Author Topic: Ebay Global Shipping Program EOL, being replaced by Ebay International Shipping  (Read 7174 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline factoryTopic starter

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 3215
  • Country: gb
Got some bad news for those who buy TE, TE parts or TE manuals from the US, with the "Ebay Global Shipping Program", it's being slowly replaced with an even worse service called "Ebay International Shipping Program", this is bad for both buyers & sellers.
https://www.ebay.com/sellercenter/shipping/ebay-international-shipping
Quote
From Ebay dot com;
How does enrollment work?

Sellers will be enrolled in phases over the next few months. You’ll be notified via email and Seller Hub when you’re eligible.

If you’re currently using the Global Shipping Program, you will be automatically enrolled and your listings will default to eBay International Shipping. If you ship with another international shipping service such as eBay International Standard Delivery, you will need to update your current listings to take advantage of eBay International Shipping benefits. Click here for instructions on updating your existing listings.

Other websites say that in the next 12 months (from Sept 2022) all listings with GSP will transfer to EIS, no idea when or if this will be rolled out to other countries using GSP.

For buyers, you no longer get a automatic discount applied for multiple items  :--, just found this buying two manuals, as before with GSP sellers have no influence on this, you can't "request total" and they can't combine shipping to reduce the international part.
Also the tracking seems to be next to useless, I've got a HP counter which went with this dis-service, USPS got it to Chicago in two days, tracking ended at Chicago on the 13th, I'm getting worried it's been classified as a restricted item, the third party company being used is Asendia.  :-- Apparently tracking is limited once it leaves the US.
Quote
From Asendia;
This shipment was sent via a postal carrier offering limited tracking. For any delays, please contact your local post office and provide the tracking number

For sellers, I've read that they only cover up to $100, if a buyer then claims they could be out of pocket for any extra, I can't confirm this as the T&Cs are crap, but it is mentioned by people in the ebay dot com community forum, along with no refunds for shipping.
The manual seller told me, many items no longer have international as an option & some have less choice of countries they can go to, since being transferred from GSP.
I was wondering why quite a lot of items on my watch list no longer have international shipping available, this confirms it.  :palm:
Because the tracking is bullshit  :bullshit:, sellers will almost certainly get an increase in "item not received" claims and will probably get fed up & quit international shipping altogether.

The size & weight limits for the EIS program.
Quote
From Ebay dot com;
Are there size and weight limitations?

Packages cannot:
  • Exceed 44 lbs. for every country except Canada (Canada’s max is 66 lbs.) - billable weight (not actual)
  • Exceed 42 inches in Length, 79 inches in Length + Girth
[/li]
[/list]

That a max weight of 19.95kg, no more boat anchor grade TE then, I don't think that has changed, but GSP still managed to deliver items that exceeded those limits.

It would be interesting to see if any sellers are having problems, or have given up international shipping, as a result of the changes.

David
 
The following users thanked this post: edavid

Offline m k

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 2651
  • Country: fi
Back to the old ways then.
Seller does the shipping and buyer does the insurance.

I remember that one day Zalando had 50% returns.
Finally that kind of thing must hurt somewhere.

I guess buyer protection vs. seller protection is not that easy after all.

I have had a tracking issue through the years, tag changes when item crosses the China border.
Many times global trackers have both numbers.
Advance-Aneng-Appa-AVO-Beckman-Danbridge-Data Tech-Fluke-General Radio-H. W. Sullivan-Heathkit-HP-Kaise-Kyoritsu-Leeds & Northrup-Mastech-OR-X-REO-Simpson-Sinclair-Tektronix-Tokyo Rikosha-Topward-Triplett-Tritron-YFE
(plus lesser brands from the work shop of the world)
 

Online tggzzz

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 21227
  • Country: gb
  • Numbers, not adjectives
    • Having fun doing more, with less
One major difference for buyers...
https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/shipping-delivery/changing-delivery-address-method/international-purchases-shipping?id=4057
Quote
Buying from sellers using the Global Shipping Program
Benefits of the Global Shipping Program for buyers:
    You’ll pay all shipping, taxes, and import charges up front, and you won't have to pay any extra charges when your item is delivered

