How do I charge for duty on USA sales
Japan Post is finally accepting EMS again to the USA. We now have to use Zonos to prepay the duty of roughly 15% to the USA then we ship EMS as usual for $25.
I saw Ebay doesn't allow collecting duty? So what's the best way forward? I have to prepay to ship. Do I increase my prices 15% across the board? Can I send USA buyers an invoice after they purchase to add the extra fees?
I was thinking of adjusting prices up and refunding non-USA buyers 15% as a shipping adjustment.
It's still too complicated but 50% of my sales were USA based.
Any suggestions welcome. I'm ready to sell. Cheers.
16 comments
fullers_uk
·4 months agoIm in the UK and ship to the US.
When I buy a shipping label here in the UK from Royal Mail I have to pay the US tariffs there and then.
I asked ebay and they told me not to pay the tariffs and make the buyer pay on arrival.
That is not possible as I cant buy a label until I pay the tariffs.
Ebay told me I can invoice buyers by paypal using the buyers anon ebay email address.
Thats wrong as ebay will lose there revenue % and I would get kicked off ebay.
Ebay has not got a clue about how PDDP works.
Just increase your prices to cover the cost.
BUT dont forget even if you do that Ebay will still warn buyers in the listing they will have to pay tariffs on arrival even if you are paying them,
"Due to US customs policies, the buyer of this item will need to pay import fees to the shipping carrier prior to delivery. " <<<< TOTAL LIE Incorrect Information !
BUT if you were a seller based in CHINA they dont get the WARNING.
unique_watch_japan
OP4 months agoThanks for that. Japan Post is working with Zonos and I'll use it first time tomorrow. Duty must be paid before Japan Post will accept it. Ebay doesn't seem to get the hurdles we have faced since....well you know. I've advised customers that all fees except state taxes are paid and nothing further will be payable by the buyer. Ebay can say what they like. Luckily, my buyers trust me. Cheers.
fullers_uk
·4 months agoIts not as much as buyers trusting sellers, its that ebay are warning against buying from non US sellers but china gets away with it, the only other thing you can do is use the "Subtitle" feature on every listing to state you ship tariffs paid but then ebay charge you an extra $2.00 per listing per month so they make even more money from a problem they have caused, on some of my listings I use a picture to show tariffs are paid.
sin-n-dex
·4 months agoI added either "tariff incl" or "no tariff" to a title if there was room. (I had to bulk edit with SixBit to add that, I was able to add that as long as it was less than 68 characters in the title already).
I put it in the description under TOS that we ship duties paid to the US, Canadian shipping is done within Canada using Canada Post, and international shipping may incur customs on import (usually it doesn't eBay gives a code, but I don't want to promise that in case something happens to that shipment, or it goes to a country that doesn't get collected by eBay).
C.
slippinjimmy
·4 months agoI agree with @sin-n-dex, add the duty amount to your US shipping charge, add on some extra to cover the extra Final Value Fees you will be charged
If the tariff is 15%, add 20% to your shipping rate.
unique_watch_japan
OP4 months agoI've adjusted prices up to cover the costs. We'll see. I might consider the shipping but my products are pretty inexpensive. Higher shipping would draw attention.
BTW, over on ETSY, they let you set seperate prices for the USA/Japan/Others. That's a hugh break in this instance.
slippinjimmy
·4 months agoYou can do that here, US Shipping is "domestic", you can set different rates for other International destinations.
unique_watch_japan
OP4 months agoIf I lived in the USA I guess it would work. I'm in Japan so domestic is Japan. Thanks.
jonathanbrightlight
·4 months agoNot if you're listing on ebay.com. Which site are you primarily listing your items on?
slippinjimmy
·4 months agoYour listings are on .com, it doesn't matter where you are or where you are shipping from. When you list on .com shipping is set up for domestic = US, every other country is International.
sin-n-dex
·4 months agoIf you list on eBay.com, you are listing where domestic is USA, Japan would be considered international shipping on the dot com site.
I am in Canada and list on dot com, domestic shipping is USA, Canada shows as international, but I can set shipping for Canada, and then a different rate for Japan, Europe, Australia... etc.
C.
sin-n-dex
·4 months agoDuty is now 10% for all countries (except goods made in Canada/US/Mexico, if you have a valid CUSMA certificate, I don't think you can use that with Zonos, but I use that with my shipper on some of my goods).
You can roll it into the price of your shipping. You're not authorized to collect duty, but you are required to remit it when you ship, kind of a catch-22. I've just been taking a cut on the profits on old stuff that was listed pre-tariff and raising the prices when listing on stuff now. If someone contacts me who is not in the US, I either make a deal, or give a very good shipping rate.
C.
unique_watch_japan
OP4 months agoThat is pretty much what I'm going to do. I won't collect duty but I'll raise my prices and refund non-USA buyers the difference as a shipping adjustment. Thanks for the reply.
inhawaii
·4 months agoIs there a Japan board where you can ask this question?
I don't think many people here have any experience shipping out of Japan to the US.
sin-n-dex
·4 months agoAny non-US seller (like me) who ships to the US can answer. Unless they've all gone away, I think there's still some of us remaining in the forum.
C.
unique_watch_japan
OP4 months agoYeah, I hear that. But we have all kinds of sellers out of Japan. Also experienced sellers are always a great resouce on the arcania of selling on ebay. I'm getting a few idea already. Thanks for your reply too. Cheers.