Hey friends,

I just wanted to ask our community for advice on a recent sale I made.

After seller agreed to buy and sent payment for my watch, I sent him the watch via Fedex from Manila to UK. I declared full selling price for the invoice value ( I was not told by the buyer otherwise).

Watch soon arrives at UK. Fedex contacts seller to inform him there are tax and duty implications. And now, he messages me saying "Apparently, you pay tax on anything over GBP 135." He doesnt want to pay that. Instead he's asking Fedex to send it back to me and for me to refund him what he paid less the cost of sending to him and if ever, whatever other costs I will incur with him sending it back.

I feel I should not accept this but I just want to be open minded first and ask you guys for your advice.

Thanks!

 

You must not accept! The buyer (him) must take information before buying something. It’s not to the seller (you) to pay taxes and duties when he sells something. He must pay or send the watch back...

 

Was there any prior agreement to what the declaration should be?

 

Do not accept!
Import taxes are always due by the buyer, not the seller.

If I want to send it back, fine, but it would be a cancellation from his side and you won't pay him back anything.

 

None, he didn't say anything

 

Buyer’s responsibility to pay duties unless otherwise agreed in advance, though I have learned to explicitly say so for international transactions. You were right to fully declare - only way to protect yourself on a claim. I always declare properly and insure, unless buyer insists otherwise and is willing to take all the risk during shipping.

As for what to do from here...

You have the funds already in hand, so you hold the high cards. You will have to judge the relative hassles of continuing or unwinding the deal. No idea of the value we’re talking here, or relative ease of another sale. Returns can be an issue too. I'm currently appealing a claim with US customs on an item I shipped that was then returned - they've charged me duty on the return.

Anyway, I’ve unwound deals before even though I had no obligation to do so. These things tend to snowball, and sometimes it’s better to move on from a dumbass/dickhead buyer rather than invest further time & effort.

 

The more I read about these types of transactions the more I feel justified in my restricted shipping when I sell on eBay, despite getting crap from all over the globe for being exclusionary.

If I ever decide to sell watches online (I am getting to a pruning stage at some point) it will either be here on OF where the buyers understand the logistics, or I will restrict shipping to US only which sucks but there are too many “dickhead” buyers out there....or just plain scammers.

 

If he has refused accepting the parcel, there’s really nothing you can do but wait for it to be returned. You will have to pay for the return shipping when you accept it. Tell the “buyer” that once you have the item back, you will refund his money minus the cost of shipping (the initial AND the return). Under no conditions should you refund the money before you get the item back.

I’ve had this happen before, and it is a hassle and frustrating. But since he did not accept the package, it is still your watch and I think you legally owe him the refund minus the shipping and handling charges — provided it is returned in the condition you sent it.

This is the reason I always state in my sales that I will not lie on a customs form and will list the actual selling price and that the seller is responsible for paying all duties. I haven’t had an issue with cheapskates refusing items since I’ve started doing that.

 

agree + another fee for all other hassles/inconveniences incurred!

 

Wait for the watch to get back and refund minus the there and return shipping.

Hasn’t left fedex so should be in the same state.

He will learn how the world works one day ( send him a picture of the watch every month for a few just so he gets it )

 

The limit is 175 pounds and the taxes and collection/ admin fees are quite heavy. That said it is up to the buyer to either arrange something prior to shipping or put up and shut up. Yes it is an added expense but it should not be inflicted onto the seller either through a list sale or return costs.

 

Thanks for these inputs guys!

 

Yeah thats a tough one buddy. I think he might not be an experienced buyer (or is he an experienced one?)

Comms with him; explaining to him that the taxes should be paid by him.

Like @STANDY said, wait for the watch to come back and then refund him the money; but bear in mind; if the paypal/or whatever medium you receive your money; sending it back will inccur FX rates (PP has fucking shit rates), so u should explain to him carefully that you can refund only what ever the amount so you do not incur any further loss.

But like some who mention here; perhaps reputation is more important so just bite the bullet and do a full refund whatever and just move on...

Your call man. Its a shitty situation; sorry to hear about it.

 

Take the watch back and refund less costs. Provide documentation of said costs. I would never agree to ship anything less than full value and fully insured. If out of country then buyer needs to agree in writing to absorb the costs. From your example, seller needs to acknowledge this in writing.

 

Accept return, less shipping costs and restocking fee equal to the duty fee.

 

It astounds me that someone, in this day and age, has no idea about VAT payable. Especially since how it's been talked about and hated in the UK for ages.

 

Remember that for consumer goods it is included in the sticker price in the UK. If someone has no experience of purchasing from outside the EU then it may come as a shock. And it's going to get worse

It's not as bad as standing on line for hours to get to the Customs desk at JFK freight and then having to argue exactly which tariff a 2400' roll of 1/2" computer tape comes under. (Used, so 0% -- I didn't mention the value of the software on it )

 

On eBay there is an option to have everything included during the payment.
To be honest, as a buyer, I do not like it very much because for me it costs (for watches) nearly a third more than the bid: it is way more than what what is due (20% for the VAT + something like 0.50€ for the import duties). But as a seller, at least you are protected against the people that do not understand the concept of import

 

Wait for it to come back to you. Then refund the buyer minus all costs and be careful of FX fees if it was a bank transfer to you and you intend to send the coin back that way. Make yourself whole, the buyer should stomach any costs. Then move on.