Any discussions with your buyers on the tariffs?

[sapphyres-designer-jewellery]

I was busy trying to figure out verbage to use when talking to buyers about how there might be tariffs on packages. It was pointed out to me that since the US president is telling Americans that other countries pay the tariffs, that my buyers might think I'm supposed to be paying tariffs and if their goods show up with tariffs owing, then I did something to get out of paying them and pass on to them (and they'll still believe they're not the ones who has to pay).

I was talking with the shop owner today (where I get a lot of my items) and he said it will be hard to educate all the buyers on tariffs when the US President is lying to them about who pays them. And it might take some time for US buyers to realize that they're paying the tariffs by having the cost of everything go up (as they realize this is happening).

Anyone talk to their buyers about tariffs and how is that going? 

I've had a few buyers asking about tariffs to see if I know anything new about how it's all going to work. They're asking me if the stuff in my store is subject to tariffs, how do they know if they'll have to pay, that kind of thing.

I did have one discussion with someone in the US (not one of my customers, they are another seller) who said "the tariffs are paid by the other country, Americans don't have to pay tariffs. They put tariffs on other countries so the other countries will be the ones paying". I tried to explain about the cost of everything I buy at the grocery store that comes from the US with tariffs on it costs more for me the end shopper to pay, and they will be paying more for a lot of things too because of the tariffs. This person was as dense as cement and I couldn't get through to them that the buyer pays the tariff, not some other country that's selling a product to the buyer.

This discussion with a dense individual in the US is making me wonder how many dense customers are out there that will be angry with us because they have to pay tariffs and are not realizing that as the buyer they have to pay tariffs, it's on American citizens to pay their government for the privilege of sourcing outside the US. (And if you start making it all in the US it will cost more, because the manufacturers will be sourcing outside the country, or the factory workers need living wages and the cost of everything will go up because it's made in the US).

Some people don't get it... curious to know if anyone selling here has encountered this yet.

C.

[mrdutch1001]

Unfortunately, DT has brainwashed the USA and has filled its peoples with so many lies that logic,sense & sensibility no longer exists for the USA. The outside world will need to re-educate the USA with facts and truths but only if the peoples of the USA are willing to listen and accept those facts and truths...

[sapphyres-designer-jewellery]

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@mrdutch1001 wrote:

Unfortunately, DT has brainwashed the USA and has filled its peoples with so many lies that logic,sense & sensibility no longer exists for the USA. The outside world will need to re-educate the USA with facts and truths but only if the peoples of the USA are willing to listen and acceptthose facts and truths...

---

This is kind of what I'm afraid of. I sell something and tariffs are assessed (once they start charging postal imports), and I get an angry letter from the buyer about paying tariffs, as if they're obvious to the fact that they're supposed to pay them. And then attempting to educate them on how tariffs work to be told that the tariffs are on Canadian goods therefore me, a Canadian seller, is supposed to be paying them if I want to sell to the US.

It's been pointed out to me by a few people that it's hard for Americans to understand what's going on when their leader keeps lying to them.

This is reminiscent of the war in Ukraine when Russia was brainwashing their citizens about how it's a special military operation to denatzify the Ukraine. And then they made it criminal to call it a war. The US is headed in that direction (and becoming the gestapo) where it will be illegal to call DT a liar for spreading untruths to their citizens.

Friends of mine are afraid to go to the US because they don't want their phones searched. I would delete most of my text threads before going, but they are so incredibly nosy, suspicious and act like they're investigating a murder if they feel like it at the border. I'm not used to being treated like a criminal, the police in Canada (and other countries) never treat me like a criminal, but it's like bringing a few packages across the border to post in the US is a federal crime. I had one customs agent accusing me of stealing for US tax payers by using their postal system to mail a package. I really don't like how they operate, and I travel a lot, and will not transit the US to go places.

C.

[biglittleape]

I will be blocking all orders from US buyers 2 days before de minimis is terminated.  Regular people in the US don't know what being charged for duties/customs/brokerage is, they never experienced it.  For sure there will be outrange, rejected packages and negative feedback.

Only hope is that this gets reversed last minute or maybe it becomes part of trade negotiation between US/Canada.  I could see US wanting Canada to increase our version which is quite low.

[mrdutch1001]

I found the easiest way to work around not getting orders/sales from USA buyers was simple & easy> eliminated shipping to the USA from all my listings...

