eBay

highcards_206 · ‎07-14-2025

Get your act together Ebay gouging people for shipping and limiting people from any sales cross border..
I purchase postage stamps on a regular basis from all over the world; Every country besides the United States the users / sellers are using reasonable shipping methods which often include tracking.. I typically pay between 3.00 and 5.00 maybe 7.00 maximum if the letter is being tracked... These letters have no weight and between Canada and the USA standard shipping charged are 2.50$

For some stupid reason Ebay USA and Canada aren't able to work in sync without us being gouged as the buyers and the sellers have less buyers because of the ridiculous charged behing Ebay International Shipping.. On the sellers end they do not realize that Ebay is charging us the seller 17.80$ to send a stamp... A single stamp...

This is a constant issue between US and Cad and Ebay doesn't seem to give a hoot to make things a little more clear or justify their ridiculous pricing... Not the first time but today I won a stamp worth 3.50... The add stated standard USPS shipping of 0.99 on the lot... I win the auction; Go to my cart and BOOM slammed with Ebay International Shipping which added 17.80 USD on top of 3.50... My total came to be 27.00 Cad$... For one stamp...

Total idiots run this platform and they do nothing at all to update the system to make things clear! It is a constant back and fourth messaging sellers to figure out shipping costs and the sellers I speak to don't even realize we the buyers are being charged so much... Many change shipping methods once they are notified of the charges Ebay is throwing at us....

There are no customs and duty on a 3.50 stamp Ebay... You scammers! It doesn't cost you 17.80 USD to send me a single postage stamp... Absolute trash.. Had to cancel at least a dozen orders now over the years because of this garbage scam Ebay keeps on pushing...

Get your developers to get up off their rear ends and put a fix to this! All you need to do is Google "Ebay international shipping scam or rip off" to see dozens of people who've compalined about this over the years

marnotom! · ‎07-25-2025

@reallynicestamps wrote:

The last thing I bought from the USA was a dress (shopzuri.com) made in Kenya, shipped from NYC.
The label on the package was no longer nor more complicated than our own.
The only other paperwork was a notice about return policies inside the package.

Was it shipped directly through the postal system or was another party involved? The last item I received from the US had minimal customs information on the label, but it was handled through the US mail system by Asendia before being handed off to Canada Post. The customs “paperwork” was probably on a shipping manifest.

3islanders · ‎07-25-2025

The most recent (gift) package I received via USPS, I recall a form inserted in a plastic pocket; maybe a few more boxes to fill in, but didn't seem that bad either. Certainly not the sort of form worthy of the other friend's aforementioned crisis 😂

Remember when Canada Post just had the simple little stickers on packages?? I saw people in the states claiming they didn't know how to ship out of country way back then. Surely theirs wasn't that complicated at that point...? ... But then, I've heard there are people nowadays who don't know how to mail a letter or what a cheque is, so.... 🙄

grenouille1949 · ‎01-16-2026

Ebay is lying when they list the international shipping cost. They hide the fact that parcel delivery services like DHL can charge an additional fee of 25% of the value of what you are buying. Ebay washes their hands of the situation by saying contact DHL. International shipping is supposed to handle the paper work and that is what companies like DHL are charging exhorbitant fees for. I will stop using ebay to purchase items in the future. At least Amazon atleast warns you that there maybe additional fees and they appear before you actually buy the item.

john_koenig99 · ‎01-16-2026

@grenouille1949 wrote:
Ebay is lying when they list the international shipping cost. They hide the fact that parcel delivery services like DHL can charge an additional fee of 25% of the value of what you are buying.

Shipping cost has nothing to do with customs brokerage and duty fees.

grann-4629 · ‎01-18-2026

I thought one of the reasons some people like the expensive option of using eIS, is because it includes customs fees, tariffs, duties, other trumped up charges, and a doughnut for the postmaster. Saves having to do the math and is kinda like shooting at a moving target now.

The fact that your buyer has to pay two shipping charges is bad enough ... the other costs of using this, time will tell.

In the meantime BUY CANADIAN

marnotom! · ‎01-18-2026

@grann-4629 wrote:

I thought one of the reasons some people like the expensive option of using eIS, is because it includes customs fees, tariffs, duties, other trumped up charges, and a doughnut for the postmaster.

Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t, and sometimes it gives buyers a choice between paying the customs-related charges at checkout or deferring them until delivery. There’s an icon buyers can tap or click for more information.

@grann-4629 wrote:

In the meantime BUY CANADIAN

Which means what, exactly? Most Canadian sellers don't exclusively sell items produced in Canada.

Actually, I suspect some of your concerns about eIS's "import charges" would be dealt with if Canada got on board with many other countries who are now requiring that eBay collect and remit taxes on all international sales the way it does for domestic sales. Right now, eBay isn't doing that for international sales bound for Canada, not even through eIS. (Other parties do that.)

grann-4629 · ‎01-18-2026

Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t

Hence, my moving target analogy

Most Canadian sellers don't exclusively sell items produced in Canada.