Buying from sellers using eBay International Shipping
If your seller is shipping your item through eBay International Shipping, the eBay International Shipping logo will be displayed in the listing and at checkout. You'll pay for delivery charges at checkout and you'll pay for any customs charges, import fees and taxes either at checkout or when your item arrives.
I would like to see a statement as to when a buyer will be informed about whether a delivery will be accompanied with an invoice for extra fees. Obviously the extra taxes would be irritating, but the shipping company's admin fee would be intolerable.
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
Glider pilot's aphorism: "there is no substitute for span". Retort: "There is a substitute: skill+imagination. But you can buy span".
Having fun doing more, with less
 
The following users thanked this post: thm_w

Offline nctnico

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 28429
  • Country: nl
    • NCT Developments
One major difference for buyers...
https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/shipping-delivery/changing-delivery-address-method/international-purchases-shipping?id=4057
Quote
Buying from sellers using the Global Shipping Program
Benefits of the Global Shipping Program for buyers:
    You’ll pay all shipping, taxes, and import charges up front, and you won't have to pay any extra charges when your item is delivered

Buying from sellers using eBay International Shipping
If your seller is shipping your item through eBay International Shipping, the eBay International Shipping logo will be displayed in the listing and at checkout. You'll pay for delivery charges at checkout and you'll pay for any customs charges, import fees and taxes either at checkout or when your item arrives.
I would like to see a statement as to when a buyer will be informed about whether a delivery will be accompanied with an invoice for extra fees. Obviously the extra taxes would be irritating, but the shipping company's admin fee would be intolerable.
It is also possible that this new program gets you a proper tax invoice if you buy something as a business. The GSP doesn't do that so it which could upset bookkeepers.
There are small lies, big lies and then there is what is on the screen of your oscilloscope.
 

Offline factoryTopic starter

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 3215
  • Country: gb
In the UK at least there haven't been any extra charges for a few years now, the VAT is collected by ebay in checkout for; EIS, GSP and regular shipping chosen by the seller.
You can see the charge by clicking on "view tax invoice" in the order details and it'll tell you the tax rate & amount collection "VAT collected by eBay in line with UK legislation", I believe the EU does the same.
Examples, the manuals with EIS the rate was 0%, an item of TE with EIS/GSP the rate was 20%.

Edit: the % rate seems to be based on the category the item was listed under, items in incorrect categories may have no charge or a charge it shouldn't have.

An item of TE sent via USPS directly to the UK, had VAT collected by ebay, the parcel should have a reference of "code paid" on the shipping label, I don't receive many sent without EIS or GSP.

David
« Last Edit: March 25, 2023, 08:41:47 pm by factory »
 

Offline tom66

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 7336
  • Country: gb
  • Electronics Hobbyist & FPGA/Embedded Systems EE
I would like to see a statement as to when a buyer will be informed about whether a delivery will be accompanied with an invoice for extra fees. Obviously the extra taxes would be irritating, but the shipping company's admin fee would be intolerable.

I would guess eBay has worked out how much calculating import charges actually costs - it's not trivial for some countries which have variable interpretations of customs regulations - and have decided it's not worth doing any more. I don't know how GSP handled the situation of getting import charges wrong, was this something eBay covered or was it always on the buyer/seller?

Anyway, international shipping for me has always been such a hassle, besides very high value items, I do not bother buying or selling that way.  I think the last thing I sent internationally was to Romania, and it did arrive successfully, but took 6 weeks, which was a nerve-wracking time to wait given the relatively high value (few hundred £'s I think).
 

Offline nctnico

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 28429
  • Country: nl
    • NCT Developments
I would like to see a statement as to when a buyer will be informed about whether a delivery will be accompanied with an invoice for extra fees. Obviously the extra taxes would be irritating, but the shipping company's admin fee would be intolerable.

I would guess eBay has worked out how much calculating import charges actually costs - it's not trivial for some countries which have variable interpretations of customs regulations - and have decided it's not worth doing any more. I don't know how GSP handled the situation of getting import charges wrong, was this something eBay covered or was it always on the buyer/seller?
Ebay's GSP is handled by a seperate, specialist import/export company called 'Pitney Bowes'. I speculate this company has the proper licenses / agreements in place to deal with the various tax collector offices directly so there is very little risk of getting the import charges wrong. They get the data directly from Ebay so they know down to the last cent how much the item has been sold for and what the shipping charges are. This whole setup is iron clad where it comes to getting the import charges absolutely right.
There are small lies, big lies and then there is what is on the screen of your oscilloscope.
 

