imabrit
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posted on January 6, 2001 11:49:39 AM
This really gets me worked up when this happens.
I get this in the mail with payment
"When shipping to Canada you will need to fill out a customs form.Please identify the item as A GIFT and the value (in both words and digits)NO VALUE $0.00.Thanks very much."
Tempted to send it insured for 500.00
The audacity of some people
Adrian
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cix
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posted on January 6, 2001 11:52:05 AM
imabrit,
Do it.
BUT, make sure you include the letter the buyer sent you inside of the package. This way if customs opens it they will know who's bright idea it was.
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jtomp
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posted on January 6, 2001 01:12:47 PM
Don't do it. It is illegal and you are liable to get in big doo doo for a trick like that!
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patel126
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posted on January 6, 2001 01:45:13 PM
Adrian,
This is typical of Canadians, and it is a good reason not to sell to foreign countries.
I am proud that I sell only to Americans.
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imabrit
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posted on January 6, 2001 01:56:24 PM
I have no problems with international bidders.I welcome them all to bid.
I have shipped to,England,Canada,Australia,France,Germany,Italy,Spain,Switzerland,S.Africa,China,Singapore,Israel,Hong Kong,Japan,to name just a few of many.
I rarely have problems with international bidders but this one took the biscuit.
I have no intention of doing what he requested.
Adrian
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RB
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posted on January 6, 2001 02:19:28 PM
patel126 - it's people like you who cause these types of intelligent discussions to go downhill.
Please grow up eh ...
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booksbooksbooks
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posted on January 6, 2001 02:31:15 PM
I specifically state in my auction terms that I won't do this.
So far, only one furriner has asked, and I just sorta didn't notice his request. 
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kerryann
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posted on January 6, 2001 02:34:19 PM
I rarely have problems with international bidders but this one took the biscuit.
Took the biscuit? LOL! 
Not Kerryann on eBay
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gravid
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posted on January 6, 2001 04:21:24 PM
I have about half of my Canadian customers ask for this. What makes me nervous is I always just ignore it. Sooner or later I am going to get neg'd for refusing to conspire for fraud.
I must say that the taxation level in Canada is so bad that at least half of the buyers feel no shame at trying to work around it.
Knowing that, if I were a politician there, I would worry about the stability of the country. It seems like a ripe situation for an upstart party to sweep in based on promising reform.
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victoria
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posted on January 6, 2001 04:33:20 PM
None of my Canadian buyers have ever asked me to falsify the form.
Maybe it's because my books usually sell for less than $20 (US)?
Or maybe people who buy books are intrisically(sp?) honest?
[ edited by victoria on Jan 6, 2001 04:34 PM ]
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on January 6, 2001 04:38:59 PM
Adrian: I get international customers who ask me to do this all the time.
My response to them is simple and to the point:
Your package will be sent as MERCHANDISE and the value will be your BID AMOUNT.
Sometimes I tell them that I will not lie to the government to save them a few dollars and tell them how rude it is to ask me to do such a thing.
They usually drop it after that.
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mrlatenite
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posted on January 6, 2001 04:42:24 PM
When I used to not specify US bidders only, about 1/3rd of the people asked me to falsify the documents. Granted that was only like 3 out of the 9 Canadians bidders in the first 300 or so transactions I did on eBay.
Then when I started including in my auction text and EOA notice US Bidders only, I caved in to about 6 Canadians, 4 of them asked me to falsify the documents out of the next.
Now I flatly refuse to do transactions outside the US (for this and other reasons [significant time and money spent tracking down lost/damanged stuff or payments that cost more than the item value to cash]). I havn't got a neg yet, but have had to file NPBA/FCV's for "Bidder didn't follow terms of auction". So I'm just waiting for my neg because of that.
My stuff normally has been in the $5-$40 range, either a year old or older computer parts (upgrade stuff) or 20 year old videogame handheld game type stuff.
They still don't get it when I say that it's a federal crime to falsify a government customs form, and can lead to fine and imprisonment for me.
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ptimko
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posted on January 6, 2001 05:22:37 PM
gravid,
We Canadians do like to gripe about taxes but we just had an election with a "reform" party in the running. They didn't do very well outside of western Canada...
Think the basic problem is that the party which promotes lower taxes also appears anti-constitutional and promotes the idea of "the supremacy of parliament" and the right of parliament to overturn court decisions which rule in favour of individual rights and freedoms. Nothing better than a political party which says they will provide lower taxes but threaten freedom of speech...
But that aside, I think a buyer would be have a difficult time explaining themselves for leaving negative feedback because the seller wouldn't conspire with them to commit fraud...
The biggest complaints I have heard is when a US seller ships a package by UPS to Canada. Seems that UPS likes to add on a hefty service charge...
[ edited by ptimko on Jan 6, 2001 05:30 PM ]
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imabrit
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posted on January 6, 2001 06:45:09 PM
I once got into a email war with a Canadian bidder the middle of last year over this.
It was for a few hundred dollars and wanted me to do the same as always I refuse.
Accused me of fraud and the like and threatened to leave negative feedback over it.
Stuck to my guns,he got the item and it was not taxed either.As I state the items as being over 200 years old as most items are so they should be tax exempt.
I do not like tax's anymore than anyone else.
If Canadians think its bad,they have it good compared to England my home country.
