Ask Us Anything: eBay International Shipping Canada

[devon@ebay]

Have questions about how eBay International Shipping works, how to streamline your cross-border sales, or how the program can help grow your business? Drop your questions in our AMA thread and the eIS team will be ready to dive in.

We’ll be collecting questions from Thursday at 10:00am ET through Friday at 10:00am ET, so don’t miss your chance to ask anything—from logistics to seller protections to best practices.

Get your questions ready and join the conversation!

As always, thank you for being part of the eBay seller community. 

[intimewithmusic]

Hi devon@ebay 

Devon,

Thank you for taking our EIS questions. I have four;

(I'm gatefully in the EIS program)

1.    I have painting equipment from retirement for sale. I'm trying to list a new paint sprayer hose (made in USA). EIS won't accept it. It posts "Does not ship to United States" if buyer with a US address checks the shipping details. The item is getting a lot of views but no one in the US can buy it. In the reverse, American sellers using EIS selling exactly the same Graco sprayer hose, have no issue selling it to Canada through EIS. I checked the listing for flaws like package size etc. It's a small box less than 2 kg. The only possibility I can see for the rejection is maybe it's restricted under EIS Canada "Heavy equipment and attachments" or "Hazardous materials " but it is neither of those. Other pro paint gear I'm listing fine with out any EIS issues.

   Is there a problem with the EIS restricted goods list and can we please have a complete breakdown of the items that are on those restricted lists?

2.    Without getting into reasons because there are just too many will an EIS hub open in Western Canada to service western Canadian sellers?

3.    How does the EIS process items restricted in some countries but not in others? Sellers may inadvertently ship to a country that restricts them. An example would be knives. Many types can be sold to the USA but none can be sold to the UK. Other examples include certain wood species and natural materials that may be OK for some countries but not others? When one of these items reaches the EIS hub what happens next?

4.    Buyers are encouraged to evaluate sellers with four feedback parameters. Through EIS "Shipping Speed", other than handling time, is greatly slowed down particularly for sellers further from the hub. As well, "Reasonable shipping Cost" through EIS is completely out of Seller control. Will these feedback choices be removed or amended if a seller uses EIS?

  Thanks again!

InTimeWithMusic

[mandicrafts]

1) Will the EIS hub use any other carrier to the USA than DHL? Being a courier they seem to have a base rate of $24 shipping, even for small and light items which prices us out of the US market. Perhaps another carrier would have lower US rates?
2) Can eBay put in a column on Active Listings, or a feature in bulk edit, to pick out listings without COO?
3) Can eBay enable flat rate shipping to the USA but keep calculated shipping to Int'l so that we can add our own shipping methods to the US in which we can include the tariff, without having to come up with flat rate Int'l rates. 
4) There are many items that do not show EIS US shipping rates even though COO is filled out, and they should qualify. Particularly for my collectible vintage Steiff, Schuco and other mohair plush toys. For those, I need to know which ones do NOT show EIS so I can either move them back to .com, or add my own flat rate US shipping to include tariffs. I have many examples. A Steiff Dachshund dog in 7 inches shows EIS US shipping, but the same Steiff Dachshund dog in 9 inches does not show EIS US shipping. Which makes no sense. But is there a way to find out which do not show EIS US without going through them one by one.
5) Does EIS exclude dinnerware, plates, tea cups and saucers, glasses, cutlery, mugs etc to the USA due to vague FDA rules? CP and UPS and Chit Chats all ship these to the USA. What is the criteria for EIS? Is it age? Is it category? Do these need to be listed on .com instead? 

[vintageandglamor]

1) Is there a way to get a list of all items not enrolled in EIS so we can try to solve individual listings not showing EIS in bulk?

2) I have read some are receiving discounted Canada Post rates to EIS, but I have not seen this. Is this only available to sellers close to your location?

3) Will there be a Western EIS hub in the future?

[palmerstonpicks]

thank you so much for taking our questions!

