eBay

islandsailors · ‎10-14-2019

3 things;

1-

Import Duty, don't understand we Ebay rips off the buyer by an import duty.

Any sensible person understands that Import Duty is paid at the destination by the receiver, in other words the consignee as Customs and Documentation authorities are referred to this as.

Ebay charges an import duty and when the final item arrives if it is something import duty has to be paid then the consignee pays it if he or she wants it! and where is the amount Ebay collects??

Who benefits from this Ebay, the seller or the receiver?? Only Ebay.

I know someone from Ebay will answer this is some explanation and I have had one in the past saying it it is under some Global Shipping balh blah, But belie me it do not work around the globe, it may work in Canada or US but not in the Majority not even close.. this is some money charges in access.,

2-

When the buyer as abut this import duty the seller comes back saying that he doesn't have a clue about the amount charged as import duty, when the buyer waits for an explanation it goes to unpaid list!!

3-
A seller can sell and charge a shipping fee four time the cost of a unit, and still hold without sending it for 6 months!!
And there is no way to claim from the seller as the deadline to deliver hasn't reached hence the buyer has to wait PAID in full and hoping that it would reach?
No where to claim or complain!!

thehonorabletrader · ‎10-15-2019

I can provide you the answer, but it sounds like you don't really want the answer? Becuase you have made it clear that "global shipping blah blah" but you don't care what you are agreeing to and you don't care to learn how it really benefits the majority of buyers and sellers. So I am not sure it's worth my time to explain.

In a normal transaction between buyer and seller only, you are right about Import charges. eBay has no way of knowing what they are. The Seller has no way of knowing what they are. This is specifically a buying issue and the buyer will have to work out import taxes.

The eBay Global Shipping program is a program the buyers can use. The buyers sign a special legal document allowing Pitney Bowes to become the asignee. This is why they can collect the import charges up front.

For the record, as a buyer the Global Shipping Program benefits you in several ways.

You know ahead of time how much you are going to pay for Import charges
1. This is the #1 reason for refused packages. An import charge is too high, buyer refuses it, seller never gets it back because it sits in customs, the buyer wants a refund and the seller doesn't have their item. It's literally one of the worst situations you can be in regarding online transactions
If the item is restricted by Customs you get a refund immediately. This isn't the case in the first scenario if the item is refused by customs, it's a bigger mess as you didn't get what you paid for because you accidentally tried to import something illegally.
If the item gets lost or damaged, you can get a refund immediately.
Refunds from the Global Shipping Program include import fees if an item arrives damaged or does not arrive at all. This is not the case for any other refunds in regular International Transactions.

eBay does not make any money from Import Charges. It goes to Pitney Bowes and they do all the work. You are right in that there are times it does not work. For example, it doesn't work well from US to Canada because Canada charges additional fees for the supported shippers whereas they don't for USPS. So many US sellers don't use the Global Shipping Program for Canada. But there are many countries where it is a huge benefit to both buyers and sellers.

Don't confuse the fact that because it doesn't work well for the country you live in with the fact that it works well for everyone else. This program is over a decade old and very popular, it is obviously working for a ton of people or else eBay would not still be doing it.

islandsailors · ‎10-15-2019

Thank you for your time.

Never came across agreeing to the Global Shipping .... .... anytime when bidding, haven't noticed.
Maybe it was on the terms at the time of registration.

And no way to un-select or un-check at the time of paying either even if you want!

No way to choose anything you want or to claim anything, anyway, what if Customs do not charge import duty while a buyer has paid for it?

myangelandmyprincess · ‎10-15-2019

You agree to the terms when you purchase from a seller who uses global shipping. When you pay import up front at check out you shouldn't be charged more at delivery

“Birth certificates show that you were born. Death certificates show that you died. Photographs show that you have lived.” -Unknown

pjcdn2005 · ‎10-15-2019

@thehonorabletrader wrote:

For the record, as a buyer the Global Shipping Program benefits you in several ways.

