A Canadian Postal Question........

tennesseebanker

I recently sold a card to a buyer through PayPal (off E-bay) in Nova Scotia. I sent the card Priority, on February 28th, and the tracking information shows that it arrived today. I receive an e-mail from the buyer this afternoon stating that he will be charged another $45 for duty charges ? He wants to know if I will help him out after spending $21 to ship it to him, which I paid from my own pocket. I've never heard of this before, is there anything I or the buyer can do to keep from paying this charge, if it is even a legitimate fee in the first place ?

jfkheat

I don't think there is anything that either of you can do. He has to pay duty fees based on the value of the item in the package.
James

eyebone

that would be the import/duty charge, so it is indeed legitimate. I think the amount is often listed in the auction along with the seller's postage fees, but I suppose if he won an outright auction then that amount would not be listed as it would be impossible to know how much this fee would be (as it is based on the value of the item, which would only have been determined by the final bid).

there is no way to avoid this now, as he apparently accepted the package. he could have refused the item, in which case the package would have been returned to you (though whether it would have ever gotten back to you is uncertain). in the future you should mark the box GIFT on the green postage label as i think this might at least limit the potential for import charges.

i guess this why so many usa based ebayers no longer think it would the trouble of shipping to Canada.

eyebone

tennesseebanker

He said they were rare in his e-mail and I have shipped to Canada a few times before and never heard of this fee/tax. But I have never sold and shipped an item to Canada worth this much. He asked me if I declared a value on the package, and I declared a value of $230 (What the card sold for). I always thought it was illegal not to do so.

tennesseebanker

So, should I tell him tough luck, he is going to have to pay it or should I pony up for half ?

Dboneesq

<< <i>So, should I tell him tough luck, he is going to have to pay it or should I pony up for half? >>


I don't think it's your responsibility to tell him about the laws of his country. He should know that there is a duty/tax that must be paid.

Canadian duty/tax estimator.

eyebone

<< <i>So, should I tell him tough luck, he is going to have to pay it or should I pony up for half ? >>




that is your decision to make. although I agree with doug that he should have been aware of the fees (any regular Canadian ebayer is). he cannot claim he didn't receive the item so you are okay that way, but might he ding you with a negative feedback if you don't absorb half the fee?

eyebone

tennesseebanker

It was off E-bay.

PMKAY

The most frustrating thing about this is that it is so hit and miss with whether or not they decide to ding you that import charge. They are perfectly within their right to do so. They can in fact apply that charge to any value amount, there is no threshold at which the import charge starts. I live in Canada but am near the US border and have most of the stuff I buy shipped to a US address. When bringing it back over I never and I mean never have had to pay duties on anything under 200 dollars (am talking about card purchases not gas or dairy or anything like that). If it gets over 200 its about 50% of the time that I have to pay the import charge. However I have had several instances of 300 or 400 dollar purchases just waved through without having to pay anything.


What I don't know however is what would happen if I were to bring over an item I paid $50 for but has an actual a value of $500. Does it go based on the sale price or the value? No idea.

SleepyDave

This is how mail imports into Canada work:

There are no duty charges for trading cards made within North America (NAFTA).

The buyer was charged Taxes and a Canada Post Handling fee.

Nova Scotia taxes are 10% Provincial Tax + 5% Federal Goods and Services Tax = 15% Total Taxes

$230 + 15% = $34.50

Plus a fixed rate handling fee of $9.95 from Canada Post. This fee is charged anytime Canada Post needs to collect taxes on shipments.

Total charge = $44.45

You do not have to pay taxes on items $20 or less. If the package is labelled as a gift, the limit is $60.

SleepyDave

I would also like to add as the poster above mentioned, they do not always flag and charge all items over the $20 limit. The lower the value, the less likely you will be charged.

tennesseebanker

Thanks for all the information guys. I e-mailed the buyer and told him I didn't think it was my responsibility to pay the charge.

SleepyDave

One other thing I forgot to mention. This would be with anything shipped by the United States Postal Service.

Anything shipped by UPS is charged a much larger handling fee and should be avoided if possible. Their handling fee is sometimes greater than the item is worth.

Many sellers just declare the item at approximately $20 to avoid any such hassles.

lawnmowerman

<< <i>Thanks for all the information guys. I e-mailed the buyer and told him I didn't think it was my responsibility to pay the charge. >>



Anytime Barry. Glad I could help!

tennesseebanker

Matt,

Your vast knowledge about any subject amazes me, from Lawn care to Canadian postal regulations, you are an encyclopedia of knowledge.

EagleEyeKid

lawnmowerman

Awesome. Lol!!