Buyer in the USA failed to pay duties

Summary: The discussion concerns an American buyer failing to pay customs duties. meister0000 raises the issue initially, with sika700 and heavenwelkin responding, but no one seems to provide specific details or solutions. Later, meister0000 chimes in again, and drnn400 joins the conversation, but the discussion remains without any further clear elaboration.

Good evening, I made a sale in the USA. The buyer was notified of the possibility that import duties might be applied. They are not responding to messages and the tracking shows non-payment of the customs duties on their part. If the item were to come back to me, could eBay force me to issue a refund if I were able to prove that the buyer was aware they had to pay and that I did everything that was my responsibility as the seller? Would this be equivalent to refusing the package, with the consequent forfeiture of buyer protection benefits?

Thanks in advance

meister0000

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Posted 8 months ago·Last reply 7 months ago

4 comments

meister0000

OP8 months ago

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The buyer finally paid the duties and the item was delivered.

Thanks

drnn400

·7 months ago

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Which shipping method did you use?
As a private or business ("business") postal customer?
Thanks

heavenwelkin

·8 months ago

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@meister0000 wrote:
If the item were to come back to me, could Ebay force me to issue a refund if I were able to prove that the buyer knew they had to pay and that I did everything that was my responsibility as the seller? Would that count as refusal of the package, with the buyer protection benefit then lapsing?

Theoretically, according to the rules, you'd be covered.....

The problem is that if the buyer opens a dispute for item not received, this COULD be handled in an automated and/or improper way, so you could end up in the situation of having to refund the buyer in full.

Or it could happen that the buyer asks PayPal to intervene or requests a chargeback, and in that case eBay might not cover you.

Anyway, if you like, keep us updated on how the situation develops.

sika700

·8 months ago

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@meister0000 wrote:
...Could eBay force me to issue a refund if I were to prove that the buyer knew they had to pay and that I did everything that was my responsibility as the seller? ...

If you did everything correctly, no, as the rules state:

https://www.ebay.it/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/garanzia-cliente-ebay?id=4210&st=3&pos=1&query=Garanzia%20cliente%20eBay&intent=garanzia&lucenceai=lucenceai&docId=HELP1238#:~:text=Paese%20di%20origine-,Non%20coperto%3A,L%27acquirente%20non%20ha%20pagato%20le%20spese%20di%20importazione%20per%20altri%20motivi,-L%27acquirente%20seleziona%20Punto

Kind regards.