Offline m k

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 2651
  • Country: fi
Pitney Bowes are heavy duty.

Here ebay collects if it can.
Last time from Japan was not collected and so was stopped by customs.
Nothing from Africa or South America.

Some times customs is stopping it only for bookkeeping.

As a buyer I know nothing about anything of extra fees.
If it's ebay extra it has been injected to shipping.
Customs has not added anything but VAT and ebay has always included correct numbers.
Though my orders have been simple and without any restricted or limited stuff.
But if and when Pitney Bowes is behind the numbers I'm very calm about the issue.
Advance-Aneng-Appa-AVO-Beckman-Danbridge-Data Tech-Fluke-General Radio-H. W. Sullivan-Heathkit-HP-Kaise-Kyoritsu-Leeds & Northrup-Mastech-OR-X-REO-Simpson-Sinclair-Tektronix-Tokyo Rikosha-Topward-Triplett-Tritron-YFE
(plus lesser brands from the work shop of the world)
 
The following users thanked this post: trs

Online tggzzz

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 21227
  • Country: gb
  • Numbers, not adjectives
    • Having fun doing more, with less
...I do not bother buying or selling that way. ...

Which way? Internationally? Using GSP? Something else?
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
Glider pilot's aphorism: "there is no substitute for span". Retort: "There is a substitute: skill+imagination. But you can buy span".
Having fun doing more, with less
 

Online tggzzz

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 21227
  • Country: gb
  • Numbers, not adjectives
    • Having fun doing more, with less
I would like to see a statement as to when a buyer will be informed about whether a delivery will be accompanied with an invoice for extra fees. Obviously the extra taxes would be irritating, but the shipping company's admin fee would be intolerable.

I would guess eBay has worked out how much calculating import charges actually costs - it's not trivial for some countries which have variable interpretations of customs regulations - and have decided it's not worth doing any more. I don't know how GSP handled the situation of getting import charges wrong, was this something eBay covered or was it always on the buyer/seller?
Ebay's GSP is handled by a seperate, specialist import/export company called 'Pitney Bowes'. I speculate this company has the proper licenses / agreements in place to deal with the various tax collector offices directly so there is very little risk of getting the import charges wrong. They get the data directly from Ebay so they know down to the last cent how much the item has been sold for and what the shipping charges are. This whole setup is iron clad where it comes to getting the import charges absolutely right.

As a seller, that has been a major advantange of GSP: I just let the specialists handle the horrible details.

As a buyer, that has been a major advantage of GSP: there are no nasty surprises when something arrives. (I have had unpleasant surprises on other occasions)

With EIS - who knows. And that matters to me as a buyer and a seller.
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
Glider pilot's aphorism: "there is no substitute for span". Retort: "There is a substitute: skill+imagination. But you can buy span".
Having fun doing more, with less
 

Offline nctnico

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 28429
  • Country: nl
    • NCT Developments
I would like to see a statement as to when a buyer will be informed about whether a delivery will be accompanied with an invoice for extra fees. Obviously the extra taxes would be irritating, but the shipping company's admin fee would be intolerable.

I would guess eBay has worked out how much calculating import charges actually costs - it's not trivial for some countries which have variable interpretations of customs regulations - and have decided it's not worth doing any more. I don't know how GSP handled the situation of getting import charges wrong, was this something eBay covered or was it always on the buyer/seller?
Ebay's GSP is handled by a seperate, specialist import/export company called 'Pitney Bowes'. I speculate this company has the proper licenses / agreements in place to deal with the various tax collector offices directly so there is very little risk of getting the import charges wrong. They get the data directly from Ebay so they know down to the last cent how much the item has been sold for and what the shipping charges are. This whole setup is iron clad where it comes to getting the import charges absolutely right.

As a seller, that has been a major advantange of GSP: I just let the specialists handle the horrible details.

As a buyer, that has been a major advantage of GSP: there are no nasty surprises when something arrives. (I have had unpleasant surprises on other occasions)
BTW: Lately I have been buying from China either through Aliexpress or Amazon. The latter deal with all the customs & VAT stuff which is much easier and cheaper compared to buying from Ebay.
There are small lies, big lies and then there is what is on the screen of your oscilloscope.
 

