Buyer be aware of seller [Removed by mod]
Beware of this seller. [Removed by mod]. They advertise that import fees are included with shipping on all their listings:
Import Fee's are Included, buyer will pay nothing after checkout.
But after you complete a purchase you will receive an invoice for the import fees if you are a buyer outside of Japan, and the above message will disappear from the final order. Then, the seller will claim that it's your problem with eBay, and you will need to jump through hoops to try to get reimbursed. Furthermore, eBay apparently does not reimburse import fees with the buyer protection or their money back guarantee. The seller is well aware of the problem on their website, yet they don't do anything to correct it and neither does eBay. It's false advertising and eBay is allowing it on their platform. Furthermore, the seller had my feedback removed, and eBay did not contact me about it, so I am posting here for potential buyers to be aware.
dsrobert1
OP5 months agoYes, the Seller has updated their listings by increasing their shipping costs, so that should be sufficient evidence that there was a problem here unlike what many of you have tried to prove otherwise. That being said, it seems there is a larger systemic issue with eBay that is not being addressed, and what is surprising is that several of the posts here make it sound okay: it's just an "auto post" by eBay. Why is eBay doing this when it apparently violates eBay's policy? And why is that okay? Buyers are apparently supposed to ignore what sellers have advertised on their sites because it's "eBay Policy". No, sorry, that's wrong!
If anyone knows how to delete a posting, please let me know. I have reached out to eBay to have this OP deleted, but have not heard back.....not surprising.
P.S. but at least we got the apostrophe issue corrected!!
marnotom!
·5 months agoI would rather not see this thread deleted as it contains some valuable insights into the nature of purchasing items from outside the US, a topic that doesn’t get discussed nearly enough here.
marnotom!
·5 months agoFor what it’s worth, a pilot project for select non-US sellers was discussed on the .ca boards a few months ago. This project sees that a “no import charges” message shows up on a seller’s listings, if this is the case:
https://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Central/Blue-Banner/m-p/532908
Seems to me that the seller being discussed on this thread got involved with this pilot or something along those lines, either intentionally or inadvertently.
lacemaker3
·5 months ago@dsrobert1, unfortunately, from what I can see, it looks as though eBay has added those statements saying that import fees are included to the seller's listings very recently, and they are INCORRECT. (So your seller did tell you the truth.) eBay has made many mistakes relating to the US Tariffs, and it appears they are continuing to do so.
When did you make your purchase? All of the seller's completed sales show that the import fees were not included. Was the item shown in the first screenshot your purchase?
I looked through all of the seller's recently sold listings, to see what kind of shipping they were using. It is "Standard Shipping from outside US." This is not any particular shipping service, it is generic, and just tells you that it will be shipped from outside the US. You have to read the description, and all of their recent sales say the same thing (with different costs for different items): the import fees were not included when they were paid for at checkout.
This is from a sale on Mar 6 or 7, 2026, the second last sale the seller has made. I chose this one because the item is similar to the example listing OP shared. This listing has ended, and you have to click to "See details" on the shipping to see what it says about the import fees:
From the description, same item:
At the time of their last sales (Mar 6 and Mar 12) the seller had not changed the Condition note, which cannot be edited after the listing ends. At the time of this sale, on Mar 6, this listing with "Standard Shipping from outside US" clearly did not include the import fees when the buyer paid at checkout.
The description said that shipping to the US would be with UPS, which offers DDU (delivered duty unpaid) shipping, where the buyer has to pay the import fees to UPS before the item is delivered.
For other parts of the world, the seller uses EMS, which is an expedited Postal shipping service, which is not available to the US because since Aug 29, 2025, all postal shipments to the US have to be DDP (delivered duty paid). The seller does not want to use this, understandably, because buyers are always supposed to pay the import fees.
The seller's last sale was on Mar 12, 2026 (it also shows that the shipping was DDU, by UPS to the US), and after that, the seller went onto time away and started revising all of their listings. They added the information about import fees not being included at checkout to the Condition note, and started revising the shipping they are using.
I think they are doing this because since Mar 12 or shortly after, eBay has unilaterally, and incorrectly, started to say that the seller's listings include import fees when shipped to the US. But they really don't, because the seller's note in the Condition box and in the description shows they are not shipping with a DDP service which will include the import fees.
This active listing has conflicting information about the import fees, which makes it clear that the seller is NOT including the import fees for this listing. The information if you click on "See details" also says that the import fees are included. But the information from the seller, outlined in green, clearly says the import fees are NOT included.
So the information that eBay has added (outlined in red), saying that the import fees are included, is INCORRECT.
I have been able to find several of the seller's active listings (which are not available for purchase, or searchable, because of the time-away status). They all show this conflicting information about the import fees when the delivery address is in the US, so it's no wonder the seller has had to go on time away to prevent any sales.
Basically, eBay is trying to force global sellers to pay the import fees for items being delivered to the US.
But, they are not offering any way for the seller to collect the import fees from the buyers.
marnotom!
·5 months agoI’m in Canada, so I’m not going to get the same sort of eBay-generated messages about import fees as US users do. However, I did see the note from the seller when using the app:
xadexane
·5 months agoIt doesn't matter: eBay sellers are not allowed to ask for additional payment after checkout.
Just like sellers cannot ask for more money to ship the purchase after the buyer has paid at checkout.
Doesn't matter what the seller noted in the description. If import fees are actually due, eBay says on the listing:
Due to US customs policies, the buyer of this item will need to pay import fees to the shipping carrier prior to delivery.
