Not again: Ebay problem - DPChallenge Forums

Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS

07/15/2011 12:04:35 PM · #1

Alright, I sold my lens, the one with the slight scratch on the front element. Thought it was gonna be 'easy'.

OK. The buyer lives in Germany (So anyone from Germany, chime in if you know the laws). The buyer said he had to go pick it up. The tracking info showed that the postal service tried to delivery to his home but that he wasn't there. When he went to pick it up he said he had to pay an extra 79 dollars in taxes and shipping charges. He asked why I never mentioned such charges in the description and what we planned to do about the costs.

Now, maybe it's just me, but anytime I order something from Ebay or from any online store outside of Japan, I always expect that anything over X amount of yen is going to get taxed. That's why I usually ask certain companies to ship in 2 parcels or more to avoid the taxes. And if they can't, well it's usually hit or miss. I've never had to put anything in the description box on an Ebay item saying "You may have to pay extra in your country, be aware of local taxes/shipping costs".

He also mentioned that 'something' was missing from the label on the outside of the parcel. I wrapped the parcel as I have wrapped a million before. Nothing missing. Invoice, shipping information...everything. I'm not sure if that has something to do with it but regardless.

My response was, in short "I can't be responsible for local taxes/shipping. With so many buyers from different countries it's the buyers responsibility to know local procedures."

Am I write? Wrong? If I'm wrong, what would you think I should do?

kirbic

Canon EOS R5

07/15/2011 12:16:18 PM · #2

You're right, it is the buyer's responsibility to know what their tax liability will be for anything they have shipped to them.
That said, you would do well to have a generic notice on all of your items, in a prominent place, saying something like:
Notice: It is the buyer's responsibility to be aware of and to pay any applicable fees or taxes that may be imposed by their local or national governments

Spork99

OM System OM-1

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro

07/15/2011 01:26:34 PM · #3

That's why I try to only deal with people in the same country. I have, on occasion, sent items to people in other countries, but only if I know the person.

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

07/15/2011 07:32:21 PM · #4

I will most definitely place something like that at the bottom of all my future auctions...but not having put it up on my last auction, does that leave me at fault for anything? I'm sure he thinks so but I don't want to be overly rude about the whole thing. I was polite in my response but wonder what to do if he becomes more aggressive. I'm not too worried about negative feedback...I'm wondering how old the person might be. Someone young might not be too familiar with the ideas of paying taxes.

DrAchoo

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5

07/15/2011 07:45:54 PM · #5

People still use eBay?

fldave

Pentax K5II

Pentax DA 18-135mm F3.5-5.6ED AL [IF] WR DC

07/15/2011 08:11:07 PM · #6

Originally posted by DrAchoo:

People still use eBay?

Yes, unless you are a sociopathic prostitute killer.... then you use Craig's List.

karmat

Apple iPhone 7

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L USM

07/15/2011 10:31:03 PM · #7

Originally posted by heavyj:

Offer to split it and each of you pay half?

BrennanOB

Canon EOS-1D Mark II

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

07/15/2011 10:36:54 PM · #8

If you let him return it, won't he get the taxes back? How much of the over charge was postage and how much was tax?

Marc923

07/15/2011 11:01:20 PM · #9

Stick to your guns, he probably knew about and trying to get you to pay it. One thing I've learned, someone is always trying to separate you from your money. Did he pay with paypal? If so, he can file a claim and paypal will hold all your money. If you have anything on there, I'd send it to your bank PDQ.

C_Steve_G

Apple iPhone 12

Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 35-135mm f/3.5-4.5

07/16/2011 12:44:21 AM · #10

eBay has information for this and recommends that you insert a "Customs duties and taxes" disclaimer in your ads. See it here

alexlky

07/16/2011 01:18:46 AM · #11

To get more clear picture and save other sellers, if you could provide the link to item numbers.

But I can give answer exactly you'll get from eBay. "Communicate with your buyer for solution. If that fail, you can make formal request for buyer contact numbers."

You're no wrong but "eBay Buyer Protection" that's for buyer nothing for seller. No matter how detail of item description, problem still exist. Do you insure your item? There is worse case scenario buyer file damage item claim.

If the buyer is not happy, it's waste of time prolonging the dispute. Offer refund of selling price minus the shipping fee to buyer Or (karmat) offer to split it and each of you pay half?

Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM

07/16/2011 07:36:31 AM · #12

The link to my sold lens

I sent it by EMS with a tracking number and insured. The email he sent was as follows.

Originally posted by buyer:

today I received a letter from the customs office and hat to pick up the lens myself. That was because there were some issues with the bill that was not visible on the outside of the package. That would not have been that much of a problem but I had to pay 79,- $ of extra shipping and tax costs. These costs were not mentioned in the description so I was pretty surprised when they asked me to pay. Could you make a proposal how we are going to handle these extra costs?

Best regards,

I asked what type of costs and what the exact reason was for the extra charges were. Still no answer. I labeled everything correctly (Japan Post won't let you send anything without them going through their list of do's and don'ts.). The tracking number showed that a delivery attempt was made but he was not home. I don't know the laws in Germany but I would imagine they would've made another trip or that he could've called them (I'm not in Germany so I don't know).

I don't think he could claim damaged goods since he obviously isn't emailing me with this problem. I'd accept a refund if he pays the shipping (He'd be out 100 bucks total, with that 79 dollars of taxes) but then again, an angry buyer might not be sending me back anything.

Maybe I'll wait and see what he has to say about what the exact reasons for paying that extra cash were and go from there...

Does this mean from now on I have to state I don't accept Monopoly money either, just in case??

Cory

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV

07/16/2011 12:00:39 PM · #13

Originally posted by heavyj:

Does this mean from now on I have to state I don't accept Monopoly money either, just in case??

Probably a good idea. And you probably want to cover that you're not including a 1 year warranty against damage too. Oh, and you should also state that it's not guaranteed to make them a better photographer, since they might sue for lack of performance.

*sheesh* I'd tell dude to either pay the taxes and enjoy his new lens, or to return the product for a refund. his choice, no dicking around.

alexlky

07/16/2011 12:29:31 PM · #14

Originally posted by heavyj:

I sent it by EMS with a tracking number and insured. The email he sent was as follows.

Well, your USD25 EMS shipping fees is reasonably quoted from Japan to Germany. Definitely you're not going to cover everything with that USD25, right. You did everything correctly and item insured. Your listing is a "No Return Accepted" item. So, no problem.

well, just wait... what you can do is "talk as sweet as you can", so he won't give you a red, :)