eBay

1number1buyer · ‎06-22-2025

I just had a request from DHL to pay Canadian tax on my Ebay purchase. I will NEVER pay any tax to anyone other than the Canada Border Services and will expect my receipt from CBSA as well. This way, I know where the money went. Further, I just made a purchase and did not send it to my US address. Big mistake. Now I find out that what the posting show as "USPS" as the shipper was actually Ebay's smoke and mirrors to further my item to DHL (worst and cheapest in the world) DHL is no longer delivering in Canada due to a never ending strike. Ebay has made NO offers to me and is telling me to wait until the item does not show up to ask for a refund. Just a WARNING to Canadians, when the posting shows USPS, make sure that is who is sending it to YOUR address. If the seller says it is going somewhere else first, cancell the purchase. It will likely end up in the incapable hands of DHL. Check the DHL reviews online and you will understand why I would never use them. My advice for Canadian buyers is to use a USA address. This skips the terrible policy and shipping directions of Ebay for Canadian customers. As for me, I will NEVER get my purchase and will get a refund in a few weeks. The worst part of this all is that Ebay is not even confirming that they are sending Canadian customer's items to a courier company that has ceased operations in Canada. You can't make this stuff up!!!

mrdutch1001 · ‎06-22-2025

Thankfully,I never purchase anything from the USA anymore>haven't for about 10-15 years now....If I can't find it in Canada..I don't need it!

reallynicestamps · ‎06-22-2025

I will NEVER pay any tax to anyone other than the Canada Border Services and will expect my receipt from CBSA as well.

Most international courier services are sub-contractors for CBSA and allowed to assess, collect and remit Canadian sales taxes (GST/HST/PST/QST) for CBSA.

what the posting show as "USPS" as the shipper was actually...to further my item to DHL

Just as most Canadian couriers like UPS and FedEX use Canada Post for "last mile" delivery to rural and isolated addresses, Canada Post uses DHL and Purolator (mostly) for "last mile" delivery of some parcels.

This is actually a sticking point in the current labour negotiations.

As for me, I will NEVER get my purchase and will get a refund in a few weeks

Half true.

You will never get your purchase.

Because you Refused to pay the import fees and Refused the shipment, eBay will consider it Undeliverable.

This has nothing to do with DHL's labour dispute.
It will eventually be returned to the seller.

EBay does not require sellers to refund on Undeliverable shipments.

https://www.ebay.ca/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy?...

You will lose a Claim for Item Not Received and will not be refunded.

1number1buyer · ‎06-22-2025

"Most international courier services are sub-contractors for CBSA and allowed to assess, collect and remit Canadian sales taxes (GST/HST/PST/QST) for CBSA" The decision to collect border tax and or other fees like duties are the sole decision of CBSA and not the courier. Should the courier collect and the CBSA does not require these fees to be charged, the courier will not refund the customer.

"just as most Canadian couriers like UPS and FedEX use Canada Post for "last mile" delivery to rural and isolated addresses, Canada Post uses DHL and Purolator (mostly) for "last mile" delivery of some parcels" This is not common practice when USPS is used. Every time I have ever received packages from USPS they never used a third party. It always was handed over to Canada Post and not any other carrier. This is "smoke and mirrors" from Ebay plain and simple.

"This is actually a sticking point in the current labour negotiations". Who are you here representing?

"Because you Refused to pay the import fees and Refused the shipment, eBay will consider it Undeliverable.

This has nothing to do with DHL's labour dispute.
It will eventually be returned to the seller"

.Sorry, not true. I never refused to pay import fees and taxes. I refused to pay them to DHL. Canada Post collects on behalf of Revenue Canada and I will pay them and get a full CBSA receipt. As for your other misinformation, I will get a full refund as DHL will never deliver my item. Please look up facts before fact checking someone with misinformation.

femmefan1946 · ‎06-22-2025

I've been selling mail order since 1978.
I stick by my words.

1number1buyer · ‎06-23-2025

I have been in business since 1974 and stick to facts myself thanks.

john_koenig99 · ‎06-23-2025

@1number1buyer wrote:
As for me, I will NEVER get my purchase and will get a refund in a few weeks.

Good luck with that.

Before accusing others of "spreading missinformation", you should informe yourself a bit better.

1number1buyer · ‎06-23-2025

You are too funny!

mrdutch1001 · ‎06-23-2025

I have been buying & selling since a youngster back in the 1960s and it's all about the product, honesty & transparency, the best possible customer service along with the goodwill between buyer & seller...

1number1buyer · ‎06-23-2025

I agree. Nothing should ever be hidden from the customer ever. Thank you.

silverpinups · ‎06-23-2025

"Sorry, not true. I never refused to pay import fees and taxes. I refused to pay them to DHL. Canada Post collects on behalf of Revenue Canada and I will pay them and get a full CBSA receipt. As for your other misinformation, I will get a full refund as DHL will never deliver my item. Please look up facts before fact checking someone with misinformation".

