Buyer upset about import fees. Advice please?

[cool-chaos]

Buyer question: "Hello there, I recently purchased a purple Tee from your company at the value of $24. As well as a shipment fee of $21.
When the item arrived in my town I was informed I had to pay an extra import charge of $16 as the international charge hadn’t been paid for which should of been included in the already high postage expense. As you can imagine. I’m not happy about this. I’ve been a eBay member since 2012 and I’ve never had to pay import fees for a mere t-shirt worth $24. Let alone 3/4 of that at $15. For an item in the $40-50 range I would have no qualms about such a thing. But I was rather displeased for having to pay such a high fee in comparison to a low value item. I mean it’s literally just a T-shirt. Please can you get back to me at your earliest convenience to resolve this matter?  Thank you."

Can someone advise on what to tell this customer, please? Thanks in advance! Jewel  🙂   

[tellmemama]

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@cool-chaos wrote:

Thank you so much! 🙂 He admitted this morning that he has gotten other sellers to refund him. Grr. 

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Ok, now I would call eBay if you have that in messages.  That should make it fairly ironclad for feedback removal.  But before you call, I would report the buyer for everything under the sun:  unreasonable demands (things not offered in the listing as in the refund of customs fees), feedback extortion (admitting he gets other sellers to refund and they likely don't receive a neg), and maybe even "other" with requesting false information on customs forms. 

And I'm glad you blocked him.  Hopefully hard enough that his mum cried.

[getitright1234]

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@cool-chaos wrote:

Buyer question: "Hello there, I recently purchased a purple Tee from your company at the value of $24. As well as a shipment fee of $21.
When the item arrived in my town I was informed I had to pay an extra import charge of $16 as the international charge hadn’t been paid for which should of been included in the already high postage expense. As you can imagine. I’m not happy about this. I’ve been a eBay member since 2012 and I’ve never had to pay import fees for a mere t-shirt worth $24. Let alone 3/4 of that at $15. For an item in the $40-50 range I would have no qualms about such a thing. But I was rather displeased for having to pay such a high fee in comparison to a low value item. I mean it’s literally just a T-shirt. Please can you get back to me at your earliest convenience to resolve this matter?  Thank you."

Can someone advise on what to tell this customer, please? Thanks in advance! Jewel  🙂   

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OP:  thinking out loud to yourself (only) :

You could tell the buyer: 

if its okay, I wish to raise the price of the t-shirt to $40, since the $40-$50 price range makes you feel better about paying the import fees.  Please send the extra $16 to my Paypal account.  

But seriouly OP, I find it hard to believe this experienced buyer had not idea she would need to pay import fees.  

[fab_finds4u]

Negative feedback used to be removable when the complaint was for customs fees the seller wasn't responsible for

  or item not recd when tracking showed delivered.

Please call eBay and have it removed.  

[getitright1234]

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@fab_finds4u wrote:

Negative feedback used to be removable when the complaint was for customs fees the seller wasn't responsible for

  or item not recd when tracking showed delivered.

Please call eBay and have it removed.  

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How reckless can a buyer be,  to hold the seller responsible for their goverment import fees.   Leaving negative feedback while saying the seller was nice is just overthetop.   The negative feedback was left as a bargaining chip, in an attempt to get the seller to pay her import fees, simply insane. 

OP, call customer service and show them your messages of the buyer complaining about the import fese and get that negative feedback removed ASAP.

Goodluck!!!!

[reallynicestamps]

At least in Canada, gifts still attract duty and sales taxes , just that the duty free allowance is higher ($60 rather than $20).

[everything-from-trinkets-to-treasures]

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@cool-chaos wrote:

Buyer question: "Hello there, I recently purchased a purple Tee from your company at the value of $24. As well as a shipment fee of $21.
When the item arrived in my town I was informed I had to pay an extra import charge of $16 as the international charge hadn’t been paid for which should of been included in the already high postage expense. As you can imagine. I’m not happy about this. I’ve been a eBay member since 2012 and I’ve never had to pay import fees for a mere t-shirt worth $24. Let alone 3/4 of that at $15. For an item in the $40-50 range I would have no qualms about such a thing. But I was rather displeased for having to pay such a high fee in comparison to a low value item. I mean it’s literally just a T-shirt. Please can you get back to me at your earliest convenience to resolve this matter?  Thank you."

Can someone advise on what to tell this customer, please? Thanks in advance! Jewel  🙂   

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If you are the buyer, then yes you will need to pay this. This is the customs laws of your country, which you have to keep up with if you are buying internationally...unfortunaltey this is not an ebay issue or an issue with your seller.