With Gas at about 6.00 a gallon mostly tax.
Last time I checked there was a 17% tax called VAT added to all items.
In the business we owned we paid VAT on the supply's we bought,these where then sold to our customer and VAT was added again.
My Bro's tax bracket is over 60%,they are all sick of the tax's and it does nothing but rain.
However I have never had a UK bidder ask me to fudge on the customs form.
But everytime I get a Canadian,I think here we go again.
This is not the first time been asked to do that and I will never do it either.
Adrian
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docadoodle
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posted on January 6, 2001 07:18:33 PM
I don't ask the seller to mark the package as a gift but I do ask that they put down the actual price payed. I had a few sellers put down inflated amounts which cost me $$ in duty and taxes, perhaps in the belief that if there was an insurance claim they could collect the extra bucks. I believe that's fraud too.
I've also had several sellers mark the package as a gift without me asking. Perhaps they were "educated" by previous Canucks.
Please don't judge us Canucks by a few cheapskates, I understand paying tax, duty, customs handling charge and a 65 cent dollar are part of doing business across the border (this is making me depressed). I don't like it but I have to live with it and always take the extra costs into account when bidding.
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reddeer
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posted on January 6, 2001 08:41:13 PM
I rarely have problems with international bidders
So then why even start a thread like this?
Duh
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imabrit
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posted on January 6, 2001 09:00:49 PM
DO I have to have a logical reason.It just annoyed me and just wanted to share it with others.
I guess there is a rule against that.
Adrian
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on January 6, 2001 09:03:14 PM
Adrian: Don't worry - some people just like to take everything so personally!
So then why even start a thread like this?
If everyone felt like this we wouldn't have message boards!
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imabrit
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posted on January 6, 2001 09:07:31 PM
Thanks,this one just annoyed me so much that they would ask me to commit fraud.
As I said I like International its fun wondering where these people all live.
I once had a guy bid on an item,while he was doing reseach in the Ande's mountains.
He was bidding via satellite,thought that was really cool.
Adrian
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Zazzie
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posted on January 6, 2001 09:20:11 PM
Redeer--we were due for a bash thread, it's been ahile.
Now don't get me started on my American buyer who keeps insisting I can send him an item via Book Rate. !!
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on January 6, 2001 09:27:55 PM
You know what REALLY irritates me??
We (Americans AND Non-Americans) all post threads and comment on these boards about our problem bidders, deadbeat bidders, whiney bidders, pain-in-the-neck bidders, etc - every single day.
99% of these complaint threads are Americans complaining about fellow Americans. But let just one of those problem bidders be a CANADIAN and WHAMO! we're automatically considered "bashing"! Every Canadian on the boards has to go to that thread and comment on the latest and greatest "canadian bashing" that didn't even exist until they started their OWN bashing.
Amazing!!
[ edited by ExecutiveGirl on Jan 6, 2001 09:31 PM ]
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eastwest
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posted on January 6, 2001 09:31:09 PM
That's because we love you American's So much ...we just feel we should correct you when you are wrong
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Zazzie
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posted on January 6, 2001 09:32:27 PM
Executive Girl--You'll have to show me all the threads that have titles such as
"American Bidder AHHHHHHHH"
and then I might agree with you
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on January 6, 2001 09:33:37 PM
Wrong thread, eastwest.
This thread is about a CANADIAN (Yes, a CANADIAN!!) who wants an AMERICAN to lie on a government form.
The CANADIAN is the one wrong here, not us Americans!
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on January 6, 2001 09:36:23 PM
Zazzie: it's not the title - it's the nature of the threads. 99% of them are about problems we Americans are having with other American bidders/sellers. Look at all the thread titles that are NOT titled "CANADIANS AHHHHHH!" and chances are those are ones about Americans.
Maybe Canadians are just WAY too sensitive!
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eastwest
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posted on January 6, 2001 09:38:11 PM
Wrong again...it's about a PERSON wanting to ...were they are from .....means nothing
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on January 6, 2001 09:40:38 PM
Well, in THIS particular case, it's about a person from CANADA! Americans don't have to fill out customs forms to other Americans...
If this thread was about a person in Japan no one would have a problem with it.
[ edited by ExecutiveGirl on Jan 6, 2001 09:42 PM ]
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Zazzie
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posted on January 6, 2001 09:41:45 PM
No---it was the title.
Maybe Americans are just too 'insensitive'
Yes the buyer is wrong asking for the customs form to be altered---but gee whiz how many of these threads about the customs form are we going to have??? Imabrit is no newbie at AW --so this is certainly not a thread to obtain information on what to do.
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eastwest
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posted on January 6, 2001 09:42:26 PM
"Maybe Canadians are just WAY too sensitive!' YOU BET I AM SESITIVE ...THE REASON....IT'S ABOUT SELLERS NOT ABOUT THE NATIONALITY..AND I HATE THE FACT THAT PEOPLE WHO ARE CONPLAINING KNOW THIS BUT CHOOSE TO ADD THE WORD "CANADIAN" IN TO THE SUBJECT
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on January 6, 2001 09:43:47 PM
Zazzie - does every single thread have to be about "what do I do"???? This is a MESSAGE BOARD. A DISCUSSION BOARD. It's not only for asking questions about problems - it can be used for just having discussions.
YOU, are not new to the message boards, so "gee whiz"... you should know this too.
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