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Internt'l Ebay buyers and sellers... (yes it is stamping related)
I just sold off some of my retired sets on ebay, and have had someone from the UK ask me to mark her purchase as a gift on the customs form... Her purchase was about $45 total... is customs really so high for this amount that you'd want someone to lie about it being merchandise? I can't do it (too much integrity)... should I offer to refund her money (already paid) and offer these sets to the next highest bidder?
Well, I agree with you about not wanting to lie about the "gift" description. If she'd had a question, though, she should have contacted you before the auction ended. As far as I'm concerned, she's still bound to complete the auction.
I agree with Betsy. She should have cleared this with you before bidding. I had someone try to pull one over on me on a cell phone. I put the information to make sure that the phone would be in the service area into the auction and after she won she said that she checked the coverage area and it wasn't covered. I made her pay for it any way because she should have checked first.
__________________ Heather Hawkins - Stampin' Up! Demo and new mom. I have the two best jobs ever! stampinheather.blogspot.com
Yes, I'd refund her $ and send a second chance offer to the next bidder. She should ask you to do something illegal. I have bought a lot on e-bay and wouldn't deal with anyone who does this.
__________________ Jan Each day of life is a precious gift from God. - Charles H. Spurgeon
First I'd tell her that you can't in good conscience lie on the customs form, then offer her a refund and leave appropriate neutral feedback on the transaction.
__________________ Rachel Proud SU! demo and Sci-Fi Geek!
My Stampin' Up! blog "I'm a time traveler -- I point and laugh at archaeologists." 10th Doctor, "Silence in the Library"
I have shipped items to Canada and I was told that the reason for putting Gifts - Rubber Stamps is so the package clears customs quicker. I would check with some of the Canada SCS gals and they can clarify the reason for putting gift on the customs label.
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I ask that same ? all the time just because I'd rather spend my money on stamps rather than postage or more taxes (customs). Get real its a stamp set not something life or death. Here in Canada we pay plenty for our stamp sets. The exchange that we pay and bank charges etc. are high enough already. Give the girl a break, she desires it. I'm sure her exchange charges etc add up also. I notice lots of USA stores rake us over the coals on postage/customs/exchange etc. and if we want it we have to pay for it because everything comes out of USA. So having said that a break once in awhile sure is nice. My vote is the gov't already sees enough of our hard earned money....Sorry to sound this awful but I really believe its just more tax.
First I'd tell her that you can't in good conscience lie on the customs form, then offer her a refund and leave appropriate neutral feedback on the transaction.
This is what I would do too. Belinda, I love the new avatar btw! :mrgreen:
__________________ ~Sharon~ I'm a Proud wife of my OIF III & OEF veteran! Mommy of two beautiful girls! Ages 17 years & 2 years! We *heart* adoption! My Crafting BlogOur Family/Adoption Blog
Well, I agree with you about not wanting to lie about the "gift" description. If she'd had a question, though, she should have contacted you before the auction ended. As far as I'm concerned, she's still bound to complete the auction.
My point was, though, that whether or not anybody thinks it's not ok to mark something "gift," the fact remains that the buyer should have confirmed this with the seller FIRST.
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I live in Norway, and for us, i can't shop for more than 24 $ before i have to pay customs for it. This means that if i buy something for 25 $ i have to pay 40 $ for it to clear customs. I never shop abroad unless they can mark it as a gift. i always ask first. Since this woman didn't ask you first, she is well aware that you might not do it, and i think she has taken that into consideration. If i were you, and you don't want to mark it as a gift, i would just send it to her as it is.
The moral issue of this is another discussion, but i don't see anything wrong in people marking things as a gift. This will never affect you in any way later on, and the customs rules are such that if you're rich and spends alot of money on one transaction the rules favour you, while it hurts us small shoppers that can't get a hold of alot of the stamping/scrapping supplys in our own countries. Alot of internet stores also marks the shipments as a gift, because they know our situation. Two examples:
A magazine like PaperCrafts, if i buy it in a store (In my country it is sold in 2 stores, but that's another discussion) i have to pay 20$ for it, because of the customs tax.
A stamp that you have to pay 8$ for, i cannot get a hold of for less than 25$.
I agree that this person should have asked you her question BEFORE the auction ended, not just assumed that you would do it. I am in Canada and many many times it is not worth it for me to order something from the US, once I pay taxes and duty etc. So if I am wanting to buy something on ebay, I will ask the person ahead of time if they will mark it as a gift, or mark the item as under $20.00 value (we dont pay duty or taxes on anything under $20.00). It makes a huge difference and really makes it not worthwhile to buy a lot of things if we have to pay the taxes and duty ... and also the exchange rate on top of that. I bought a Giga Scalloped punch today, which I cant find anywhere online in Canada (at least the stores that I've checked) and it was under $20.00 so I will not have to pay taxes, duty, etc. However, with shipping and the exchange rate, I paid $30.00 Canadian for one punch. Of course I REALLY want this punch. But at that price already, if I knew that I would be paying duty and taxes also, it wouldnt make it worth it for me. I would like some more of these scalloped punches, but I just cant afford too many!
Her purchase was about $45 total... is customs really so high for this amount that you'd want someone to lie about it being merchandise? I can't do it (too much integrity)... should I offer to refund her money (already paid) and offer these sets to the next highest bidder?
Yes, customs can really be so high for that amount that you'd ask someone to fill out the customs form in a particular way on the chance that they might do it as a favour to you. If she refuses the auction upon hearing your terms, it would be very understanding of you to refund her and offer the second highest bidder a chance at the item. It would also be very understandable if you held her to her auction bid. I'm guessing she won't refuse the auction, for the same reasons a previous poster suggested. However you choose to deal with her, I would suggest you do it calmly and without any lectures or fanfare. That's my advice, free as it is.
I would mark it as a gift and send it off. But this post has the potential to become the same as the post a few weeks ago about breaking the law. Sorry, I guess I'm a lawless person. I suppose when the government stops spending $22.50 for a nail, I'll feel bad about taking some of their tax money.
Internt'l Ebay buyers and sellers... (yes it is stamping related)