You know ahead of time how much you are going to pay for Import charges
This is the #1 reason for refused packages. An import charge is too high, buyer refuses it, seller never gets it back because it sits in customs, the buyer wants a refund and the seller doesn't have their item. It's literally one of the worst situations you can be in regarding online transactions
If the item is restricted by Customs you get a refund immediately. This isn't the case in the first scenario if the item is refused by customs, it's a bigger mess as you didn't get what you paid for because you accidentally tried to import something illegally.
If the item gets lost or damaged, you can get a refund immediately.
Refunds from the Global Shipping Program include import fees if an item arrives damaged or does not arrive at all. This is not the case for any other refunds in regular International Transactions.
@thehonorabletrader
This last statement isn't accurate. In a regular international transaction on ebay the import charges are not paid for until the buyer receives the item. You make it sound as if they are out the import fees if the item gets lost but in reality, they wouldn't have paid those fees yet. No need to get a refund for something that hasn't been paid out yet. If an item arrives damaged and is returned, many countries will allow the buyer to recover taxes and duty if it can be shown that the item was returned.

eBay does not make any money from Import Charges. It goes to Pitney Bowes and they do all the work. You are right in that there are times it does not work. For example, it doesn't work well from US to Canada because Canada charges additional fees for the supported shippers whereas they don't for USPS. So many US sellers don't use the Global Shipping Program for Canada. But there are many countries where it is a huge benefit to both buyers and sellers.

Don't confuse the fact that because it doesn't work well for the country you live in with the fact that it works well for everyone else. This program is over a decade old and very popular, it is obviously working for a ton of people or else eBay would not still be doing it.

As an international buyer, I obviously have a different point of view from you about the gsp in general but don't have the time to explain. Perhaps later.. 🙂

7606dennis · ‎10-15-2019

"Import Duty" and "Import Charges" are not precisely the same thing.

"It is an intelligent man that is aware of his own ignorance."

thehonorabletrader · ‎10-15-2019

So the seller is the one who decides how they are willing to ship their items.

Most sellers only sell domestic to their own country. However, some sellers will offer international shipping, but only through eBay's Global Shipping. You would not have any way of changing this anymore than you could tell a seller to use a specific carrier or to pack it in a specific color box. You are purchasing an item delivered to your door for a total cost of $x. You are not purchasing an item for $x then negotiating how to get it to you. The sale is all inclusive. If you see an item from a seller that is not in your country, you can either avoid it and not purchase because you don't know how they are going to ship, or you can contact the seller and ask them how they are willing to ship and see if they will work with you BEFORE you make the purchase (this requires them to make a special listing for you) or you can purchase the item and wait for it to arrive in whatever means the seller uses.

Ultimately, if a seller is selling through eBay's Global Shipping, you'll see your Import Tax and Duties on your checkout page. This indicates Pitney Bowes is handling the transaction. In these instances you should not be contacted for any additional customs fees unless there is a local law that will override it (which it wouldn't really matter how it was shipped, that would happen if it was going to happen regardless).

As a buyer, all you should be looking for is what the product is and the total cost of getting it to your door. You shouldn't need to worry about the middle steps or processes because that's what the eBay Money Back Guarantee is for.

Also, you can open a return case or an Item not Received case on any eBay item shipped through the Global Shipping Program. However, if there is a delay in shipping and the eBay site can see the item is still moving every 24 hours or so with new scans, it may bump back the date at which you can open a claim.

thehonorabletrader · ‎10-15-2019

This last statement isn't accurate. In a regular international transaction on ebay the import charges are not paid for until the buyer receives the item. You make it sound as if they are out the import fees if the item gets lost but in reality, they wouldn't have paid those fees yet. No need to get a refund for something that hasn't been paid out yet. If an item arrives damaged and is returned, many countries will allow the buyer to recover taxes and duty if it can be shown that the item was returned.

-> I am referring to the cases when the item arrives at Customs, and the customs fees are paid (this happens in some countries) and then the carrier re-picks up the item from customs and loses it on it's way to the buyer. Not every country deals with this, but I have been in this boat. When this happens you will not get a refund on your customs fees.

Also, I should point out, if you open a return on eBay for an item that was not shipped with the Global Shipping Program AND it is a Not as Described Return, the seller never received your Customs fees, nor did eBay, so while you can return for a full refund, you can't get any funds back that were paid directly to customs, so you would be out these funds.

This is another benefit of Global Shipping. I prefer buying with Global Shipping and I will not sell internationally if I am not using Global Shipping.

islandsailors · ‎10-15-2019

We are referring to the Import Duty Charged by Ebay.

