Ebay International Shipping. Total rip off scam!

[highcards_206]

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

[reallynicestamps]

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.

Yes. USPS has had another rate increase just a day or so ago on parcels. Since 2021 that's averaged two every year.

In addition, this past holiday season, they took a practise from Uber and had "surge pricing"-- a peak season surcharge from October 2025 to January 2026.

[mrdutch1001]

I have never used "Best Offer" on any items here on eBay nor on my other selling site...and I've not been asked for discount, lower price in over 15 years! I have found Canadian buyers to be very accepting of the listed price and wwayy back when...any queries about a discount came from potential USA buyers!

[marnotom!]

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@grann-4629 wrote:

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.

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Okay, @grann-4629, let's try this:

Say you see a listing for an item on eBay that you absolutely must have. However, the seller absolutely refuses to ship outside of the United States. The item is reasonably priced, and the seller's charge for shipping within the US is only US$5.00. Your friend in Chicago, Eyi Ess, is willing to have the item shipped to them as long as you're willing to reimburse them the shipping through PayPal. You agree.

So the seller ships the item to Eyi. You get an invoice for the price of the item plus $5. You pay the seller (through eBay) that amount. Once Eyi gets the item, they take it to the post office, get all the customs stuff filled out, etc. and get it put into the mail for US$20. Eyi asks for US$20 and you pay Eyi US$20 through PayPal. The total you paid for shipping was US$5 (to get the item to Eyi) plus US$20 (to get the item from Eyi to you) for a total of US$25 for shipping.

You love the item! And a few weeks later, you see the exact same item being sold by a different seller for about the same price. However, this seller uses a different shipping method which costs US$10. You have a friend here who would probably love to have this item for a birthday present, so you ask Eyi if they can do you a favour again. Eyi agrees.

So this time, you get an invoice from the seller and eBay for the item plus US$10 in shipping, which, of course, you dutifully pay. Eyi receives the item, takes it to the post office, and is charged the same US$20 charge to have it shipped to you in Canada. You pay Eyi US$20 through PayPal. The total you paid for shipping was US$10 (to get the item to Eyi) plus US$20 (to get the item from Eyi to you) for a total of US$30 for shipping.

eIS works basically the same way except that both payment amounts go through the Checkout system. The seller receives from you what they charge for shipping to the eIS hub outside of Chicago, eIS receives what it's charging or being charged to get the item from the hub to you. You see and pay one possibly ugly shipping charge which is the total of both smaller shipping charges.

Does that make more sense, or does it sound like I'm speaking Esperanto?

[grann-4629]

It makes sense, especially about the ugly shipping charge.

The only 'flaw' in your hypothetical is that I won't buy any item from a US seller, regardless of how badly I 'need' to have it. With all the uncertainties caused by the Canadian and US governments, even if the seller offered free shipping, I would pass. And if the seller states that s/he will absolutely not ship outside the USA, I wouldn't even read the rest of the listing.

I would, of course, reconsider this if I was looking for the neat kind of stuff you sell.

My restrictions on buying haven't hurt me yet. I have made some good buys, met some good sellers and all is well ... except the weather -46 deg C. at the airport this morning.

😎

[reallynicestamps]

 I won't buy any item from a US seller, regardless of how badly I 'need' to have it.

I feel the same about buying American at the supermarket. 

I have given up Cheerios for Red River cereal. 

And the only celery I have purchased in the past year came from Alberta. 

[mrdutch1001]

although it may be a fun exercise for hypothetical scenarios, I too would never "need" an item that badly to go through that kind of hassle,  nor would I ever ask a friend or relative living in the USA (and I have both) to do any of that for me no matter what the item, so no matter how anyone wants to spin it, for me it's a simple 'NO WAY!".... But I do understand that there are those persons that will and those persons will do anything/whatever it takes to get what they want...or what they feel they "need"...

[marnotom!]

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@mrdutch1001 wrote:

although it may be a fun exercise for hypothetical scenarios, I too would never "need" an item that badly to go through that kind of hassle,  nor would I ever ask a friend or relative living in the USA (and I have both) to do any of that for me no matter what the item, so no matter how anyone wants to spin it, for me it's a simple 'NO WAY!".... But I do understand that there are those persons that will and those persons will do anything/whatever it takes to get what they want...or what they feel they "need"...

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In the early days of eBay, long before the Global Shipping Program, there were a LOT of US sellers who refused to ship out of the country.  My wife had a couple of items from such sellers sent to an aunt in California who then forwarded them onto her by mail.  Aunt used to live in Canada herself and was quite sympathetic.  At that point, mailing goods from the US was more straightforward and a lot less expensive than it is now.

Consider that some if not many buyers in South America make use of freight forwarders to get their "must have" US-sourced eBay items to them.  Sometimes the seller uses eIS in these instances but for whatever reason, eIS has restricted sales to South America despite it being "supported" by eIS.

[rdemaree]

EIS is a lousy service.

