Taxes for Canadians buying from American eBay sellers

[Veloo]

I got the email this year about taxes being automatically charged for Canadians buying from Canadian eBay sellers.

When I look at sellers that ship via eBay's system, they have that import charge which has always been more than the usual 13% GST I get charged.

In the past I've asked if sellers would ship by USPS and not via eBay's system.

So I'm wondering will I still get dinged with an automatic GST even if the seller ships outside of eBay's system?

[xnetter]

The Global Shipping Program absolutely killed my buying a lot of eBay stuff - stuff I otherwise would have bought on there. Plumped-up phony pricing. USD$50 for a nice used Rapha Classic jersey? Great! USD$40 more for shipping and duties? Hell naw. Together with the poor exchange rate, it often turns a good deal on new items into basically the same price (or more) as retail in Canada.

Some sellers still list a flat rate - like USD$12 for a bike part. You have to select your shipping parameters as a seller. Some sellers are open to finding a good "actual" rate for you, if you ask. Others don't want to or won't even respond to you. YMMV.

KJ

[bikeboy1]

I hardly buy from ebay any longer since our dollar crapped out years ago. Any time I have items shipped from state side I get screwed at the border with all the fees, insurance, handling and duties.
Even though our dollar is worth less in the UK it seems to go further than it does in the states and most times if I select Royal to Canada Post it slides through the border with no charges and even if I have to pay at the border I am still ahead. At least up until now but there are a few items they wont send from the UK so I send to Port Huron on the US border side and pick it up myself.