Official worldwide thread - Tips/Advice for customs, VAT, etc...

[van09m]

Hi!
As anyone from North America bought a preloved bag from ebay Japan? I'm interested in a bag, but it's already not cheap and I'm worried about the extra duties $$. I would have the option of having it shipped to Canada or the US. How much duties did you have to pay, in Canada? in the US?
Thanks for sharing your experience

 

[Deco]

Hi!
As anyone from North America bought a preloved bag from ebay Japan? I'm interested in a bag, but it's already not cheap and I'm worried about the extra duties $$. I would have the option of having it shipped to Canada or the US. How much duties did you have to pay, in Canada? in the US?
Thanks for sharing your experience

I buy from Japan pretty regularly. First $800 are duty free to US, but not to Canada. Don't know how much duties are for above $800 since I've only bought bags that come under $800.

 

[van09m]

I buy from Japan pretty regularly. First $800 are duty free to US, but not to Canada. Don't know how much duties are for above $800 since I've only bought bags that come under $800.

Great, thanks! That is good to know! I’m pretty sure that nothing above 60$ is duty free in Canada 😅 shipping to the US would definitely be better in this case

 

[earswithfeet]

Hi!
As anyone from North America bought a preloved bag from ebay Japan? I'm interested in a bag, but it's already not cheap and I'm worried about the extra duties $$. I would have the option of having it shipped to Canada or the US. How much duties did you have to pay, in Canada? in the US?
Thanks for sharing your experience

I also purchased from ebay Japan successfully. Only things that suck are tax/import. But I have that problem every time when buying outside EU countries...
Maybe check if the item you want is listed by different sellers. They do that a lot actually and there's a good chance you'll find the same bag for cheaper from another Japanese seller. Good luck!

 

[van09m]

I also purchased from ebay Japan successfully. Only things that suck are tax/import. But I have that problem every time when buying outside EU countries...
Maybe check if the item you want is listed by different sellers. They do that a lot actually and there's a good chance you'll find the same bag for cheaper from another Japanese seller. Good luck!

Thank you! I’ve seen that and my first thought was that those were stolen listings/photos, before reading something about that around here 😅

 

[Mrmickey]

I’ve bought a few bags from eBay Japan and had them shipped to the US. The extra fees for duties and taxes were about 10-20% of the bag's price. Canada usually has higher taxes than the US, so you might pay a little more there. It’s a good idea to check how much you might need to pay before buying, just to be sure! Even with the extra fees, I thought the bags were worth it.

 

[icilly]

Thank you all for sharing.

I was also confused at first when I saw the same bag listed by multiple Japan based sellers with different prices. And they usually don't offer eBay authenticity guarantee.

 

[iluvmybags]

Thank you all for sharing.

I was also confused at first when I saw the same bag listed by multiple Japan based sellers with different prices. And they usually don't offer eBay authenticity guarantee.

If its more than $500 its automatically an ebay guarantee. There’s no way to avoid it. All buyers have the choice of paying for the guarantee for items <$500. Sellers don’t get to decide

For what its worth, the guarantee is worthless. We’ve all had authentic bags cancelled because they couldn’t confirm authenticity. They also will cancel sales for bags they decide aren’t described (even when they are)

 

[icilly]

If its more than $500 its automatically an ebay guarantee. There’s no way to avoid it. All buyers have the choice of paying for the guarantee for items <$500. Sellers don’t get to decide

For what its worth, the guarantee is worthless. We’ve all had authentic bags cancelled because they couldn’t confirm authenticity. They also will cancel sales for bags they decide aren’t described (even when they are)

Thanks for explaining.

 

[amstevens714]

Just curious if anyone has purchased anything from Japan to the US since the tariff conversations have been happening and if they had to pay duties. My purchases would be well
Under $800, and I’ve never had to pay anything in the past, but I dont know if something recently
Changed. Thanks for any help!

 

[cate22]

I purchased an item for around $350 from a Japanese eBay seller in the beginning of this month and received about a week later. It was shipped via FedEx and I wasn’t charged any additional duties. I think you should be okay if it’s under $800, but it may depend on the seller and the carrier they use.

 

[bladee]

ah wait, so re: japanese ebay listings - i see a bunch of listings with the same pics, so if they're not stolen then what is the purpose of different sellers using the same pics for diff listings? would they all likely be authentic?

 

[protein_]

ah wait, so re: japanese ebay listings - i see a bunch of listings with the same pics, so if they're not stolen then what is the purpose of different sellers using the same pics for diff listings? would they all likely be authentic?

If the item is authentic, yes.

I think it’s like, there’s one item in the pool for whoever is in the selling pool, then whoever sells it gets the sale. That’s why it takes a while, or might not be possible, when you ask for additional photos.

 

[linden]

I purchased a couple items at Louie Vuitton in Paris on 5/10/25. I left Europe via Amsterdam and took care of my vat tax at Schiphol airport. My documentation was stamped. My friend that I traveled together and did the same. Neither one of us has received our refund. I've never had the refund take this long. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Love Of My Life]

Patience.. at times there has been a backlog.. sorry for your delay but you can perhaps check with your cc
to see if it's has been processed & reflected in your account..