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Hi all.
I thought that GST for Australia is 10%. Now with the new change that came in on the 1st of July, A order total from Ebay USA of $124 should have an GST charge $12.40, yet on there system it comes up with $17.50. What gives?
eBay USA Charging More than 10% GST
Lcyri2 on 01/07/2018 - 11:26
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eBay totally said to post on here. lol
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Ebay USA of $124 should have an GST charge $12.40, yet on there system it comes up with $17.50. What gives?
Is that $124 in USD? It'd make sense if its AUD$17.50 GST for a USD$124 purchase (at exchange rate of about $0.71).
A order total from Ebay USA of $124 should have an GST charge $12.40, yet on there system it comes up with $17.50. What gives?
At a wild guess, your ebay buy was $124USD making the 10% GST on it, to be $12.40USD, which is drum roll about $17.50 AUD.
The $17.50 was in USD
Sounds like a bug then. Did you contact ebay?
then that is too much, so contact them and advise.
$5 difference from conversion rate on $12.40!? Not sure which decade you're living in. Definitely overcharged on that.
ok then, so what do you get when you convert $12.40 USD to Australian dollars then?
If you claim my $12.40USD to AUD is way out
You neg me cos you can't figure out a quarter of $12!? Learn some maths and then maybe you can post a comment.
@Monstalova: Qtr of what? Again, you claimed a $5 different.
The order was in USD, so $124USD making the 10% GST on it, to be $12.40USD, which is drum roll about $17.50 AUD. ie what the OP is being charged in AUD.
Have another neg, as you clearly don't know math or currency conversion at all.
Here is another example
Item cost $23.88 USD
Shipping $21.10 USD
+ $8.67 import charges USDThis is bullshit as more than 10%. Nearly 20%
Perhaps upload a screenshot so we can all see what you're looking at?
How do you upload pics as I don't see an option
Can you give the link to the item you described instead?
Go to your Account > View tab > File tab > upload pic there.
upload it to imgur.com and then post the link
The web team applied the change and got it right.
At no point are eBay or PayPal failing to charge the extra 10%.
They just charge too much. [Tick!]
No-one loses their job, and they can (but may not) deal with all the overcharges (where they get noticed and complained about), as bug fixes. Enough will not get noticed to fund the increased support effort, and make these divisions more profitable.
Look on the bright side: OzBargainers have grease for the argument mill which we will bleat ourselves blue with for years!
Time to dump eBay and Amazon already. Are they going to be the only company in Switzerland sending money back to pay Gerry's GST? I doubt it!
It just gets better.
I blame Harvey Norman
The GST is only part of the cost. Unfortunately as part of the deal the companies collecting the GST are able to charge an admin fee which also contains GST. GST Is also applicable to any postage costs.
We need to have someone lobby the Government as this so called equalization of a level playing field will
1) Make retailers like Gerry Harvey more complacent because they know the prices are closer to Australian prices in some but not all circumstances. In the cases where people like Gerry are uncompetitive people will still buy from overseas. This provides “fake” validation for the ultra high prices Gerry charges. 10% does not result in a make or break deal to buy from Australia. If the service and guarantees were honored then it would be a no brainer to support local. For example I still buy locally made cans of pineapple rather than those from Asia. This is even though I pay more. The cheaper Asian imports does not mean I will buy it.
2) Result in less choice for consumers because some overseas retailers will not want to deal with all the admin and crap that goes on with collecting and paying the GST. Amazon and a slew of other companies are now geo blocking Australia. This means we are becoming protectionist and not encouraging innovation and competition. You would think Trump was bad placing tarriffs on other countries. Well in our backyard Turnbull has become like Trump. Monkey see, monkey do.
3) The GST is being charged not only goods but also any related goods or services associated with the shipment to Australia. So this means postage or shipping costs are hit with GST as well as any membership fees for the service. This isn’t making the place a level playing field as it is penalizing goods from coming from overseas.
4) The cost of collecting such puny sums of GST is going to he higher than the actual revenue. So the money that we lose on administration of the GST could have been better applied towards a new hospital, health care, schools or other public benefit. Instead we have a government that bows to big business based on flimsy evidence of a level playing field despite every report saying this will cost the Government and ultimately the tax payer more than if the GST was not collected for such puny amounts.
