Extra Fees On Shipping To USA Forwarding Companies

[lb23cavaliersmvp]

First, I'm sure this is covered somewhere in the covenant we all adhere to but I'm not sure everyone is aware of it. When you ship to a foreign registered buyer who uses a US-based forwarding company you pay an extra 1.65% in fees on the total sale price even though you are mailing to an address in the US.  

[monroe67]

"The buyer's payment source is international - I think it all devolves on that, but eBay doesn't want to get into that in their FAQ, so they say "address." "

You can think anything you want.  You can think you've found an ulterior motive for any rule or law upon which it devolves.

The plain, ordinary English-language words in eBay's International Fee policy do not include either "payment" or "source."  Nor, as I have often posted, "foreign", "currency", "bank", "credit", "debit", or "card'.  

The language of eBay's International Fee policy refers repeatedly to "address."  

So I choose to believe that eBay is saying precisely what they mean, in the plain language of the International Fee policy. 

I believe eBay is not trying to avoid "getting into" anything in their policies or FAQ. 

I choose to believe that eBay's computer system looks only at the eBay-registered addresses and the shipping addresses of both the seller and the buyer when determining which transactions are charged the 1.65% International Fee.  

[monroe67]

"It is important to remember the seller is shipping to a US address, NOT the buyer's international address.  So even if a seller states they don't ship to certain countries, it doesn't matter because they aren't shipping to those countries.  They are shipping to a US address.

When a seller cancels an order being shipped to a Freight Forwarder for problem with the address, that is NOT what that particular option on the cancellations was meant for, so it is an abuse of the system.  Ebay may or may not catch the seller, but it still is not the correct action to take merely because you don't want to ship to a FF."

We are in complete agreement !!

[mam98031]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

The buyer's payment source is international - I think it all devolves on that, but eBay doesn't want to get into that in their FAQ, so they say "address."

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The ONLY requirement for Ebay to charge the 1.65% fee is that the buyer's account was set up with the registered address in another country.  

[mam98031]

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@dbfolks166mt wrote:

@fern*wood wrote:

Also, some may not be aware that you won't be charged that fee if you ship through the EIS (ebay international shipping) program.

That doesn't apply when you are shipping to a US address.

     Actually it may. 

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You can not use EIS to ship to a US address, period.  

[yuzuha]

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@tobaccocardyahoo wrote:

The fee applies if a buyer who is registered in another country places an order and it ships to the US. The same fee whether it ships to a freight forwarder or his third cousin.

The same fee if it ships to a hotel he is visiting on a visit to the US.

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Yep, I got the fee once on an order that I shipped to a college dorm right here in the US because the buyer was registered in South Korea-- clearly an international student.

[fern*wood]

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@mam98031 wrote:

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@fern*wood wrote:

Also, some may not be aware that you won't be charged that fee if you ship through the EIS (ebay international shipping) program.

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That doesn't apply when you are shipping to a US address.

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Sorry, I guess I’m slow, but I don’t understand the correction to my post.

[stainlessenginecovers]

As I've always said when people are concerned about this:

Would you sell that $100 thingy if given an 'offer' for $98.35??

[mam98031]

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@fern*wood wrote:

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@mam98031 wrote:

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@fern*wood wrote:

Also, some may not be aware that you won't be charged that fee if you ship through the EIS (ebay international shipping) program.

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That doesn't apply when you are shipping to a US address.

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Sorry, I guess I’m slow, but I don’t understand the correction to my post.

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The OP is talking about the 1.65% fee that was assessed on an order shipped to what appears to be a Freight Forwarder.  EIS has nothing to do with that.  

For EIS to be at play, the seller would have a sale from an international buyer being sent to an international address, that isn't the case for this specific thread.  

[dbfolks166mt]

@dbfolks166mt wrote:

@fern*wood wrote:

Also, some may not be aware that you won't be charged that fee if you ship through the EIS (ebay international shipping) program.

That doesn't apply when you are shipping to a US address.

     Actually it may. 

You can not use EIS to ship to a US address, period.  