Not necessarily produced in Canada, but sold by a Canadian to another Canadian ... the way I buy stuff. I don't need iES as I am not a seller and I only buy Canadian.

I would love to be able to take advantage of the neat I stuff I see my American friends listing, but I will not pay 2x+ what the actual cost to ship an item is, and the uncertainty with everything that crosses the border these days.

marnotom! · ‎01-18-2026

@grann-4629 wrote:

I would love to be able to take advantage of the neat I stuff I see my American friends listing, but I will not pay 2x+ what the actual cost to ship an item is, and the uncertainty with everything that crosses the border these days.

What do you mean by “actual cost,” though?

grann-4629 · ‎01-20-2026

Perhaps you can help me answer your question by answering a couple of my own. I am only asking because I am reading conflicting reports from the experts and maybe eIS is a deal.

1. What is the cost to mail a DVD from Rapid City, USA to Winnipeg, Canada if the seller makes his own label, buys and affixes the stamps, and drops it in the box by himself with no help from eBay, and at the lowest (domestic?) rate?

2. What would be the cost if the same item was shipped the same way, but using eIS?

tks ...

marnotom! · ‎01-20-2026

@grann-4629 wrote:

1. What is the cost to mail a DVD from Rapid City, USA to Winnipeg, Canada if the seller makes his own label, buys and affixes the stamps, and drops it in the box by himself with no help from eBay, and at the lowest (domestic?) rate?

I'm confused by your note about this being "domestic" when you're referring to merchandise being mailed from the United States to Canada so I'm just going to let it slide.

Unless things have changed, it would be impossible to drop the package into a mailbox because the customs form would need to be "round stamped" by a postal clerk before it could go into the mailstream.

If the seller tries to send the DVD as a letter, there's the possibility that the item could get returned to them as it doesn't conform to USPS's definition of an international letter. If the seller sends it by First Class Package International (what Canada Post calls "Small Packet"), I think the cheapest it can go for is US$19.40.

I suggest you try out the USPS rate calculator to see if you can do better than that:

https://postcalc.usps.com/

@grann-4629 wrote:

2. What would be the cost if the same item was shipped the same way, but using eIS?

Depends on how much the seller's charging to have the item shipped to the eIS hub, because that has to be taken into consideration as well. If the seller is offering "free" domestic shipping, there won't be anything to add to the eIS charge.

I'm looking at a listing for a DVD issue of Stranger Than Paradise that is being handled by eIS. The shipping charge to Canada is US$15.85. The seller ships domestically by Media Mail for US$4.47, so eIS's share of the shipping charge is US$11.38.

grann-4629 · ‎01-21-2026

Thanks.

I used the term 'domestic' because I think that is the lowest rate available in Canada. I just assumed the USPS would have something similar. On second thought however, I realize what the word actually means, so I am forever in your debt for 'letting it slide'. (!!).

If the cheapest rate is $19.40 to mail a single DVD from the USA to Canada, that's a HUGE increase since the time I started buying DVD's when they first became popular.

I know about the letter thing ... I have never tried that nor have I asked a seller to - it's not legal.

So, bottom line, if your numbers are correct, it would be cheaper shipping to ask a seller to use eIS ($19.40 vs. 15.85). eBay is the real robber baron here by taking an extra $11+ to get it across the border. So, why are most sellers that I look at wanting $25 to $30 US (one Gazillion Canadian) to ship one DVD to me in Canada from the USA?

Blows my mind. Glue the thing to a Frisbee and wing it over ... I'm not that far away, and I promise to send your Frisbee back.

😎

marnotom! · ‎01-21-2026

@grann-4629 wrote:

So, bottom line, if your numbers are correct, it would be cheaper shipping to ask a seller to use eIS ($19.40 vs. 15.85). eBay is the real robber baron here by taking an extra $11+ to get it across the border.

From your response, I'm not sure you're understanding how the shipping split works with eIS. eIS is basically a glorified forwarding service, so that's why you're paying for two sets of shipping. That eleven bucks is part of that US$15.85 charge and isn't just to get the item "across the border," it's to get the item from the hub to you.

There probably is a considerable mark-up of the actual shipping charge from DHL or Asendia or whoever's doing the actual shipping, but operating the eIS program does cost money and it has to come from somewhere.

@grann-4629 wrote:

So, why are most sellers that I look at wanting $25 to $30 US (one Gazillion Canadian) to ship one DVD to me in Canada from the USA?

First, make sure those sellers are actually in the United States. Going back to my Stranger Than Paradise search, I was finding that sellers in Australia and the UK had those sort of shipping prices for a single DVD.

