Fed Ex Brokerage Ancillary Service Fees

[nicknova]

I recently received a bill from Fed Ex for "Brokerage Ancillary Service Fees."  This came some weeks following receipt of a package for some item I bought on EBAY.  The source of the item is listed as Pakistan.  But I never knowingly ordered anything from Pakistan.  I order movie posters,memorabilia, toys and books from EBAY.  Why is it that these fees were not mentioned on the seller's?  And why can't I even find the seller on MY EBAY?  I still have no idea what item was delivered on June 7 (no listing in my MY EBAY page or on Paypal) so that I can determine what the item was.  The seller is listed on the Fed Ex invoice as Bizwan Aslam c/o Steps Art.  Shouldn't EBAY required that their sellers be transparent about shipping and customs charges?  There should be no hidden charges associated with EBAY purchases.  

[DPCreations]

FedEx, UPS, and DHL all add brokerage fees for the recipient to pay on international deliveries.  The seller does not determine these fee and is not a participant in determining the fees.  The fees are associated with the broker clearing the items through customs.  This will be in addition to any customs duties.  I think the fees is approximately 4% of the customs charge, but it might be calculated differently.

When an international delivery passes customs with the USPS there is no brokerage fee.  Its something to consider on your next international order and delivery.

Customs duties and related charges are the responsiblity of the recipient; the seller cannot know the customs fees for all countries. 

[nicknova]

First of all, I wasn't even made aware that the purchase was from an extra-national source.  Certainly I was not aware that it was coming from Pakistan. But since I can't even find the vendor on my records at Ebay or Paypal.  I don't feel abliged to pay these fees.  Fed Ex certainly should have informed me that such fees would be pending, in which case I would have refused shipment until determining what the item being shipped actually was.  I sign for any packages that require signature, but if the item is COD or requires some other payment, I would insist on knowing what the item is and who the seller is. 

[DPCreations]

You signed for the package indicating you would accept the charges.

It was your reponsibility to understand the origin of the shipment.

It was your responsbility to understand U. S. customs and dutiies.

If you have problems with FedEx, then phone FedEx for an explanation or dispute.

[nicknova]

I signed for the package to accept delivery. There was no indication that additional charges were pending on the package.  Nor was I told at the time that there would be additiional charges pending.  A US POSTAL COD is another matter. The delivery person tells you that charges are due and you pay them immediately.  Had I know that charges were due to receive delivery, I would have denied acceptance of delivery.  Furthermore, there was no indication that my purchase was coming from Pakistan on the Ebay listing.  NOW YOU ARE THE ONE WHO IS EDUCATED....!  EBAY NEEDS TO INFORM BUYERS TO BEWARE OF THESE CIRCUMSTANCES AND REQUIRE THAT SELLERS HONESTLY DISCLOSE THE PLACE OF ORIGIN OF THEIR ITEMS OF SALE.

[DPCreations]

The FedEx fee is a brokerage fee.

If you received a USPS international page with prepaid shipping, there would be no brokerage fee.

Brokerage fees are outside the realm of PayPal responsibilities.

You issue is with the seller and FedEx, not PayPal.   PayPal's resonsibilty is to process the purchase payment from buyer to seller; that's all.

[nicknova]

Thank you.  I'm perfectly aware that this is not Paypal's responsibility.  I never said it was.  But it is a mystery to me why I can't even find the name of the vendor in my list of Paypal transactions (or on Ebay, for that matter...)  But Paypal is the only way I purchase things online (certainly always when using Ebay). This is Ebay's responsibility, and partly Fed Ex, because neither of them told me in advance that additional charges would be pending.  But the real mystery for me is why there was never any indication that whatever it was that I upposedly purchased was coming from Pakistan.  I certainly never ordered anything that could be described as "Printing Materials and Samples."  I order books, movie memorabilia and toys.  If someone ships something and does not honestly disclose the contents of their package ...well, this is fraud, isn't it?  

[DPCreations]

Did you sign for a FedEx delivery?

I read about brokerage fees on an Etsy forum a couple years ago.

Then I ordered from a vendor in Czech Republic where I usually had shipments come via USPS.  I decided to take a faster route with DHL; I learned then about brokerage fees on top of customs fees.  As long as the total was below a certain level it seemed that USPS customs choses speed rather than inspection.  After that, I always chose USPS.

I've also ordered wholesale from China and had 2-day delivery with DHL.  That one is interesting as I learned that DHL takes care of matching customs declarations to US customs duties and adds the duties immediately, even before the plan lands in OH, non-stop from Hong Kong.  Those items were not subject to duty so there was no brokderage fee.

Speed was great.  The item was at my business less then 48 hours after leaving Hong Kong.

It's all a matter of learning from experience and also learning from the experience of others.

[nicknova]

Excellent information.  I now suspect that Etsy is the source of the sale I'm trying to track down...

Best,

Matt

[DPCreations]

Hope you track it down.

Once you track it down, you can actually phone FedEx to dispute the duty if you think it was misclassified. If you can get the duty removed, then the brokerage fee should go away.  There may be an email to FedEx.  Just make sure you build your case first.  If you know the product you can find duty information from U. S. customs web site--another learning experience.