just bought on eBay and I saw suddenly a “UK VAT added to price” for the first time is this correct

[laugb2001]

Hi,

I just bought an item on eBay and I saw added to the final price before payment a "UK VAT added to price" to a value of 20%. I have never seen that before in more than 18 years on eBay. The seller is in UK and I am also in UK. Is this correct and have I really to pay it?

thanks.

Lau

[papso22]

We are back to the confusion over sales VAT (VAT on UK to UK sales by a VAT registered entity), and import VAT (VAT charged to a buyer when the goods are sold from another country).  

Ebay cannot know whether the latter 'VAT' applies until the buyer goes to checkout. 

[jadie13910]

Computers are wonderful - eBay use computers, its the medium on which they carry out eBay business - they clearly employ people who do NOT know how to use them ! When you register to buy OR sell on eBay, your location HAS to be stated along with all your other details - computer software is more than capable of determining ALL the various options of sales vat, import vat and export vat and ANY OTHER CHARGES that apply - I can only conclude that eBay programmers are NOT CAPABLE ! The old saying of " GARBAGE IN - GARBAGE OUT " applies perfectly - PLEASE, what do you not understand ?

[papso22]

It's not what I don't understand, but more what you don't.

You don't understand that the country of registration is not the deciding factor here.  I could buy something on ebay and when I get to checkout, have it sent to my cousin in Denmark, putting her address as the delivery address.

That would then be an export from the UK and an import into Denmark, not a UK to UK sale as would appear from my country of registration, or indeed any of the addresses registered in my ebay account. 

[jadie13910]

eBay MUST and DO know your location, as they have ALL your details when you first registered !!!!!!!!!!! When you SELL an item oneBay - they automaticaly determine the amount they charge you because the system is SET UP to do just that ! that is how they make their money !!!!!!!!! SIMPL.

You do not think they have an actual PERSON sat there working it out do you - and it can be a complicated afair with all the various catergories and charges etc., BUT THEY MANAGE THAT without any problem - DON`T THEY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

[unclestein]

Computers can be wonderful Jadie, but I think the agenda for the programmers is to create new, interesting and annoying features, rather than fix the existing ones.

It makes me wonder how they get away with it!

[papso22]

Of course they know where you registered your account.  That is not the same as your location at the time of purchase, or the address you might select at checkout.  Members also fail to keep their details up to date.

They use their systems, together with the delivery address at checkout, to tell you how much you need to pay when you checkout.   

Please stop shouting. 

[unclestein]

Ebay know everything Jadie, enough to bully you into making sure your account is accessable for them to take their fees easily.

I don't sell stuff on Ebay anymore because of their obnoxious attitude like: "display listing with fees" it actually says "Fee: £0.00" - they never tell you what it's going to cost until it sells. Some people are happy with that but I think it sucks.

I told them I'm an experienced beta tester and I am willing to test their software for free, and send them a random invoice when it suits me - they still havn't replied.

[unclestein]

Why do the "Community Mentors" think everything on Ebay is so awesome?

[papso22]

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@unclestein wrote:

Why do the "Community Mentors" think everything on Ebay is so awesome?

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We don't.   Many of us are frequent critics of ebay.  We just understand how it works better than most, but that doesn't mean we always like how it works.

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[myriad*seller]

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@jadie13910 wrote:

eBay MUST and DO know your location, as they have ALL your details when you first registered !!!!!!!!!!! When you SELL an item oneBay - they automaticaly determine the amount they charge you because the system is SET UP to do just that ! that is how they make their money !!!!!!!!! SIMPL.

You do not think they have an actual PERSON sat there working it out do you - and it can be a complicated afair with all the various catergories and charges etc., BUT THEY MANAGE THAT without any problem - DON`T THEY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

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Please read the posts that explain why this is not possible properly. People are explaining the same thing over and over again and you just aren't understanding. 

This is government/HMRC policy by the way, nothing to do with eBay. 

If you buy the item from a seller in the UK and send it to yourself in the UK then there is no VAT added

If you send it as a gift to a relative outside the UK, you can only select this option at checkout, which is when VAT is then added as it is being imported into another country.

So VAT is NOT dependant on your registered location as you can send items to other people in places all over the world. VAT is only added when you send the items across borders. It can only be added at checkout.

Try buying something on any other large UK retail website and then select to send it to someone overseas - they will pay import VAT and (import duty if over £135) on the item in exactly the same way as on eBay - but this will only be calculated at checkout when you add the overseas address as the destination!

[unclestein]

OMG Miriad:

If it can be "calculated at checkout" by Ebay, then Ebay have the technology to display it before they take the money!