Online tggzzz

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 21227
  • Country: gb
  • Numbers, not adjectives
    • Having fun doing more, with less
I would like to see a statement as to when a buyer will be informed about whether a delivery will be accompanied with an invoice for extra fees. Obviously the extra taxes would be irritating, but the shipping company's admin fee would be intolerable.

I would guess eBay has worked out how much calculating import charges actually costs - it's not trivial for some countries which have variable interpretations of customs regulations - and have decided it's not worth doing any more. I don't know how GSP handled the situation of getting import charges wrong, was this something eBay covered or was it always on the buyer/seller?
Ebay's GSP is handled by a seperate, specialist import/export company called 'Pitney Bowes'. I speculate this company has the proper licenses / agreements in place to deal with the various tax collector offices directly so there is very little risk of getting the import charges wrong. They get the data directly from Ebay so they know down to the last cent how much the item has been sold for and what the shipping charges are. This whole setup is iron clad where it comes to getting the import charges absolutely right.

As a seller, that has been a major advantange of GSP: I just let the specialists handle the horrible details.

As a buyer, that has been a major advantage of GSP: there are no nasty surprises when something arrives. (I have had unpleasant surprises on other occasions)
BTW: Lately I have been buying from China either through Aliexpress or Amazon. The latter deal with all the customs & VAT stuff which is much easier and cheaper compared to buying from Ebay.

Never used aliexpress. The Amazon search mechanism is not fit for purpose, for many reasons.

I couldn't use either to sell surplus kit.
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
Glider pilot's aphorism: "there is no substitute for span". Retort: "There is a substitute: skill+imagination. But you can buy span".
Having fun doing more, with less
 

Offline tom66

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 7336
  • Country: gb
  • Electronics Hobbyist & FPGA/Embedded Systems EE
Ebay's GSP is handled by a seperate, specialist import/export company called 'Pitney Bowes'. I speculate this company has the proper licenses / agreements in place to deal with the various tax collector offices directly so there is very little risk of getting the import charges wrong. They get the data directly from Ebay so they know down to the last cent how much the item has been sold for and what the shipping charges are. This whole setup is iron clad where it comes to getting the import charges absolutely right.

I know of PB's involvement.  The problem is, items are classified by the seller, and customs office in possibly different ways.  For quite some time for instance, into the EU the import duty on camcorders was higher than digital cameras.  What was the distinction?  It was an ability to record for more than two minutes continuously, without user intervention.  Somewhere I have an old Panasonic digital camera which has the "workaround" of prompting the user at the 1:45 mark to press a button if they want to continue the recording.  Due to that kind of variability, I suspect if a customs agent is particularly picky, it doesn't matter how good PB's relationship is, they could still end up facing a bill.   And no doubt all of that admin is not cheap, even if large parts can be automated.
 

Offline nctnico

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 28429
  • Country: nl
    • NCT Developments
Ebay's GSP is handled by a seperate, specialist import/export company called 'Pitney Bowes'. I speculate this company has the proper licenses / agreements in place to deal with the various tax collector offices directly so there is very little risk of getting the import charges wrong. They get the data directly from Ebay so they know down to the last cent how much the item has been sold for and what the shipping charges are. This whole setup is iron clad where it comes to getting the import charges absolutely right.

I know of PB's involvement.  The problem is, items are classified by the seller, and customs office in possibly different ways.  For quite some time for instance, into the EU the import duty on camcorders was higher than digital cameras.  What was the distinction?  It was an ability to record for more than two minutes continuously, without user intervention.  Somewhere I have an old Panasonic digital camera which has the "workaround" of prompting the user at the 1:45 mark to press a button if they want to continue the recording.  Due to that kind of variability, I suspect if a customs agent is particularly picky, it doesn't matter how good PB's relationship is, they could still end up facing a bill.   And no doubt all of that admin is not cheap, even if large parts can be automated.
The way these shippers work is that they also have an internal customs department that have the final say about the value. All the big shipping companies (UPS, Fedex, DHL) have their own internal customs department to streamline the process (*). The regular customs service in the NL for example takes at least a week. That is no use for shipping companies that want to deliver parcels within a few working days.

