Monthly Chat - March 8th at 1:00 pm PST

[devon@ebay]

Come chat with the International Shipping team to discuss our new eBay International Shipping program. Get all of your questions ready for the team, so we can make the most out of this month's chat on March 8th at 1:00 pm PT!

Thanks for joining us for the Monthly Chat with eBay Staff and the International Shipping team.

The chat thread will remain open until 2 PM PT at which point we'll close it from additional responses. After that time, we'll continue to work on responding to any queries that might still be unanswered.

To post your question, click Reply in the lower right corner of this post, type your question, and hit submit between 1-2 PM Pacific Time. The format of our chat mirrors the format of our Community Discussion Boards, where each post will appear in the thread chronologically. The taxAct and Community Team will review each question as it comes in, and will quote the original question in our reply. This quote and the reply will appear later in the thread, so just keep scrolling down to see our answers.

As a reminder, we want the eBay International Shipping team to be able to get to as many members as possible during the allotted hour, so we have a few things to ask of you:

• Keep on topic
• Scroll through the list of questions to see what has already been asked to decrease chances of redundancy 
• Keep the message/question simple and no more than one to two items. If you include multiple questions in a post, please be aware that they may not be addressed during the chat and (specialist name) will do their best to follow-up with it after the chat has closed 

Missed the chat? Send your questions to the podcast by calling 888-723-4630 or email us at podcast@ebay.com and maybe your questions will make it on the air! Or listen to past episodes while you wait for next month!”

[international_shipping@ebay]

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@chloe_p55 wrote:

I have been set up for International Shipping.  People out of the country are not  able to buy from me.  I contacted eBay and they said a case has been set up for me but, I still haven't heard anything.  They also said they have had someone else with this issue too.  Are you working on that?   I am losing a lot of sales this way as I had sold a decent amount of items through GSP.

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Please send a message to ebayinternationalshipping@ebay.com and we can review your current account status in eIS.

[international_shipping@ebay]

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@glasser wrote:

I am leery of using EIS because higher rates may scare people away and I can see what rates they are seeing. I have shipped internationally for years and tend to use USPS--never had a problem. Ship all my non-eBay international sales UPS or UPS.  So really need more information to make an informed decision.

some questions:

• How will delivery times compare to USPS priority? For example, I ship USPS priority to Japan all the time and packages are never more than 10 days in transit. EU is longer but how will this compare EISD has been notoriously slow.
• Will the rates be competitive (from the buyer's perspective) with USPS priority? Can we see a rate schedule? Or can eBay develop a rate calculator as all other shippers have?
• who is the shipper out of the US? Are they to the last mile or is it handed off to country or delivery Post Office?
• Is eBay just tagging their name on a 3rd party service of is this a true eBay product run and managed by eBay?

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 We regularly review eBay International Shipping rates to provide the best value to our buyers. Usually you can find them on the Seller Center pages, right now we are currently updating the rates and will publish the new table by the end of this month here: https://www.ebay.com/sellercenter/shipping/ebay-international-shipping

We work closely with multiple carriers to provide the best value for buyers and sellers - both in costs and delivery time. Each shipment is evaluated on an individual basis and the carrier and route is determined to provide the best time/price ratio. eBay International Shipping is an eBay owned and managed product that is run by eBay itself.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

international_shipping@ebay 

I am confused by your answer here:

@dhbookds wrote:

Where does a seller refer a buyer who claims non receipt or damage?

The Buyer should be referred to eBay Claims. eBay is responsible for the delivery of the item once it has reached the domestic hub, so issues pertaining to non-delivery will be refunded directly from eBay. As a seller, you will be notified of the claim, but you will not be required to refund the Buyer or close out the issue.

Can you provide an actual link for "ebay claims" so we can use it to refer buyers?

Also, your answer addresses non- delivery of the item. But what about when the buyer claims the item arrived damaged, or the item is not as described?

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Edit: A reply to your question can be found here. 