[easoss]

I don't understand it myself so I can't possibly explain it to others.

[sapphyres-designer-jewellery]

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@easoss wrote:

I don't understand it myself so I can't possibly explain it to others.

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I'm not good with understanding these things either, I just had to think about it for a bit...

If you have a foreign supplier and you try to tax them, they just raise their prices and pass the cost down. Eventually the end cost reaches the end buyer who's prices are going up. It's simple to say no foreign supplier will dip into their profits to pay the US tariff, anything that increases their costs gets passed on. (But I suppose if you told the buyer you're not paying their tariffs and passing the cost down, they will probably just get mad at you).

I've been stating that I don't approve of tariffs and if there's any way to get around them, I'm all for that. The thing is, I don't think we'll be able to get around them for long. Shipping via postal service seems like it will work for a while, but for how long, who knows. I told the brick and mortar shop owner that the tariffs by USPS/post office will start with no warning and suddenly all my buyers will have to pay tariffs.

I'd like to communicate with buyers that items are shipped from Canada so they know (it says that on my dot ca listings, in my dot com listings they've been accustomed to the cross border shipper, my new seller initiated offer message is going to point out that all items have to be shipped from Canada now, let them decide if they want to accept the offer and take the risk, or pass and buy from someone else). I will probably lose sales, but I'd prefer selling less to having upset buyers.

I can turn off US sales easily enough on my dot ca store, but on the dot com store it's a given that there's US shipping and I currently have 11,000 items listed there. A lot will have to go into moving them, and I'd prefer to just sell them and put new stuff up here instead. I don't like wasting time, doing things twice, or fixing things that shouldn't need to be fixed.

C.

[mrdutch1001]

Yes, for anyone listing on.COM, shipping to the USA is a requirement, which is why I am no longer listing on.COM...

[marnotom!]

Maybe send the cement-heads a link to an article on tariffs from a news source you think they love and trust?

Here’s an example of one from FOX News:

https://www.livenowfox.com/news/explain-tariffs-me-what-they-how-do-work.amp

[silverpinups]

"This discussion with a dense individual in the US is making me wonder how many dense customers are out there that will be angry with us because they have to pay tariffs... "

About 70 million Americans voted for the orange dumba*s so base your math on that number... 

[musicyouneed]

I love the way you explain things, very concise and easy to understand.  It is unfortunate that a great percentage of buyers in the US don't even realize that they are buying from Canada on .com.   

Trump keeps telling everyone that the tariffed country pays the tariffs, just like Mexico will pay for the wall. 

What till November when all the stores run out of stuff and raise their prices.  When was the last time you saw something new not made in China.  You'd have to go back to the 1960's to find stuff made in the US.

I think as Canadian sellers we are going to have a hard time, lower sales to the US, which is 50% of my sales.   

I sell CD's and I hope that the CD's that were made in the US will have no problem at the border with shipping.  My Canadian made CD's, I am hoping that because they were fully made in Canada, they will also be OK, covered under CUSMA or USMCA (whatever you call it).   What do you think?

[mrdutch1001]

IMHO, I don't believe anything CUSMA compliant is "safe" no matter how accurate the documentation for the contents....I trust nothing when it comes to the USA Gov't and its incompetent/irrational/unstable/demented leader...

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@mrdutch1001 wrote:

Unfortunately, DT has brainwashed the USA and has filled its peoples with so many lies that logic,sense & sensibility no longer exists for the USA. The outside world will need to re-educate the USA with facts and truths but only if the peoples of the USA are willing to listen and accept those facts and truths...

---

@mrdutch1001 

Businesses and anyone who buys something of higher value in the USA have been paying tariffs for years. Because of the de minimis for the average buyer it was a non entity. With DT being a big fan of tariffs and then spreading all the falsehoods about them. As for Canadians we have been paying them according to the rules in place or whenever the gov made a new change at reasonable rates...for the most part. Throw in this back and forth and eye for eye mentality, made the whole concept a jumbled mess with businesses, Joe and Judy Public with customs in the middle. 

PS. Over my years of selling on eBay I've had numerous high value shipments that required a formal entry. Those situations they were going to businesses. The businesses knew and understood there would be tariffs...and customs processing. For them it was the cost of doing business. 

What's happening that US public is  they are getting an eye opening on the perils of tariffs. It's just that it was at off/on speed. Similar to how Canadians who did a weekend trip to the USA and got dinged at the border by going a bit over their limit. They learned their lesson.....fast!!

