I'm out
Just ended the remaining listings I have. Been selling on 3 different accounts since 2009.
I haven't bothered listing anything for a while because sales are slow and the buyers are usually problematic and out to get a freebie. Well, today I got a sale for the first time in forever, a silver pocket knife that a couple of years ago would sell instantly.. I've had it up for quite some time, but finally it sold, probably due to the high silver prices.. Went on to purchase shipping and was told that I have to pay taxes on behalf of the buyer because of new US taxation laws. Perhaps these laws may help making the US a manufacturing nation again which is all good, but for me as a small seller it was the final straw as most buyers are from the US. There is no point for me as an international seller to continue. Seems to be somewhat strange to not have the buyer pay those taxes as they do in most (all?) other parts of the world.
I may decide to sell again in the future, but the US will in that case provided that these laws and regulations remain be excluded. As for now I have lost the remaining little interest I had in selling here. The platform will probably be fine for a US based clientele, but for international sellers it just seems to be an increasing amount of hurdles we have to overcome to squeeze out a profit.
christworks
·8 months ago@assortedcollectibles I may be misreading something, but I think you are mistaken. U.S. buyers, as the importer, are supposed to pay the duties. Even eBay states this: https://pages.ebay.com/tariffs/
It looks to me like that message is from your carrier, and it is their policy to have you, as the seller, prepay those duties to use their service. If that's correct, then the issue is not with the U.S., it is with the carrier. Perhaps they want sellers to prepay this to ensure there are no issues with packages getting into the U.S.?
lacemaker3
·8 months ago@christworks
I'm sorry, but you are misunderstanding the current situation with international commercial mail into the USA.
@assortedcollectibles' statement about this is correct.
All postal carriers are now required to "collect and remit" the duties and tariffs to US customs, for all packages they are transporting into the USA. That is quoted from the Executive Order 14324 which ended the de minimis exemption:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/08/05/2025-14897/suspending-duty-free-de-minimis-treatment-for-all-countries
https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/2025-08/factsheet_suspension_of_duty-free_de_minimis_treatment.pdf
Most global postal services stopped accepting commercial mail to the USA in late August 2025 because of this, and some are still not accepting it. Apparently in Norway the postal service resumed shipments to the USA on Jan 1, 2026.
Commercial carriers are required to collect and remit the tariffs to US customs as well, but some of them are prepaying the duty as a "courtesy" to the sender (seller) and then trying to collect it from the recipient (buyer) before delivery; essentially carrying on the way they used to before August 29, 2025 when the rules were changed by the USA.
Commercial shipments are too expensive to be feasible, in many European countries, and in some cases (for example Deutsche Post in Germany) the postal service is privately owned by a commercial carrier (DHL Group in that case).
@assortedcollectibles, you can continue to sell on eBay if you still want to, just not on ebay.com.
If you list on any other eBay website (such as eBay UK, eBay Germany, or one of the other eBay sites in Europe) then you can block shipping to the USA, and target buyers in other parts of the world. You can use your existing account to do this, you just have to log on to the site you choose and start new listings there.
bonjourami
·8 months agoIsnt your buyer paying his states sales tax with the purchase? Im not talking about the tarrifs that may be applied. Im confused, maybe someone will come in to explain it.
assortedcollectibles
OP8 months agoThis is what I am talking about.
bonjourami
·8 months agoSo you are not actually paying the buyers state taxes, but a duty handling fee, and import processing?
assortedcollectibles
OP8 months agoYes, because of new protectionist laws in the US which to a degree I can sympathize with, but logically that should befall the buyer as it does in all other parts of the world. Here in Yurop we have a long-standing tradition of getting taxed out the rear-end even in cases where it doesn't go towards its intended purpose. For instance we used to be able to import things free of charge up to a value of 200NOK up until probably 10 years ago, a law that was in place since 1970 and introduced by politicians as a way to protect the Norwegian textile industry which is now ironically non-existent. Then they "generously" removed that law and let us buy up towards 350NOK if it included shipping costs up until a couple of years when they removed it all together and decided to tax us from the very first krone (norwegian currency NOK), but they never took it as far as to tax the seller in a different country.
It is rather fascinating from a historical perspective seeing America do their own take on this.
roccotacodad54
·8 months ago"we have a long-standing tradition of getting taxed out the rear-end even in cases where it doesn't go towards its intended purpose."
My Norweigen friend you are not alone in this. In my state (Washington, state not D.C.) that seems to be the norm................................
bonanza125
·8 months agoI just explained this and then I come to find out you are from Norway. You are on a US site. The tax laws are different. We US sellers get credited for taxes charged to the buyer however I guess in Norway you the seller are being charged the taxes without the buyer being charged. Not sure exact laws in Norway. If your items aren't selling then the demand is low and not listing items much does reduce sales. It could take years to sell a particular item.
ryry-jj
·8 months agoI have no idea how all of the taxes/tariffs work on eBay with international sales.....buyers/importers should, as I understand, be paying the tariffs. But as far as a world economy, we are in a very problematic state.
One thing I have never understood, Europe's population is twice that of the US, why is that not a viable market to sell to? Seems international sellers need to target the US to be successful, why cant Europe sustain sales to be successful?
meme6253
·8 months agoThe tariffs are a killer no doubt & there is too much confusion as to who is responsible to pay them, The same with the taxation laws, I stopped selling internationally some time ago & I am very glad I did, There are enough headaches I don't need anymore, Good Luck to you whatever you choose to do moving forward.
assortedcollectibles
OP8 months agoThanks. I have already long since found greener pastures so it isn't difficult to move on. Necessity is the mother of all invention or as we say in Norway "Nød lærer naken kvinne å spinne" which means, distress teaches a naked woman to spin.
As things change we change with it.
I had a lot of enjoyable and good transactions over the years.
bonjourami
·8 months ago"or as we say in Norway "Nød lærer naken kvinne Ã¥ spinne" which means, distress teaches a naked woman to spin. "
Thats hilarious! Good luck to you.