ebay blues

sidneykidney · 08-08-2008, 08:02 PM

Ok folks here's the deal. I bid for and won 2 razors from the same seller on ebay. The seller was in the US and I am in the UK. I asked him to quote me for the total postage for both in one package. He told me it would be $10.30 for P+P which I duly paid, along with the cost of the razors. The auctions can be found here and here.

The parcel arrived today and I have yet to open it. Attached to it was an additional customs charge of £16.76 (approx US$30) which I was forced to pay to get the razors. Now granted I would have had to pay the customs charge anyway, but am I totaly wrong to feel conned here? Put yourself in my shoes? How would you feel?

I wrote to the ebay seller the following message....

---------------------------------

Hi Tom

I have good news!..... And bad news.

The good news is that the parcel arrived today. Sort of. That means that it only took a little over a week to get here which is an excellent delivery time and put my mind at ease.

However, I didn’t initially receive the parcel. Instead I received a note from the Post Office informing me that customs duty had not been paid and in order to get my parcel I would have to pay an additional £16.76 (approx US$30) in order to have it released to me. As you can imagine I was quite disappointed at this as I had been of the understanding that the amount I had paid for the razors and packaging included everything I would need to pay. I am not accustomed to having to pay twice and had I known I had to I would have been very unlikely to have bid for these items.

I write therefore to see if we can come to some resolution here. I have rechecked the listings and see no mention of the buyer having to pay additional customs charges on its arrival. I feel that this total postage price of $10.30 + £16.76 (approx US$41 total) should have been reflected in your listings. I am a reasonable man and do not want to leave bad feedback for you since you have had excellent communication with me but feel I have come out worse off. I have yet to open the package and I hope that I will be left in a better mood after that.

Again, I am not being unreasonable here and have withheld leaving any feedback at all yet in the hope that we can come to some resolution first. Should you wish proof of all this additional costs I have taken photos of the stickers that were attached to the parcel by HM customs and have obtained a receipt from the post office for my charge. Copies of any of these can be sent to you on your request. I hope we can come to some agreement here.

I look forward to your swift response,

Sincerely yours,

Sandy

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Can I have your expert opinions on this matter guys? If you were in position, how would you feel and what would you feel would be a reasonable outcome?

cako72 · 08-08-2008, 08:11 PM

Well, I have always been aware of the risk of taxation....

To me, it is nice if I don't have to pay the tax, but it's a bit like gambling, and if I do get taxed, I pay it with a

but thats that.

In my opinion, the seller can't be responsible for a tax not put on in his country.... I do belive it's up to the buyer to make their homework regarding his/hers countrys tax policies..

Best regards

Clas

Kees · 08-08-2008, 08:16 PM

Sidneykidney,

I am afraid this is no fault of the seller. What you have to pay is VAT levied by the British government. I have exactly the same all the time I buy sth from outside of the EU. That is why I always ask the sellers to put a lower than the real value on the shipping label.

sidneykidney · 08-08-2008, 08:32 PM

figures. I'll know for next time. I think for me 'reasonable' would be for him to accept that this customs thing should have been mentioned
in his listings. I would have had to pay customs anyway, its just better to have known in advance.

Hawkeye5 · 08-08-2008, 09:24 PM

Only one of the reasons why many of us in the states will sell to those within the US only.

kaptain_zero · 08-08-2008, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sidneykidney

figures. I'll know for next time. I think for me 'reasonable' would be for him to accept that this customs thing should have been mentioned
in his listings. I would have had to pay customs anyway, its just better to have known in advance.

In defense of the seller, it's impossible to have such knowledge in advance as each and every country deals with such things in their own way. Canada has a measly $20 Canadian limit before incurring taxes and handling fees on things purchased outside Canada. The US has a $200 limit before they start charging taxes and the like and I have frankly no idea what any other country does and I work for the Post Office here.

I'm afraid it's up to the purchaser to be aware of his/her homelands rules and regulations when purchasing items from other countries, and in particular when purchasing from an individual rather than a business where they might deal with customers in a particular country on a more regular basis.

It might have been helpful if the seller had stated that the purchaser is responsible for any taxes, duties and other handling fees levied by the purchasers own government, but I don't think most people even know about such things if they have not run into it before.... Most Canadians have... but most of our friends in the US haven't, simply because their limit is so high that the issue rarely comes up.

