US buyer buying from Italy. Seller wants my National ID? I'm also confused over fees.
Hello! As the title says, I am a US buyer buying toys from Italy. The 2 toys are made in China (anime figures). He is shipping via UPS (UPS express saver). The item cost is 30 euros, and the shipping is 50 euros. Ebay has a message on the order screen saying "due to US customs policies, the buyer of this order will need to pay import fees to the shipping carrier prior to delivery."
First issue: the seller is asking for my National ID for the purpose of customs. What is that? Do I need to give it to them?
Second issue: I am expecting tariffs of 10-15%. However, I see that customs will be involved. Any idea what these fees will be? Is there any way to estimate these fees? Like is it flat based on the amount, a percentage, etc. Info online is all over the place, and I see people getting hit with like 70%+ of the items cost.
Thank you for your help.
tech_town
OP5 months agoUpdate. I bought from Italy and everything went smoothly. I did not give the seller any ID number. I paid UPS after the fact and total fees/dues/tariffs came out to like $18 (on a $40 item with $50 shipping).
I don't know the breakdown, but it was way less than expected.
mudshark61369
·5 months ago@tech_town ,
Your seller may think that the ID is needed because they sometimes are in the E.U.. Reply to your seller and tell them that they do not need to have your ID. That if it is needed it will be requested by the shipper when you are informed of the tariff cost since they collect it for our customs service.
If you think that because the items are made in China that there will be higher fees, you are wrong. The items will be charged the fee for imports from Italy and the items cost.
tech_town
OP5 months agoTariffs go by the items country of manufacture, which is China in this case. This is how it worked with all of my figure purchases thus far from other countries (Japan, Canada, France).
mudshark61369
·5 months ago@tech_town
Thanks for letting me know that. I guess I was under that opinion because I wasn't charged tariffs on any of several China made figures I purchased last year. Then after reading your reply, I checked my purchase history, and saw that they were all sold to me by U.S. based sellers.