O.T. FVF International Fee when Shipping Within The U.S.

[vernon1959]

So I admit since hubby passed I have not been keeping up with the policy changes.

  Now that EBay is managing payments even if the buyer has us ship to a U.S. address, if they're registered address isn't in the U.S. we're still charged the international fee??

  I stopped selling overseas a while ago. Last week I sold an item and the fees seems higher than expected. So I looked into it and there was the international fee. Looked a little further and even though I shipped to the U.S. I looked at their profile and it showed they were in China.

  I called EBay, actually got a rep in the U.S.! She explained that they've had a lot of sellers complaining. The reps are taking notes and submitting them to the powers that be. 

Maybe I'm the last one to find this out but I thought I'd share 😞

Pauline (vernon1959)

[albertabrightalberta · Accepted solution]

The buyer has a non-US credit card so you are charged an international fee. It doesn't matter whether they're visiting the US, using a freight forwarding, international student attending college here, etc. The card is a non-US card and you're charged a tiny fee. 

Look at the bright side. Your item sold! For 1.65%, it's a small fee! 

[vernon1959]

Hi albertabrightalberta,

  I understood what the fee was for, I just didn't realize international bidders could still bid.

   When we used PayPal we could block non U.S. payment methods, with EBay managed payments we can't. Least I haven't been able to find it.

 Looking back at my sales, I see a lot of the international sales are going to what appears to be forwarding houses. It appears it's a work around for buyers outside the U.S.

P 🙂

[1940fc]

Yepper, Pauline. 

It has been in place for quite awhile now..I was surprised, too, when I first saw it on my fees.  Good to remind people tho, for those that haven`t experienced it yet. 😉

[old.crows.nest]

I know there used to be parcel forward services which Sellers had to block through PayPal Payments because there was no protection when the delivery address did not match the payment address. Or am I remembering wrong?

That said, it is all mote now that ebay is in the forwarding business with it's International Shipping Service. Of course I bet ebay's GSP has led to the proliferation of what the OP has experienced. International Buyers have smartened up about the abuses in that program. Things like twice paying blotted shipping and outrageous brokerage /import duties.

[southernmermaid8]

Yep,  we were just discussing this recently on the boards.  The consensus was that the people using these forwarding hubs,  ( Oregon & Delaware ) are the type of buyers who are willing to spend a little extra for good vintage jewelry so the small fee was worth it.  
 
 It is interesting to hear that eBay reps are taking note of sellers complaining though.  

🌸🦋🌼

[soh.maryl]

Before you get excited about "eBay reps taking note of sellers complaining", please keep in mind that CS reps will say almost anything to get you off the phone and move on to the next call.  

[alcoforever]

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@southernmermaid8 wrote:

 
 It is interesting to hear that eBay reps are taking note of sellers complaining though.  

🌸🦋🌼

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  Yeah, right.   Would you like to buy my share in the Golden Gate Bridge?

[marnotom!]

@vernon1959, eBay's fees are probably higher than you expected because they now include a payment processing fee that used to be going to PayPal.  Then there's also the fact that most sales are now subject to sales tax, and eBay charges its fees on the entire transaction.  PayPal had an international fee as well, by the way, but they weren't quite as upfront about it as eBay is.  As suggested, if you'd rather not pay the international fee, you should be adding the irritatingly-named "eBay International Shipping" service to your listings.

Your buyer block applies to shipping locations, by the way, not where the buyer is located.  It's been this way since buyer blocks first became a "thing." 

[marnotom!]

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@old.crows.nest wrote:

That said, it is all mote now that ebay is in the forwarding business with it's International Shipping Service. Of course I bet ebay's GSP has led to the proliferation of what the OP has experienced. International Buyers have smartened up about the abuses in that program. Things like twice paying blotted shipping and outrageous brokerage /import duties.

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I'm a bit confused by this post.  The Global Shipping Program is/was a forwarding service as well, so it's not like the introduction of the eBay International Shipping service is a completely new venture.  Buyers are still charged for two rounds of shipping with the new program, and would be as well if they used a forwarding service independent of eBay, for that matter.