Did you purchase from a seller using eIS? I have paid import taxes to DHL on many occasions for US sellers who ship using eIS. Once the package clears customs DHL will hand the package off to Intelcom, Uni or AppleExpress or etc.... (depending on where you live) for final delivery. DHL in Canada will have nothing to do with your package's journey or final delivery in Canada.

This is what's probably going to happen. Since you didn't pay your import fees and taxes to DHL your package may be assessed for import fees and taxes by customs then handed off to Canada Post for collection of those import fees and taxes before delivery ( I'm only guessing).

OR... your package will be returned to the US seller for refusing to pay the appropiate customs charges to DHL. Since you refused to pay your customs fees you negate your eBay Money Back Gaurentee and will not be refunded.

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎06-23-2025

@silverpinups wrote:
"Sorry, not true. I never refused to pay import fees and taxes. I refused to pay them to DHL. Canada Post collects on behalf of Revenue Canada and I will pay them and get a full CBSA receipt. As for your other misinformation, I will get a full refund as DHL will never deliver my item. Please look up facts before fact checking someone with misinformation".

Did you purchase from a seller using eIS? I have paid import taxes to DHL on many occasions for US sellers who ship using eIS. Once the package clears customs DHL will hand the package off to Intelcom, Uni or AppleExpress or etc.... (depending on where you live) for final delivery. DHL in Canada will have nothing to do with your package's journey or final delivery in Canada.

This is what's probably going to happen. Since you didn't pay your import fees and taxes to DHL your package may be assessed for import fees and taxes by customs then handed off to Canada Post for collection of those import fees and taxes before delivery ( I'm only guessing).

OR... your package will be returned to the US seller for refusing to pay the appropiate customs charges to DHL. Since you refused to pay your customs fees you negate your eBay Money Back Gaurentee and will not be refunded.

@1number1buyer

@silverpinups

Technically as a side DHL etc are clearing your parcel on behalf of you. They do the paperwork...submit to Canada customs who approve it and then release. Someone has to collect. In your case it was DHL. The (your) concern seems to be the billing....or receipt.

This is from a quick google search on the subject:

Yes, DHL deliveries can include a customs invoice for duties and taxes, even if you've already paid them. DHL may pay these charges on your behalf to expedite customs clearance, and then bill you later for those costs plus a small administration fee. This is often part of a service called "Duties and Taxes Paid" (DTP).

silverpinups · ‎06-23-2025

"Technically as a side DHL etc are clearing your parcel on behalf of you. They do the paperwork...submit to Canada customs who approve it and then release. Someone has to collect. In your case it was DHL. The (your) concern seems to be the billing....or receipt.

This is from a quick google search on the subject:

Yes, DHL deliveries can include a customs invoice for duties and taxes, even if you've already paid them. DHL may pay these charges on your behalf to expedite customs clearance, and then bill you later for those costs plus a small administration fee. This is often part of a service called "Duties and Taxes Paid" (DTP)".

Yes, this is another scenario that can happen. The buyer can also be billed for the customs fees after delivery.

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎06-24-2025

@silverpinups wrote:
"Technically as a side DHL etc are clearing your parcel on behalf of you. They do the paperwork...submit to Canada customs who approve it and then release. Someone has to collect. In your case it was DHL. The (your) concern seems to be the billing....or receipt.

This is from a quick google search on the subject:
Yes, DHL deliveries can include a customs invoice for duties and taxes, even if you've already paid them. DHL may pay these charges on your behalf to expedite customs clearance, and then bill you later for those costs plus a small administration fee. This is often part of a service called "Duties and Taxes Paid" (DTP)".

Yes, this is another scenario that can happen. The buyer can also be billed for the customs fees after delivery.

@1number1buyer

The rest of the story:

Here's a more detailed explanation:

Customs Duties and Taxes:
When importing goods, you're usually responsible for paying customs duties and taxes to the destination country's customs authority.
DHL's Role:
DHL often acts as a customs broker, meaning they handle the customs clearance process for your shipment.
DTP (Duties and Taxes Paid):
If you or the sender have opted for DHL's DTP service, DHL will pay the duties and taxes on your behalf to avoid delays in customs clearance.
Invoicing:
Even if DHL pays the duties and taxes upfront, they will usually send you an invoice for the amount they paid, plus a small administration fee.
Receiving the Invoice:
You may receive this invoice either before or after the delivery, depending on the specific DHL service used and your account setup.
Payment:
You'll need to pay DHL for the duties and taxes they paid on your behalf, as per the invoice you receive.

