Internationally Screwed

[Guest]

[Bogleg]

Ebay is finally putting the last nail in my international bidding coffin. I have just won two boxes of cards and have been charged for customs duty. This, according to Ebay, makes the whole buying experience easier because I won't have to pay anything when it's delivered. Who suddenly made them agents for Royal Mail? The postage and customs charge is roughly $20 more than I would have paid if the parcel had been charged (not every parcel gets charged - it really is a lottery). Although we, in the Uk, moan about the Value added Tax (20% of all costs including postage) and the £8.00 handling fee charges, it is felt that it's a bit of a win if the parcel gets through charge free. If there's an opt-out for this system, I suggest those who want to sell to the UK do so.

[blackcat20]

Ouch. eBay seem to be getting more fee-heavy every year. My store fees have gone from $20 to $50 in two years!

[kbmum]

I looked through all of eBay's help pages trying to find info about this, but found nothing.  Everything I read said that international buyers will be charged customs fees by their own countries.  I also tried a dummy listing (one I didn't submit) with international shipping and couldn't find anything about adding or opting out of customs fees.  If you get any additional info about this, Bogleg, please post it.

[Bogleg]

Here's the last win I will have with this charge attached.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-52-2-Boxes-TWO-BOXES-Factory-Sealed-by-Cryptozoic-/370753225204?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWNX%3AIT&nma=true&si=D9JGA4B%252B2YE7LDV7KbsBifoMZS4%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

and here's the link to the Card Talk page where I also posted. Ed Webb has something to say on the matter...

http://nonsportupdate.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/8426067952/m/3107058826

It looks as though, as with all other things, this will eventually become the norm 

[kbmum]

I finally found the info.  It's called the Global Shipping Program.

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

Basically, it allows US sellers with international buyers to ship to a central US location.  A company prepares the item, ships it outside the US, and receives the customs fees that are tacked on to your order.  I can see why a seller would want to use the program -- as long as the parcel has tracking and is received by the global shipping provider, the seller has met eBay's requirements for shipping.  If the item gets lost after leaving the US, the seller is not responsible.

If you still want to buy from US dealers on eBay, you should ask them if they use the program.  The seller for your DC 52 boxes states at the end of the descritption that he/she ships this way, but I don't see how a buyer would know what that means.

[LikORish-Spider]

I have not sold anything since last year. I think it's time to kiss eBay off as just another greedy organization like any typical government bueauracy.

[blackcat20]

Ouch. eBay seem to be getting more fee-heavy every year. My store fees have gone from $20 to $50 in two years!

Had an email from eBay this week, and they are reintroducing the $20 store (in addition to the $50 option). I had a survey about this from them a few months ago, and made it clear that $50 was not worth it for a lot of sellers, and it seems I wasnt the only one that expressed that opinion. Glad that they have seen some sense.

[LikORish-Spider]

I use the eBay process up to the point where I can print the packing slip. I print the packing slip and then abort the process. I then go to the USPS web site and use that shipping info to print the actual shipping label. Much cheaper, even when you select the option for a tracking number. Then I go to my items sold list, select the item and mark it as shipped and add the tracking number I got from the USPS site. EBay can go fish. Decorum prevents me from telling eBay what they can actually do.

[kbmum]

The USPS site has postage cheaper than eBay?  I thought it was the same price at either site.