Regards

Christian

netsurfr · 08-09-2008, 02:01 AM

Call me ignorant but I did not know that the British government would levy such high taxes on something like that. I don't think people in the US are generally aware of this.

Kees · 08-09-2008, 02:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by netsurfr

Call me ignorant but I did not know that the British government would levy such high taxes on something like that. I don't think people in the US are generally aware of this.

Not only the British but every EU country does.

onimaru55 · 08-09-2008, 03:13 AM

Not the seller's fault but an unpleasant experience nonetheless.
I learnt a similar lesson when I imported 2 katanas to Australia. Our limit is $999 before alarm bells go off at customs.
Then we're up for GST, Quarantine tax,storage fees & whatever else the Government deems fair to steal from us.
Research your country's import tax laws. There may be a loop hole. Sometimes sellers are happy to label the parcel as a gift which attracts no tax here. YMMV.

OLD_SCHOOL · 08-09-2008, 03:25 AM

Am I to understand, you thought your shipping fees would cover your import taxes? I'd imagine that would be impossible, because the seller isn't going to know how much you will end up bidding, so won't be able to find out in advance what kind of tax you would have to pay. Actually it would be impossible for any seller to know how much you will be taxed. For example in Europe (some parts) your taxed differently depending on the description alone.

I know it sucks when this happens, I've had it happen once or twice, but I just grin and bare it.

At least you know for future reference eh.

EDIT: So my opinion is the same as the others, that its not the sellers responsibility. Perhaps after he replies and stuff, you could politely advise him to put a notice saying that the buyer is responsible for any levy's and taxes imposed by their own government. Just a thought.

sidneykidney · 08-09-2008, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OLD_SCHOOL

Perhaps after he replies and stuff, you could politely advise him to put a notice saying that the buyer is responsible for any levy's and taxes imposed by their own government. Just a thought.

Thats all i'm after.

Its not much to ask is it?

Navaja · 08-09-2008, 01:06 PM

I didn't have to wait long . . . . .

BeBerlin · 08-09-2008, 04:05 PM

Sorry for that. It just fit...

So I am expecting a parcel from the US (Simon, you hear me? You rule!). It will contain an unspecified number of razors and some hones. And stuff. Anyhow, if I read this correctly, there should be no customs charge. That's according to EU Regulations/Decisions 2261/98. Thing is, far as I know, the UK is part of the EU. Does not feel like it at all, mind you.

That said, IANAL. Would be interesting to know though, I think.

sidneykidney · 08-09-2008, 04:11 PM

You link to safety razors. Its not a safety razor. I believe it would come under the category of 'Razors' ie 8212 10.

In my deliver the razors were valued at over $100 so I got stung. Or was it £100.... either way, thats the reason.

BeBerlin · 08-09-2008, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sidneykidney

You link to safety razors. Its not a safety razor. I believe it would come under the category of 'Razors' ie 8212 10.

In my deliver the razors were valued at over $100 so I got stung. Or was it £100.... either way, thats the reason.

My wife (a lawyer, for what it's worth when it comes to importing razors) says it's actually 8212 90. Does not make any difference, though - still no customs charge. We are both confused.

majurey · 08-09-2008, 04:46 PM

Sandy, I empathise as I've been stung multiple times for tax. What makes it even worse is the tax (at usual levels) is only half the story... Royal Mail or ParcelForce or whoever they are will charge a handling fee for paying customs on your behalf, up front. This is a flat fee and is disproportionate to the tax on small purchases. The total cost of strops from Tony, for example, have often ended up 50% more as a result.

None of this is the seller's fault, of course, And as others have indicated, it's impossible for an ebay seller to know in advance what a successful buyer would have to pay in tax, or if they're liable for tax at all. It's just one of those things which can happen when buying outside of the EU.

There have been happy occasions where my parcel has slipped through the net, but they seem to be better at picking them out now. I'd chalk it down to experience.

Leon · 08-11-2008, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kees

Sidneykidney,

I am afraid this is no fault of the seller. What you have to pay is VAT levied by the British government.

Yep, the seller has nothing to do with this - blame your government, just like I blame mine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by majurey

The total cost of strops from Tony, for example, have often ended up 50% more as a result.

My TM strop cost me more 40% because of these taxes. It differs from country to country, but they all have one thing in common - they're stupid taxes.