Which part of that do you not get?

Does anyone else have screenshots because I can't be a*sed with this.

[purveyor_of_tat]

You are forgetting that the marketplace is only responsible for collecting the VAT when the consignment value is <£135.00

Items placed into the basket <£135.00 will trigger the VAT. 2 x items in the basket at £50.00 each will trigger the VAT, collected by eBay.

But, 2 x items from the same seller, 1  at £50.00 and 1 at £100.00 combined into one parcel means that the carrier collects the VAT.

How can eBay know what you will be charged in VAT until you go to complete the checkout?

Screenshot of when eBay is responsible for the VAT:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/listings/default/vat-obligations-uk-eu?id=4650&st=12&pos=1&query=Your%20... 

The introduction to this help page explains it:

Whether the tax is included in the listing price, added at checkout or charged at the border depends on the order price, the item's location, and your delivery address.

[myriad*seller]

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@unclestein wrote:

OMG Miriad:

If it can be "calculated at checkout" by Ebay, then Ebay have the technology to display it before they take the money!

Which part of that do you not get?

Does anyone else have screenshots because I can't be a*sed with this.

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It cannot be calculated until you go into checkout and select the delivery address!! This only happens at checkout in the screen before you pay, that is when you select the delivery address and is the first point where eBay can calculate if VAT is due or not. 

That is the whole point! 

[unclestein]

Whether it comes from the UK, China, or Albania, or it's triggered by the VAT threshold, whether or not it's on the help page. Ebay seem to be pretty efficient at calculating it and collecting it from our bank accounts - and you are trying to tell us Ebay have no control over it?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if I cancel my Ebay direct debits it's Ebay who are on my case, pretty much instantaneously, not HMRC or the customer, or the freight company, it's Ebay.

And generally speaking, across most of the planet a "checkout" is defined as:

"The opportunity to review the items in your shopping cart BEFORE you're ready to proceed and complete your payment".

In the absence of ANY customer support from the obnoxious Ebay corp the "Community Mentors" are doing a pretty good job of sounding like loyalist AI robots covering up for a company who's operating software is glitched to the hilt. I'm sorry if this offends you but I'm running out of ways to explain the very basics of accounting, with which the majority of frustrated customers seems to understand.

[unclestein]

My delivery address has always remained the same, and they still don't tell me the cost before I click to purchase.

Glitches/bugs: 

"Software errors that can cause drastic problems within the code, and typically go unnoticed or unsolved during the production of said software. These errors can be left or otherwise exploited until a developer/development team repairs them with patches".

If you are telling me there are no glitches or bugs in Ebays software and the fact you keep repeating the same answer with minor modifications means you are definately a robot.

You've been sussed Miriad!

[jadie13910]

You stated the trigger for vat is £135 -  so, I purchased 2 x coins total cost £3.50 and free post, the seller stated a UK town ( I forget what area but not China ) then when I clicked " buy it now " 20 % was added to the total - no mention prior to commiting to buy ( this was before I paid ) and no way back, eBay said ONLT the seller could cancel the sale ! they would not and threatened to put a " non payment " on my unblemished 100 % feedback record ! That is the whole issue here - there was no way I could cancel buying them and eBay confirmed the fact 

The coins actualy came from China but the payment was made to someone in USA ? explain that if you can ! and the £135 trigger ????????? please explain, I repete, the cost was £3.50 NOT £135 as you state is the trigger !

[jadie13910]

I have said a number of times " this is my last post on this subject " Well this really is ! 

The experts still don`t get my point so i`m done - finished - that`s it while I am still sane !

[unclestein]

I agree Jadie.

I'm running out of different ways to describe the same thing.

These people are no fun anymore.

For that reason Jadie - I'm out.

(PS Did you see that thing when they put the two chat-bots together on Facebook?).

[purveyor_of_tat]

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@unclestein wrote:

....

In the absence of ANY customer support from the obnoxious Ebay corp the "Community Mentors" are doing a pretty good job of sounding like loyalist AI robots covering up for a company who's operating software is glitched to the hilt. I'm sorry if this offends you but I'm running out of ways to explain the very basics of accounting, with which the majority of frustrated customers seems to understand.

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You are either being deliberately obtuse or just not understanding what we are posting.

I'm sorry if this offends you, but I'm running out if ways to explain the very basics of how this all works with which the majority of eBay users seem to understand.

[purveyor_of_tat]

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@jadie13910 wrote:

You stated the trigger for vat is £135 ....

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No, I didn't.

I posted: Items placed into the basket <£135.00.

The operator '<' means less than.