1. Requesting that a new shipping policy be created specially for the hub so that I can choose free shipping and keep my current domestic flat rates too for the same listings. I do not want to offer free shipping for the rest of Canada; rate tables are insufficient
2. Further to the above, requesting a seller drop off option for delivery to the hub - we live very close.
3. What if a buyer opens an item not as described case? Are we covered for that return? 
4. Do we know when a buyer opens a return?
5. What are the operating hours at the hub? Our courier routinely tries to deliver after hours (causing delays)

[storage_warriors]

Is eBay going to develop some kind of guidelines so we can figure out how to make eis appear on listings that should qualify? I did a random spot check on ten of my listings yesterday and could not find a pattern. I even looked at 2 listings for CDs, the only difference being that one is made in Taiwan and one is made in Hong Kong, and one shows eis and one doesn't. It makes absolutely no sense. How can we strategize if we have no idea what the criteria are? We can't play the game if we don't know the rules.

[la_collectionneuse101]

Hi! When everyone will be enrolled to EIS? I wish I will be before Christmas it’s the Q4 and I need more sales especially in USA! Thanks 🙂

[an_709184]

Once an item arrives at the hub, how is the process of determining the next carrier made?

[cottagewoman]

Since the site is generating an estimated tariff cost based on category and CoO - we do not enter HTS codes in our listings - will there be an option in the future for eBay to collect and remit tariffs without using the eIS program if using Canada Post which offers DDP?

[dhslk]

Ditto. There is zero rhyme or reason. Only about 25% of my listings are showing, even though, when you go to revise them, it states that they will be automatically included in eis and even though many of them are the same HS code (just different sizes, colours etc). eg I will have a blue version of something show up, but the red version won't. I'll have one size show up, but not another size. Also, the shipping costs and import fees seem to be completely made up. eg. I have slipcovers for a loveseat and footstool combo with lower shipping and import fees than the slipcover for just the loveseat, even though the combo is more expensive, and heavier to ship.

[dhslk]

We need this option because ebay's quoted shipping and fees seem to be fictional.

[thebossorder]

-if im enrolled will the usual buyers still be able to easely select a regular shipping method that has always been previously available to them or are they pushed toward the EIS program

-is ebay displaying EIS shipping rates first from the search page or the buyers see the cheapest/default options first?
-if i opt in and then decide later to opt out again, which listings are still enrolled if any ?

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

1. Is there anything in place to address when incorrect shipping is charged to a buyer and they have paid?

2. Is there anything in place to address when buyers have been charged incorrectly for tariffs etc?

3. Will the mentioned discounts (Zoom discussion) for shipments to hub with CP apply to all shipments created with eBay Labels or eIS only?

Thanks. 

I second and third the suggestion about adding a column in sellers hub for Coo vs having to check each listing individually. Along with a western hub.

[dhslk]

Can you explain how ebay determines what to charge customers? As far as I can tell, it is completely inaccurate. Is ebay going to enable Zonos for sellers to ship themselves to the US so that accurate amounts can be quoted/charged?

For example, a $479.95 slipcover that I am selling shows on ebay to US customers as having shipping charge of Cdn$143.99 and import fees of US$108.28! Yet, when I get my own quotes from Canada Post and Zonos,

shipping to most of US is about Cdn$53 (shipping to hub would be Cdn$31, so even adding that cost would only add up to Cdn$84) and import fees using postal network is Cdn$96 (or via commercial carrier is Cdn$186---which shows why ebay should ONLY be using Canada Post for eis). In other words, if I could incorporate Zonos into my listings, the US buyer would be charged about Cdn$53+Cdn$96=Cdn$149, which is a lot of money but probably worth it to some buyers). But the approximately Cdn$295 that ebay is quoting them is completely prohibitive.

Shopify and others have figured out how to add Zonos to their platforms. Why not ebay? Will this be rolled out soon, ebay?

[dhslk]

...and is ebay (and/or the carrier) pocketing the overcharged import fees?

[ecgt]

We've been invited to an eBay pilot program asking us to, "Please confirm if you are pre-paying import fees on your US shipments."

The email for this new program also states:

"We’re inviting you to join a small pilot for select sellers who ship Delivered Duties Paid to the US (i.e. pre-pay import fees). Our goal is to improve transparency for buyers by showing when import fees are already included.