5) On the international stage this is viewed as a form of protectionism. This is so odd. One minute the Government said the car industry was too protected and because of them it collapsed by not supporting the industry. Now it decides to support an industry with what is effectively a tarriff or protectionism. It does not encourange innovation, it stifles choice, it does not generate positive revenue, it creates more grief for the average Joe as they try to eek out a living from wages that have no real growth over the last 10 years and the cost of living going up astronomically with rip off electricity prices, rent and housing going through the roof/massive shortages in key cities and allowing foreigners to buy Australian land. Very few countries allow foreigners to buy Aussie property.
The way around this is to find a small seller who can ship to Australia. Sellers with less thwn $75K turnover do not need to be registered and therefore don’t need to charge GST. Alternatively depending on value you can ship to another country to a friend or relative and have them bring it or ship to Australia.
Maybe Ozbargain can start a lobby group or go fund me page.
"Sellers with less thwn [sic] $75K turnover do not need to be registered"
Yes…it's a laugh isn't it. As if any foreign business needs to comply with Australian laws. The ones that are doing so have business in Australia too. I'm wondering how customs will handle purchases from, say, Tower Hobbies in the US, or Musician's Friend? I haven't checked, but doubt these businesses will be collecting GST for the Australian Government, and their turnover will be well above $75k. Is customs expected to stop everything at the gate? Doubt it…though some countries do, and buying internationally simply becomes too expensive because of the terrible inefficiency of it all.
Really, GST is not a very good tax in the global environment. Let's not pretend it's about making revenue though.
Gerry will be over the moon.
So…I dummied up an order on Chain Reaction (now merged with Wiggle)…they are collecting, though are not saying how much (just that it's included in the order). Will probably still shop at Chain Reaction though, since Australian prices on cycling gear…well. Gerry probably doesn't care anyway as he doesn't sell bikes.
I created a dummy order with Tower Hobbies, and there was definitely no GST being added to it.
This is going to be very hit and miss. I think we'll see the GST only being collected by those retailers with some form of relationship in Australia (registered business or whatnot).
HardlyNormal doesn't lobby on his own behalf. He does it for all the other retailers struggling as much as him
So where are all of the bored uni. activists when we need them? They should be out parading in front of Harvey Norman store with placards reading "Gerry's GST import tax is screwing us all"!!!!!!!!
They are carefully hiding from the governments facial reconnaissance. Now turned on all demonstrators as a matter of course (and an important activity if you believe the Police need to keep a tab on the innocent to catch the guilties). Demonstration has always been an entry to worse things. After demonstration comes action. As is posting dissenting views online. We must be kept safe. We want to be kept safe. That's why we need electronic voting, so they can target us the moment we vote for the other side, in case you weren't flagged beforehand.
It was earlier proposed that Aust Customs would add $5 for each parcel. Could this be the one?
FYI, ebay seems to be implementing the GST "Taxable supply rule" where each taxable item has their gst calculated and rounded and tallied for the total as opposed to calculating the once off the total of the invoice.
This is ridiculous! I had something I won pre GST and I went to pay and it wanted to add the princely sum of USD$2.45. Now, what is the cost of collecting about $3 Aussie pesos??? It’s about $8 with all the reporting and transaction processing and reconciliations etc! So the Government’s really making money off this transaction??!! And if I remember correctly there was some additional rule if the amount was less than AUD$50 then they wouldn’t bother? Apart from the fact that the seller I bought from would never have made anywhere near AUD$75,000 in sales as they are just a Mom and Dad seller. And there was also a rule about invoices pre GST were not to be charged GST as well. So much for following the rules and a level playing field. Gerry Harvey karma will get you and Malcolm Turnbull. LIBERALS INTRODUCED THE GST AND NOW THIS CRAP ON GST ON FOREIGN PURCHASES - VOTE THEM OUT NEXT ELECTION! I wish Harvey Norman be beaten by another retailer so he learns all the pain he is causing the average person. The rich don’t care because they have the money regardless. The less well off who are trying to have a better life suffer more at the expense of people like Gerry Harvey. No different to Microsoft being declared a monopoly in the 80s. They are no longer the behemoth they once were because disruptors managed to work their way around microsoft. I hope a disruptor comes along soon and bankrupts Gerry Harvey. May Harvey Norman suffer the same fate as Toys r us.
I just copped it too for an item on eBay.
