ebay messing up international sales by overriding my postage options

[zax93]

I have just sold an item to France - in the listing I have offered UPS at £13 which I know is a great reliable service. Once sold ebay has given me the 'ebay is handling the invoice' message even though in the listing it says my choices should override that. The buyer has got back to me and tells me ebay is trying to charge him nearly £20 for the postage. Looks like I may end up having to cancel the order - second time this has happened and both good sales too. Can someone clarify just what the situation is here?

[4_bathrooms]

eBay is responsible for charging the buyer's domestic (EU) VAT where the item value is €150 (roughly £126.58 currently) or less. If the item value is over €150 the buyer pays VAT, duty, carrier charges etc. on import.

£20 sounds too much to be French VAT unless the item sold for ~£100. Are you opted-in into the Global Shipping Programme? Your GSP setting can be seen on this page. If you are opted-in eBay handles everything and you will have a shipping address to the GSP hub in Lichfield with a GSP reference number on the address label. 

The sales record should show what the buyer has been charged and why.

[sml192]

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@4_bathrooms wrote:

eBay is responsible for charging the buyer's domestic (EU) VAT where the item value is €150 (roughly £126.58 currently) or less. If the item value is over €150 the buyer pays VAT, duty, carrier charges etc. on import.

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Just to point out that for shipments to France eBay are responsible for collecting VAT on goods of any value. 

[zax93]

Problem is I can't see anything of this detail as the buyer hasn't paid - I will try relisting and this time opting out of the GSP completely. I did this before in a similar situation with a Canadian sale and this had no effect but worth trying. Thanks for the feedback.

[zax93]

Thanks that's helpful to know

[gjalp]

If you opt out of GSP, the buyer will be charged your postage that you set AND tax, so their charge will always be higher than what you set it at. I send overseas most days and most countries have a tax added. Exceptions are those like Norway and Brazil (Brazil requires CPF and 11 digit number included in the address assuming its being mailed to an individual)

[zax93]

Thanks yes I recall this now from before SD came in - it's just confusing when I can't see any details (before they have paid). 

Is there a way to permanently opt out of GSP or do you have to turn it off with each listing - I tried turning it off during the listing for an item to be sent to Canada and ebay still overrode it - could have something to do with the tariffs situation though as it goes through USA??

[gjalp]

I opted out in my seller settings. Ive done it on all my accounts.

[bzmotman]

Small correction Norway does have an on line tax which Ebay collect.

This is the relevant piece from Ebay help

" Norway: eBay is required to collect Value Added Tax on E-commerce (VOEC) on goods below a value of 3000 NOK imported into Norway. If a sale is within this threshold, the VAT is calculated on the order total (including shipping and any additional costs such as insurance).

The VOEC is added to the order total at checkout, then deducted automatically from the buyer's payment. eBay remits the tax amount. eBay will collect the tax at checkout from buyers and pass it on in full to the Norwegian authorities.

Sellers must include eBay's VOEC number on the package and also separately to the carrier so that the carrier can transmit the details of the package electronically to Norwegian customs:
VOEC no 2024926

The VOEC on purchases valued at over NOK 3,000 is generally collected at the Norwegian border. The recipient may need to pay this as part of clearing the package through customs."

[4_bathrooms]

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@zax93 wrote:

Is there a way to permanently opt out of GSP or do you have to turn it off with each listing 

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The opt-out for Global Shipping is on this page.

Note that it has been widely reported that even if you completely opt-out of GSP you can periodically become opted-in again without ever having changed that setting; usually when eBay does some sort of major update. If being opted-out is important you should check that page at least once a week.

[zax93]

Thanks that's great - cheers