This pilot is only available for items listed on the US site. Starting Dec 10, if you’re opted in, your listings will clearly show US buyers that the total price includes import fees. We’ll also remove the warning that additional import fees may be due after checkout."

We are currently offering shipping to the USA only on items that are considered "informational materials" or that happen to be duty and tariff free for other reasons.

We are concerned that this new pilot program will supercede the eIS program.

Will we be able to be part of the eIS program and this new pilot program that removes the warning label at the same time? Or do we have to choose one program over the other?

[blueberrysparkle]

1) I would absolutely love the program (per ecgt) detailed above for ebay.com US  items - that are duty free, yet get that sign warning of extra duties plastered on the listings.  

"This pilot is only available for items listed on the US site. Starting Dec 10, if you’re opted in, your listings will clearly show US buyers that the total price includes import fees. We’ll also remove the warning that additional import fees may be due after checkout."

2). Are there specific hours that EIS hub accepts packages in Missisauga.  Recently we have had issues with deliveries to the hub.  If you could give us hours, we could add note on packages.

[mandicrafts]

What are the hours of the EIS hub warehouse? Is it still 7 am to 3:30 pm Monday to Friday? Some carriers may try to deliver AFTER 3:30 pm. Is there a lobby drop if they are closed?

Why is EIS charging a tariff to the US for a CD? Media is tariff free. Both printed (books, cookbooks, magazines, newspapers, trading cards - most items under HTS chapter 49) and recorded (vinyl records, CDs, DVDs, cassette tapes - most items under HTS 8523).

On an EIS order, the packing slip view shows what the buyer paid to eBay under the program, however, the line items do not add up to the total shown on the packing slip (item, shipping, sales tax).  The line items, when added, are short (not the same as the total). I assume the line item missing is the tariff/brokerage $ since "tariff" isn't one of the amounts listed. Why is it missing, are only 3 lines allowed to show? This could be confusing to the buyer when they receive the packing slip inside their box, for their records. 

[abd-trade]

- Is there anything being done to reduce the cost of shipping to the US? Shipping cost nearly triples when going from 4.99kg to 5kg (going from $35 to $90). Normally shipping items over 5kg via UPS discount rates costs $30-40 CAD max. This makes all of my listings over 5kg non-viable.

- How can sellers ensure that certain items DON'T get eBay international shipping, especially to the US? I have various items that specifically don't have a country of origin selected, but they show up for US shipping regardless.

- Items such as video game consoles can be manufactured in multiple different countries for the same type of item and each country is subject to entirely different tariffs to the US. Does this have to be the seller's problem to deal with for multiple quantity listings or can eBay implement a solution (i.e. variants with country option for each item in stock)?

- Currently going to "All orders" on the Seller Hub shows data including extra tariffs and shipping, which makes it no longer relevant for sales tracking. The only way to see accurate MTD sales is on the "Performance" tab. There are other instances of data discrepancy as well. I.e. an item sold for a total of $64.85 after tax shows as $69.31 in the Sales chart on the Seller Hub. Can eBay fix all these issues and confirm there are no fee discrepancies due to the added buyer costs for international shipments.

- The eBay International Shipping warehouse address shows as incorrect through various shipping companies, which means I can only purchase higher cost labels through eBay (often doubling my costs for smaller items, which is unacceptable). As a refurbisher eBay requires me to use "free shipping" instead of calculated for all refurbished listings, so this is significantly increasing my expenses in some instances. Is eBay working on negotiating lower rates to the eBay warehouse? Are all couriers able to deliver to the warehouse?

- How is Canada Post Lettermail handled by the warehouse? Does it confirm receipt like with any other shipment method?

- What seller protections (especially regarding feedback, etc) are in place considering that sellers have no control over international orders once they reach the eBay shipping warehouse? What can a seller tell buyers if they have any concerns regarding an item?

Thanks!

[bluedaisyclippings]

Can EiS be restricted to only US sales? Why would I make any other country pay these huge EiS amounts for shipping with a hub and fees? The costs seem really really high and the only reply is don't worry, the buyer pays for all of it, as if they will. I think the cost will deter most buyers.