eBay, etc. General Question/Answer Thread

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#8,956
I purchased a Hermes scarf on ebay from an overseas seller (France) on May 30th (almost 2 weeks ago) after having it authenticated here on tpf.
I knew that delivery would take a while as the listing stated "Estimated Delivery within 7-17 business day." That's fine....I am in the US.
ugh....but....I received a message AFTER I paid from the buyer telling me that they were "on holiday" and would not be able to mail it out until 6-15-19 (2 weeks and 2 days after purchase and 2 days before the end of the ebay estimated delivery time in the listing). Getting past the fact they this seller should have disclosed this info IN THE LISTING I have no choice but to wait? I've waited almost 2 weeks already. I am assuming I will now have to wait an additional 2 weeks for travel time since the original estimation for shipping was 2 weeks. Would I be labeled a PITA if I asked her now for a speedier shipping method?? I mean - she didn't disclose the "holiday" in her listing.
Not sure how to reflect this wait in the feedback either......this seller is not new (12 yrs. on ebay and feedback 1526 as both buyer and seller) so she knows her way around ending a listing until her holiday was over.
 
#8,957
Any opinions would be appreciated, I’m not a regular ebay seller or user. I’m selling a bag, I accepted the buyer’s offer and she paid last night.
This morning, I got a very rude email from her about how she did not appreciate the price jumping up at the last minute with hidden fees....she seemed very annoyed.
I’m confused because I only see the price we negotiated and a paypal payment for the same price. Then in my total sold section it looks like 106 dollars more, so I’m thinking ebay charged her tax? I sent her an email saying I’m confused and also does she want to cancel.

My question is........should I just cancel because now I’m nervous sending a rather expensive item to someone who is already unhappy....I really don’t want the item returned or damaged or used and send back. Any thoughts are appreciated!
 
#8,958
Mrs.Z said:
Any opinions would be appreciated, I’m not a regular ebay seller or user. I’m selling a bag, I accepted the buyer’s offer and she paid last night.
This morning, I got a very rude email from her about how she did not appreciate the price jumping up at the last minute with hidden fees....she seemed very annoyed.
I’m confused because I only see the price we negotiated and a paypal payment for the same price. Then in my total sold section it looks like 106 dollars more, so I’m thinking ebay charged her tax? I sent her an email saying I’m confused and also does she want to cancel.

My question is........should I just cancel because now I’m nervous sending a rather expensive item to someone who is already unhappy....I really don’t want the item returned or damaged or used and send back. Any thoughts are appreciated!
Click to expand...

Asking her if she wants to cancel is a good first step. She is now aware that it was not you that raised the price.
Doesn't her order form explain the added $106?
Is she in the same state as you?
If it is sales tax and she does proceed you will have to send this in to your state.
 
#8,959
MAGJES said:
Asking her if she wants to cancel is a good first step. She is now aware that it was not you that raised the price.
Doesn't her order form explain the added $106?
Is she in the same state as you?
If it is sales tax and she does proceed you will have to send this in to your state.
Click to expand...
Thank you very much for your quick response. She emailed back and accused me of charging her more (the tax) because I was angry that she did not accept my counteroffer. I emailed and said I assure you I am not charging you $100 more to give it to the government! She is in NJ, I am in PA. I did not know tax would be added but it looks like I’m not getting the tax. Does ebay collect the tax and send it for a seller? ( I have to research when I have more time)
I’m hoping she cancels I don’t need this headache and to worry about what else she might do. Her thinking is not logical.
 
#8,960
Mrs.Z said:
Thank you very much for your quick response. She emailed back and accused me of charging her more (the tax) because I was angry that she did not accept my counteroffer. I emailed and said I assure you I am not charging you $100 more to give it to the government! She is in NJ, I am in PA. I did not know tax would be added but it looks like I’m not getting the tax. Does ebay collect the tax and send it for a seller? ( I have to research when I have more time)
I’m hoping she cancels I don’t need this headache and to worry about what else she might do. Her thinking is not logical.
Click to expand...
eBay does collect the tax and sends it to the state. Both Pennsylvania and New Jersey are on the list of states affected by this new rule.
https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/paying-items/paying-tax-ebay-purchases?id=4771&st=2&pos=2&query=Paying tax on eBay purchases&intent=tax

I agree with you about hoping she cancels.
 
Last edited:
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#8,962
Hello ladies
In light of recent taxes applied by eBay, my question is why would they also apply state and local taxes on international purchases? I read and understand the Supreme Court ruling etc, but that relates specifically to within the 50 states of the US. Not aware that Supreme Court would have international jurisdiction, Congress already got that covered with duties and tariffs. Nevertheless, I discovered eBay uses the buyer’s shipping address, not the seller’s hence they automatically tax purchases based on that. I have serious qualms that this is not correct, would anyone care to chime in otherwise? Calling eBay is useless, non English speakers parrot back simply what’s in front of them.

From my extensive overseas travels as well as international online purchases, I would pay duties to US Customs & Border but nothing to NY state and local as they have no jurisdiction. During check out on eBay for an item from Japan, I saw state and local taxes applied to my item, if I was coming through the airport with said item, I wouldn’t have to pay NYS, and duty only if item was over $800, these are the facts as they stand. Federal vs State regulations, something I fear eBay failed to grasp.