[Anonymous]

The issue has never come up from 'my' sellers - my one and only purchase from a US seller (before the nonsense about tariffs was needed to deflect the real issues) came with a huge shipping cost that I knew about before bidding.

I factored that in when I placed my bid at the beginning of the auction, and I won. I was happy with my landed cost, but never again. I lucked out!

I search the 'Canada Only' listings exclusively now.

I feel truly sorry for all you folks who need an income from eBay to survive ... things are just getting harder for you. How can you explain tariffs to your buyers when they change hourly at the whim of your President and other world leaders, and nobody understands them.

[intimewithmusic]

@sapphyres-designer-jewellery 

@marnotom! 

 Any discussions with your buyers on the tariffs?  Yes, but...

   after reading all of these judgemental msgs from sellers I guess I'm alone.  If I'm not please kudo this post. Thank you.

  Your supposed to honor your customers. It doesn't matter what you feel about politics or "cement heads". These are your buyers.

   Most of you claim to do a lot of business with American buyers yet you belittle them and publicly express hatred. Your comments and your store links will be here long after the current situation resolves and now there's AI to dig your comments up... for years to come.

   To answer the question: "Any discussions with your buyers on the tariffs?"

A buyer asked me some questions during his purchase of a very large MIChina collectible. When I sent my answers and photos I added this:

Added response to buyer's questions:

About Tariffs: This item may be subject to Washington's new tariffs. As shown in the listing under Item Specifics this items is made in China. "Country/Region of Manufacture = China" eBay sellers do not collect or administer tariffs. We do not know if your purchase will be subject to this new American tax. This is noted by eBay in the eBay checkout and also in the listing description. If you have concerns or questions please contact eBay through their HELP section or your USA Customs website.
Welcome to eBay and thank you for your order!

Details: Item shipped from Kelowna Aug 5. Delivered to New York Aug 13.

Honored Buyer's Msg & Feedback rec'd Aug 13;

MSG "I’ve received the item safely.
It was a very pleasant transaction, and I truly appreciate your excellent communication and kind note.
Thank you so much!"

"

FEEDBACK  "The seller was very friendly and attentive. The toy was carefully packaged and arrived in excellent condition. I’m very happy with this purchase!"

KA  CHING!

----------------------------------------

 I may be out in this boat by myself but after 45 years doing this I never considered a buyer a "cement-head"  or "dense as cement".  You go out there on the sales floor, greet everyone with kindness, figure out what they want , get paid, thank them and repeat. 

Too much public ridiculing of Trump won't boost sales and your public fumes are going to hang around for a very, very  long time.  Longer than Trump.

(except for those with ghosted accounts) 

[Anonymous]

Out of those 70 million, you'd think at least one would admit it. I've asked a lot of my American friends and relatives since the time the guy was elected the first time, and nobody voted for him.

[silverpinups]

Out of those 70 million, you'd think at least one would admit it. I've asked a lot of my American friends and relatives since the time the guy was elected the first time, and nobody voted for him.

I stand corrected, 77 million and change for Trump vs. 75 million and change for Harris. Your friends and relatives probably made up the 75 million plus that didn't vote for him (at least we hope).   

[silverpinups]

Too much public ridiculing of Trump won't boost sales and your public fumes are going to hang around for a very, very  long time.  Longer than Trump.

I'm very proud of my political views and comments regarding Trump (the want-a-be dictator and convicted felon to name a few) and that I side with what is right from wrong. I'm glad my public fumes will be preserved in history. 

[easoss]

The bigger problem is the utterly useless congress that are supposed to be gatekeepers of tariff policy.

[msau4301]

I know not everyone reads the whole listing but I know when there has been something new I was worried about while selling here (when they started automatically adding the taxes, etc.), I made a note at the top of the listing, in case the buyer didn't read down to the fine print, it was there top and center before the description: Something like this "Please note I am in Canada, any taxes, tariffs, etc. are additional and beyond my control." At least that way if someone says they didn't realize, you can point out it's right there at the top of the listing. I know it's a pain for those of you with tons of listings (myself I only have about 20 - 25 so it's much easier of course), but maybe chose certain items at least (those you expect could be popular).

I'm taking the rest of the summer off and will see what is happening in September, good luck to everyone, whatever route you're taking.