FVF charged to sellers, for GST collected on international sales. Do tell how that is justifiable!

[missionsellit]

I like to remind myself occasionally how greedy ebay are, so I come back here occasionally to remind myself !!!

Just sold an item to a NZ customer, ($99 +post 20.20 which includes my box fee)  so ebay justifiably collected the NZ  15% GST on the sale (17.88) to remit to the NZ gov , Excellent work ebay, job well done (Genuinely)

Total sale therefore $137.08, hey ! I could have ramped up the postage fee to cover the FVF on the postage, but was prepared to wear it.  Please note I can't 'pad out' the GST for new zealand, becoz that's out of my control.

But I think its rude (okay greedy) for ebay to charge me 12.18% of $137.08, which means they charge me 12.18 % of the $17.88 GST, which ebay are sending to NZ Gov on my behalf.

So I lose $2.17 to ebay because they charge FVF on the TAX they collected to send to NZ...........

Would someone explain to me how that is regarded as 'Fair and Equitable'  or 'Moral'  (LOL)

Of course the OZ gov't also gets 10% gst on my FVF which was bumped up by that $2.17, so gst just went up 21c as well, so I am down $2.38 (2.17 plus GST 21c)  becoz of ebay commisions on taxes collected........

The more I think about it, the harder it will be for the forum members to give me logical, fair reasons for this to be happening.

Nice business model ebay

BTW

Banks have to quote comparison rates which include INTEREST plus fees on loans as a gross percentage

My 12.18% of the $99 sale is now actually 12.18% of the whole total $137.08 . Oh don't let me forget the 1% international transaction fee,($1.37) so grand total in dollars out of my pocket  $20.18 GST inc

thats a comparative % fee on my $99 of  20.38%.

More Comparative rate fees than I pay through my bricks and mortar auction house locally, I just don't have to create the listings, take the photo's or pack and wrap anything. They do it ALL for the same 20%, (and its on line)

So ! back to the core subject, how is FVF on GST Collected for foreign gov'ts fair (or moral) ??

[folosite]

Fair ? Moral ?

People keep forgetting eBay is a business and their goal is to make money and more money, any way they can

LOL

[springyzone]

I agree with you that it does sound a bit rich to be paying FVF on a tax they collected and which is an add on to the actual item cost you charged.

In a way though it is no different to the fact they already charge a FVF on the postage costs as well and when you think of it, the postage charge, if it is basically at the Australia Post rate, isn't money in the seller's pocket either.

I don't think ebay is going to change on this. Whether ebay is always fair or handles things the best way can be up for debate but I guess we have to go with the reality of how things operate at the moment.  All I can suggest is that in future, you consider padding out the cost of the items you are selling, even just by a little, to cover the extra fees. I guess it is hard as you don't necessarily know if you'll be selling to someone overseas. But if you sold to an Australian, well, it is just a fraction more profit but if you sell to someone in NZ, you'd be covered.

The other thing is if you were concerned, you could limit your sales to Australia only.

[missionsellit]

Thanks for the 2 replies which basically tell me I should lay down and take it, or rather,  ebay takes it from me !!!)

Nice idea if you like being ripped off, I notice both comments come from very active sellers, or maybe you both decided to stop being ripped off as well ?

Yes it is like the FVF on postage, so are we suggesting 2 wrongs make a right???  even more reason to object to this, or do we wait for a 3rd new hidden fee before we say enuff is enufffffff

Here's the thang springyzone  !!!!,  I CAN as you suggest, pad my postage to absorb the FVF on postage, (and by charging $2 boxing fee DO, but postage for me  is rarely over $25 so all good and FVF on postage  covered), but if I sell a $500 or perhaps $5000 item overseas to a country with 20 + % VAT.................you do the maths, (its 12.18% of the total tax collected) and you never know when that might happen,  so its impossible to pad it out or predict when it will happen.

Stop selling overseas ??  I like to think rather than just sell here in Australia, that I help with the Australian balance of trade deficit by creating export income for Australia !!!  So I never have selfishly stopped supplying my goods to the worldwide customers I have on this or any other platform.

I have since had a light globe moment from when I wrote my original comment  !!!!!  TA DAH !!!

Since the tax is collected FOR overseas jurisdictions, and as rightly pointed out, by the first reply, ebay is a business here to make profit, WHY OH WHY, when this huge impost from foreign and the OZ gov't was placed on Multi platform sellers, (Not just ebay)  WHY did ebay not simply explain to all these government entities, that as a business, they have costs and need to do all the accounting, so the service fee for collecting all these GST and VAT is .....12.18 % and these charges will be deducted from the gross tax collections done on behalf of all these Gov't tax departments!!!!. (ebay remits to Tax departments 87.82% of tax collected on their behalf)

Surely NONE of them would have objected to having fees to recompense business costs, from their current unpaid tax collectors (ebay etc) and would HAPPILY agree to these charges to come from the gross tax takings ebay gather on their behalf      : ' )     (Can't do emoji with tongue in cheek, that's as good as it gets.....)

Or do you think maybe ebay didn't take that option from day one when this was enacted, because its just that the sellers are as always, the easy target here, and collectively do not have the political punch a tax department from every country ebay operates in would have, if ANY of them objected to a 12.18% service fee .............. (every seller most likely does object, just charge them anyway, becoz if ONE tax department objected it would be curtains for charging ANY of them)   So......just keep charging the sellerssss.......!!

The other solution (My preference) is ebay just  admit that taxes added on top of a final sale are not part of ANYONES actual turnover, and just re jig the FVF calculator to exclude taxes collected, from its FVF calculation.

nahhhh too easy eh ! not too mention  cutting off a new accidental income stream

Lets face it, some countries are run by Narcissistic megalomaniacs with a penchant for all the money they can get (NO, countries mentioned .....)

Sometimes if you can't run a country, you run an international company. (no companies mentioned)

[*sons_and_daughters*]

My brain hurts......

[padi*0409]

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@*sons_and_daughters* wrote:

My brain hurts......

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Mine doesn't TLDNR.................