From their tax policy, this is all they said -
Items sold within the US
eBay provides a basic tax calculator to help sellers add sales tax to their eBay sales, however sellers will need to enter the appropriate tax rate for each state where the seller is authorized to collect tax. We can't guarantee that our basic tax calculator will meet all of your tax requirements.

iconAllowed.svg
Allowed



    • You may charge tax in states where you are authorized to collect tax
iconNotAllowed.svg
Not allowed



    • You may not collect sales tax in states where you are not authorized
    • You may not collect sales tax beyond what is legally authorized
    • You may not include sales tax information in your item title, image, or description
Items sold overseas (imported or exported)
Local consumer tax and/or customs duty may apply to goods imported from overseas, and the parcel's recipient may need to pay these as part of clearing the parcel through customs. These may not apply if the order's under a certain value, but the threshold varies between countries.

Contact your local tax office for information about paying sales tax on items exported overseas.

Remember that you may also have tax obligations in other countries if you are doing business overseas.
 
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#8,964
MAGJES said:
Asking her if she wants to cancel is a good first step. She is now aware that it was not you that raised the price.
Doesn't her order form explain the added $106?
Is she in the same state as you?
If it is sales tax and she does proceed you will have to send this in to your state.
Click to expand...
Hoping someone can chime in on this. Looking opinions!
 
#8,965
Mrs.Z said:
Any opinions would be appreciated, I’m not a regular ebay seller or user. I’m selling a bag, I accepted the buyer’s offer and she paid last night.
This morning, I got a very rude email from her about how she did not appreciate the price jumping up at the last minute with hidden fees....she seemed very annoyed.
I’m confused because I only see the price we negotiated and a paypal payment for the same price. Then in my total sold section it looks like 106 dollars more, so I’m thinking ebay charged her tax? I sent her an email saying I’m confused and also does she want to cancel.

My question is........should I just cancel because now I’m nervous sending a rather expensive item to someone who is already unhappy....I really don’t want the item returned or damaged or used and send back. Any thoughts are appreciated!
Click to expand...

MAGJES said:
Asking her if she wants to cancel is a good first step. She is now aware that it was not you that raised the price.
Doesn't her order form explain the added $106?
Is she in the same state as you?
If it is sales tax and she does proceed you will have to send this in to your state.
Click to expand...

Mrs.Z said:
Thank you very much for your quick response. She emailed back and accused me of charging her more (the tax) because I was angry that she did not accept my counteroffer. I emailed and said I assure you I am not charging you $100 more to give it to the government! She is in NJ, I am in PA. I did not know tax would be added but it looks like I’m not getting the tax. Does ebay collect the tax and send it for a seller? ( I have to research when I have more time)
I’m hoping she cancels I don’t need this headache and to worry about what else she might do. Her thinking is not logical.
Click to expand...

Catbird9 said:
eBay does collect the tax and sends it to the state. Both Pennsylvania and New Jersey are on the list of states affected by this new rule.
https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/paying-items/paying-tax-ebay-purchases?id=4771&st=2&pos=2&query=Paying tax on eBay purchases&intent=tax

I agree with you about hoping she cancels.
Click to expand...

meepabeep said:
eBay is collecting the sales tax on behalf of the seller in certain states, NJ is one of them.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/taxes-import-charges?id=4121

Oh, and I purchased something the other day, and sales tax was added, and it clearly said "tax".
Click to expand...
Respond to the buyer with a link to the new policy (as shown above by @Catbird9):
https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/pa...bay-purchases?id=4771&st=2&pos=2&query=Paying tax on eBay purchases&intent=tax

Explain to the buyer that this has nothing to do with you and it's something she'll run in to on every purchase she makes and that ebay notified members of the change.
 
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#8,966
MAGJES said:
Asking her if she wants to cancel is a good first step. She is now aware that it was not you that raised the price.
Doesn't her order form explain the added $106?
Is she in the same state as you?
If it is sales tax and she does proceed you will have to send this in to your state.
Click to expand...

MAGJES said:
Hoping someone can chime in on this. Looking opinions!
Click to expand...
Nope, seller doesn't have to do anything. Ebay collects for the states and is responsible for forwarding payments to those states.
 
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Reactions: Mrs.Z
#8,968
MAGJES said:
I purchased a Hermes scarf on ebay from an overseas seller (France) on May 30th (almost 2 weeks ago) after having it authenticated here on tpf.
I knew that delivery would take a while as the listing stated "Estimated Delivery within 7-17 business day." That's fine....I am in the US.
ugh....but....I received a message AFTER I paid from the buyer telling me that they were "on holiday" and would not be able to mail it out until 6-15-19 (2 weeks and 2 days after purchase and 2 days before the end of the ebay estimated delivery time in the listing). Getting past the fact they this seller should have disclosed this info IN THE LISTING I have no choice but to wait? I've waited almost 2 weeks already. I am assuming I will now have to wait an additional 2 weeks for travel time since the original estimation for shipping was 2 weeks. Would I be labeled a PITA if I asked her now for a speedier shipping method?? I mean - she didn't disclose the "holiday" in her listing.
Not sure how to reflect this wait in the feedback either......this seller is not new (12 yrs. on ebay and feedback 1526 as both buyer and seller) so she knows her way around ending a listing until her holiday was over.
Click to expand...

Would love to hear opinions on this!
 
#8,969
Thank you all soooo very much for your assistance regarding the tax situation. The Buyer seems to be “getting it” but I have offered her one last chance to cancel with a refund and no negative feedback. I hope she takes it as she just seems so angry and dissatisfied I don’t want to proceed!
 
#8,970
Mrs.Z said:
Thank you all soooo very much for your assistance regarding the tax situation. The Buyer seems to be “getting it” but I have offered her one last chance to cancel with a refund and no negative feedback. I hope she takes it as she just seems so angry and dissatisfied I don’t want to proceed!
Click to expand...
Please don't say you mentioned "no neg feedback" in the offer to cancel!
 
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