Costs more, is slower and they confiscate things way too often.

I don’t recommend it for buyers OR sellers.

Only lazy American and European sellers who mostly prefer to do domestic business only use it. I can only recommend it to sellers who live in the middle of the woods who only sell basic things like socks or cheap plastic junk to use the EIS. Definitely do not recommend it for anyone selling anything unique or vintage, they will confiscate it and the price and shipping time to ship it are absurd.

Most the times I buy from a seller in the USA or uk using the EIS the item gets confiscated and it’s slow as molasses and expensive. I always get refunded but it’s a bad service.

Canadian sellers usually can’t 100% rely on domestic sales only due to population size and how spread out we are so we have to sell to other countries. Problem is our next door neighbor right now is a circus clown and eBay isn’t making it easier on us by putting fake warnings on all of our listings for us buyers and trying to cram the EIS down our throats on top of the new promoted listings shakedown.

[john_koenig99]

Like they say, YMMV. If it weren't for the eIS Canada, my sales would've been in the toilet.

I sell vintage, rare to find electronics (watches, games and calculators) and they don't sell too well, domestically. Yes, the Orange clown made a number with tariffs and eliminating de minimis in the US, but there are people willing to pay for such expense, in order to acquire a rare finding. Tariffs and fees aside, international shipping is not cheap anymore. 

And I'm not a fan of buying items than come via eIS either, but sometimes a good deal is a good deal, even if I have to wait longer for it. 

In terms of confiscated items, well, this can happen even if eIS is not involved. If the item is not allowed to import, it gets stopped at customs and could be returned, confiscated or destroyed. Simple as that. 

[grann-4629]

Except with eIS, you have twice the potential for lost or confisgated items. Two shippers, and one of them gets thousands of parcels dailly where 'misplacing' of things is much easier.

[ypdc_dennis]

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@grann-4629 wrote:

Except with eIS, you have twice the potential for lost or confisgated items. Two shippers, and one of them gets thousands of parcels dailly where 'misplacing' of things is much easier.

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That's incorrect. 

Whether eIS or direct, a confisgated item happens at the customs clearance stage -- which only happens once.

If a seller uses USPS to ship directly, there are also 2 shippers (USPS and Canada Post).

Things can get lost/misplaced at every stage of the journey, even if just one company is responsible.

My last FedEx air delivery from the USA had 5 handovers before it got to me (with delays at 2 of the hubs).

-l-

[grann-4629]

They can get lost at any stage ... eIS just adds another potential loss point, and a big one where lots of things can happen. While USPS and Canada Post only have to get/take stuff from the 'hub', what happens at the 'hub' adds to the risk. Small things can easily get lost in big piles of bigger things.

Re confiscation, I have read several posts here where an item was confiscated before it even got to the border (ie: confiscated at the 'hub'). Maybe not true? Or,  are Customs people officed in the 'hub' so they can do their thing before it leaves?

And the delays to a buyer, although not usually critical, cause some anxious buyers to harass a seller.

Just sayin'

😎

[marnotom!]

@grann-4629, the unfortunate reality is that direct mailed shipments from the United States are becoming a rarity even outside of eBay.  

I'm still waiting for the CD I purchased from the band's website as a pre-order last year.  It's definitely in transit now, but it seems to be being handled in the same way eIS handles shipments.  It's even being handled by a logistics company based outside of Chicago, by the looks of things.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@grann-4629 wrote:

They can get lost at any stage ... eIS just adds another potential loss point, and a big one where lots of things can happen. While USPS and Canada Post only have to get/take stuff from the 'hub', what happens at the 'hub' adds to the risk. Small things can easily get lost in big piles of bigger things.

Re confiscation, I have read several posts here where an item was confiscated before it even got to the border (ie: confiscated at the 'hub'). Maybe not true? Or,  are Customs people officed in the 'hub' so they can do their thing before it leaves?

And the delays to a buyer, although not usually critical, cause some anxious buyers to harass a seller.

Just sayin'

😎

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@marnotom! 

@grann-4629 

Total agreement. I definitely would be nervous sending anything fragile via eis due to all the extra handling with potential cross country routing. eIS in practice is more of a freight consolidator vs a freight forwarder. (Essentially, forwarders manage the logistics, whereas consolidators manage the container space. (One of the points where eis shipments have the potential to get delayed.) The fundamental difference lies in how the cargo is handled, with a consolidator taking a hands-on approach by loading and managing consolidated containers from origin to destination. In contrast, a freight forwarder typically delegates consolidated shipping business to a consolidator.)

A good portion of this boondoggle/nightmare falls back at eBay's "decision" to hide personal information to the point of making next to impossible to access. Because of this opening a claim for INR's and the dreaded INAD's (Received damaged) communicating between parties and post office is EXTREMELY challenging. Made even worse when customs is involved and can't get a hold of anyone. There go to in most cases is by email. Something ebay no longer provides. To say a claim by a buyer is done...finito...complete once buyer has gotten paid is not entirely accurate. There is still a seller to attempt recovery of any lost funds in the process. (We won't even go into no way within eBay for a seller to get repaid once they were held at (....) to refund for something out of their control...where the buyer receives...but maybe a bit late. 

