Netherlands Buyer Refused Shipment Due to Customs Charges

[sparkleset80]

So let me get this straight as I have never really thought of this as being considered fraud, other than thinking... oh, I'm just helping someone out! So let's say I sell X amount of ponies, etc from my sales. It is wrong for the buyer to then ask me to mark it as gift and lower the amount on the form to avoid custom fees? Because I have been asked to do this at least by 2 members here. I never knew it was considered fraud so I just did it assuming I was just helping out another collector.

[Rosse]

In Sweden....
We have to pay 25% of the amount in custom tax, not including shipping fees. If the package says "gift", you still have to pay 25% if the value is higher than around $63. And you have to pay a $16 handling fee. But all that is just if they actually check your package, most of the time they don´t.
All this is because in Sweden we have this tax called moms. We pay it on all all merchandise, food, everything. So when you purchase something from a country that does not have moms, like the US, you have to pay it when the item enters Sweden

I'm pretty sure I've been charged on both item value and postage cost before though... which sucks. And they do have "moms" in other countries, it's called VAT and is pretty much the same as US sales tax.

So let me get this straight as I have never really thought of this as being considered fraud, other than thinking... oh, I'm just helping someone out! So let's say I sell X amount of ponies, etc from my sales. It is wrong for the buyer to then ask me to mark it as gift and lower the amount on the form to avoid custom fees? Because I have been asked to do this at least by 2 members here. I never knew it was considered fraud so I just did it assuming I was just helping out another collector.

That's my take on it as well. I always mark "gift" and a low value when shipping out of the EU, and I ask sellers to do the same. I don't expect them to do it though, since some are completely against it. If it's a high value item, I always ask before purchasing, and if they wont mark down, I'll just look elsewhere for the item. So all in all, it's up to you what you prefer to do. I have never heard of anyone getting "caught" for this practice, so it's more a question of your own moral I guess. Personally I'm completely against this system (when it comes to small purchases by private consumers, especially for items not even available within the country), so I don't feel bad for breaking the rule

[LittleSpiffy]

UPDATE!

SDCC Rainbow Dash finally made it back to me!  Let's see...how long has it been now?  Just under two months since he rejected the box.

I was able to refund him the price of the pony, less shipping costs, as agreed...but it took me a little bit of work.  Here's what was involved and hopefully this information will be helpful to someone in the future!

1) When I got the box from my post office, I just happened to have my camera with me!  Before I even opened it, I took pictures.  Lots of labels, re-taped, and specialty tape from Holland's customs.

2) I opened the box and took pictures of what everything looked like inside.  Thankfully, Dashie was sent back to me in perfect condition.  Two thumbs up for the Netherlands' Customs Officers!

3) I did not open a case through eBay (ooops).  My 45 days had run out.  I contacted eBay's customer service by phone and was refunded my Final Value fees.  So, just a heads up, if something like this happens to you: open a case within 45 days.  You then get 60 days from the date of opening to complete the case, so this extends the time.  Just let your buyer know not to do anything.  Explain what you're doing and why and let it sit open until you get the item back.

4) Juuuuuuust missed PayPal's 60 day return policy!  I had to call them.  They refunded me the original fees, as well as the small fee I was charged for sending the buyer his refund as a "gift." 

So, although I am annoyed with this entire situation, I followed through with my promise of refunding the price of the item *pats self on back* 

Buuuuuuut, the price on this little beauty has decreased since I original listed her (grrrr).  Not the buyer's fault, obviously, but I am quite annoyed that during this rigmarole 1) I was not compensated for my time, 2) I lost out on actually selling my item for a profit, 3) I used a considerable amount of my limited cell phone minutes (<--- Virgin Mobile User)

It's interactions like this that I question if I should continue selling items overseas.  Of course I will, because the majority of pony-people abroad are awesome and don't pull stunts like this

[lovesbabysquirmy]

I hope nobody else has to go through this!  If you let us know the ID of this buyer, others can be protected! 

[LittleSpiffy]

I hope nobody else has to go through this!  If you let us know the ID of this buyer, others can be protected! 

His id is 1975mvds

He has 100% feedback - not a bad buyer, but this situation was frustrating.  He mainly buys blind bags from sellers based in China.

[Jupetto]

If the item was marked as gift, he'd get out without fees if the total worth is 40 euro (for some delivery services this INCLUDES shipping too). Many ask for the item to be marked as gift, but request for the value to be lowered is just rude. For us its really uncertain wether we get custom fees or not.

In the end it was his risk, glad things have been fixed now.

[BabiChuld]

I live in the Netherlands, and have just bought 70 dollars (including postage)worth of ponies from a lovely lady in the USA. I've never bought from USA before and honestly don't know a lot about custom charges- I must admit now I am quite afraid of a hefty bill coming my way when I go to collect my ponies! Oh dear- I would certainly never refuse my packet like that other person did though that's a horrible thing to do to the seller! I don't suppose anyone out there has had experience from my side of things, and can tell me what kind of bill I might expect to face?

[ponylady]

There are lots of pony folks from the Netherlands here, hopefully they will be able to shed some light on it for you.

I did find this that maybe helpful in determining your charges till then though.

http://www.dutycalculator.com/help_center/Import-duty-taxes-when-importing-into-the-Netherlands/

[BabiChuld]

There are lots of pony folks from the Netherlands here, hopefully they will be able to shed some light on it for you.

I did find this that maybe helpful in determining your charges till then though.

http://www.dutycalculator.com/help_center/Import-duty-taxes-when-importing-into-the-Netherlands/

Thank you Ponylady, that is indeed useful- It puts my mind a little at ease that it won't be a rediculously high bill at least If any other european buyers have some more info from experience, would appreciate it