import charges

[family_gj_aj_dd]

Hello All,  Have noticed lately there are import charges on international purchases. Payable in the currency of the country you are buying from.  This is in addition to the Global shipping program charges.  

Australia does not have import charges for items under 1000$.  Have been having to pay these charges for items under

200$.  Thought it was the GST  under the guise of Import Charges.  But this works out far more than the 10% GST Australia now has on international purchases. 

Vouchers/ coupons are also not available for the length of time stated. Had one that was supposed to be available until the 8th of July.

It disappeared today, the 6th July.  

[padi*0409]

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@4channel wrote:

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Well said beenyblackwell. You said it "true" and told it "how it is". Kudos to you. 100%!!!!!

Cheers 4channel

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Did you read SLR's follow-up to that ?  I thought that was far more relevant 2 months ago - but that's just me.

[imastawka]

Import charges are different to* GST.

The thread's title is Import Charges and it seems to have gone off the rails.

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    *to / from / than........you pick....I'm confused on that one.                                    

[davewil1964]

"To"

[imastawka]

Thank you, but with a memory like a goldfish, I'll most likely forget.

[busa4u]

Ive been on ebay maybe 17 years. Bought many things overseas, now forget about it. Higher postage then it would normally be and **bleep** Import charges makes it all un-worthwhile. Even a small purchase. Ebay has been going down the toilet for a couple of years now, my sales are next to nothing and purchasing overseas is now prohibitive. So why bother with ebay anymore?

Also Australia is going down the toilet, tax, tax and more tax. Exhorbitant taxes. My son brought me a pouch of tobacco from asia that costs there $7 and here a whopping $85 for the very same 50g pouch. Rego is a fortune, Rent takes up 80% of income. Food, you dont get much from $100 at the supermarket. Its mad, my only consolation is Im in my last quarter so I wont have to live with it as long as the younger generation have too. 

[chameleon54]

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@busa4u wrote:

Ive been on ebay maybe 17 years. Bought many things overseas, now forget about it. Higher postage then it would normally be and **bleep** Import charges makes it all un-worthwhile. Even a small purchase. Ebay has been going down the toilet for a couple of years now, my sales are next to nothing and purchasing overseas is now prohibitive. So why bother with ebay anymore?

Also Australia is going down the toilet, tax, tax and more tax. Exhorbitant taxes. My son brought me a pouch of tobacco from asia that costs there $7 and here a whopping $85 for the very same 50g pouch. Rego is a fortune, Rent takes up 80% of income. Food, you dont get much from $100 at the supermarket. Its mad, my only consolation is Im in my last quarter so I wont have to live with it as long as the younger generation have too. 

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Not meaning to be rude, but is it possible pricing may be an issue ? I sell the exact same thing as one of your listings. I charge around half the price and the item can still sit on the shelf for 6 months before selling.

If generic items are not selling it is usually one of three problems.

1) Buyers just dont want it ( at any price )

2) Selling into a saturated market where there are more sellers than buyers

3) Item is priced much higher than other similar products..

[lordlaidley]

Hi there,  Thank you fro bringing this to the attention of the "SHEEPLE."  

GST is one thing, but import duties on an US 8 dollar purchase and glob shipping and paypal exchange rate and c/card fees for an internationanl purchase landed me with a FIFTY FOUR dollar bill....US $8.00  plus glob shipping = AUD $54.00. HOW DOES THAT WORK....I call it EXTORTION!.     Ok sellers, its up to you if you want our business....got it?

[*tippy*toes*]

If the postage was so high on the item, why the heck did you buy it? The charges are very clear in all GSP listings, so you only have yourself to blame.

Never fear, there will be someone along soon who will smother you with sympathy.

[countessalmirena]

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@lordlaidley wrote
[...] import duties [...] and glob shipping and paypal exchange rate and c/card fees for an internationanl purchase [...]     Ok sellers, its up to you if you want our business....got it?

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@lordlaidley, import duties are not charged by sellers. It's not a cost that is "up to [them]". From your post, I gather that you purchased an item that was listed as available through the GSP (Global Shipping Program).

You would have seen the following information before you purchased:

This item will be posted through the Global Shipping Program and includes international tracking. Learn more

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Global Shipping Program is clearly stated  ⮵  so you should be aware of what costs are involved with this.