     Fully understand that. At least for now at some point EIS is supposed to incorporate Alaska and Hawaii into the program. 

[mam98031]

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@dbfolks166mt wrote:

@dbfolks166mt wrote:

@fern*wood wrote:

Also, some may not be aware that you won't be charged that fee if you ship through the EIS (ebay international shipping) program.

That doesn't apply when you are shipping to a US address.

     Actually it may. 

You can not use EIS to ship to a US address, period.  

     Fully understand that. At least for now at some point EIS is supposed to incorporate Alaska and Hawaii into the program. 

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I don't know what the future hold and it doesn't affect the issues at hand.  While what you have said sounds strange to me, Ebay makes some changes that make be scratch my head all the time.

[go-bad-chicken]

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@mam98031 wrote:

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@dbfolks166mt wrote:

@dbfolks166mt wrote:

@fern*wood wrote:

Also, some may not be aware that you won't be charged that fee if you ship through the EIS (ebay international shipping) program.

That doesn't apply when you are shipping to a US address.

     Actually it may. 

You can not use EIS to ship to a US address, period.  

     Fully understand that. At least for now at some point EIS is supposed to incorporate Alaska and Hawaii into the program. 

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I don't know what the future hold and it doesn't affect the issues at hand.  While what you have said sounds strange to me, Ebay makes some changes that make be scratch my head all the time.

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EIS can now be used by US sellers to ship items to Puerto Rico. eBay has also infured that other far away US domestic addresses may be added in the future.

But you can only see a brief statement within the FAQs located near the bottom of the eBay International Shipping page located within the Seller Center. 

That can be found here:

https://www.ebay.com/sellercenter/shipping/ebay-international-shipping 

[go-bad-chicken]

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@monroe67 wrote:

"It's funny how a freight forwarding style transaction will incur this extra fee but when it comes to their own in house EIS program, they give those sellers

big fat pass on that extra 1.75%."

Two points:

1.  The International Fee for US sellers on eBay.com is currently "only" 1.65%.  

2.  eBay's International Shipping program (EIS) is essentially eBay's own freight-forwarding service.  It seems, to me at least, very fair -- not "funny" at all -- that eBay charges no international fee on transactions delivered through the EIS.  

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Point #1

You are correct. My fat fingers must have glanced the 7 instead of the 6. 

1.65% is the correct rate.

Point #2 

I disagree. Que the soapbox.

The EIS is a fantastic eBay program and probably their best invention of the past decade. The program provides its sellers with some of the best protections that have existed within this industry. On my main account I use it for roughly 60% of my inernational transactions. But somehow the EIS program magically no longer requires the 1.65% International Transaction Fee although those transactions still meet the International Fee requirements.

Why? Because its eBay and its their sandbox. And when more sellers become more comfortable with shipping internationally the seller wins and then eBay wins. So they say.

But regardless of how good those protections are with the new EIS program there are still always going to be sellers who do not want to have their wares or certain wares shipped out of the country. And they really don't need to justify their choices of not shipping their items to locations outside of the USA. 

Now when an international buyer chooses to circumvent a seller's choice not to have their wares shipped outside of the US and uses some other freight forwarding service that is not EIS. That seller is now charged an additional 1.65% fee by eBay on the total sale price including state sales tax of the forwarding services location; for a transaction that the seller may have never wanted in the first place. Furthermore that unwanted foreign transaction could also result in further loss of revenue should that foreign buyer chooses to initiate an INAD return.

Both transactions are forwarding serviceses style transactions. eBay could eliminate the 1.65% Foreign Transaction Fee for any and all Freight Forwarded transactions? Or at the very least the top 100 registered freight forwarders in the country.

That small bone thrown to sellers just might make it a little more easy to swallow when that seller chooses not to want to swallow.  Seems like a fairer set of rules for all involved. It would also help eBay's overall agenda with regards to their push to increase International sales. Including those that even they choose not to cover through their EIS program. i.e. any item over the amount of $2,500. 

eBay really threw sellers under the bus a few years ago and then put it into reverse to make sure the jod was properly done when they removed the only real seller protections that sellers had with freight forwarded transactions. If I remember correctly it was because the employees of those freight forwarding companies sometimes wanted to order their next pair of Jordan's from eBay and have them shipped to their work addresses.  