In dealing with my held up shipment where I messaged and alerted the customer that item was stuck in customs according to the tracking info their belated reponse  was "I rarely if ever check ebay mail". Unsure how that is on the seller when they did everything in their power to advise buyer. Basically as per eBay "Just how it is. End of story."

Ahhh the bygone days when there was actual customer service vs everything going to the bot department, likely to never be completely resolved. 

As a sidenote I received a pc of electronics, approx 100 CAD right around the time the tariffs kicked in that was sent in a similar way to eis from USA. When item arrived in Canada it went in mail stream. Shipping was reasonable/acceptable with only GST owing (Alberta) in a week. So it is possible. Reason why it was a great experience and would purchase from that particular seller again. Anyone dealing with eIS in either direction and having a bad experience, are they likely to buy again? Not likely!!! Kinda makes one wonder if eBay actually or has ever paid attention to any critism about their programs????

[rdemaree]

From 11 years of experience buying vintage art supplies from the USA and Europe from experience 80% of the time EIS confiscates the item.

By contrast in that same timeframe for the same items from similar sellers USPS, Royal Mail (and other similar national EU postal carriers) confiscations have happened MAYBE once or twice in 11 years. EIS it has happened dozens of times to the point where I actively refuse to buy from sellers using EIS if I catch it before purchase and even moreso refuse to expose my buyers to such a lousy service. 

Also as a seller of both vintage and handmade art supplies- I have never had issues with national postal services like - Canada Post, USPS and Royal Mail. 

Also to be clear- I have been selling handmade and vintage art supplies GLOBALLY since 2017 (full time since December 2019). It is just bureacratic nonsense with the EIS and stuff like Asendia why I run into issues. I am primarily selling oil paint so due to bloated technicalities and bureacracy through lousy programs like EIS it gets flagged as dangerous and flammable, even though I use national postal services like Canada Post, USPS, and Royal Mail to ship to every continent on earth for 9 years without ANY issues whatsoever. You would have a better chance of a unicorn breathing fire than a tube of oil paint suddenly self-combusting out of nowhere as it would have to open itself and the pigments would have to magically separate from the oil and then the oil would have to magically exit the tube and be exposed to thin paper towels and be balled up and left to heat up for  X amount of time. It is such a fantasy scenario as I mentioned, its bureacracy not practicality and it is obvious such products get shipped globally as I have done it for nearly a decade and big paint brands have been doing it for decades or even centuries. 

Its the same for anything made out of wood. They automatically assume its endangered trees etc. and confiscate it. 

and then theres the cost and shipping time, which are objectively terrible for EIS when compared to something like Canada Post, USPS, Royal Mail.

Its a bureacratic and lousy service truly only useful to people who live deep in the woods and sell basic things like socks and paper plates. 

[grann-4629]

Great post.

Do the tubes of paint include a flammability warning on the label? Do you need an MSDS when using it?

Maybe they should put the paint in drug bottles - they can beat safety regs with no effort and will get your stuff past those eBay fire safety experts.

Good luck.

😎

[grann-4629]

Its the same for anything made out of wood. They automatically assume its endangered trees etc. and confiscate it. 

So that's where all that Brazilian Rosewood ended up. When the 'hub' finally releases it, maybe we'll see some great sounding guitars come back.

Now, as to the Tortoise Shell that used to be OK in guitars also being on the endangered list, I doub't if the 'hub' has a stash of that, so it may never come back.

Alas, my music friends ...

😎

[john_koenig99]

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@rdemaree wrote:

Its a bureacratic and lousy service truly only useful to people who live deep in the woods and sell basic things like socks and paper plates. 

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Well, neither apply to me, but whatever fits your rant, I suppose. 

[rdemaree]

Obviously I am exaggerating with that statement but there is alot of truth to my long post and I am speaking from experience.

As a shipping service EIS is more expensive, slower, and more restrictive on what they will ship. These 3 factors make it hard to be competitive especially if it is your only shipping option into one of (if not your biggest) market as a Canadian seller which is usually the USA due to population size, proximity and population density. 

In general I wish ebay would take some steps to really help Canadian sellers out in the midst of trump turmoil and Canada Post strikes. EIS, misleading tariff warnings on all listings and flawed promoted listings policies aren't helping Canadian sellers stay competitive.

I am speaking as a seller who wants to remain competitive on ebay, I don't want selling on ebay to become a casual hobby so I am speaking my mind and some others have stood with me in seeing similar problems. Ecommerce for Canadian businesses is a mess right now but it doesn't have to be. 

Luckily I have easy access to ChitChats, Stallion Express or Swiftpost (only if im desperate! lol) but others aren't a geographically lucky as me.