* If they managed to get this approved by the local authorities. I had a couple of probes stuck in customs in South Africa for a couple of weeks as they didn't believe the price was correct.

BTW: Lately I have been buying from China either through Aliexpress or Amazon. The latter deal with all the customs & VAT stuff which is much easier and cheaper compared to buying from Ebay.
Never used aliexpress. The Amazon search mechanism is not fit for purpose, for many reasons.
Aliexpress is great. You can buy most of the low cost stuff straight from China (or a European warehouse) at much lower prices than a local webshop. Typically I buy things like heatshrink tubing, braided sleeving, mechanical parts, diamond tipped drills, etc from there. Nowadays most stuff arrives in a week or two.

And it is not all crap. Recently I needed a new squeeze bottle to wet the spunge for my soldering iron. The one I ordered from Farnell was utter crap (their own multicompcrap brand; I should have been wiser). The one I ordered from Aliexpress is excellent. BTW, I left a negative review on Farnell's website and promptly I got an email saying I could return the bottle. I replied it was already in the garbage and that I overlooked it was from Multicomp which I don't buy. I didn't react to the question why I didn't buy Multicomp branded stuff... it is worse than stuff from Aliexpress!

Amazon's search engine sucks badly indeed. To the level it amazes me they even manage to sell stuff. Typically I use Google to find things on Amazon. Amazon is kind of my last resort if I need something quick which I can't find on another (local) webshop.

Quote
I couldn't use either to sell surplus kit.
I have abandoned Ebay for that a long time ago. What I list won't show up internationally so that defeats the purpose of listing things on Ebay anyway. So I sell whatever I want to get rid of locally (on a website which is also owned by Ebay but at least the listing is free and no sales fees).
« Last Edit: March 26, 2023, 01:04:13 am by nctnico »
There are small lies, big lies and then there is what is on the screen of your oscilloscope.
 
The following users thanked this post: tom66

Online SiliconWizard

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 15800
  • Country: fr
International shipping has become horrific for a good while on eBay anyway, how much worse can it get.
 

Online MrMobodies

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 2028
  • Country: gb
Global shipping program. I remembered back in about 2007 and many years after when I'd order things from Canada and America, especially one seller in San Jose and they'd be 1/3 to half price even with the customs added on than buying it used locally. One time was a motherboard with some Xeon 3.2GHz cpu's on it that I brought it for which were selling much more without the motherboard locally used. What I didn't know until later was that that motherboard was actually a better board with more ram capacity and 4 buses instead of 2 so I swapped it back some years later. I think it was a Tyan S7271 and the board that arrived overseas with the cpu's I want was a Supermicro X5DL8.

Also deliveries through the majority of things I ordered through GSP seemed very well tracked and on some occasions quick.
 

Offline Golds

  • Contributor
  • Posts: 27
  • Country: cn
They require sellers to use their logistics systems and give assessments to reduce sales to sellers who do not meet the standards. While collecting the seller's fees, they put shackles and restrictions on the seller.

Offline jpanhalt

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 4005
  • Country: us
Recently, I needed various adapters for a camera -- all from China.  The eBay sellers usually use SpeedPAK Standard (https://parcelsapp.com/en/carriers/speedpak), which is a joint effort of Orange and United Parcel Service (UPS).  UPS then partners with our postal service for the "last mile." 

I have been satisfied with the shipping in China.  One Example: Order placed 03/12/23, package picked up 03/13, cleared export customs 03/16, arrived Chicago (USA) 03/18 shortly after midnight.  It's apparently a direct if not non-stop flight.  The slowest part of the trip is when it gets into UPS's hands.  China pickup to US was 5 days, US customs was 1 day, and UPS Chicago, IL to Cleveland, OH was 6 days this time, but estimated time was 8 days.  The prior shipment took more than 8 days.  Orange provides tracking up until it is transferred to UPS and also provides the joint UPS/USPS tracking number.  Ordinary mail from Chicago to my home is about 2 to 3  days.

Clearly, this thread is about a different level of service, but I cannot fault the small parcel service in China.  Is Orange used for Europe and UK?
 

Online coppercone2

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 11341
  • Country: us
  • $
does this mean lower prices for me? I don't have to fight the whole planet, just a continent.
 