[international_shipping@ebay]

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@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:

Presently, packages are sent to a location in the middle of the country. I understand ebay will be opening another location in California, and perhaps a third location on the East Coast. Is that correct? And is there any timeline for these additional locations to be opened?

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We are opening our second hub location in Los Angeles in April. We are also evaluating other locations as we expand our operations.

[dhbookds]

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international_shipping@ebay wrote:

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@dhbookds wrote:

Where does a seller refer a buyer who claims non receipt or damage?

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The Buyer should be referred to eBay Claims. eBay is responsible for the delivery of the item once it has reached the domestic hub, so issues pertaining to non-delivery will be refunded directly from eBay. As a seller, you will be notified of the claim, but you will not be required to refund the Buyer or close out the issue.

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and how does the buyer get to Ebay Claims?  Do you have a url?  General Customer Service is NOT going to know anything..........

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Edit: A reply to your post can be found here. 

[chloe_p55]

I have already sent two emails a few days ago and have not had a reply.  I will do it one more time so please let me know.

[michigancolor]

Looks like eBay is setting up more sellers with the eBay International Shipping. The terms at https://pages.ebay.com/internationalshippingprogram/seller/terms/ in (2)(a)(i) says "eBay will determine which items are eligible for expert and where the item will be eligible for import." But, then (3)(d)(ix) says the seller must opt out of the program on specific ineligible items that may not be sold outside the US or in specific other countries. And, (4) says the seller may not export in violation of ANY applicable laws or regulations of the countries eligible for the program, and by not opting out, the seller represents and warrants that it doesn't violate ANY applicable laws or regulations of any eligible country, and that the SELLER has taken all steps to ensure you can export items including obtaining an EORI number. SO... a small time seller who lists a single item and has never heard of the eBay International Shipping program and is automatically opted in who lists an item that in Absurdistan is prohibited because the item is pink, that seller has violated the terms and conditions and according to section 13(d)(ii) the seller may be charged "for return shipping and/or any International Shipping Fees associated with a return if we determine that you violated any of these Terms, our policies, or any applicable laws." So, ALL eBay sellers who don't opt out of this program must get an EORI number since a customer in the EU could purchase an item, and they also have to know the laws in every country in the world for every item they sell??? I have a feeling I'm going to see people some day get kicked off eBay for violating these terms.

Like, 3.5 years ago, I had a watch for sale that I listed including the GSP. I got a violation for it because that manufacturer had an exclusive license to import its products into Europe from outside the EU. I thought the whole point of these programs was for sellers to not have to know all these intricacies impossible to all be known by small businesses. I would have thought eBay would have just recognized the brand name couldn't be sold through GSP, and just not offered it on the listing...

[michigancolor]

I just got switched from GSP to eBay International Shipping. eBay at https://www.ebay.com/sellercenter/shipping/ebay-international-shipping says "Once your item is at our hub, you're protected against claims like Item Not Received, chargebacks, and negative or neutral feedback" and the FAQ answers "How will international returns be handled?" with "Once your item is received at the domestic shipping hub, your sale is considered complete. If the buyer opens a return, eBay will issue a refund at no cost to you." Also it answers "What protections does eBay International shipping offer" with "We'll handle international returns on your behalf, including Not as Described claims." Why then do the full Terms and Conditions at https://pages.ebay.com/internationalshippingprogram/seller/terms/ in (8)(a) state at the end after (i)-(vi): "However, if eBay finds in the Buyer's favor in an eBay Money Back Guarantee case relating to an EIS item, you may be responsible for the amount that has been paid to you by your Buyer." What happens when the shipping hub opens my package, inspects it, is happy with it, and reships it to the customer, then some time later the customer files a not as described dispute? (Perhaps the not as described reason given is even "it doesn't fit"...)

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Edit: A reply to your post can be found here. 

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

Thanks....hopefully you will find one on the East Coast as well....

