Checkout is showing a Very High Shipping prices from US to UK via EIS, is this normal?
Summary: ratoliprova is concerned about discrepancies in international shipping costs through eBay, highlighting a case where a buyer was charged $47 for shipping a $30 item from the US to the UK. They are puzzled by the differences in fees for various countries and are seeking clarification on these charges. rfmtm explains that eBay's additional charges may include tariffs and advises using eBay's shipping calculator. lacemaker3 clarifies how VAT affects the shipping charges and prices on different eBay platforms. bdmh-enterprises explains that international shipping costs vary based on weight, dimensions, and destination, and are normal for eBay's international shipping service, which offers protections for both buyers and sellers.
Hello all.
I've had a few EIS International Shipping sales the last year, and there hasn't seem to be any issue until yesterday.
I was contacted by a buyer who I was in contact with for a couple of months and he tells me that the price for shipping it outrageous. The cost for me to ship it to Glendale Heights is $7.52 for a 14 oz and 10"x10"x5" package, but the buyer showed me a screenshot where it's asking them to pay $47.03 in shipping, and $0.00 in "Import Fees."
I tried checking over Past International Orders I sold this year, and most of them seemed to not have any added charges. ONE to Czech Republic a few weeks ago had a $40 VAT on the item, where the total was $210 before VAT, so while the higher price of 2 items helped with the VAT Charge, I still think it is a bit much to charge.
But a $47 shipping charge for a $30 item? The buyer also told me the charge doubled when they added a second item with shipping on it, so I'm not sure if the charges are based on the shipping costs for the buyer, the weight/dimensions added up, or what, but that's crazy.
So is this a normal price for such a small package from the USA to UK? Do others pay similar fees when getting the item in their country in other ways, since it doesn't show this information for many orders through eBay, and the only one that I saw had a huge fee was the CzechRepublic purchase, while the others had nothing really. I think the one package that had a fee was to India, and that had a $8 fee, but that's much better than $47. Same size package and same type of item as the one this UK buyer wants.
Any help is appreciated with this.
bdmh-enterprises
·3 weeks agoThe amount eIS charges the buyer is not shown to the seller in the order details, only the tax/vat and your domestic shipping charge. It can be figured out, but takes some lookin'. Weight, dims and price all factor into what the buyer is charged. Any tariffs and import fees will usually be included as well.
Additionally, some items just can't be combined for whatever reason when shipping eIS. Which would make the buyer pay double shipping and you would also have to ship 2 packages to the hub.
eIS is usually quite expensive depending on item and destination. Your prices don't surprise me at all. In return, both buyer and seller are well protected from loss or damage, unlike a regular freight forwarder. It will price out some buyers, so would regular shipping though, international is expensive all around these days.
lacemaker3
·3 weeks ago · Edited@ratoliprova , I checked one of your silicon wafer listings, that has US $7.52 shipping to Glendale Heights, IL.
The checkout screen shows what your UK buyers are being charged for:
$41.49 shipping in total (which includes $7.52 for domestic shipping, plus $33.97 for international shipping) and $15.30 for VAT (Value Added Tax). In UK, the VAT rate is 20%, and it is charged on the item plus the shipping cost.
However, if your buyer makes their purchase on eBay UK, the costs are displayed differently. The total cost is the same, but in the UK (and Europe) VAT costs are always included (and hidden) in the purchase price.
So in the eBay UK checkout page, the purchase price is shown as $35 + 20% = $42, and the shipping cost is shown as $41.49 + 20% = $49.79.
But the total cost is the same, either way.
rfmtm
·3 weeks agoAfraid you have no control over what ebay tacks on for international shipping, which includes not only shipping, but any tariffs, and of course something for ebay.
The only way to make is lower is to ship it direct yourself, but then you take all the risk if there is a problem, plus you really need to use a tractable service, which adds to the cost.
ratoliprova
OP3 weeks agoThank you...
Do you know why certain countries add cost like this? I would think every country would have some sort of extra cost, but it seems that from what I've seen, most of my items have none, while the others either have a little fee or a very high fee. I just don't see how most would be paying $40 in shipping for a $40-50 item, so it makes me wonder if only certain countries are dealing with such fees and what is going on with that and why?
and what exactly do they charge based on? When the buyer added 2 items that had the same weight and dimensions, the shipping cost to them doubled as well, so was it based on the initial shipping costs, or is it factoring in total weight and sizes?
I'm trying to figure out how this all gets accounted....
rfmtm
·3 weeks agoTry taking a look using the ebay calculator, which will give you some comparisons, but doesn't include any tariffs.
http://www.ebay.com/shp/Calculator