Taxes/Duties from Great Britain

[wildcatca1970]

Howdy, Fam-

I've run into a bit of a problem with an item I recently purchased from a seller in GB. The item was a pr of cufflinks that cost 8.51 GBP. I've received an email form a shipping service called EVRi, stating that I owe them $17.32 CAD for Customs and Duties.

In the past, as long as my purchase was under 10 GBP, I was not assessed any extra fees for delivery. This was for items shipped through the British version of the GSP.

I've emailed the seller about this, and I've been trying to contact EVRi as well- It seems that I have 5 days to pay the charge, or the item is sent back to the seller. 

So, my questions are-

If I don't pay EVRi, and my packet is sent back to the seller, am I out of pocket?

Does anyone here have any information as to what the tax threshold is on items shipped to Canada?

Thanks for your time,

wildcat

[john_koenig99]

They are trying to pull a FedEx or DHL on you. It's hard to imagine such amount for duty and brokerage for such low value item, but they try to do it, when they can.

If the item gets returned, it's tricky becuase you'd be refusing delivery, and eBay does not cover you there.

But the seller may reimburse you, if they get the item back. 

[marnotom!]

I'm guessing that the seller was lazy, declaring the cufflinks for more than the sale price and that's on which the calculation of taxes/duties/other niceties was based.

The official tax/duty-free thresholds for casual imports sent by mail from the UK is CDN$20, so if the seller decided to use a declared value of ten quid or so, that would have likely have been converted to an amount above that limit.

As @john_koenig99 points out, if you refuse the shipment, you'll have no recourse through eBay's Money Back Guarantee, unfortunately.  You could accept the shipment and then file paperwork through Canada Border Services that would eventually see you get the taxes (and duties, if applicable) back, but you'll still be stuck with the carrier's fee for processing the item through customs (which is likely most of what that $17.32 charge is about).

[wildcatca1970]

I've just had an email from the seller on this. She has put the Value for customs  at 18.51 GBP- 8.51 for the item, and 10 for the shipping.

This would trigger the 10 GBP limit. 

[wildcatca1970]

Thanks for the reply, marntom-

This appears to be the case.

 I've been emailing the seller, and I've tried to impart to her the that the 10 GBP isn't really supposed to be added to the customs valuation. I was diplomatic in my wording, but the end result that that she thinks that I am trying to scam her!

She has decided to cancel the sale, using "requesting return due to non payment of import tax", as her reasoning.

Where does that leave me... Will I get a refund?  At the end of this, If I got my investment back, I'd be fine with the outcome.

Thanks again, 

Wildcat

[marnotom!]

Have the cufflinks already been shipped out?  I'm not sure how the carrier could email you for an item that it doesn't have in its possession.  If the carrier has the cufflinks, I'm not sure how the seller could cancel the order at this point unless they're able to recall the shipment at this point as well.

Unfortunately, some sellers don't have a lot of sense or savvy.  This seller probably thinks that because most European countries' customs bureaux charge taxes on shipping as well as the item price for casual imports, that would be the case for Canada as well.  You might want to diplomatically point her toward the eBay UK discussion boards for feedback on this.

If the seller does cancel the order, however, you should see your monies back if you haven't actually refused the item.

[wildcatca1970]

Hi, marnotom-

According to EVRi, the cufflinks are in thier posession. 

The seller tells me that she'll contact EVRi, to get the packet back in her hands, and then contact eBay to cancel the sale.

We'll see if this comes to pass. If not, then I'll just pay EVRi the 9.65 GBP, and get the cufflinks. Better to have the product, that be out the money.

I like your suggestion of the UK eBay community board- However the last communication I had with the seller, was essentially a screed about me being a garbage human, who was destroying the eBay experience for ev'eryone...  I may just pass on this.

I'm not sure that I've ever had such a drama-filled transaction before!

And.. Many thanks for the information regarding the $20 CDN limit for goods from Britain, and also the EU countries asessing of duty on the shipping fees.  I was unaware of both policies.

Yours,

Wildcat

[easoss]

My experience has been the most drama filled selling or buying problems are about the lowest priced items. 

[reallynicestamps]

With the exception of the USA, our duty free level remains at $20Cdn.

Your cufflinks should be below that.

[wildcatca1970]

Tru Dat... 😑

[wildcatca1970]

Thanks for the info, stamps!

[wildcatca1970]

Update 18/6/25

I rec'd an email from eBay this morning, cancelling the sale!

*Sigh*  I've just opened an email from EVRi - I Still owe on the packet.

... And it continues. Blaaarrg.

[fh991586]

Including the shipping price into the declared value is a no-no: this is most likely the origin of your problem, and totally the seller's fault. Shipping isn't a value in itself!