From what I've seen about the complaints about the GSP's "outrageous" import charges, most of them are from users that in the past were able to get their items tax and duty-free because of lenient handling of postal imports by their customs bureaux, unaware that these items were actually subject to tax and duty charges.  The tax part has actually become moot for a number of countries as buyers from these countries are now charged at checkout the way most US buyers are.

[southernmermaid8]

I said “ interesting “ not exciting.  😊

[southernmermaid8]

🤣😂🤣

[old.crows.nest]

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@marnotom! wrote:

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@old.crows.nest wrote:

That said, it is all mote now that ebay is in the forwarding business with it's International Shipping Service. Of course I bet ebay's GSP has led to the proliferation of what the OP has experienced. International Buyers have smartened up about the abuses in that program. Things like twice paying blotted shipping and outrageous brokerage /import duties.

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I'm a bit confused by this post.  The Global Shipping Program is/was a forwarding service as well, so it's not like the introduction of the eBay International Shipping service is a completely new venture.  Buyers are still charged for two rounds of shipping with the new program, and would be as well if they used a forwarding service independent of eBay, for that matter.

From what I've seen about the complaints about the GSP's "outrageous" import charges, most of them are from users that in the past were able to get their items tax and duty-free because of lenient handling of postal imports by their customs bureaux, unaware that these items were actually subject to tax and duty charges.  The tax part has actually become moot for a number of countries as buyers from these countries are now charged at checkout the way most US buyers are.

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Gotta say I am not one of those fuuuranuuurs that was wanting to pull a fast one.

I always followed the rules. No need to not be honest. In fact I had to explain to some Sellers the correct way to ship to my country. i.e. "Do NOT mark as a gift!" And believe it or not they still did it in a dishonest way.

And just so we are on the same page I did not know that my comments could be construed to be about two different programs. All my comments were about the GSP which was developed and instigated by eBay in order to engage US Sellers with a tendency to be xenophobic to increase their sales. The worst I ever heard was that once the Shipment arrived at the US Forwarding Shipper the Seller was no longer responsible for the safe delivery of the item.

The GSP required an International Buyer to pay at least twice the amount for shipping of what they might have paid previously. Then have to pay undisclosed brokerage fees that in reality did not apply when using a Postal Service option. And this is all before the legitimate taxes and duties. When using the GSP there was no itemized breakdown only estimations. And no proof that the taxes and duties were paid. Something required if importing for business purposes.

[marnotom!]

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@old.crows.nest wrote:

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The GSP required an International Buyer to pay at least twice the amount for shipping of what they might have paid previously. Then have to pay undisclosed brokerage fees that in reality did not apply when using a Postal Service option. And this is all before the legitimate taxes and duties. When using the GSP there was no itemized breakdown only estimations. And no proof that the taxes and duties were paid. Something required if importing for business purposes.

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I bought a couple of cell phones that were forwarded through the GSP and didn't pay "double shipping" on them because the sellers charged "free" shipping on them.  The shipping rate was comparable to that of First Class Package International.  The amount I paid in "import charges" was less than what I would have paid if the item were sent through the postal system and assessed taxes by Canada Border Services.

What some people don't understand about the GSP is that Pitney Bowes actually took responsibility for paying taxes and duties on an item.  They called the fee "import charges" rather than "customs charges" or "taxes and duty" because the buyer didn't actually pay those.  The "import charges" were the mechanism for repaying Pitney Bowes for the taxes, duties, and processing fees that it paid on the buyer's behalf.

The GSP was not intended for commercial or business transactions and even says so in its terms and conditions.  People using it for those purposes could probably get the "import charges" written off as a business expense.

[old.crows.nest]

I never actually purchased anything using the GSP. In fact I stopped purchasing from ebay as soon as I saw the changes in S&H options to one exclusive secretive all inclusive service. I believe that Duties and Taxes are MY responsibility not a third party. I have no way to know if legitimate amounts were paid to my Government or what bonus is going to the shipper.

I was no longer given an option on what would have been my Personal or Business purchases from the US. Most of my purchases were kept under $20. All of a sudden the extra costs started at + $20 estimation. Which may or may not be higher at check out?

I saw this lack of disclosure / breakdown as off-putting. If there is nothing hinky then be upfront.