Overseas buyer has made a request. Advice?

worbikeman

I have decided to just send it as requested. I reckon the buyer wouldnt have asked such a request if he was worried the items wouldnt arrive - what would be the point? He must know something I dont, namely that stuff generally gets there no problem. Other than that, if the envelope is incorrect RM should return to sender, or failing that I lose my £20 and put it down to experience.

macfly

It would be Canadian customs. There's no export charge involved.

greeneye

Exactly Macfly there is no defrauding of HMRC going on here.
I believe the amount to be paid will be significantly more than £6.50 Canada is notorious for this (probably courier handling fees or the like).
You will have no problem with a RM claim the amount you insure an item for is not declared anywhere on the parcel front. So there is no way for anyone to determine the value of your item (unless you handily include a print out of the ebay auction page on the front in a documents enclosed pouch!). Or your sending a flat screen TV.
Negative feedback will only be removed by ebay if you specifically state in your auction that you will not mark items as "Gift" search through ebay help and they have a suggested sentence to include in your listing to this affect.

soolin

Since it is only Canadian customs OP would be defrauding does that make it OK then?

worbikeman

soolin wrote: »

Since it is only Canadian customs OP would be defrauding does that make it OK then?

On a package worth £20 they want £6+ in tax? Who is defrauding who?

Leaving that aside, buyer may have other reasons why he doesnt want the contents disclosed. It could be a gift for a friend, or his wife, or he may just not want his office colleagues to know he is a stamp collector. Or he may just want to keep his private life private. Which we are all entitled to, n'est-ce pas?:D

soolin

worbikeman wrote: »

On a package worth £20 they want £6+ in tax? Who is defrauding who?

Leaving that aside, buyer may have other reasons why he doesnt want the contents disclosed. It could be a gift for a friend, or his wife, or he may just not want his office colleagues to know he is a stamp collector. Or he may just want to keep his private life private. Which we are all entitled to, n'est-ce pas?:D

So, it is OK to defraud a Government body then if the person is merely hiding something from their wife? It is certainly a novel defence.

MSE has strict rules about straying into fraudulent behaviour rather than just money saving tips so I have referred this thread across so that the forum team can took a look.

Former_MSE_Andrea

Hi everyone

Remember this site's about saving money legally.

Thanks!

martinthebandit

Some days I wish there was a no-thanks button

Crowqueen

forgotmyname wrote: »

Would the buyer consider paying with the gift option to avoid any risk of chargeback?

I would contact them with the concern that if the package does not arrive or gets damaged you wont
be able to claim your money back.

That's not fair on the buyer then if they do genuinely go missing, plus it's against both eBay and Paypal rules - which is something people aren't really supposed to do on these forums.

The question is about customs, not compounding the problem by going not only against the law of the country of import but those of the sites you use to sell on.

martindow

Canadian customs are notoriously fussy and without a declaration form the packet is quite likely to be returned to the sender. They reportedly refuse to accept items where the sender's address in not on the front of the envelope.

As you are sending several items I would split them into two packets so you can declare accurately and the buyer will not have to pay import fees.