn't have concerns. 

Your responsibility ends once tracking shows delivery to the shipping address. 

Sheesh, I'd think you'd be happy to have made a sale! 1.65% is a small price to pay for the sale for which you don't even have to worry about buyer protection since the buyer loses MBG when using a FF. 

[albertabrightalberta]

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@quicksilverwholesale wrote:

 the FTC requires that all fees be disclosed. 

I don't get to see that the buyer is outside the US 

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Part one: All fees ARE full disclosed. (See my post above with the link showing international fees.)

Part two: You can see where the buyer is registered by clicking on the buyer's ID. 

ETA: Here's the link: 

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/selling-fees?id=4822&st=3&pos=1&query=Sellin...

[dbfolks166mt]

I am on customer service chat now because I ran into this and was shocked. These are "junk fees" It is a deceptive trade practice and the FTC requires that all fees be disclosed. So you are charging me a fee, I don't get to see that the buyer is outside the US when it is shipping to Deleware or any other 3PL shipping address in the US. I have no way of knowing where the buyer is located or any way to add that fee to their side of the transaction post-sale. I only see it when the sale is completed and by then it is too late! No "add surcharge box" on the sale. I intentionally do not sell internationally on eBay bc of their fees and problems when selling overseas. Mercado Libre doesn't pull this sh ** and they have an international selling program for sellers in the US FYI. On top of that eBay is overcharging every fee for different countries. We are top-rated and sick of this company altogether. Way to go Jamie Iannone real bang-up job.

     I have to agree with you on this one and it is a legacy charge/practice that has its origins back when CC's first started applying international charges, not currency conversion charges, to purchases made outside of the country where the card holder lived. Most CC companies have done away with these in the face of competition from airlines, cruise companies and others that broke into the CC business and never had the fee. EBay continues to hang onto to the charge although they have removed it from the EIS program. 

     I have had a few of these types of sales where the buyer was living in the US temporarily as a student and rather than change their registered address on eBay they simply used their US address for the shipment and I got hit with the international fee. 

[marviolet]

Thank you so much for your reply and understanding of the issue.  I have had several replies from an eBay member that was way too insulting.  Thank you again.