posted on November 28, 2000 04:03:27 AM new
Has anyone else had international buyers requesting you mark as "gifts" items won on ebay and how do you handle this? thanks.
posted on November 28, 2000 04:06:37 AM new
Yes, I have had people ask me to do just that and I have told them NO. That is one of the reasons that I stopped shipping out of the USA.I look at it this way, they ask me to lie and if I do so, are they going to stand by me and say "I asked them to Lie". I doubt that one. I used to enter exactly what the item was...
posted on November 28, 2000 06:59:29 AM new
Firstly, you are correct ... falsifying these forms is a no-no and anyone (not just us Canadians ask for this!) who asks you to do this should be ignored.
Secondly, at around $20.00 US and up, declaring the item as a gift doesn't make any difference - we are still taxed on it.
Thirdly, declaring an item as a gift is a signal to Customs (Canadian and American!) that someone is trying to beat the system. They will subject the package to a closer "inspection", which results in delays, which results in impatient buyers and sellers, which results in bad feedback, and which supports the AW forums with things to talk about. (whew!)
Lastly, anyone who would refuse to deal with Canadians (and Americans!) because the odd person asks for this has not yet learned that it is just as wrong to assume everyone is bad because of a few. Sorry, but it's a lousy excuse to restrict your sales to your own country only
posted on November 28, 2000 09:14:54 AM new
"I wait worried that someone is going to neg me for refusing to do it."
Good point macandjan ... this would certainly be an abuse of the feedback feature (someone negging you because you're honest!), and with eBay's current system, there isn't much you could do to have it removed. Based on this, I cannot fault you with your decision to sell locally only.
For those that do sell internationally, one thing that you can do to lessen the tax hit for your buyers is to declare the actual selling value of the item only on the form. That is, don't include the shipping charge and don't inflate the value because you think it's worth more. And buyers ... make sure you print out a copy of the closed auction listing before it disappears from the eBay data base to prove to Customs what you actually paid for the item. If you can't do that, they will assign a value (using some complex system like a Sears catalogue!) and tax you accordingly.
posted on November 28, 2000 09:40:31 AM new
Ive NEVER asked a seller to mark package as a "gift".
But why, oh, why do my US sellers almost always declare their own perceived value on package instead of the price I paid? Does anyone realize what a pain it is to have to request tax refunds from customs every time?
Ive overpaid about $60.00 in taxes because of over valuation (and never was subject to actual customs fees on used pottery/porcelain).
Plus it puts the seller in Canada Customs records as having LIED!
posted on November 28, 2000 11:02:22 AM new
Sorry to say few Americans have an understanding of what international sales involve. We just do not have much here in the way of multicultural awareness. Even where the school system "celebrates diversity" it is from the idea of African Americans and Native Americans - Not Inuit people as a whole or African Africans.
The schools all just assume that all the pupils are going to go forth and take regular jobs. There is no encouragement to start your own business or work outside the company / employee fold.
My councelor used to ask me how I was ever going to be employable since I refused to do any homework the last 2 years of school. He could not understand I had no worries and had people waiting to hire me who did not give a daamn about my grades.