After finding a US seller with a shipping charge of US$22 and change to Canada, I changed my shipping location to US ZIP code 60139 (the location of the US eIS/Sincro hub) and a shipping charge of just shy of ten US bucks showed up.

So in this case, the seller's shipping method to the hub is adding US$9.99 to an eIS US$12.04 shipping charge for a grand total of US$22.03 to ship a single DVD to Canada.

This sort of breakdown of the shipping price can be done by any buyer using a laptop or desktop computer. I don't think it's possible to do on a phone or tablet.

mrdutch1001 · ‎01-21-2026

When all is said & done, best to forget buying anything from the USA ...save the hassle,save yourself the frustrations and aggravation and purchase from within Canada...even if its still expensive it is worth it to support Canadian sellers,and in turn SUPPORT CANADA!

marnotom! · ‎01-21-2026

@mrdutch1001 wrote:

When all is said & done, best to forget buying anything from the USA ...save the hassle,save yourself the frustrations and aggravation and purchase from within Canada...even if its still expensive it is worth it to support Canadian sellers,and in turn SUPPORT CANADA!

“The question for middle powers, like Canada, is not whether to adapt to the new reality — we must. The question is whether we adapt by simply building higher walls or whether we can do something more ambitious.”

— Mark Carney

mrdutch1001 · ‎01-21-2026

The more ambitous plan for Canadian eBay sellers is to build a better Canadian customer base, support ALL Canadian businesses, support Canada, for the greater good>thusly enriching Canada's future and making things Better for Canada!

marnotom! · ‎01-21-2026

@mrdutch1001 wrote:

The more ambitous plan for Canadian eBay sellers is to build a better Canadian customer base, support ALL Canadian businesses, support Canada, for the greater good>thusly enriching Canada's future and making things Better for Canada!

But the unfortunate thing on the macro level is that we're a country with the population of the state of California spread out in a land mass just slightly bigger than that of the United States and we have an aging infrastructure to support. We need foreign investment. If we scratch the backs of Europe, the Pacific Rim, etc. in addition to our own, they should scratch ours back.

grann-4629 · ‎01-21-2026

Well said @mrdutch1001 , and that's what I do, at least until the issues with cross-border shipping is finalized and no more surprises coming from POTUS or Canada Post. As to higher costs, the stuff I am buying in Canada is usually priced below the stuff I see from US sellers, especially when you add the 30% or so to convert to Canadian bucks.

But before that, I have to go back to school - I'm having difficulty with the math @marnotom! has used to explain how it works at the current time! I certainly appreciate his/her help, but it is so confusing.

I don't think punishing a buyer to make a seller's life easier and less risky is the right way to do business. Even if it turns out to be cheaper shipping, it probably adds a bunch of days to the delivery time ... some buyers hate that as evidenced by topics in this forum.

I still think it stinks for buyers in Canada (I think USA too, now with the Canadian eIS) when they have to pay two shipping charges to get one item from Point A to Point B, while their beloved venue is taking a chunk to please their stockholders.

grann-4629 · ‎01-21-2026

That California thing could become moot when POTUS is told he has to give up California, Montana and both Dakotas if he ever even wants a sniff of owning Greenland.

I really like the idea of expanding our trade partners to Europe and Asia and reducing our 'reliance' on the US (not my words).

😎

john_koenig99 · ‎01-22-2026

@grann-4629 wrote

I don't think punishing a buyer to make a seller's life easier and less risky is the right way to do business. Even if it turns out to be cheaper shipping, it probably adds a bunch of days to the delivery time ... some buyers hate that as evidenced by topics in this forum.

Well, things have changed a lot in the online retail sector. Especially for small, independent sellers. While I don't disagree with you, in principle, the eIS program encourages sellers to keep the shop open to other markets.

If I haven't enrolled in the eIS, my total number of sales since late August would be one. The items I sell are quite rare findings, some of them are collectible, so buyers would consider pay more to acquire them. And, I have to say, Canadian buyers are (on average) very stingy, and I mostly get ridiculous low ball offers from some of them.

Most of the current extra charges for buyers in the US are related to tariffs. The actual shipping cost have only increased by an average of 15%, compared to what they used to pay before the Big Cheeto.

reallynicestamps · ‎01-22-2026

And, I have to say, Canadian buyers are (on average) very stingy, and I mostly get ridiculous low ball offers from some of them.

I use Best Offer and Eligible for Offers almost every day, but I save myself a lot of annoyance by putting Accept/Reject parameters on them.

If I want $100 for an item but would Accept$95 - that is my Accept parameter.

If I want $100 but it has not sold in three years (a lot of my stuff is very long tail) I put a Reject parameter of perhaps $75 on it.
I don't see any of those lowball Offers below $75, any Offer abover $95 is automatically accepted , and I can consider Offers betweem $95 and $75 for accept, reject, or counter offer.