Import charges increase when using Make Offer (Best Offer) option

[platinumspanner]

Hi everyone - Today I just discovered something incredible for Canadian and non American buyers when they use the « Make Offer » (Best Offer) option on items shipped with ebay's GPS (Global Shipping Program). You think that the import charges would decrease since the item would be sold at a lower price if the seller accepts your offer. Surprise it goes up !!! The example here: a used cordless telephone system selling at US $39.95. When clicking on the « Buy Now » button, GPS shipping is $12.06 and Import charges $6.14. When you make an offer on the same item, import charges go up to $9.42 but at least the shipping fee is the same since that is the seller's responsibility. 

Will ebay address this major system glitch shortly ? It cannot answer. What can you do ?  Contact ebay by phone each time you wish to use the « Make Offer » option. ebay will correct the specific listing within 2 or 3 days and then email you. In the meantime you just hope that nobody has picked up the item.  For anybody familiar with the Seinfeld sitcom this is what I call ebay's Bizarro World.Buy iI NowMake Offer

[7606dennis]

I don't think that the "Import Charges" charged on GSP shipped items is determined strictly by the selling price of the item.

[marnotom!]

This was discussed on the Canadian eBay discussion boards not that long ago.

https://community.ebay.ca/t5/Buyer-Central/Inconsistent-Import-Charges-with-GSP/m-p/420150

It may be a glitch, it may not.  GSP "import charges" are considered estimates until the buyer's location is confirmed at Checkout.  It may be that when it comes to "Best Offers" the GSP bot calculates a "worst case scenario" for the import charges based on 15% HST and any applicable duties before the buyer is absolutely certain that they wish to purchase the item and the bot "knows" for what province to base the calculation of import charges.

I completely agree that this doesn't make buyers' lives any easier when it comes to making and accepting offers, but I suspect that this problem would be exclusive to Canadian buyers.  I can't think of any other country where the "import charges" may vary according to the region in a particular country where the buyer would be located.

As an aside, the shipping charge for a GSP-forwarded item is the total of what the seller would be charging for shipping the item to the Global Shipping Center in Kentucky and Pitney Bowes' charge for shipping the item from Kentucky to its final destination.  It's not exclusively the seller's responsibility, as you put it.