# Ebay: don't really know who to pit **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 7, 2014, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-dont-really-know-who-to-pit/687880 "2014-05-07T07:35:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-dont-really-know-who-to-pit/687880/1 "2014-05-07T07:35:03Z")
I did my first purchase from the bay after several months and I only noticed the new “importation cost” after I clicked “buy it now.” Well, it threw my normally impulsive nature as a buyer into full reset. I cancelled the first buy, then I looked up other similar offers. Most of them also had this third expense Item. Foolish me, I failed to check the offers I rejected first because of the high item and shipping cost. It turns out those offers didn’t have an importation expense. The total cost with or without the import charge seems efficient enough. Still I could have saved $22.5 if I canvassed longer. So I understand it to be a way to pay the proper customs and duties to your BOC —on your own free will. Early in my life as an Ebay-er I usually showed customs the real buying price in my Pay-pal printout and I paid the full customs and duties taxes. Eventually though, my loyalty to my Government wavered whenever sellers slashed the item price by more than half on the UPS label (to save on insurance I guess.) One guy even labeled the items I bought as “gifts”, so I didn’t have to pay anything. Dumb customs agent didn’t open the package, seeing I’m a regular importer. So, my country’s customs Bureau is crappy, Ebay sellers are crappy, I’m crappy. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-dont-really-know-who-to-pit/687880/2 "2014-05-07T08:19:01Z")
I don’t really know what you are pitting either. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-dont-really-know-who-to-pit/687880/3 "2014-05-07T10:22:26Z")
I would think it’s the corrupt sellers who understate the selling price on their sales, and in doing so de-virginized me with regard to dealing with Customs people. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-dont-really-know-who-to-pit/687880/4 "2014-05-07T10:48:21Z")
The unexplained abbreviation BOC just added a layer of icing on an incomprehensible cake. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-dont-really-know-who-to-pit/687880/5 "2014-05-07T11:16:17Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > The unexplained abbreviation BOC just added a layer of icing on an incomprehensible cake. Bag of Crap on Woot, or Blue Oyster Cult. The OP is about telling small lies to avoid tariffs, and the way this is done. I think. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-dont-really-know-who-to-pit/687880/6 "2014-05-07T12:07:20Z")
Bureau of Customs, perhaps? I think we need to pit abbreviations. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-dont-really-know-who-to-pit/687880/7 "2014-05-07T14:58:02Z")
You clicked Buy it Now and then cancelled your purchase? Maybe you should be pitting yourself. I didn’t know that was even possible. ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-dont-really-know-who-to-pit/687880/8 "2014-05-07T16:35:13Z")
I’m not sure what this pit is about either, so I’ll throw a few things at the wall and maybe something will stick. Buyers are responsible for knowing the duties their country requires. The seller has nothing to do with that, and no knowledge of what is expected of the buyer from their own country. In the US, if a seller is caught marking down a price, or selecting “gift” on a purchase, their business will be shut down, as it’s illegal. Don’t cancel purchases, Really unfair to the seller, who was probably counting on getting paid, and has to jump through hoops to get their fees back. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-dont-really-know-who-to-pit/687880/9 "2014-05-07T23:28:01Z")
The Customs Bureau. In my country, online buys are never delivered to your doorstep (until recently.) You receive a parcel notice from the post office. A customs agent will open your package to make sure you’re not smuggling in drugs or firearms (or Chinese health items.) He/she will then assess your duties and taxes based on the indicated value on thre UPS box (shipping included.) It has been my experience that sellers always understate the value of the item to just over $50, or, as I mentioned, label them as gifts or books. This was the case with a $350 pair of boots I bought. Meanwhile, I’m busy communicating with Ebay about my double purchase. The seller says he sees only one item purchased (of course, I paid for only one.) The other one is tagged “awaiting payment.” The last time I checked, an unpaid purchase is automatically cancelled and no harm done.