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Exaggerated import fees on eBay
Summary: kirwan1968 expressed concerns about excessive import fees on eBay following the new EU regulations. Noting that import fees were over 30% of the total, they wonder why these costs are well above the customs duties and taxes provided for by law. lingma85 shared links to helpful resources, but kirwan1968 remains puzzled about the justification for these extra fees, even taking into account the usual customs clearance costs. The need to import rare items from non-EU countries as a collector further complicates their situation.
Hello,
The EU regulations changed last week. Key points: the €150 exemption was removed for customs duties, and on top of VAT, a fixed €3 fee is charged by the EU.
Problem is, eBay charges outrageous import fees: whereas before eBay added the 20% VAT for purchases from outside the EU, now the "import fees" exceed 30%, regardless of the amount. Example: for a pair of binoculars at 265GBP + 54GBP shipping, the import fees are now 105GBP, which is more than 32% of the total (item + shipping). The VAT in this case is 62GBP. In short, what justifies this difference (+43GBP), which is much higher than the extra 3 euros, and the usual customs duties (generally between 2 and 4%). Thanks in advance for your insights.
Kind regards, Olivier
lingma85
Mentor3 weeks agoHello @kirwan1968
The fees to pay are detailed here---> Taxes and import charges | eBay
if you go through Packlink--->
you’ll find the list of fees and taxes claimed-->
Who has to pay customs duties and taxes? – Packlink eBay
This way you'll know whether it’s worthwhile or not to buy or sell abroad...
Kind regards
.
kirwan1968
OP3 weeks agoThanks a lot for taking the time to reply to me. I knew most of the links, which mainly deal with VAT. That said, when consulting the Taric database, binoculars coming from the United Kingdom should, in addition to the 20% VAT, be subject to 4.2% customs duties (on top of the 3 euros due if the tariff is under 150 euros, which is not the case in my example).
In short, taxation of at most 25%. That’s a long way from the 32% charged in import fees by eBay. Where does the difference come from? Even adding the 21 euros charged as "customs clearance processing fees" by a transport company like chronopost, you still don’t get to that rate.
As a collector of vintage optics, I don’t necessarily have the choice to buy in the EU: if the item is in the USA or the United Kingdom, well then I have to import it.
I don’t know whether you’ll be able to tell me more about this surcharge imposed by eBay, but thanks again for your help. Kind regards.