eBay 'tacking on" sales tax

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by TeacFan, May 15, 2019.

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  1. TeacFan

    TeacFan Forum Resident In Memoriam Thread Starter

    Location:
    Arcadia, Ca.
    I recently bought an item from World Of Books, a UK outfit, I believe. The store reported back to me that the item was not in saleable condition and money was refunded - all but the sales tax. I queried them and was told eBay collected this themselves. okay....Why is bay doing this for an out of country store and the money collected just vanishes? Will need to call them (!!) to find out what the deal is.
    Anyone else had this issue?
     
    Last edited: May 15, 2019
    Matthew Tate likes this.
  2. R. Totale

    R. Totale The Voice of Reason

    I suspect that although WoB was the vendor in legal terms, legally somehow you actually paid and made the purchase from eBay, who collected sales tax because both you and they are in the State of California. They collected it from you, and may even have paid it to the State by now depending on how long all this has been going on. They will likely give it back to you if you ask, but you have to ask yourself how much this quarter is worth. I might send an email but no way I would call them to pursue it.
     
  3. Vanguardsman

    Vanguardsman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Marco Island, FL
    Remember that the Constitution expressly probibits taxation across state lines. The Supreme Court got this one wrong.
     
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  4. Uglyversal

    Uglyversal Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sydney
    If you paid with Paypal and the seller used the normal refund avenue through the ebay channels the money should be refunded separately anyway, Have you checked your statement? Or has the seller send you money as a separate transaction? If he did the latter then the seller screwed up. Otherwise if in doubt just call ebay through the links you'll find -if you are lucky- through the item page. At least these days Ebay is better at answering calls (when you find the right hidden link).
     
  5. TeacFan

    TeacFan Forum Resident In Memoriam Thread Starter

    Location:
    Arcadia, Ca.
    I used PayPal. Seems silly but may give them or bay a call.
     
  6. Uglyversal

    Uglyversal Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sydney
    Do call, if there was a refund the tax should be refunded too.
     
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  7. BigMikeATL

    BigMikeATL Well-Known Member

    Location:
    USA
    It's a fascinating subject, though good luck putting that proverbial genie back in the bottle. If someone challenged it to the Supreme Court and they reversed the ruling, you can bet legislators across the country will get busy codifying the legalization of taxation for interstate purchases. The internet has caused sales tax revenues to drop in many places, resulting in major cuts to services, infrastructure investment, etc.

    https://digitalcommons.tourolaw.edu.../&httpsredir=1&article=2004&context=lawreview
     
  8. eddiel

    eddiel Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    A similar issue, yes. I bought an lp and the seller was using the global shipping program so I got charged Canadian tax on the deal automatically. Long story short, I had to return the lp to the seller. He refunded me and I got a full refund for everything that went to him. I waited for the tax to be refunded (collected by Pitney Bowes). No luck after a few days so I called eBay. They told me that it should happen automatically but sometimes it doesn't. They told me to wait for a few more days and if Pitney Bowes didn't refund by then, they would make sure I got the money back, which is what happened.

    I'd call eBay if you still don't have a refund for the sales tax as you should have it by now.
     
    Dave likes this.
  9. TeacFan

    TeacFan Forum Resident In Memoriam Thread Starter

    Location:
    Arcadia, Ca.
    Gave them a call and as been said, should have been autoed refund. They advanced me a $1.00 credit - tax was 50¢ (!) - and we are through. Big deal, I know but ......
     
    Last edited: May 23, 2019
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  10. Vanguardsman

    Vanguardsman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Marco Island, FL
    Please tell me one state that has suffered a drop in sales tax revenues as a result of the internet.
     
    Matthew Tate likes this.
  11. Roland Stone

    Roland Stone Offending Member

    You didn't use a computer or phone in your home state? Or was it delivered to a different state?

    Sorry, the claim that an Internet order occurs somewhere else has always been semantic nonsense, IMO.
     
    Greg Gee likes this.
  12. statcat

    statcat Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    They're charging sales tax on the shipping fee I noticed too.
     
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  13. Jimmy Agates

    Jimmy Agates CRAZY DOCTOR

    Thats Ebay for you. They charge final value fee on the shipping too....shifty bastas
     
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  14. showtaper

    showtaper Concert Hoarding Bastard

    I think that practice came about when they noticed sellers discounting the item price and charging higher shipping fees in an effort to lower the final value fee they were paying. If you were one of their higher volume sellers this could add up fast.
     
    Jimmy Agates likes this.
  15. Jimmy Agates

    Jimmy Agates CRAZY DOCTOR

    And the result is everyone puts extra charges on their shipping costs to cover this additional cost...
     
    Matthew Tate likes this.
  16. Christian Hill

    Christian Hill It's all in the mind

    Location:
    Boston
    I don't. $2.99 flat fee within the US. for 45s, $3.99 for lps.
     
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  17. statcat

    statcat Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    What does this have to do with the final value fee on shipping for sellers? It's been that way for years thanks to people who would sell something for a little amount ($1 for example) and then charge absurd shipping amounts to avoid paying the ebay final value fee.

    I meant now on ebay when someone buys something and there's a shipping charge, they're required to pay sales tax on it too. Ebay was against this but the government has now mandated all internet sales need to be taxed no matter the location. They're doing this state by state and many states have already been added. The seller on ebay never sees or handles this money; ebay does. Ebay really had no say in the matter.

    I don't believe I've seen any other website that actually takes tax on the shipping fee before though. I imagine this is going to have a negative impact for sellers and how often buyers decide to use ebay over other venues.
     
    Last edited: Jun 6, 2019
  18. Mirrorblade.1

    Mirrorblade.1 Forum Resident

    Hmmm only sellers in my state do this..
    it's sad and song covers it baby it's much to late..
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 8, 2019
  19. yesstiles

    yesstiles Senior Member

    I just had to pay tax on a cd I bought from England on Ebay. How does that work? We are now collecting taxes for foreign countries? :confused:
     
    Matthew Tate likes this.
  20. statcat

    statcat Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Tax on everything including the shipping charge now on ebay. It's worse when it's a $1,200 dollar item like the one I bought a week ago from the UK.
     
    Matthew Tate likes this.
  21. yesstiles

    yesstiles Senior Member

    There's no way Ebay is shipping that tax money off to a business in England. That makes no sense.
     
    Matthew Tate likes this.
  22. Dave

    Dave Esoteric Audio Research Specialist™

    Location:
    B.C.
    Not that I know anything about this but it seems to me eBay might be sending the collected tax to the purchasers resident state.
     
    Last edited: Oct 5, 2019
    Matthew Tate likes this.
  23. 926am

    926am Senior Member

    Location:
    rochester, ny
    This is my understanding as well.
     
  24. Dave

    Dave Esoteric Audio Research Specialist™

    Location:
    B.C.
    It seems like the only reasonable explanation to this outsider.
     
  25. yesstiles

    yesstiles Senior Member

    In England?
     
    Matthew Tate likes this.
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