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International fee
Buyer has an 'address' in Honduras. All buyers purchases, as in ALL, go to a Florida address. I get charged an international fee? Just when you think eBay could not be more petty.
5 comments
eburtonlab
Mentor8 months agoThe international fee applies if funds are moving across borders, even if the item is shipped to a domestic address. Extra paperwork is required for international payments, and that costs extra.
jjaf5150
OP8 months agoCustomer service replied to this inquiry. A buyers registered address, with country of origin, at the time of opening the account, is referenced for this charge. Unless the buyer updates that address, policy remains enforce. So yet again we have eBay adding fees, based on a buyers incorrect information, dependent on the buyer submitting updated information. eBay sees no reason to change this policy as it generates revenue, fully knowing a buyer will rarely update original address information. I presented the fact that every traceable purchase from this buyer has never been sent internationally and this represents fraud, even if the buyer has dual addresses. I also presented the idea that an international fee should be charged when the shipment actually goes to another country, rather than what is listed as a home country of origin. I will now have to add yet another clause to all my listings covering this petty revenue maker. Or, as the most simple solution, cease offering to ship internationally ,
eburtonlab
Mentor8 months agoCeasing to ship internationally will not help you; it is the location of the buyer's registration or the buyer's bank rather than the location the item is being shipped to that matters.
You can choose to block buyers with a primary shipping address in a location that you do not ship to from making a purchase, but not all overseas buyers have overseas shipping addresses, so this may not always work.
What percentage of your total sales have been subject to this fee? Multiply that percentage by the fee percentage itself and raise all your prices by that amount to offset the cost. For most users, that winds up being less than one tenth of one percent.
monroe67
Mentor8 months ago"A buyers registered address, with country of origin, at the time of opening the account, is referenced for this charge. Unless the buyer updates that address, policy remains enforce."
True. eBay.com, the US site, retains a 1.65% International Fee when a buyer's eBay-registered address is outside the USA, regardless of the delivery address. That is only one of two situations in which eBay charges their 1.65% International Fee. Keep reading.
"So yet again we have eBay adding fees, based on a buyers incorrect information, dependent on the buyer submitting updated information. eBay sees no reason to change this policy as it generates revenue, fully knowing a buyer will rarely update original address information."
Why do you assume "buyers incorrect information"?
My selling ID has sold many items to buyers with eBay-registered address in places as diverse as Ukraine, Japan, and Australia, and other nations, and I was charged eBay's 1.65% International Fee.
I admit I know little about life in Honduras, where your buyer's eBay-registered address is. Perhaps their mail delivery system is expensive or slow or unreliable. So your Honduran buyer has contracted with a freight forwarder in Florida. That is perfectly legal. Indeed, it may be an economically wise decision. It's my understanding that Florida does not charge sales taxes on purchases that are delivered to certain zip codes where freight forwarders are located.
I do know, however, that many freight forwarders are located in Delaware and Oregon, two states that do not charge sales taxes.
eBay is a global marketplace. Many eBay sellers (including my selling ID) are pleased with every single sale they get, even if eBay keeps a relatively tiny additional 1.65% fee. (Which, BTW, is potentially deductible on your federal income tax return, as a business expense.)
"I presented the fact that every traceable purchase from this buyer has never been sent internationally and this represents fraud, even if the buyer has dual addresses."
Fraud? No. Any eBay buyer can have dual, triple, quadruple -- as many addresses as he can think of. As an eBay buyer, I've had eBay purchases sent to my own home address, to my work address, and to my mother's home address. That is not fraud. It's Planning.
When I know a package will not fit into the mail box in my condo complex, where I live, and I really don't want to take a chance of a "porch pirate" stealing my eBay purchase, I will give my work address as the delivery address. When I'm spending a couple weeks with my mother, I will give my mother's home address as my delivery address. All perfectly legal. Not fraudulent.
"I also presented the idea that an international fee should be charged when the shipment actually goes to another country, rather than what is listed as a home country of origin."
And this is the other situation in which eBay charges their International Fee: When the delivery address is outside the USA. What you say here, what eBay "should" do -- they already do.
BTW, your listings show a long list of nations to which you will ship.
Further BTW, "home country of origin" is not anything that eBay asks of any user. That would be kind of invasive.
"I will now have to add yet another clause to all my listings covering this petty revenue maker."
Do you mean adding a sentence ("clause") to your Item Description that somehow addresses eBay's International Fee? Fine. Type in anything you want. It could be a good typing exercise.
But if it contradicts eBay's policies on their International Fee, it will mean nothing. It is unenforceable. eBay's policies will always take precedence.
"Or, as the most simple solution, cease offering to ship internationally"
But you did not ship internationally. You indicate you shipped/mailed to an address in Florida. Florida is one of the 50 United States. That's domestic shipping.
jjaf5150
OP8 months ago‘even if eBay keeps a relatively tiny additional 1.65% fee. (Which, BTW, is potentially deductible on your federal income tax return, as a business expense.’
I appreciate your input, however, continue to add these ‘tiny’ fees on top of the extortion like fees THAT I AGREED TO upon selling, and you have quite the charge. You bring up many presumptuous situations and all are plausible, but the fact remains that this is geared towards generating revenue and generating it undetected. Similar to the nonsense promoted scheme where the fee is based on the ENTIRE amount including shipping, as well as changing it to the life of the listing rather than one week. I truly understand where you are coming from, however to calculate every possible scenario a buyer may have is impossible. Perhaps giving sellers a break for once would be in order if eBay actually cared, but eBay does not. Yes I offer international shipping for items that actually leave the country. If a buyer has an international bank, that charge should be on the buyer. If a buyer uses a freight forwarder, that cost is on them as should be the cost of currency exchange. Unless eBay would like to add that fee to sellers also. Yes I do use promoted listings at 2% rather than the suggested 16% depending on the category. The point is that these unnecessary charges, no matter what excuse eBay uses, makes an already difficult market even more difficult to sell. But thank you for all your input.