[monroe67]

In response to my comment dated 1-8-2025:  "2.  eBay's International Shipping program (EIS) is essentially eBay's own freight-forwarding service.  It seems, to me at least, very fair -- not "funny" at all -- that eBay charges no international fee on transactions delivered through the EIS", comes this comment:  "Point #2  I disagree. Que the soapbox."

I think you missed a few words in my comment to which you disagree:  "It seems, to me, at least . . . ."  

Although I could point out some of the misunderstandings or, even worse, misinformation in your post above, I won't.  

We will simply have to agree to disagree.  

Except for one teeny tiny little thing:  I really feel a need to correct an apparent misconception that you hold, perhaps from inexperience(?).  You say:  "That seller is now charged an additional 1.65% fee by eBay on the total sale price including state sales tax of the forwarding services location; for a transaction that the seller may have never wanted in the first place."

A large majority of freight forwarding services are located in the state of Delaware.  Some are in the state of Oregon. 

I have even heard of one or two in the state of Montana.  Why those states, and not, say, Idaho or Texas or Kentucky? 

What do Delaware and Oregon and Montana have in common?  No State Sales Taxes.  

[go-bad-chicken]

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@monroe67 wrote:

In response to my comment dated 1-8-2025:  "2.  eBay's International Shipping program (EIS) is essentially eBay's own freight-forwarding service.  It seems, to me at least, very fair -- not "funny" at all -- that eBay charges no international fee on transactions delivered through the EIS", comes this comment:  "Point #2  I disagree. Que the soapbox."

I think you missed a few words in my comment to which you disagree:  "It seems, to me, at least . . . ."  

Although I could point out some of the misunderstandings or, even worse, misinformation in your post above, I won't.  

We will simply have to agree to disagree.  

Except for one teeny tiny little thing:  I really feel a need to correct an apparent misconception that you hold, perhaps from inexperience(?).  You say:  "That seller is now charged an additional 1.65% fee by eBay on the total sale price including state sales tax of the forwarding services location; for a transaction that the seller may have never wanted in the first place."

A large majority of freight forwarding services are located in the state of Delaware.  Some are in the state of Oregon. 

I have even heard of one or two in the state of Montana.  Why those states, and not, say, Idaho or Texas or Kentucky? 

What do Delaware and Oregon and Montana have in common?  No State Sales Taxes.  

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This is one of those things where im not trying to be right. My previous post is just my opinion, based solely on my own expieriences over the past 15 years of online sales. This is what i do for a living. 

But dont worry about me. Im ok with not being wrong.

https://www.ibisworld.com/industry-statistics/number-of-businesses/freight-forwarding-brokerages-age... 

"There are 77,039 Freight Forwarding Brokerages & Agencies businesses in the US as of 2024, an increase of 0.5% from 2023."

"California (13,314 businesses), Texas (11,589 businesses) and Florida (8,992 businesses) are the States with the most number of Freight Forwarding Brokerages & Agencies businesses in the US."

Just those 3 high sales tax states represent roughly 44% of the total US Freight Forwarding industry.

Deleware rougly 2200 Freight Forwarders

Oregon roughly 5500 Freight Forwarders

Im hungry. Its lunch time. But we can talk again later on.

[mam98031]

@go-bad-chicken 

OK, I didn't say anything about that, but thank you for the information.

It just appears we have a simple failure to communicate.  EIS is a wonderful program.  I use it and I like it very much.  However EIS is for international shipments and international shipments ONLY.

This thread is about the OP shipping to a Freight Forwarder, NOT directly to the International Buyer.  I restate what I said before.  EIS has nothing to do with the issues or concerns that this OP has on this transaction.  EIS can NOT be used for a US shipment, even if the buyer is an international buyer.