Feels bad man.
eBay will see a large decline in sales as people look for websites that don’t charge GST. At the moment our postal system has no way of knowing whether items from overseas have GST already paid on them. So lots will still slip through as people look for independent small business websites.
I feel your pain. Why don’t they just tax the rich more. Their income is higher and their costs of living are already covered by their large salaries. So someone earning $150,000 a year with $50,000 living expenses still has money left over vs someone earning $50,000 a year and $35,000 living expenses. Their remaining $15,000 doesn’t go far after all the taxes and the mortgage.
I just had a chat with Ebay customer service on the same issue. From the checkout for an item from the US:
Item (1) US $109.79
Postage US $26.97
Import charges US $18.86
Order total US $155.62109.79 + 26.97 = 136.76
Ten percent of that is 13.68.
136.76 + 13.68 = 150.44So where is USD5.18 going?
Ebay's response was "Here's the thing: If for example, there's an error calculating the GST cost, we will give you back the difference"
Ebay customer service weren't able to answer why there was a difference. Nor would they log a ticket requiring a response to this being a systemic problem. So is Ebay charging 13.8% GST instead of 10%?
Item link for anyone wanting to compare their numbers: www.ebay.com.au/itm/Monitor-Arms-Stands-Luxury-Ipad-Tablet-L…
I recently purchased something from USA and it was shipped using global shipping program.
Item cost in AU: 67.51
Postage in AU: $46.14
Import Charges in AU: $15.68Import charges work out at 13.8%.
So I phoned ebay.
I was offered a $10 voucher, which I accepted. The lady could not explain, she said it was an additional charge by US customs, to which I explained it was an export for them.
I then asked if someone could email me to explain to me the extra amount I was charged. Then I was forwarded to her supervisor.Her supervisor could not give me a straight answer. He also said it was a US customs charge, but then later said he did not understand how USA charged GST….. (He sounded American BTW, but that isnt an excuse for his lack of knowledge on the matter). He did explain that the import charges (13.8%) (vs GST 10%) was only charged on items shipped with GLobal Shipping Program.
I asked him to breakdown the import charges across the item price and the postage price, which he was unable to do.
I then referred him to:
https://www.ebay.com.au/help/buying/postage-delivery/changin…THere specifically it states import charges are for orders over $1000AU, and then goes on to say for orders up to $1000AU gst is applicable.
I pointed this out to him, at which point he couldnt explain why i had been charged extra import charges for an order under $1000au.He suggested me to make a complaint to ebay.
I believe that the fact they cannot break down the import charges into seperate components is a problem here, since GST payable needs to be clearly shown on any invoice. So I will likely lodge a complaint with dept fair trading too.
Look there could be some problems with eBay calculating GST correctly but at least for now they charge 10%. I just bought an item yesterday from an UK seller with total price of 43.95 BP. eBay has charged me extra 4.40 BP as GST which is just rounded from 4.395 BP.
However be careful with using eBay global shipping program. That where the biggest problem is. My seller first listed his item using this program and it shown shipping cost for 150g item as 28 BP and that's even without import charges which were 8.95 BP on top of shipping cost.
I contacted the seller asking if there is any cheaper shipping cost than eBay global shipping is offering as it seems just ridiculous to pay over $60 AUD for 150g weighted item and he gave me another quote using UK Royal postal service and it was 12 BP only. It is 16 BP less than eBay offered through Global Shipping. Not to mention that import charges dropped to 4.40 BP instead of 8.95. So it is a over 20 BP rip off on the item that costed me 48.50 BP to buy without their Global shipping program.
So their Global shipping program seems to be designed to rip a buyer off on postage cost a lot and then because the postage cost in inflated more than 2 times you will pay even more in import charges.
So if you know what you are buying in terms of weight and size and you can see quite expensive postage cost for it through eBay global shipping contact your seller. Sellers are not getting any from this rip off and they would be more than happy to help their buyers by using a normal shipping that has nothing to do with eBay Global shipping.
I am actually wondering how eBay is going to settle any argument from a buyer if they say that shipping cost provided through a Global Shipping program was unreasonable. As far as I can remember they have been actually pushing buyers to complain about sellers who has charged a buyer more than it really costed to post considering some reasonable handling fee on top. And now they are doing exactly the same themselves inflating shipping cost 2 times and more.
What did eBay say when you asked them?