Seller is stating I am liable to pay a “tax” AFTER I purchased item.

[thesch14]

Hello, I have been going back and forth with a seller who has been telling me I need to pay $40-60 for a “tax”. 
I bought the item for $32 and free shipping but got a message after they shipped it saying I needed to pay some sort of fee and that I was liable to do it. I’m unsure what the eBay policies state about this and was wondering if someone could put in their two cents!

Thanks in advance!

[stephenmorgan]

If a buyer is having a item sent to them from another country there could be a custom or import tax depending on the requirements of the country the item is being sent to.

I have not heard of any other taxes that would be due after item is paid for.  A $40 to $60 tax on a $32 item seems awful high.

[soh.maryl]

Your post is way too vague for us to offer helpful information.

Normally, when the buyer pays, the seller cannot add further charges.

"some sort of fee" does not tell us much.  You need to return and give details. 

[fm2000]

The additional fee might not be just an import duty or tax, but an additional "customs brokerage fee" if it is being delivered to another country and not being delivered through the mail. Those brokerage fees can be crazy high.

[thesch14]

Here is what they said word for word:

“ALL TYPE OF CUSTOM DUTY AND TAX SHOULD BE PAY FROM THE BUYER SIDE SELLER WILL NOT ME RESPONCEBLE OF THIS TYPE OF TAX OR DUTY

like 40-60 usd buyer pay not selelr  right pls confirm”

As you can see it’s very confusing

[thesch14]

Do I actually have to pay that when the listing stated free shipping and I already paid the original fee? Everywhere I looks says “no” but I’m just trying to make sure…

[stephenmorgan]

It depends on the laws of your country.  Are you allowed a certain amount duty free? The way the seller message you is because they do not know if you will be taxed or not. Have you ever made a international purchase before? 

[thesch14]

I have made international purchases before and this is the first time I’ve encountered anything like this.

[stephenmorgan]

You are in Canada, yes?

Are you required to pay taxes on a $32 purchase? 

[thesch14]

Yes? But surely not $60?

[auctiondibs]

I'm in the USA and I've recently made purchases from the UK, Germany and Italy. I have received my packages without any additional surcharges.

I just checked the shipping information for each one and found that there is a warning about surcharges for some of them that used standard shipping (DHL) and their local postal service. The sellers that shipped with eBay EIS did not have this warning.

[steady2304]

---

@thesch14 wrote:

Here is what they said word for word:

“ALL TYPE OF CUSTOM DUTY AND TAX SHOULD BE PAY FROM THE BUYER SIDE SELLER WILL NOT ME RESPONCEBLE OF THIS TYPE OF TAX OR DUTY

like 40-60 usd buyer pay not selelr  right pls confirm”

As you can see it’s very confusing

---

What I get from this message is the seller is letting you know there might be Customs/Duty charged when the item arrives in your country. It would mostly depend on the value of the item and what shipping service the seller used. UPS, FedEx and DHL all usually charge a brokerage fee to get items through customs. USPS usually doesn't.

[pjcdn2005]

I agree that the message sounds as if the seller is just confirming that if any duty or tax is due, the buyer will have to pay that.  

Perhaps they had a problem with another buyer that felt the seller should pay those costs??

@thesch14 

Is this being sent directly to you or through the EIS?

[janet9988]

What is the listing # so we can take a look?

[martin2001]

This has been my experience:.

I mail a lot  to Canada (from US). Based on the trade agreement from around 2018, merchendise valued at $CAN40 (incl shipping) is tax and duty free. $36, is it the Canadian or US dollar? If US, it's above the limit. If Canadian, probably also if you add the actual shipping, does not matter that the seller did not charge you any shipping. However, the taxes are not always levied by the Canadian customs, as my buyers have confirmed it on numerous occasions. I don't know why.

I don't use ebay international program, I use another private shipper who, in turn uses UPS for the cross-border delivery. If the item + actual shipping is over $CAN40, they charge a brokerage fee of $9.95 (regardless of the total value).

 $40-$60 seems completely out of the realm of reality, so when you receive the bill, scrutinize it in detail.