Custom fee paid for by buyer or seller??

christyne220

christyne220

Member
Feb 13, 2008
27
0
#1
I recently sold my Chanel Cambon tote for $610 on ebay and I shipped it out via USPS Express mail, when the buyer got the package, she had to pay $76 for customs fee to get her bag. The postman said that it may be because Homeland Security opened up the package and found out that the bag was worth more than $600...When I shipped it out, I insured it for $600 as that was the winning bid. so should I have insured it for the full retail price ($900) when I first bought it? the buyer was very mad and threatened me to pay for her custom fee or she would report me to ebay and put a freeze on my account on paypal, I didn't want the headache so I refunded her right away.... I would like to know if what I did was right or wrong??
 
#2
Did you put a copy of the first page of the auction in with the customs form and in the box? I highlight the amount the buyer paid and stick it in the envelope under the postal & customs forms. I put another one in the box.
 
#4
christyne220 said:
the buyer was very mad and threatened me to pay for her custom fee or she would report me to ebay and put a freeze on my account on paypal, I didn't want the headache so I refunded her right away.... I would like to know if what I did was right or wrong??
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Ask her to stop threaten you..! She has to pay custom fees if she never asked you to declare in low amount or you agree to do it. eBay definetely WON'T freeze your account. You do the right thing by shipped it with tracking number and purchased insurance even if you report her to eBay as she threaten you, eBay may will suspend her. I guess she might be think you're new in selling field so she's trying to threaten you.

It's her mistake didn't deal with you before or ask to declare item in low amount. Usually seller will disagree to do that and honestly, $76 is the reasonable amount for custom charge! My custom even charge me $400 for bag I purchased for $300, horibble..! They make personal opinion of price of the bag :yucky:

christyne220 said:
I recently sold my Chanel Cambon tote for $610 on ebay and I shipped it out via USPS Express mail, when the buyer got the package, she had to pay $76 for customs fee to get her bag. The postman said that it may be because Homeland Security opened up the package and found out that the bag was worth more than $600...When I shipped it out, I insured it for $600 as that was the winning bid. so should I have insured it for the full retail price ($900) when I first bought it?
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No, you should insurance for the purchasing amount of buyer, not your first time purchasing amount.
 
#5
I put a paypal invoice clearly stating how much the bag was bought for and shipping fee. I never knew you can put one under the postal & customs form. hmm.. thanks for the informative tip! I would do that next time. thanks, noshoepolish!
 
#6
Always declare the price the seller paid and include a copy of the ebay invoice in the box. I am in Canada and one time a seller declared the value of a bag at $440 when I only paid $200! She thought that she should put the originally retail price. So of course I had to pay duties on $440. I immediately sent a copy of the ebay invoice to Canada customs and they refunded me accordingly so that I only paid duty on $200. It doesn't matter what the perceived value of the bag is, it only matters what you paid for it. That is the way it works up here anyway.
 
#8
christyne220 said:
I recently sold my Chanel Cambon tote for $610 on ebay and I shipped it out via USPS Express mail, when the buyer got the package, she had to pay $76 for customs fee to get her bag. The postman said that it may be because Homeland Security opened up the package and found out that the bag was worth more than $600...When I shipped it out, I insured it for $600 as that was the winning bid. so should I have insured it for the full retail price ($900) when I first bought it? the buyer was very mad and threatened me to pay for her custom fee or she would report me to ebay and put a freeze on my account on paypal, I didn't want the headache so I refunded her right away.... I would like to know if what I did was right or wrong??
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The Buyer pays the custom fees however I do think it is un-fair that sometimes sellers declare more than the amount sold and I have to pay extra custom fees. In that case I ask for the difference but I always beforehand make sure to have a talk with the seller what they will declare so I am not paying unexpected fees. However in your case you did nothing wrong.
 
#9
The only thing you did wrong was refund her customs fees. It's ALWAYS the buyer's responsibility to pay that. It's also the buyer's responsibility to know this prior to bidding and even find out for themselves how much those fees will be if they're concerned about it.

She could've reported you to eBay until the cows came home and they would've told her she was dead wrong. There is no such thing as reporting a seller to eBay for this. She's full of it and took total advantage of your not knowing. I wish you would've come here first........

I will say that you did the right thing for valuing the bag for the auction price and not the retail price.
 
#11
It is definitely the buyer's responsibility to pay duties. And, if customs checks the package and makes a determination that the value of the item is higher than the declared value, it is up to the buyer to sort it out with customs.
 
#13
I'm still astounded by how many ignorant buyers there are out there who don't understand the basics of importing/exporting to another country! Of course you are expected to pay taxes on things that come into the country it's Econ 101! Not every country has a customs fee but most do and it's silly to buy a bag from overseas without knowing these basics. It's definitely the buyer's responsibility whether it's clearly stated in your seller terms or not.
 
#14
classicsgirl said:
I'm still astounded by how many ignorant buyers there are out there who don't understand the basics of importing/exporting to another country! Of course you are expected to pay taxes on things that come into the country it's Econ 101! Not every country has a customs fee but most do and it's silly to buy a bag from overseas without knowing these basics. It's definitely the buyer's responsibility whether it's clearly stated in your seller terms or not.
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Most people have not taken Econ 101, so most people do not know about paying for custom duties for something that is bought fron an eBay auction. As much as I try to keep myself current, I still make "seemingly obvious" mistakes, because I am ignorant to certain rules and regulations.
 
#15
In some countries it makes a difference to mention whether the item is NEW or USED. In those countries where the difference matters, a USED item often escapes duty tax. So if this was a country where it would have mattered (stating USED) and the buyer asked the seller to write it out as such and the seller failed to, then I think it would be appropriate to refund accordingly BUT I personally would never refund without a receipt first, she could be telling you $76 when all she was out was $26.

In the future don't let buyers bully you into doing anything outside of the original contract, which is all you are responsible to do, to complete your end of the deal.
 
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