Hi

I had this happen to me last month .I think it is the seller's choice of shipment there should be somewhere near the post cost in checkout about the import duty when mine came it had been opened and then put into a australia post bag .

Ask the seller why are they charging that.  There is no way you need to pay import charges, and if there were import charges they would be payable when the item arrives in Australia to Australian customs, not to the seller.

unless something changed and nobody told us..... do not think so

charlester29,

"And if so why was it not mentioned in the listing??"

If you look at the listing on the US site, under Postage at the top of the page, you'll see:

Import charges:To be provided at checkout

If you click on the Question Mark next to Import Charges, it shows:

"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"

If you click on terms and conditions, it takes you to this page

http://pages.ebay.com.au/shipping/globalshipping/buyer-tnc.html:

ebay US Help page

Using the Global Shipping Program

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/shipping-globally.html

Sorry, my first link above is incorrect.

If you click on terms and conditions, it takes you to this page

http://pages.ebay.com.au/shipping/globalshipping/buyer-tnc.html

Just so you know, if the item is being posted to Australia, you don't pay import taxes unless it is over $1000. In which case, the buyer pays it to Australian customs not the seller.

It doesn't matter if the item was listed in the US or Germany. 

Basically, the OP is expected to pay $5 to agent for nothing.  i read through all the stuff silversterio posted and now have a headache, but still have no understanding why should the OP have to pay somebody for processing something that does not exist.  Unless I would really need this item, I would risk the strike and not pay.  There is no way I would be looking in the TOS or anywhere else at any statements about import duties, as they are irrelevant to us.

unless, shipping through this scheme is just a way that seller can ship cheaper than with the very expensive USPS tracking, and $5 is just a charge for that, but then it should be added to the shipping cost and not talk about import duties.

It might be the seller is using some type of consolidation service to get things here quicker and having them shipped locally once here - in that case the consolidated shipment could easily be over $1,000 and duty payable.

i browse the usa ebay pages a bit too, and notice that the duty is an ebay function ( as in something official put onto the page not just in the item description )

but i have also noticed that lots of the items i have been looking at have a notice up the top that says 1/2 price fedex 

i am wondering if the charge is to help pay for the 1/2 price fedex ?