We can call both way, import duty, import charges as the item is already paid for deliver, such as fedex, usps, or what ever so the only extra charge we are all referring is import duty aka import charges, destination import tax, whatever. we talking about the same if you haven't figure out yet.

islandsailors · ‎10-15-2019

Whatever you all say and defend the Global Shipping Blah Blah,

1- Import Duty would be and WILL be the part of the buyer at the time of arrival.

2- Sellers don't know and do not need to know the import duty nor he will be in a possession to pay the import duty.

3- Ebay has no way to repay the money collected from the buyers with the Global Shipping Blah Blah

This is not a service, this is pure benefit for Ebay using some pretext.

thehonorabletrader · ‎10-16-2019

@islandsailors wrote:
Whatever you all say and defend the Global Shipping Blah Blah,
1- Import Duty would be and WILL be the part of the buyer at the time of arrival.
2- Sellers don't know and do not need to know the import duty nor he will be in a possession to pay the import duty.
3- Ebay has no way to repay the money collected from the buyers with the Global Shipping Blah Blah
This is not a service, this is pure benefit for Ebay using some pretext.

I'm confused by what you mean with this. eBay collects the funds at checkout for import duties/fees/taxes as well as shipping. If a buyer is refunded due to a package getting lost for example AFTER it has hit the destination country (this happens, believe me) then in fact eBay DOES refund the buyer all monies it collected including the original import duties. This is a benefit of Global Shipping.

You don't have to take my word for it, anybody can read about the program:

https://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/shipping/global-shipping-program.html#m22_tb_a1__3

myangelandmyprincess · ‎10-16-2019

I think the poster is saying eBay has no way to pass on those fees paid to appropriate government and then the buyer is still charged by customs when delivered basically claiming eBay pockets all the money?. I've not once seen a buyer come to these boards to claim this happened to them. I've seen items thought GSP and not once has a buyer complained to me

“Birth certificates show that you were born. Death certificates show that you died. Photographs show that you have lived.” -Unknown

islandsailors · ‎10-16-2019

Ebay is just collecting, maybe one or four countries have something arranged.

But most of the countries do not charge while Ebay chucks that import charge for them?

Buyers do not know that this Global Shipping Blah Blah on import duty doesn't serve the cause.

Buyers think that the item is delivered without an import duty it is because of the GSBB but in reality it is not in 95% of the cases.

Go ahead and defend but this is the case.

- Do any of you even ask if duty was settled by Ebay?

- If the buyers ask from local customs they would find out.

- Once the buyers start to question the local authorities at time of receiving or delivered they will start to bombard Ebay on this.

- Still you will have the unethical charges of import duty under the GSBB??

7606dennis · ‎10-16-2019

@islandsailors wrote:
We are referring to the Import Duty Charged by Ebay.
We can call both way, import duty, import charges as the item is already paid for deliver, such as fedex, usps, or what ever so the only extra charge we are all referring is import duty aka import charges, destination import tax, whatever. we talking about the same if you haven't figure out yet.

I don't believe eBay charges or collects Import Duty which is a tax levied by the importers country on goods being brought in. The GSP program does include Import Charges, I believe, but those, while including Duty and other taxes charged, include the fee charged by P-B the company actually handling the shipping of goods to their overseas destination.

"It is an intelligent man that is aware of his own ignorance."

7606dennis · ‎10-17-2019

@islandsailors wrote:
Whatever you all say and defend the Global Shipping Blah Blah,
1- Import Duty would be and WILL be the part of the buyer at the time of arrival.
2- Sellers don't know and do not need to know the import duty nor he will be in a possession to pay the import duty.
3- Ebay has no way to repay the money collected from the buyers with the Global Shipping Blah Blah
This is not a service, this is pure benefit for Ebay using some pretext.

Actually, under the GSP program any duty due comes out of the import charges already payed at the time of purchase. If there are none, all of the import charges become the fee charged by eBay & P-B.

The GSP program was brought about in an effort to get eBay sellers that refused to ship internationally for whatever reason, to do so. Those sellers that use it would likely simply not ship overseas and those buyers would not be able to buy from those sellers without it. Does eBay make money off of the GSP program? Undoubtedly. However, it is up to the buyer to decide if they wish to buy from a seller using the program or not. Whether or not the seller uses the program can be seen on the payment and shipping tab for the listing.

"It is an intelligent man that is aware of his own ignorance."