Import fees: Import fees due prior to delivery.
dsrobert1
OP5 months agoThe verbiage does change after the purchase. Here is a link of one of the sellers listings that shows it. Look below the shipping, this is on all their listings and yes it goes away after the purchase. The seller acknowledged this in emails, and pointed the finger at eBay.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/376986453332itmmeta=01KK9WDHS3MXQDH3B804AW5M05&hash=item57c624c554:g:9egAAeSwvZ9pPlBr
But that being said, I'm not trying to convince people here who are trying to prove the OP wrong, rather I'm giving potential buyers a heads up of the false advertising, making potential buyers know that the seller is fully aware of this, and that eBay will do nothing about it. The seller deleted my feedback, and likely the other buyers that this happened to. I really don't care if you believe me or not, feel free to buy an item off their site and see what happens.
If the seller corrects the problem, I will ask that this OP gets deleted.
jonathanbrightlight
·5 months ago@dsrobert1 Something is broken in the link above, but is this the item? https://www.ebay.com/itm/376986453332
What part are you saying is disappearing? Nothing I can see could possibly disappear.
campanaelia
·5 months agoThe OP is saying this section by the shipping details disappears after the sale
jonathanbrightlight
·5 months agoThanks. I was on mobile before and didn't try to dig into it very much at the time.
I do see that on their current listings, and I was able to pull up some of their recently sold listings and don't see it there, so that is very interesting. That's definitely an eBay message, not something the seller added, based on what I'm seeing.
lacemaker3
·5 months agoThat section may "disappear" when a listing ends, but the information on the shipping "See details" popup doesn't change, and it shows that import fees were not included on all of the seller's sold listings. OP appears to be mistaken about the ended listings.
It only shows up on the seller's current active listings and it is probably why those listings are not available to purchase. The seller has had to go on time away because eBay has added this incorrect information to their listings. The seller is only trying to protect themselves from eBay's incorrect claims.
Edit: as of Mar 17, 2026, the seller has dealt with the problem by increasing the cost of shipping, and changing the description text to say that items will be shipped to the US by using UPS DDP shipping service.
campanaelia
·5 months agoYour link isn't working, I fixed it for you
https://www.ebay.com/itm/376986453332
Ok, I see the discrepancy now, but the seller clearly states 2x in the listing that import fees/duties are NOT included in the item price or shipping fees.
That other message that the import fees are included, seems to be an addt'l line ebay adds automatically for int'l shipping and the seller probably wasn't aware of it.
I think I would have messaged the seller first when I noticed the discrepancy. I definitely would not have completed the transaction and question it later.
msha3839
·5 months agoMaybe you should stop believing some people and start read eBay policies..p.s. and smart buyers do their homework..
campanaelia
·5 months agoWhat was the item #?
I would like to check what the listing states you purchased.
I did check some items they have and saw this:
Did you overlook the word NOT?
atlasesattic
·5 months agoThank you for the heads up....appreciate it
kensgiftshop
·5 months agoWhat listing is that on?
Checked a couple and none say that.
dsrobert1
OP5 months agoThe seller is apparently away until Sat, Mar 21, 2026, claiming they are dealing with a shipping issue due to my order, which was a complete misrepresentation of what happened. My claim had nothing to do with shipping (I did not return the item), but all to do with their false advertising. That being said, their site is not currently active, and so you won't see any of their listings. It was a week of back and forth with the seller, and 5 calls to eBay to get this resolved. They finally paid, but they won't do anything about changing their listings, and neither will eBay.
sdneped
·5 months agoBut if you did, you can buy an eBay return shipping label to Fukyuka Japan now -- something new on eBay.
marnotom!
·5 months agoI think that's just a standard statement eBay generates for all sellers who offer returns and are selling on the .com site. Notice it's an "if" statement.
campanaelia
·5 months agoIf you check their completed items you can see all their past sales going back to 12/16 and ALL of them state Import fees are NOT included.
My gut tells me this was buyer error but it seems the seller did the right thing and paid it anyway after your complaining.
marnotom!
·5 months agoI don't think it's the "right" thing if those charges came out of the seller's pocket when the information in the listing is correct. 😑
campanaelia
·5 months agoI agree, maybe I worded it wrong by saying "the right thing".
The seller should not have paid it since it was the OP's error, but I do commend the seller for their customer service.
dsrobert1
OP5 months agoAs I said, after you complete a purchase on the sellers site, the "Includes import fees/buyer will pay nothing after checkout" verbiage goes away from the order. You will only see it on their active listings, not on completed items. The seller acknowledged it as a problem, but blamed eBay for it. And eBay has done nothing about it
campanaelia
·5 months agoSo what was the item #?. Or provide the link.
The verbiage in the listing cannot change after it is purchased.
albertabrightalberta
·5 months agoI didn't see the seller whose ID was redacted but I HAVE seen what @dsrobert1 refers to in Japanese listings.
In fact, here's a current active listing showing exactly what is claimed. (DISCLAIMER: I haven't bought any items from Japanese sellers so I don't know what happens after a purchase when it comes to import fees.)
ETA: I posted this before I finished reading. I hadn't seen that examples were posted showing the same thing.
In these listings, buyers shouldn't NOT be charged import fees and if they are, those fees should be credited.
kibble-net
·5 months agoOne does not use apostrophes to denote plurals. It's "fees" not "fee's"
Also, naming and shaming is not permitted here.
dsrobert1
OP5 months agoPhew! I'm glad we cleared up the fees issue