Ebay import charges

[bryan_65]

It sounds like this is the fee E-Bay takes for doing the work. It seems too high. But some shippers who are using this probably would have never shipped overseas before. I would imagine the sellers that shipped abroad before would stay doing it the same way.

I see this opening sales up for foreigners, but at a price. Is it worth it to you to pay a fee and be able to buy the item, or not be able to buy it at all do to US only shippers.

[Menegrothx]

I mostly buy stuff, almost never sell. So could some one enlighten me what's so frightening about shipping overseas? To my knowledge it isn't any different from shipping to another state - you'll just write "France" or "Australia" in the package rather than Wyoming or Texas - can't be that hard? I've shipped a few packages overseas and I don't remember the procedure being any more complicated than while shipping within the country, only difference being that the postage was higher.
I've always figured that most people who are only shipping to their own country do so because they're casual eBayers and never thought that some one from another side of the world would be interested in the item they're selling. 95% of the time when I contact the seller and ask if they can ship outside their country, they agree to do so.

[hashiriya1]

I mostly buy stuff, almost never sell. So could some one enlighten me what's so frightening about shipping overseas? To my knowledge it isn't any different from shipping to another state - you'll just write "France" or "Australia" in the package rather than Wyoming or Texas - can't be that hard? I've shipped a few packages overseas and I don't remember the procedure being any more complicated than while shipping within the country, only difference being that the postage was higher.
I've always figured that most people who are only shipping to their own country do so because they're casual eBayers and never thought that some one from another side of the world would be interested in the item they're selling. 95% of the time when I contact the seller and ask if they can ship outside their country, they agree to do so.

I ship all over the world. I think people are just too lazy to fill out the customs paperwork at the post office. I admit, they are a pain in the ass when you have to fill out more than 10 of them, but I see it as part of the job.

Every time I see a customer at the post office who has never filled one out, it takes the postal employee forever to explain it to them. It's not that hard, but some people just can't seem to wrap their head around it.

Kinda OT, but one local post office had a computer terminal that did most of the customs paperwork for you but it kept on breaking. All the employees blamed me for breaking it (sarcastically) since I was the only person who used it regularly.

[Hobie-wan]

Every time I see a customer at the post office who has never filled one out, it takes the postal employee forever to explain it to them. It's not that hard, but some people just can't seem to wrap their head around it.

Pretty much any time I do something at the post office that requires me to stand in line with more than 5 other people, there's always at least one person who hasn't filled out customs forms, filled out their DC/Insurance/Signature form, written the address on their box (or doesn't know the whole thing), taped the box shut (and has no tape), or doesn't even have a box at all and expects the post office to give them one and pack it for them.

I don't understand how so many people can be so clueless or lazy.

[god]

Ahhh, patrons of the post office, cream of the crop. My favourite is people lining up at the sign telling them not to queue there. Most of the time the staff just roll their eyes while calling them up anyway, regardless of how many suckers are standing in the actual designated line. Every so often they send the culprits to the back of the real line and I smile to myself

...

[elmagicochrisg]

Didn't know someone already made a topic about this, but you can find my thought on the whole thing here ...

EDIT Funny comment I found on another website...

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/online- ... o/1230738/

I can see buyers jumping at this amazing opportunity to be fleeced even more by e.bay. Here is the list of possible fees to be charged:

- U.S. shipping fee
- International shipping fee
- Fuel surcharges
- Parcel processing service fee
- Distribution center management
- Loss management fee
- Transportation risk premium fee
- Referral fee
- Import charges
- Commodity importation, including, but not limited to, duties, tariffs or excise taxes
- Classification fee
- Importation risk premium fee

I'm sure e.bay and PB will come up with some more: air displacement fee, Atlantic Ocean crossing fee, distressed buyer counseling fee, having-to-breathe-NJ-air fee, ad nauseum.

And this might explain why some sellers have it and others don't:

Unfortunately, as a new seller on eBay they won't let me turn it off.(or they have hidden it pretty well but it isn't on the listing page) I either click to accept their way or I can't ship international. What's up with that?

[Ziggy]

Stuff about people filling out custom forms in the PO or being too lazy to do it.

Also, they probably don't know that they can do it online too. Before the rates went up and made it not economical to ship most things to Canada, I use to ship things to Canada often. It's really easy in the first place, and even easier online. I mean, you can do it from the convenience of your own damn home. But yeah, check this box, check that box, declare "1 video game cartridge" or whatever it is, the weight, sign and date. What's so hard about that?

In addition to that, most of the employees in my home town's post office recognize me. After shipping to Canada once or twice the one lady just gave me a stack of custom forms so that in the future I could fill them out at home and save time and not cause other people to wait in line longer. I ended up finding it much easier to ship online, but still, that's another option for people.

[Menegrothx]

Unfortunately, as a new seller on eBay they won't let me turn it off.(or they have hidden it pretty well but it isn't on the listing page) I either click to accept their way or I can't ship international. What's up with that?

[/quote]
Oh this kind of shit just makes my blood boil. When big sites like Google, youtube, Facebook and eBay basically force people to do unpleasant things (like posting with your real name etc) and make it so hard to navigate through their sites that most people will get frustrated and give up and succumb to their rules. And it's not just big sites either. Planning your websites in a deliberately obtuse manner so that users can't avoid bad policies/rules that aren't technically mandatory (but still forced down your throat) is complete and utter BS.

[elmagicochrisg]

Ziggy587, I love you man... ^^

[Thierry Henry]

Youtuber Lukemorse doesn't seem too enamored with this whole Global Shipping Program affair.




I've had a similar experience to him when purchasing on Amazon with my stuff being shipped out with i-parcel.