Postage:     US $xx.xx (approx. AU $xx.xx) International Priority Shipping to Australia � | See details

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The � would have shown:

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This amount includes seller specified US postage charges as well as applicable international postage, handling, and other fees. This amount is subject to change until you make payment. For additional information, see the Global Shipping Program terms and conditions

The information states that "as well as applicable international postage", there are other charges; "specified US postage charges", "handling", and "other fees". Notice what's missiing...? Import charges. The import charges are NOT included in this amount. However, the import charges are specified separately: see below. ⮷

Import charges:   US $xx.xx (amount confirmed at checkout) �

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The � would have shown:

This amount includes applicable customs duties, taxes, brokerage and other fees. This amount is subject to change until you make payment. For additional information, see the Global Shipping Program terms and conditions

The information here stipulates the "import charges". When you are buying through the Global Shipping Program, PB (Pitney Bowes) collect the GST, not eBay. (This is because of how the ATO have organised the order of priority as to who collects the GST. On sales through eBay, it is eBay who collects the GST except for items purchased on eBay through the GSP, because the GSP is the re-deliverer.)
That means that the total GST on your purchase (for GSP items) is included in the import charges. (The import charges also include PB's "processing" fee; essentially, PB collect the GST on your total purchase price (including the domestic postage charge and the international postage charge). The import charge also includes the international postage cost charged by them, and their "processiong" charge (that is, they charge you an administration cost for collecting the GST), and the GST on the processiong charge.

When you add the GSP item to your cart, you'll see a payment summary that looks like this:
Subtotal (1 item)     AU $xx.xx
Postage to 1234       AU $xx.xx
Import charges        AU $xx.xx

It's not very different to the payment summary that you see if you purchase non-GSP items from an overseas eBay seller, but in that case, the GST (which in such cases is collected by eBay) will be more clearly shown (with less confusion):
Item (1)              AU $xx.xx
Postage to 1234       AU $xx.xx
GST                   AU $xx.xx

Payments:     |  See payment information

International postage and import charges paid to Pitney Bowes Inc. Learn more

As you can see from this ⮵ very clear statement, the international postage and the import charges are paid directly to PB (Pitney Bowes Inc.), not your seller. Your seller doesn't receive that payment; in fact, your seller may not even know anything about that payment.

Your seller only receives the price of the item plus the charge for domestic postage to the Global Shipping provider (i.e., Pitney Bowes' distribution centre).

Because you're buying from an international seller, you'll also be charged GST on the item price and the domestic postage price. (That is perfectly in order with the Australian legislation. GST does apply to shipping/postage costs, although many buyers of international items are astounded to realise it.)

I've mentioned that PB will charge you a processing / administration fee. This is something that strays into questionable territory; certainly Australian businesses are absolutely not permitted to charge buyers any fee to recoup their administration costs involved in collecting GST, but since PB are not an Australian business, they can clearly thumb their nose at that particular segment of Australian legislation. Blame PB for this - it's still not the fault of actual sellers.

You mention "PayPal exchange rate"...

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Surely you cannot expect sellers to be responsible for international currency exchange rates! (You have a choice - to have your bank/credit card issuer perform the international currency exchange, or to have PayPal perform it. Your bank/credit card issuer may (probably will) charge you a fee for the conversion; if you choose to have PayPal perform the currency exchange, PayPal will automatically charge you the conversion fee. These are simply choices that are part and parcel of making international purchases, and are not charged by your seller.

You also mention credit card fees. Well, you'll be charged the conversion fee by either PayPal OR your credit card provider - not both. (As mentioned in the above paragraph.) Conversion fees are not charged by your seller, and your seller is certainly not responsible for them. Any other credit card fees which you pay are entirely your business and have nothing to do with any of the sellers from whom you buy.

When you post "Ok sellers, its up to you if you want our business....got it?"...

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I'm bewildered about your intended audience. I don't imagine for a moment that American sellers are gathering here on a discussion board for Australian eBay buyers, carefully reading each thread in case there's something posted specifically for eBay sellers in the US. Even if they did, none of the costs you've mentioned are either the responsibility of the seller, nor in the power of the seller to alter in the slightest.

Just bear in mind (for international purchases) that you will need to factor in the additional cost of GST on the item price plus shipping price - unless you are purchasing directly from a seller (not through eBay or similar online marketplace) whose total sales to Australia (gross) come to less than $75,000 per annum, in which case no GST will be payable. If you add items to your cart, you should be able to see the total cost BEFORE you finalise the purchase, and if it's more than you want to pay, just remove the item from your shopping cart and walk away.

[Anonymous]

One point most, if not all, of the respondents to the initial email appear to be missing is that GST import charges for items less than AU$1000 generally are over 10%, and often well over 10%. Anyway, that's been my experience. I recently bought an item from the US, and the import charges ($12.90) for the item and shipping ($80.72 all up) were just under 16%. I was lead to believe it was set at exactly 10%. Why the variation? This has happened to me many, many time before also.