eBay Export is a division managed by eBay Marketplaces GmbH in Germany.
Since POTUS announced the implementation of US Custom Tariffs and this division is creating unnecessary panic among sellers that leads to one result: Maximize eBay revenue from new regulations.
- First, attached is a screen shot from an email received on 29th of August falsely claiming that postal providers around the world is suspending shipping services to US (handled via USPS last mile delivery and distribution network), read attached
- eBay export has a page that list these countries suspending. In this, eBay claims that Emirates Post suspended on the 20th of August 2025 post services to US.
- The claim is false (I don't want to use a harsher word) and easily be debunked. Following link is the home page for Emirates Post-EP, nowhere in the news section EP you find such service suspension eBay Marketplace GmbH made on their behalf
- Perhaps the guy in EP who handles such service notification is not doing his job and forgot to publish the service suspension notice. So, let's check the rate calculator page handled by the operations team in EP. We can still see that EP is offering postal service rates to US.
https://www.emiratespost.ae/all-services/get-rates
- eBay export is using the following executive order signed by POTUS and is published on the White House website to support the false claim about a mass suspension wave by postal providers.
- If you browse through the executive order to section 3, you don't find anywhere a text that represent a major risk for other postal provider to go on a mass suspension retaliatory campaign. What the executive order says (my own summary of the long text): shipment received from other postal via USPS will have tariffs collected using estimates (based on value declared) without CBP approved filing until such time a process established / approved for postal shipment.
- Nothing strange in what the executive order is dictating: all postal providers, including the one in the same country where eBay Marketplaces GmbH is based, handle custom clearance procedures against a payment from the receiver (covers both tariffs and service charge). Normal and is business as usual worldwide.
Why?
eBay Export followed this false communication with a new process that aims only to increase the total invoice to buyer and hence collect higher FVF.
eBay Export is forcing sellers to use delivery terms: Delivered Duty Paid - DDP either by going to one of those providers who offer such term with necessary services (basically only courier providers) or use eBay Export new Global Shipping equivalent program. The total invoice to buyer will increase because of following:
- Higher Shipping rates compared to Postal Providers
- Value of Tariffs due to CBP
- Service Charge for clearing the shipment
And the justification is avoiding Bad Buyer Experience-BBE
This is not true: BBE exists long before the new Tariffs system and eBay never entertained a buyer complaint about delay or INR if the tracking is showing that the receiver (buyer) is not doing what is needed to clear a shipment sold under the term Delivered Duty Unpaid - DDU.
Let's put the clear intentional spreading false claims a side and discuss the logic:
- Buyers in the new items segment would expect to receive the items order online from abroad without having to handle custom clearance. Let me call it the Amazon experience
- However, in secondary market/garage sale/pre-owned item sales/collectibles/Vintage items segments where price is open for negotiation forcing the Amazon experience will harm such segments (which is the big % of item listed on the platform)
What eBay needs to do, beside firing the staff in eBay Export for false news spreading, is to have the platform technology adjusted to following:
- Item to be listed as new retail (hence only use DDP) or Secondary Market (hence give buyer the choice to select either DDP or DDU service from seller)
- The seller is enabled to offer DDP or DDU either using eBay programs or brings his own DDP/DDU agreements
If eBay is not going to resolve these strange decisions, what I can see that there is an opportunity is emerging for a marketplace platform specialized in secondary market sales that doesn't exploit POTUS executive orders.
@desertmodels_uae; I'm sorry, but you are mistaken. The information you received from eBay Export is correct. Also, you have misinterpreted the Executive Order 14324.
Most post offices around the world have stopped (effective Aug 29, 2025) sending commercial packages below the value of $800 to the USA, because Executive Order 14324 requires that the duty for these packages has to be prepaid, and customs declaration submitted, before these packages arrive to the US CBP (Customs and Border Protection). The 19% of postal traffic that continued (as of Aug 29, 2025) is the non-commercial traffic and documents that are not subject to duty or tariffs.
All commercial packages below $800 have to arrive at US CBP with a DDP (delivery duty paid) service. Most postal services are/were not able to provide this service. Some non-postal carriers are shifting to DDP service only; others are still offering "DDU" service, but they are only paying the duty as a courtesy to the sender. If the buyer refuses to pay the duty when asked to, then the carrier will bill the duty back to the sender, and often will also charge return shipping (if the item has not already been given to the buyer).
Because of this, international export sellers are advised not to ship anything to the USA except with a DDP shipping service. eBay states that the buyer is responsible for paying the duty, but does not enforce or even enable this, and does not give any seller protection if the buyer receives the item, but refuses to pay the duty, and the seller has to pay it.
Unfortunately, eBay has not provided any way for sellers to collect the duty from buyers (with the exception of the eBay UK GSP, and the eBay Canada eIS which is supposed to be available sometime in October 2025). International sellers in other countries can only increase the cost of shipping, to try to cover the cost of the duty for DDP shipments. eBay has been asked to address this issue, but has not given any response.
devon@ebay, and kyle@ebay, we need an official statement with eBay's position about this. Will eBay facilitate allowing international sellers to collect duty (non-refundable) for DDP shipments, as required by the USA government. If they don't address the issue this time, then we can only assume that the answer is no; they intend to ignore this important issue, and abandon all the international sellers.
Here are two press releases from the UPU (Universal Postal Union):