Online tggzzz

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 21227
  • Country: gb
  • Numbers, not adjectives
    • Having fun doing more, with less
International shipping has become horrific for a good while on eBay anyway, how much worse can it get.

Much worse.

You could find you bought something for, say, £10 at checkout, then when it is delivered you find you have to pay the shipping company an extra £22. That's £2 duty plus a £20 admin fee. So £10 has become £32; doubleplus ungood.

Please don't quibble about any thresholds for tax kicking in.
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
Glider pilot's aphorism: "there is no substitute for span". Retort: "There is a substitute: skill+imagination. But you can buy span".
Having fun doing more, with less
 

Online tggzzz

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 21227
  • Country: gb
  • Numbers, not adjectives
    • Having fun doing more, with less
They require sellers to use their logistics systems and give assessments to reduce sales to sellers who do not meet the standards. While collecting the seller's fees, they put shackles and restrictions on the seller.

Who is "they"?
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
Glider pilot's aphorism: "there is no substitute for span". Retort: "There is a substitute: skill+imagination. But you can buy span".
Having fun doing more, with less
 

Online tggzzz

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 21227
  • Country: gb
  • Numbers, not adjectives
    • Having fun doing more, with less
does this mean lower prices for me? I don't have to fight the whole planet, just a continent.

Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

You won't know until after delivery.
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
Glider pilot's aphorism: "there is no substitute for span". Retort: "There is a substitute: skill+imagination. But you can buy span".
Having fun doing more, with less
 

Online tggzzz

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 21227
  • Country: gb
  • Numbers, not adjectives
    • Having fun doing more, with less
A current statement from eBay is below. This response was pleasant in that it provided some answers and wasn't a mere response.

My emphasis, and I've asked the obvious questions about "which shipping company to ask" and "response times".

Quote
Thank you for writing to eBay with regard to eBay International Shipping (eIS). I will definitely help you with answering your questions regarding Import charges. Before I proceed, I would like to share with that if there is any Import cost charged for an item then you will be able to see the Import cost on the listing page itself.
 
1. If there is no Import charges on the listing page or checkout page, then system will not inform about the amount shipping service will charge you during delivery. For that you will be required to contact the shipping service before placing your order.
 
2. If there is no Import charges on the listing page or checkout page, then system will not inform about the admin/processing fees. It completely depends upon the shipping service due to which we do not have any idea how much they will be charging.
 
3. If you select the sort option as "lowest price + P&P", then based upon that system will show you the postage cost. If postage is free then it will show as "Free delivery". Postage cost doesn't include Import charges and tax.

Summary: almost as bad as expected. The purchase cost will be unknowable, and likely much more than eBay indicates.
« Last Edit: March 26, 2023, 10:00:49 am by tggzzz »
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
Glider pilot's aphorism: "there is no substitute for span". Retort: "There is a substitute: skill+imagination. But you can buy span".
Having fun doing more, with less
 

Offline tom66

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 7336
  • Country: gb
  • Electronics Hobbyist & FPGA/Embedded Systems EE
That seems very contradictory.  You'll be able to see import costs listed, but if there are no import costs shown (wait, I thought you said we could see them?), you won't be able to know how much those import costs will be?  So, if nothing is listed, you take your chances? 
 

Offline alm

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 2903
  • Country: 00
Sounds like how international used to work before big shops like Amazon started to handle the import process, and how it still works for smaller shops: the seller ships the item without charging any VAT or customs fees, the courier / postal company handles the import process, and charges you the VAT, duty and admin fees based on either pre payment or post payment. For example FedEx will either send me an email requesting payment before they will deliver, or if the fees are below something like €100, they'll send me an invoice within a week or so of delivering the package to be paid within two weeks.

Sure, it may be a downgrade from the old system in terms of convenience, but at least this should give you a proper invoice unlike Pitney Bowes dubious "trust us, it's been imported probably but we won't show you any paperwork you can take to your account" system.

This won't show you the exact costs up front, but I can usually estimate it pretty well since the VAT is well known and in the EU you can look up duty in the TARIC database. Although finding the right code can be a challenge, but googling for something like "soldering iron tariff" or "hs code" will usually help.


Share me

Digg  Facebook  SlashDot  Delicious  Technorati  Twitter  Google  Yahoo
Smf