Ebay International customs fee - Rant

[dingy]

I sell some of the wrenches a have made on Ebay, and some are international shipments. Ebay ID is Dingy101.

 

I had a Neutral feedback left by a buyer in Great Britian, comment left was "Not all postage paid customs charge". I shipped package at Post Office counter, so I am somewhat sure it had correct postage, it was same as evry Int. shipment except Canada, which is a little cheaper.

 

That then leaves customs fees, I have no way of knowing what a foreign country is going to charge, never paid this.

 

The buyer that left feedback has 261 - 100% feedback, so he is somewhat experienced.

 

Anyone experienced buyers complaint about international shipment custom fees.

 

Buyer irritated me, if you haven't noticed. Just sent him a tersely worded thank you note.

 

Gary

[RandyR]

custom fees are the buyer's responsibility, not the sellers.

 

You shouldn't have to explicitly state that in your ebay ad. Its defacto

 

Likewise,claiming an item is a 'gift' on the customs declaration may eventually cause you or the buyer problems.

 

You didn't do anything wrong.

 

the ebay rating system is flawed in many ways.

[ragtop69gs]

I sold antique swords and bayonets to buyers all over Europe, on ebay, and never once did I have to pay a customs charge, that was the buyers responsibility. Your buyer knows that if he's ever bought something from out of the country, if he didn't, he should have. Situations like this are why I never leave feedback as a buyer or seller until the transaction is complete.

 

I have been on ebay since 1999 and have only had 1 bad experience as a buyer, never as a seller.

[StarFan]

Well, since I live in Iceland I obviously have had some things shipped over here from the States. Would be kind of funny to complain about the Icelandic custom fees to the guys who sold me my motorcycles How in the world could someone from USA know about the custom tariff in for example Iceland.

Bottom line is: The buyer is ALWAYS responsible for custom fees.

 

The only bad thing about quite many eBay sellers is that they purposely overcharge on shipping fees. The buyer can of cause check the postal fees before making a bid but I personally think that this is kind of ruthless. One is selling a product - not auctioning postal charges so to speak. Would never pay 60 US$ for shipping of pair brakepads to Iceland.

[ragtop69gs]

The only bad thing about quite many eBay sellers is that they purposely overcharge on shipping fees. The buyer can of cause check the postal fees before making a bid but I personally think that this is kind of ruthless. One is selling a product - not auctioning postal charges so to speak. Would never pay 60 US$ for shipping of pair brakepads to Iceland.

 

This was more common before ebay started charging final value fee's on shipping too. Used to be sellers would charge a high shipping fee but start the auction cheap, buyers would take the shipping fee into consideration when bidding, paying less for the item but more for the shipping, it was a strategy sellers used to reduce the amount of fees ebay charged.

[Trader]

This was more common before ebay started charging final value fee's on shipping too. Used to be sellers would charge a high shipping fee but start the auction cheap, buyers would take the shipping fee into consideration when bidding, paying less for the item but more for the shipping, it was a strategy sellers used to reduce the amount of fees ebay charged.

 

 

Seems to still be VERY common. Ridiculous shipping costs very often.

 

But....like most of us here in Canada, we have had to pay huge brokerage fees when we receive an international package thru UPS....as well as taxes and sometimes duty.

 

Buyer Beware....and Be Aware!

[Carbon_One]

When shipping to Canada I've found that by using USPS folks not only get their items faster than by UPS but also in many cases cheaper in the long run. Fuel surcharges have had a dramatic effect of shipping costs. Even stateside orders are getting pounded hard with higher shipping costs.

Larry

[9Grenzen]

Yes. All Duties are the buyers responsibility. Go to the contact pages and call ebay directly. They even have English speaking people that might be able to help. Work them hard about your feedback and also respond to his feedback after it is all done. Ebay hopefully will help you out. They are really losing touch with reality. They are constantly making it hard for sellers and pandering to buyers. ALTHOUGH it’s us sellers that support their paychecks

I worked very hard to get 921 100% positive feedback 4.9 out of 5 stars and ebay just pulled my 20% discount because I WILL NOT offer a 14 no questions asked money back. Return policy.

Plus another helpful hint. Ebay once told me that the way I am fully covered under their BS policy is for all Non US Shipments should only go UPS or USPS Express.

[bongobobny]

Gary, I would dispute the feedback with EBAY! They should contact the buyer and make HIM aware he is responsible for customs charges. Just because he has 100% feedback just means he has bought a lot of stuff off Ebay. You should not take a hit on your score just because of his ignorance...