If item was sent duty collected in advance bare bones in respect to an invoice. If it's sent collect on delivery you have a much better chance of receiving an invoice. Problem being when you have a parcel on the way to you in majority of cases you will have nothing set up in regards of a "personal account."

marnotom! · ‎06-24-2025

@silverpinups wrote:

Did you purchase from a seller using eIS? I have paid import taxes to DHL on many occasions for US sellers who ship using eIS. Once the package clears customs DHL will hand the package off to Intelcom, Uni or AppleExpress or etc.... (depending on where you live) for final delivery. DHL in Canada will have nothing to do with your package's journey or final delivery in Canada.

@1number1buyer claims that the listing(?) said shipping via USPS, which would not appear as a shipping method for an eIS item, @silverpinups. However, they also say that they have a US address that they sometimes use, so if they initially had the shipping location set as the US when viewing the listing, they may not have caught a change of shipping method when they used their Canadian address at Checkout.

DHL's GlobalPost service is sort of a postal-based service, so I can see why it may have ended up being used as the shipping descriptor if the seller didn't use eIS, particularly as DHL isn't an available option for Calculated Shipping. I've received several items through the mail that were initially handled by other carriers before they were dumped on USPS to hand off to Canada Post.

I can't help but wonder if the OP wants a receipt for taxes to CBSA paid because they're GST/HST registered and want to apply ITCs to the purchase. eIS isn't set up for B2B transactions and says as much in the terms and conditions for buyers.

silverpinups · ‎06-24-2025

"I can't help but wonder if the OP wants a receipt for taxes to CBSA paid because they're GST/HST registered and want to apply ITCs to the purchase".

DHL supplies a reciept for import fees and taxes once you pay them. I get a generic reciept after I pay on DHL's portal and an email from DHL with a complete breakdown of the fees charged (GST/HST and handling fee).

I also use those reciepts for ITC when I file my yearly GST.

1number1buyer · ‎06-25-2025

DHL cannot force you to pay any customs fees. DHL will allow the recipient to opt out of paying customs fees and will forward your item to Customs for evaluation. Most often in my past experiences, there were no fees collected by Canada Customs. If I paid DHL customs fees and Canada Customs did not require any fees or taxes to be paid, who keeps the amount collected by DHL? This is where the purchaser may be paying fees that they do not have to. I have ordered a lot of parts from China and have NEVER been charged any fees by Canada Customs. These items came to Canada via Speekpak China then handed over to Canada Post. There is no "middleman" or smoke and mirrors. Seems odd that it is cheaper and easier to buy from China than it is to buy from the USA from a Canadian buyer's point of view. After discussion with DHL USA, I am told that they allow buyers to opt out of their collections of taxes and duties and at this time of the Canadian strike, are forwarding packages to Canada Customs for evaluation. I will NEVER again use Ebay's international shipping again. I will send my packages to my US address and just import them myself. Too many "smoke and mirrors" type scenarios to deal with.

marnotom! · ‎06-25-2025

@1number1buyer wrote:

DHL cannot force you to pay any customs fees. DHL will allow the recipient to opt out of paying customs fees and will forward your item to Customs for evaluation. Most often in my past experiences, there were no fees collected by Canada Customs. If I paid DHL customs fees and Canada Customs did not require any fees or taxes to be paid, who keeps the amount collected by DHL?

My understanding is all carriers except Canada Post will allow importers to self-clear their items through customs, but they don't make a big noise about it. There is a tax/duty-free allowance for casual imports of C$20 or C$40 depending on if the item is handled by mail or by courier and the item's country of origin. After that, couriers have no choice but to have casual imports assessed for tax and duty charges, otherwise they could lose their licence to do this on behalf of the Canada Border Services Agency.

The items you've had cleared directly through CBSA have either fallen inside the tax/duty-free limit, or else an executive decision was made not to charge the taxes/duty due on them as costs involved in charging for this would be greater than the taxes and duty charges themselves. Couriers can charge various fees for collecting taxes and duties on casual imports, CBSA doesn't or can't. Even with items sent by mail, the C$9.95 charge on top of the taxes/duty due is a collection and disbursement fee by Canada Post, not CBSA.

You may be receiving your Speedpak shipments from China "free" because the shipper has opted to absorb the cost of the taxes and duty (if applicable) due on the item themselves. This does make things a lot more simple for the recipient, as you note.

To be honest, I'm surprised that this is news to someone who's "been in business since 1974."

1number1buyer · ‎06-25-2025

I was ready to reply to your statements as there are errors,but, I will not. I see you waited until the end of your statement to take a personal shot at me and my experience. You are very unprofessional and I am surprised that you are still in business taking shots at others the way you did here. You do not deserve a reply, sorry.

marnotom! · ‎06-26-2025

If person X says that person Y is wrong, it doesn’t make person X right by default.

I’m grateful that my grade 5 teacher taught my class the basics of debating.