Ebay charging their commission on VAT & Import charges on International Sales

[datsunpartsinoz]

Hello all

It has just come to my attention that ebay is adding the value of any Overseas VAT and Import Charges THEY collect from International buyers to the total Transaction amount before calculating the Final Sellers Fee.

I find this rather rude if not illegal.

This is not money the Seller ever sees and is not aware of the amount (if any) until after the sale so can not be allowed for when advising the Buyer of a total cost.  It is too confusing as well as not all countries charge import taxes and when they do it can vary.

Nor is it a service the Seller is providing.

The amount in question can work out be a large percentage of the sale, for example, a sale I did to Greece today is:  Item Price $68, Postage $76 plus Import Tax $34.

So I am out of pocket another $4 on a $68 sale!

This is a Tax that is solely the responsibility of the Buyer that ebay is collecting on behalf of the Buyers country Tax department.

Does anyone else see this as being yet another ebay rort?

I do accept that ebay can charge their commission on Freight & Postage costs added to the sale as that is an action of the Seller and money they collect, these Import taxes are not.

What do other Sellers think?

Has anyone ever challenged ebay on this ?

Thanks in advance

Simon

[sugar249]

---

@actionmanmelb wrote:

I too just found this out after I sold something in the USA and the payment to my bank was miniscule.

As sellers we are expected to charge postage at cost so we lose 15% there and 15% of any sales tax or vat!

---

Not sure who told you this,  a good business person factors in all their costs (including fee's).   They also work these out prior to selling, so not sure why you just found out.  No shocks really

[violetstrendz]

I think its disgraceful that they take a fee off the VAT - I just had a sale and I made $4 of the item.  I wont be selling to o/seas customers again.    What I can't work out is, that this is the first time I've seen VAT charged on any of my sales to the UK.

[datsunpartsinoz]

Relating your reply to my original question.

I agree with you that you have to factor in all costs.

The problem with a commission on any import VAT is that collected from the buyer it is NOT part of your sale.

Ebay add this on AFTER the sale and you don't know how much or if there is any until after the sale.

Since this happened about a year ago, I have lost a few overseas sales after advising buyers that I have a allow an extra amount to cover it.

And I have had to pay a few extra fees as well on some sales

I still don't believe it is fair or - more importantly - good for business as usually the Buyer cant understand it and often thinks the buyer is trying to rip them off!

Finally, I have just sold some items to Finland and their Tax office won't accept the Buyers paperwork from ebay that shows he has paid the 30% Import VAT and are insisting that he pays it again.  Ebay response to him - not our problem!   Work that out ....

Thanks for your replies

Simon

[datsunpartsinoz]

An update this one.

After a bit of pushing Ebay have refunded the Buyer the VAT they collected as Finnish post didn't accept the ebay paper work that showed he had already paid it.

BUT - of course they have not refunded the Commission they charged me on the VAT!

Nor did they tell me about the refund - the buyer told me that.

So their systems are not really strong.

They buyer is really annoyed at ebay over this and say he will use Marketplace to buy items in future, so these practices of ebay DO affect us all as ebay sellers!

Now to chase up ebay to geet the refund of the extra commission they charged me ...

[sugar249]

---

@datsunpartsinoz wrote:

An update this one.

After a bit of pushing Ebay have refunded the Buyer the VAT they collected as Finnish post didn't accept the ebay paper work that showed he had already paid it.

BUT - of course they have not refunded the Commission they charged me on the VAT!

Nor did they tell me about the refund - the buyer told me that.

So their systems are not really strong.

They buyer is really annoyed at ebay over this and say he will use Marketplace to buy items in future, so these practices of ebay DO affect us all as ebay sellers!

Now to chase up ebay to geet the refund of the extra commission they charged me ...

---

Good luck to the buyer on marketplace, or better known as scam central.

[siddieswans]

Found on the US board dated 02-23-2023

"I found out that the EU only lets eBay collect VAT for a sale up to EUR 150.00 total.
Anything over that the buyer has to pay the VAT when it arrives in their country.
France is the only exception to that rule."

Don't know if that actually was the case or whether it still applies now. Or if your sale was over EUR 150.00 (including postage cost.) If it was that may help explain it. Of course you could say that eBay should be across all these  different Customs rules.

Years ago I sold a piece of vintage Danish ceramics to a buyer in Denmark who was thrilled at what they considered a great bargain auction price - on-one in Oz had been interested. They were not so thrilled when it arrived at Denmark customs. Despite my having included the eBay invoice showing the value of the sale, they discovered that Denmark Customs had their own value sheet for such items, and they were charged duty on that value. No idea whether this practice still continues.

[sugar249]

---

@siddieswans wrote:

Found on

Years ago I sold a piece of vintage Danish ceramics to a buyer in Denmark who was thrilled at what they considered a great bargain auction price - on-one in Oz had been interested. They were not so thrilled when it arrived at Denmark customs. Despite my having included the eBay invoice showing the value of the sale, they discovered that Denmark Customs had their own value sheet for such items, and they were charged duty on that value. No idea whether this practice still continues.

---

Which is fair enough, we all know about fake invoices, or dodgy sales at agreed low prices with separate payments.   Looks like Denmark are onto this trick.

[siddieswans]

I think this is a bit rough on several fronts.

1. It takes away all the advantage of having expert knowledge to be able to spot a bargain.

2. It seems to imply that you are buying with the aim of re-selling for a profit.

3. Where do their valuations come from? What you would be asked to pay in a High Street Antiques store? How current are they - what is fashionable and therefore more valuable 20 years ago, may be much less valuable today. Does their valuation take into account condition? My item had a hair-line crack which  was reflected in the auction sale price - fine by my collector friend, but obviously affected value. Though this was mentioned on the invoice, Customs would not take it into account. (It was a piece of early B & G.)

[sugar249]

Sorry can't agree with any of your comments.

Take diamonds as an example you may pay x dollars  but the merchant will give you an insurance valuation at x plus y, and than add a few z's.

It's all done to rip off governments and insurance companies.

I applaud the Denmark government for bringing dodgy people in to line.   Sorry if you were the one honest person who got caught up in their great system.

[countessalmirena]

This is far too nuanced a situation. Many items simply can’t be valued ad hoc by a government, while others can readily be valued.

I don’t know enough about the Danish system other than to offer that view. Does kopenhagen have any inside knowledge about this?

[puts out an APB for kopes]