At some point during your eBay selling adventures you will face buyers upset about paying customs fees. Some buyers may message you (“The post office won’t give me my order until I pay a customs fee. Do I really have to pay this?”). Others may leave you a neutral or negative feedback comment (“Great items, but not happy that I needed to pay an £11.72 in customs fees”). Both examples were culled from my actual selling experience.
What are customs fees?
Customs fees are import taxes that international buyers may be required to pay in order to pick up their order from the post office. Buyers, whether they like it or not, are responsible for paying duties, taxes, and customs clearance fees. Ebay sellers are legally obligated to write the actual price of the item on the customs form. It’s illegal for eBay sellers to write a lower value on the customs form or to mark the item as a “gift” in order to evade customs fees. If a buyer asks you falsify a customs form, report the buyer to eBay.
Who determines the customs fee and collects the money?
Customs fees are imposed and collected by the buyer’s country. Some countries charge high fees and some charge low fees. Every country is different. Check out DutyCalculator.com to learn about the rules and customs fee rates in a variety of countries. The site provides free country guides and also a duty calculator. Unfortunately the calculator only gives you a few free calculations before you’re required to pay for additional look ups. The country guides, however, can give you a sense of what your buyers may have to pay.
Usually customs fees will cost a percentage of the the total value of the shipment (item’s selling price PLUS shipping and insurance charges). Sounds a little like sales tax, right? In addition to a percentage fee, some countries also charge a handling fee for the inspection or appraisal of the item. Sometimes the handling fee exceeds the percentage fee in price. Not cool, I know, but I didn’t write the rules.
How to warn buyers about potential customs fees
As of 2012, “eBay now automatically adds a customs notification message under shipping details on the Item page for international transactions” (see eBay’s 2012 Spring Seller Update).
Even though eBay says you don’t need a customs fee disclaimer in your listing anymore, adding one is easy and doesn’t hurt anything. You can copy and paste this disclaimer written by eBay:
International Buyers – Please Note:
Import duties, taxes, and charges are not included in the item price or shipping cost. These charges are the buyer’s responsibility. Please check with your country’s customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to bidding or buying.
If you’re selling LEGO on any non-eBay selling platforms, you’ll want to include a similar disclaimer somewhere in your listings/storefront.
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Although nobody likes paying extra money, customs fees are a part of life for many international buyers. If a buyer ever has questions about the fees, ask them to contact their local customs office.