[international_shipping@ebay]

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@mam98031 wrote:

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international_shipping@ebay wrote:

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@mam98031 wrote:

I am confident Ebay is aware that sellers not sit and re-read policy pages on a daily basis looking for a change that may have happened.  Which this problem is corrected, why can't or won't Ebay send out an annoucement as this is an important thing.

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To ensure eBay follows international export regulations regarding restricted, prohibited, oversized, or branded items, filters have been implemented to restrict these from the eIS program. This ensures a better buying experience for both the Buyer and the Seller as it reduces the number of items that cannot be shipped through the program and would require returning to the Seller or liquidating the item.

eBay is currently working to update the removal of eIS at a listing level. Once this is available to Sellers, eBay will update our Help Pages to reflect these changes. Meanwhile, you can apply country level exclusions to certain listings you don’t want to sell internationally - just exclude all countries (worldwide) except the USA.

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Thank you for re-affirming that the policy page will be updated when we can do listing level editing for this program.  But my question was and is, why can we get an announcement on this when it gets added to the program?  It is unfair to make us spend time frequently checking policy pages to see if anything has changed.

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We understand your concern. Once these changes are ready to be announced, we will send out appropriate communication to all our sellers.

[michigancolor]

Please see the post I just made at 01:39 PM PST (not the one at 01:40 PM PST.)  This does NOT match what the legal terms and conditions REQUIRES on sellers.

EDIT: Maybe you're just going to say this isn't how it works, and that sellers won't get in trouble since eBay is working on this.  But the terms NEED to be changed to reflect this, because the legal terms supersede anything eBay says in this chat.  If eBay does something contrary to what an employee says will happen, eBay doesn't honor what the employee said.

[international_shipping@ebay]

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@mam98031 wrote:

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international_shipping@ebay wrote:

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@postcardcountry wrote:

When are VAT and custom fees collected?

Who's responsibility is it to inform the buyer? 

Will it be included in my total sales as reported on a 1099?

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VAT and custom fees collection depends on an item price and a buyer country. In some cases (DDP - Delivered Duty Paid) - they are collected at checkout, the buyer is informed about those amounts collected. In other cases (DDU - Delivered Duty Unpaid) the buyer will pay taxes and duties, if any, upon delivery.

The seller is not responsible for informing the buyer about any taxes and duties, eBay takes care of that. Those duties and taxes should not be included into the seller’s 1099 either.

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Since this is such a variable fee, is the seller to pay FVFs on Vat?  If so, how can we plan for what that fee might be?

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FVF is NOT charged on the calculated international shipping. FVF is charged only on item price + sales tax + cost of shipping from seller to the domestic shipping hub.

If a seller provides free domestic shipping, the seller pays FVF only on item price and sales tax.  If the seller does not offer free domestic shipping, then FVF is charged on item price + sales tax + cost of shipping from seller to the domestic shipping hub.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

Some items, including certain brands, can be imported into certain countries but not others. If I list an item that is, let's say, prohibited by the UK, but all other countries permit it, does ebay remove the UK from the list of countries it shows on my listing?  

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Edit: A reply to your post can be found here. 

[dhbookds]

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@dhbookds wrote:

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international_shipping@ebay wrote:

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@dhbookds wrote:

Where does a seller refer a buyer who claims non receipt or damage?

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The Buyer should be referred to eBay Claims. eBay is responsible for the delivery of the item once it has reached the domestic hub, so issues pertaining to non-delivery will be refunded directly from eBay. As a seller, you will be notified of the claim, but you will not be required to refund the Buyer or close out the issue.

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and how does the buyer get to Ebay Claims?  Do you have a url?  General Customer Service is NOT going to know anything..........

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oops..........I'm guessing you mean tell them to open a case?

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

I believe the current max is $500.00. If I list a $600.00 item, is there some other way for me to ship that internationally? And if so, how do I create that option in my listing?

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Edit: A reply to your post can be found here.