posted on January 4, 2001 12:21:32 PM new
*Sigh* I sold a rather heavy, pricy widget to a Canadian buyer and they got it, including s/h for 1/3 of what they cost here in the US. They just wrote to me and are upset because they were taxed on $272 rather then the $72 they paid for the item on auction because, I am supposing, its worth in Canada. They stated, "I don't want to send it back because it has cost us more then it is worth in Canada" (and I am thinking, then how did you get charged so much on taxes if it isn't worth that much in Canada?) "and it will be too expensive. We couldn't take it back to the store here because it didn't have a box" (I didn't ship the box so that they could save on postage), and "they are for ladies and not men" (which I know is not the case because I do not carry any of these particular widgets for women.) Now they say..."any ideas?" I don't know what to do here. They don't want to send it back but I think are looking for a refund? Man oh man.....Do they really charge that much in Canada on the worth, rather then what is paid for an item? I told them to relist them on Ebay and sell them within canada and they would make probably twice what they paid and save on shipping to boot! Any other ideas folks?
posted on January 4, 2001 12:32:31 PM new
As long as you claimed $72.00 on the customs form---then they should have been charged the federal sales tax on the Canadian equivalent.
My thought on this is that the customs has made a mistake on the amount and turned your $72.00 into 272.00--maybe your $ sign looks like a 2.
On the back of the form they received from Canada Customs (it will be attached to the package) there is instructions to dispute the amount charged. They will need to print out the Ebay page or have a copy of the invoice to send in for dispute.
posted on January 4, 2001 12:35:30 PM new
Furkidmom,
We have been in your buyers situation before. Let them know to phone Canada Customs and Revenue and ask them who they need to talk to, to dispute the charge. We were assesed duty and taxes for almost $50.00 on an item we paid less than $20.00 for. We were told that the item was worth was much more on the secondary market than what we paid. We told them that we bought it on the secondary market, and sent them a copy of the End of Auction info, and we received a refund.
posted on January 4, 2001 12:47:48 PM new
When sending to Canada I found out that the outside of the box should be marked with very specific details of the contents or customs charges more on the tax. For a video tape I stated that it was a VHS video tape, the title of the video tape, where is was produced (XXXXX studios, Burbank, California)and how much was paid for it. My buyer asked me to do this, since he had been buying on Ebay for some time and found out that when the details were stated on the box (the customs form is too small) he was never charged the high tax.
posted on January 4, 2001 01:32:45 PM new
ZZZZZaZZZZZZi (!) ... even if the sender errored and made the amount 'look like' $272.00, there isn't much the buyer can do. I had a shipment (not an auction deal) that had a value of $50.00 US. When it arrived, it stated $500.00. I had to pay the tax on the 500 bucks! I sent the original of the customs sticker to the sender (he is a good friend) to ask him what happened. He declared the proper amount, and being in a small town, even his postmaster verified that it said $50.00 when it leave his depot. Somewhere along the line, some joker decided to add the last '0'. I filled out the Customs form to claim a refund (I know how to do this blindfolded now), and I lost the battle with Customs. There was no way I could prove the error!
In cases where a value is not declared, or, heaven forbid, the sender indicates 'gift', Customs will assign a value based on their Sears catalogue and tax you accordingly. Under these conditions, filling out the form AND attaching a copy of the completed auction listing showing what you paid for the item should get you a refund.
Good luck on this one furkidmom ... you have done nothing wrong. Please don't assume we're all bad
posted on January 4, 2001 01:47:23 PM new
Tell the buyer that in addition to the refund claim form on the reverse side of the customs form, there is the 1-800 number listed to get further information.
posted on January 4, 2001 01:50:47 PM new
I once got a refund with no problems. I received an item from the U.S. The package was plastered with U.S. stamps and a U.S. Post office insurance sticker. Canada Customs in their wisdom assumed the package had been mailed from Germany and charged me duty. Duh........
posted on January 4, 2001 01:53:02 PM new
RB--if the amount on the customs form is not the correct amount or has been mis-read--you can dispute it and win. You got a civil servant on a bad day--you should have re-submitted it
posted on January 4, 2001 02:00:15 PM new
A cancelled check or copy of a money order, plus a print-out of the auction is accepted by Canada Customs as proof of value.
posted on January 4, 2001 02:35:24 PM new
Zazzi ... I've done the customs refund thing many times. In this case, however, the item was a bunch of very rare video tapes that I got in trade. There was no way I could prove the value to Customs.
posted on January 4, 2001 02:46:40 PM new
RB--I've done lots of trading online and was hit with an inflated customs charge for an item. I disputed and won.