[everything-from-trinkets-to-treasures]

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@cool-chaos wrote:

Thank you so much! 🙂 He admitted this morning that he has gotten other sellers to refund him. Grr. 

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This could be a problem depending on what he says/how he says it.....but then it shows they are very much aware of the Customs fees...so I would simply ingore them. Or as I said....remind them this is their responsibilty and not an ebay or seller issue.

Sellers voluntarily refunding/paying import fees can also be a seller choice....so that is a different thing.

[vipr187666]

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@emerald40 wrote:

And it is hard to believe that a person who shops on the Internet from a foreign country does not know about customs fees.

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It's not just a question of knowing about them. It's also a question of expectations. I've ordered DVD/BD/games from all over the world shipping to the US and never once been hit for an extra fee after the item was paid for and shipped.

[everything-from-trinkets-to-treasures]

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@vipr187666 wrote:

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@emerald40 wrote:

And it is hard to believe that a person who shops on the Internet from a foreign country does not know about customs fees.

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It's not just a question of knowing about them. It's also a question of expectations. I've ordered DVD/BD/games from all over the world shipping to the US and never once been hit for an extra fee after the item was paid for and shipped.

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There used to be a disclaimer on international sales and at check out....not sure if that is still there though haven't looked recently

[gopetersen]

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@cool-chaos wrote:

But it wasn't a gift. Wouldn't that be lying? I have always just written 'Merchandise'.

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"Merchandise" is not  good thing to write on a customs form. The purpose of the form is to tell them specifically what is inside so they can levy the correct duties.

Duties can vary from nothing to 25% and sometimes more. If the duty for a new T-shirt is 15% and you write "merchandise" the buyer might be charged 25% or even 30% because you failed to disclose the nature of the contents.

Some items go duty-free to some countries. For example, original art and antique books are duty-free to some countries. Computer technology is duty-free to some countries.

So, you should always write SIMPLY and clearly what it is. If it's a used T-shirt write Used T-shirt, if it's a new one, just write T-shirt or men's T-shirt.

If you don't specify the contents they might open it and repackage it badly or they might overcharge.

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As for duties, you MUST add to your listing, "International duties are the responsibility of the buyer" so the buyer doesn't think it is being shipped by a service that includes the duties in the price (as is now available from some venues).

[gopetersen]

If you write "gift" on something that is obviously not a gift (e.g., it's in an eBay pouch or there is an invoice inside stating the price) they will either send it back or they will charge the buyer the maximum. Then, if the buyer is not willing to pay it, the buyer can refuse it, get a refund, and you are out the shipping costs.

I only write "gift" on gifts. If I start doing dishonest things, how can buyers (or even my friends for that matter) trust me to do other things honestly?

What I WILL do for the buyer is look up the categories and try to find the one with the lowest duty. For example, some items are gray area. Jewelry, for example, can fit into a number of categories depending on how it's made and they can vary from 5% duties to 30% duties.

I try to find the closest appropriate category with the lowest duties to that country. It doesn't take long. There are lots of site that list duties and sometimes also include the harmonized tariff code. Including the tariff code can speed the item through customs, so I always include it but I can understand why many people don't. If numbers confuse you, just leave it out.

[nowthatsjustducky]

The description area is not where the product type of Gift, Merchandise, Commecial Sample, or whatever else gets designated.

That is a checkbox, one of which has to be marked.  So if neither Gift nor Merchandise are appropriate for an item sold on eBay, then which one do you recommend?  The choices there are extremely limited.

[gopetersen]

Just call CS and tell them to look at the communication from the buyer about the duties, so they understand the background leading up to the negative, and remind them that duties are the responsibility of the buyer. They will remove the negative feedback. Buyers are not allowed to ding the seller for something that is buyer responsibility.

[gopetersen]

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@nowthatsjustducky wrote:

The description area is not where the product type of Gift, Merchandise, Commecial Sample, or whatever else gets designated.

That is a checkbox, one of which has to be marked.  So if neither Gift nor Merchandise are appropriate for an item sold on eBay, then which one do you recommend?  The choices there are extremely limited.

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Hmmm, the poster wrote, " I have always just written 'Merchandise'." which gave me the impression they were also writing "Merchandise" in the slot where one describes the goods.

You might be right, perhaps he was referring to the checkbox, but I can't be sure from the wording.

Either way, you already know my answer to the question... I do what I can to minimize the buyer's tariff, but I don't lie about it being a gift.