Import fees

[joda38]

I have just sold a collectable autograph to a buyer in Germany. The item sold for  £397, and the import fee comes to £75.43, but ebay have charged him £95.  How can this be? 

If you include the buyers protection the buyer paid £411.40 in which case the import fee is 78.28

I admit that I didn't know about import fees, so no mention of it was made in my listing, but I presumed ebay would have made that understood, automatically,  to overseas buyers. It seems unfair to suddenly hit this customer with a larger fee than 19%. 

Many thanks

[tobiasd4]

Buyer pays VAT import fees for his country. 

It is up to buyers to know import fees when buying from another country.

[joda38]

Thank you for getting back to me so quickly. If the buyer bid £397, that is the price paid for the item and that is what is subject to import fees of 19% which is £75.43

However ebay adds on the buyers protection taking the total up to £411.40 , which still comes to £78.28 in import fees.
So why has ebay charged him £95 for imports fees. They shouldn’t be adding postage and vat surely, before arriving at the total import fees.

Import fees are on the price paid for the item.

Thanks for your help

Josse

[tobiasd4]

Only German tax authorities are give you a breakdown of how they charge fees.

Each country will be different.

[61stephenuk]

I didn't think eBay could charge VAT on exports over €150 which this purchase is

[red_magpie]

eBay's guidance on import charges reminds buyers that import duty and/or VAT may be payable to their own tax authorities when purchasing items through eBay.

It isn't your responsibility to explain to your buyer what charges are payable to their tax authority in Germany, or whether eBay collects this on their behalf. These have nothing to do with you as the seller.

If your buyer wishes to question this they should take it up with eBay or their national taxation authority.

[john1297576]

As 61stephenuk says, I understood ebay only collects VAT, but if over I thought it was £135, tax is collected at the  delivery end as Import Tax.

I can make no sense of the figures you quote, you should have full details of what buyer paid and how what you received was calculated. Also buyer should have full details of what he paid.

It might help explain the difference in figures, if you take into account the International  Selling fee  3% payable by seller, otherwise still confused.

[tobiasd4]

The other thing to consider is exchange rate.

As a seller you get amount you sold for on sterling, 

Buyer amount will vary depending on rate when they paid.

[papso22]

Have you looked at the policy to see how that compares?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/buying/postage-delivery/changing-delivery-address-method/international-p...

[joda38]

I'm not trying to gain anything else for myself.  I just like to know my buyers are happy and not getting let down. If eBay says the item sold for £396.75 and I find that the import fees to Germany from the uk are 19% then the amount added to their invoice should be £75.38 . It appears this is what he was expecting to pay, on top of the postage. He has been told the import fees are £95, which is 24%, a difference of nearly £20. 

I know it's not my fault, and not my problem, but I feel it reflects badly on me. My customer sets out with a total figure in mind to pay, and discovers it quite a bit more.  

Could you please explain why this is?

Thank you for your patience. 

Joda

[*vyolla*]

You'll need to check what German import fees are.

Whilst our import VAT is 20%, if the item is over £135 then Customs Duty kicks in. It's likely that they have a similar system.

As mentioned by other responders though, eBay shouldn't be collecting any import fees here, at that price the buyer should be paying the fees their end.

[tobiasd4]

Until buyer pays for item, they won't know total cost.

As said it depends on sold cost, BPF and exchange rate, only then can import fees be calculated. 

[joda38]

Thank you. This makes more sense to me. The system is all so confusing, but I do see what you are saying. I hope it is alright with ebay, if I send my customer your comment. I did try sending my calculations earlier, to try and help, but eBay removed the communication. 

Many thanks for your help.

Joda

[joda38]

This is the situation eBay has put me in. It looks like I might possibly loose the sale now. Surely if I hadn't signed up with the eBay global system, I would have just sent off the item and the fees would have been collected for import at the customers end. He now says...

'I was fine with 396 + 28 for shipping. However, on the payment webpage it know says 517.73 GBP. That is much more than I planned to spent. It seems you registered for some ebay program called "program for global shipping". In consequence, ebay collects import fees and/or taxs. This is very intransparent, since it is not shown before the purchase. I do not really know what to do now. I would like to buy this card, but 93 GBP more makes a big difference for me. I would be grateful if you gave me until Monday or Tuesday to think it through ...'

[tobiasd4]

Pitney Bowes, who run GSP charge a fee for there services as well as international postage costs.

It is not a cheap method.

[joda38]

Thank you.

Joda