Import fees, higher chargers, poor service

[arcssydney]

I have notice e bay is charging import fees on products purchased from outside of Australia, Why is this when items under $1000 dollars at this present time, do not have import taxes,  as i purchase a lot of products both on and outside, i was looking at buying and item when i noticed a $5 import charge i guess this is eBay again  screwing us on chargers, with the amount of counterfeit products being sold, poor sellers and lack of control, i think e bay is slipping big time both e bay and PayPal increasing fees for a poorer service

i think its time to go direct as items are in most cases cheaper to buy from a retail out in most cases

anyway that my concerns with ebay and were there heading

[leader-of-the-band]

i was looking at buying and item when i noticed a $5 import charge i guess this is eBay again  screwing us on chargers

can you post the title of the item you are referring to so we can take a look?  Don't put the item number OR the seller ID, just the exact title.

If there is an import charge it is news to me, that's why I would like to view the listing before offering any more comment/advice

[*new2vintage]

It can't be an ebay charge. Maybe a seller wants to make more money and has made up a fake charge. The Customs Department charges fees not anyone else anyway. Whatever it's about you can't blame ebay for it.

[digital*ghost]

Are you looking at a listing (or listings) located in the US by any chance, and where the seller is using eBay.com's Global Shipping Program? That's a program for US sellers where they can simply post the item to a US location, and another company handles the actual shipping to international buyers - estimates of customs charges are displayed in the listing, but as I have not purchased from a seller who has opted in to this program, I don't know what or if it's actually charged at point of checkout.

I read through a thread on the US discussion board and most sellers seemed to conclude that it would work out more expensive for buyers except for a few select parcel types (not sure if that will still apply after the imminent near-doubling of most internation postage prices in the US).

For more info about the GSP:

This is the eBay.com help page for sellers using it: http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/shipping-globally.html

And this is the (Australian) T&Cs for buyers (which I have only skimmed, but there's a section halfway through headed Payment and Program Fees, and there's a list of several fees and charges, including customs): http://pages.ebay.com.au/shipping/globalshipping/buyer-tnc.html

[dollyone.07]

I found two almost identical skirts from two US sellers. One was charging $18 shipping and the other $34. Guess which one was using  the Global Shipping Program? I will not buy from sellers who use this. I think they are being hoodwinked into using this shipping method and are not aware of the possible sales they are missing out on from doing so. At present we do not have import duties on goods under $1000. GSP has decided we do.

[lyndal1838]

dollyone, does the GSP actually say that import fees are being charged?

The GSP has an extra charge for the packaging and preparation of documents by Pitney Bowes (the 3rd party shipper) but usually it states that there is no import duty.

[davewil1964]

Maybe it did 13 months ago?

[ajarnjenny]

I have looked at a few things which are using the GSP, and they don't say any import duties are charges, but the shipping prices that are being charged look like they are charging the same percentage that other countries who do have low limit customs charges than us.

What paperwork are they talking about? Filling in a customs form? That needs charging almost twice the price that direct shipping would, and the person who is direct shipping has filled out the customs form without having to charge twice as much for their time.

[digital*ghost]

The GSP calculates import duties separately from the postage charges, and should state $0 for items under $1000. This is a screen shot for an item shipped from the US using the GSP, and is priced at a touch above US$1500.

[lyndal1838]

Pitney Bowes fees are for repacking the items in suitable packing for overseas shipping.....it is often debatable if they are successful as there have been reports here of glass items unpacked and put into a box with virtually no packing.  It also covers the labelling of the package with customs declarations and the paperwork needed for importing items which do have customs duties payable.

I have never had customs duties payable on anything sent through PB.

The only time I had to pay duties here I was contacted by the courier company, paid the charges over the phone and the parcel was delivered.

When PB delivers here the is no call from the company because the duties have already been paid.