GST can of worms

[anner1813]

ebay now has a dilemna.

It has been forced on them it seems by the Australian governement.

Are there laws that enforce a consumer to pay GST? 

When consumers do a transaction in Australia with any merchant, it is the merchants responsibility to collect GST. There are fines for merchants who transact without providing a GST invoice. 

However it is my understanding no law ensits the merchant police the consumer to pevent them walking out that store and purchasing goods elsewhere if they do not wish to pay GST. Are there?

Doesn't the consumer have the right (knowing the purchase arrangements after they buy the product) to walk out the store and purchase it some way else?

If that is the case, why does ebay have a platform that appears to try and prevent buyers and sellers transacting outside the ebay platform? 

[digital*ghost]

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@anner1813 wrote:

Sorry.. Sure..

The point I am making is really quite simple..

Ebay has had alot of time to get this GST transitition correct..

Where is the banner on the website (explaining what will happen and the issue to consumers?)

Where is the simple explanation? (that it is not ebay's "fault")?

Where are the discounts to maintain market share?

Why haven't they made the transaction process even simpler?

Why isn't there even a grace period to easlily cancel a purchase?

I actaully love ebay.. my purchase history is testimant to that!

I am simply giving them a heads up they need to lift their game! 

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eBay sent emails to all members - though I agree a banner in the checkout at least would probably help some people. 

I don't really understand the "where are the discounts?" question. I'll just ignore for a moment that eBay are currently running a 10% off promotion in the face of this transition, and I expect this wasn't known at the time you posted the thread, but why should ebay offer discounts at all? They're not selling anything, the people responsible for the prices of items are the sellers and GST is meant to be in addition to a seller's price, just like it is here in Aus. When eBay offer discounts, they pay the difference out of their own pocket, so when you ask "where are the discounts?" in this context, you're basically saying "why aren't eBay paying my GST for me?"  Not to mention the GST is being applied to all of the most popular online shopping sites, so I don't get the "maintain market share" bit either, when many other seller's / site's prices went up by the same percentage.

As for cancelling items, if you commit to buy something, you commit to pay for it. You can't compare that to going into a B&M store and walking out without paying for anything after all, because that doesn't impose anything on the seller / shop (like transaction fees, or create a contract), but committing to buy something online does. To cancel a transaction means to cancel a contract. It's kind of a half-way step between doing nothing at all, and completing a purchase by paying for it. If you go into a shop and pay for something, you don't have a right to hand it straight back and get a refund, unless that shop accepts change of mind returns. Same with online purchases that have been paid for, even if the seller hasn't sent the item yet (not advisable, to send an item a buyer has indicated they don't want, but they have no obligation to cancel unless their terms indicate they will). 

Besides which, from all the people that do it, not paying for an item seems like a really easy way to back out of purchases one has committed to, anyway. 

[digital*ghost]

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@anner1813 wrote:

But the point I am making is "you are not at liberty" to "find other sellers.."

....ebay does not allow you to simply  "walk away"... 

ebay positively discourages you to do that... once you have found out GST is charged, ebay does not make it easy for you to cancel that transaction, and they do not make it easy for you to transact outside the ebay platform..

They actively discourage that...

In fact there are buyer penalties if they catch you are there not? 

..bad buyer ratings etc....even banning your account?

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Wut?

I'm sorry, but again you can't compare to committing to buy an item on eBay then changing your mind, to being free to walk out of a shop without making a purchase.

Also, eBay's problem is not with people shopping elsewhere, it's with using eBay to do everything related to a transaction, but not actually transacting on eBay. Since we're using real life comparisons here - going in to a shop, but then deciding to shop elsewhere = fine.

Going in to a shop, asking the sales assistant if they'll deal under the table for cash so that the business owner doesn't know about it = bad. Or, asking the sales assistant if they know a different shop somewhere esle where you can get the item cheaper = well, that would just be rude. 

I agree eBay are pretty overzealous with their policies surrounding using eBay to trade off eBay, but that's a different issue. 

[papermoon.lady]

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@digital*ghost wrote:

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@anner1813

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eBay sent emails to all members - though I agree a banner in the checkout at least would probably help some people. 

I didn't get anything... I thought it was weird. I will have to check my spam folder, but usually emails sent by eBay are also in the messages directly on the eBay site. There is a tab/folder "from eBay" in the inbox, and there is nothing about it.

[marwi5023]

I didn't get an email

[digital*ghost]

It might also depend on the account settings (it shouldn't apply to important announcements, of course, if you opt not to receive promotional type emails from ebay). I did get an email but from memory it wasn't copied to my eBay messages. If your spam folder clears automatically at regular intervals, it may have come and gone without being noticed (mine empties once per week).  

[papermoon.lady]

In the past (a long time ago) I had opted out of promotional emails, but them opted in again when I read somewhere that they occasionally send you personal vouchers/codes, like for your birthday...

[davewil1964]

2/3rds of my accounts got discounts for my birthday.

I did get emails, but the discount code was also available in checkout (pay only $x find out how).

I don't get a lot of spam from eBay, compared to many other places, so I keep notifications selected.

[countessalmirena]

davewil, I keep receiving emails enticing me to sell on eBay, and telling me how much money I missed out on making by not having items for sale on eBay.

But the discount offers/codes are always worth having. I may not always use them - because I won't buy something just because I could buy it now for less than if I had bought it two weeks ago, or if I waited for another two weeks; I'll buy only when I want a particular item. If the code coincides with the item (and is applicable), and the total with the discount (from a seller of my choice, from whom I'm happy to buy) comes to less than I would pay elsewhere (again, from a seller from whom I'm happy to buy), then metaphorically speaking, it's Thunderbirds Are Go.

[anner1813]

neither did I

[anner1813]

I still think ebay have a problem here along with the rampid escalation of shipping costs from particularly the US. GST added on shipping costs as well... like compounding interest  massivly increases the final costs of goods sold. 

It is a definite disincentive to purchase from the US, like I said GST isn't ebay's fault... but it becomes their problem...

Hi Shipping costs from the US were already a disincentive...

Shippong costs plus GST even more so.

Recently I have had books sold to me at say 20 bucks and by the time they land they are 45 bucks then add GST....!!!

You are hardly in a position to take up the ebay return guarantee if a listing is inaccurate if the cost or return and shipping  is now well over a 100%...?200% the price of the original goods.

Insanity 

Cheers