@old.crows.nest wrote:
I never actually purchased anything using the GSP. In fact I stopped purchasing from ebay as soon as I saw the changes in S&H options to one exclusive secretive all inclusive service. I believe that Duties and Taxes are MY responsibility not a third party. I have no way to know if legitimate amounts were paid to my Government or what bonus is going to the shipper.
Do you know for sure if the store down the street is remitting the taxes you pay when you purchase goods from them?
My experience with casual imports from the US handled by carriers such as FedEx is that the taxes are handled in a manner similar to that of the GSP, even if I have to pay to receive the item. If the taxes aren't charged or folded into the shipping charge at the time the shipment is arranged, the carrier or its designate advances the taxes to ensure the item passes through customs quickly and the I repay them at the time of delivery.
@old.crows.nest wrote:
I was no longer given an option on what would have been my Personal or Business purchases from the US. Most of my purchases were kept under $20. All of a sudden the extra costs started at + $20 estimation. Which may or may not be higher at check out?
I saw this lack of disclosure / breakdown as off-putting. If there is nothing hinky then be upfront.
What is this "option" to which you're referring? The "option" I know of is "buy it or leave it."
The estimate the "GSP bot" calculates for the import charges is based on information on the buyer's location (which may change at Checkout from the one being used when viewing the listing page) and information on the item from the seller. It doesn't really 'know" what the item is specifically for the most part, just its category, and this is one of the GSP's (and eIS's) big weaknesses. If the item reaches the Global Shipping Center and it turns out to be somewhat different than what the seller's information suggests, the pad built into the import charges helps mitigate that. If I found a listing where the "pad" above my calculation of GST was over US$5.00, I'd assume that the seller really messed things up when creating the listing and I'd give the item a pass.
I had the roof of my house re-done a couple of years ago. I didn't receive a detailed estimate explaining how much of what I was paying went to materials, labour, various insurances the contractor carried, or contingencies in case something went awry while doing the job. It was what it was. I guess you'd consider this to be a lack of disclosure or breakdown.
