Have You Shopped with Your Credit Card in Foreign Country?

[kyphysics]

I bought a DVD off an Asian e-commerce site, which took my American credit card.

In my cart/purchase page, it said it would be shipping from Hong Kong, which I thought was fine. I figured I'd just be paying an extra shipping fee/tax - which I did. It was about $20 to ship from there.

However, after placing my order, I clicked the Terms of Use link and it said I could be charged:
https://www.yesasia.com/us/customer-support/0-0-0-hti.1651-en/question-answer.html

PAYMENT FOR PRODUCTS PURCHASED THROUGH THE SITE

Methods of Payment

If you pay by credit card, your card issuer agreement governs your use of your card, and you must refer to that agreement and not these Terms of Use to determine your rights and liabilities as a cardholder. YOU, AND NOT YESASIA.COM LIMITED, ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYING ANY UNAUTHORIZED AMOUNTS BILLED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD BY A THIRD PARTY. You agree to pay all fees and charges incurred in connection with your purchases (including any applicable taxes) at the rates in effect when the charges were incurred. Unless you notify YesAsia.com Limited of any discrepancies within sixty (60) days after they first appear on your credit card statement, you agree that they will be deemed accepted by you in all respects and for all purposes. If YesAsia.com Limited does not receive payment from your credit card issuer or its agent, you agree to pay all amounts due upon demand by YesAsia.com Limited or its agents. . .

Taxes

You are responsible for paying all applicable taxes (including, but not limited, sales, use or value-added taxes) and other governmental fees, custom duties, charges, penalties, interest, and additions to such taxes that are imposed on you upon or with respect to the transactions and payments under these Terms of Use. Unless otherwise specified in each purchase, all fees payable by you are exclusive of applicable taxes and duties, including, without limitation, value-added taxes, excise taxes, sales and transaction taxes, and gross receipts taxes. With respect to each of your purchases, YesAsia will automatically charge and collect any applicable tax that it deems required in any applicable jurisdictions.

Does the red linked portion simply refer to my bank? I mean, what OTHER "unauthorized" amounts by a "third party" would I be liable for?

I had read from a quick Google search that using a credit card in another country can sometimes leads to foreign transaction charges by your bank. Wondering if anyone has experienced this type of charge? And, more broadly, have you ever shopped with your American credit card outside of the country (whether literally physically away or just via online e-commerce based in a foreign country)?

Did you get any crazy charges you were responsible for as a result? YesAsia is a very well-known site, so I'm not worried about anything related to their legitimacy, but am just a little nervous about potential unforeseen charges I may incur from buying something overseas. I've never done this before.

I don't mind paying $20...$30...$50 extra...but I just don't want to say I owe like $1,000 extra in charges for some $50 order (original DVD).

 

[StevieTNZ]

I sometimes buy things with my Mastercard Debit card, and if its not in NZD currency, then I'd be charged a foreign currency conversion fee. These (the fees etc) are usually listed on the issuers website. I gathered its the norm.

 

[kyphysics]

I sometimes buy things with my Mastercard Debit card, and if its not in NZD currency, then I'd be charged a foreign currency conversion fee. These (the fees etc) are usually listed on the issuers website. I gathered its the norm.

I see. Do you remember what the fee was by chance (e.g., $20...$30)?

 

[Hornbein]

The fee charge is a few percent.

I have lived overseas for 12 years and have had very little trouble. Once I got a cash advance at an Indonesian bank. They sold the credit card number to gangsters in Hong Kong. I got the card canceled and the money they charged was refunded. But that was the only problem.

 

[Bandersnatch]

I think there's nothing to worry here. From experience, foreign purchases are generally straightforward with no hidden payments attached. Unless you're buying from some shady site (which you don't seem to be doing).
All you should be expecting is the currency conversion fees (same as you would incur if buying currency in an exchange, or at your bank - i.e. a few cents on a dollar, max), shipping fees (rarely more than ~20$), and potentially customs tax where applicable (I shouldn't think that's an issue with DVDs. Seems mostly a concern with cheap overseas electronics. But even then, it's something between 10 and 20 percent of the sale value).
The way I read it, the highlighted bit in the terms of use seems to be the seller covering their legal arses in case of that customs tax. I.e. it's your responsibility as a buyer to check if you will be due any tax on arrival to your country, and you have to cover them if levied.

 

[kyphysics]

I think there's nothing to worry here. From experience, foreign purchases are generally straightforward with no hidden payments attached. Unless you're buying from some shady site (which you don't seem to be doing).
All you should be expecting is the currency conversion fees (same as you would incur if buying currency in an exchange, or at your bank - i.e. a few cents on a dollar, max), shipping fees (rarely more than ~20$), and potentially customs tax where applicable (I shouldn't think that's an issue with DVDs. Seems mostly a concern with cheap overseas electronics. But even then, it's something between 10 and 20 percent of the sale value).
The way I read it, the highlighted bit in the terms of use seems to be the seller covering their legal arses in case of that customs tax. I.e. it's your responsibility as a buyer to check if you will be due any tax on arrival to your country, and you have to cover them if levied.

Yes, YesAsia is a very well-known e-commerce retailer, so no worries from them being shady.

My credit card is tied to my bank, in case that wasn't clear in my comments earlier.

For your red inked comments, did you owe any "special taxes" when you bought things overseas? You mentioned it would be the buyer's (me) responsibility to see if there are any import taxes due on arrival and to cover them. Any idea how that might work and how to pay such taxes if owed?

Would I be paying those taxes to the U.S. government/IRS, the postal service, etc.?

 

[StevieTNZ]

I see. Do you remember what the fee was by chance (e.g., $20...$30)?

It may be $20 or $30 if I spend USD$1500.

 

[vela]

The way I read it, the highlighted bit in the terms of use seems to be the seller covering their legal arses in case of that customs tax. I.e. it's your responsibility as a buyer to check if you will be due any tax on arrival to your country, and you have to cover them if levied.

I doubt it's referring to payment of any taxes not already included in the transaction at the time of purchase. purchase. The tax-collecting authority isn't going to have any knowledge of how you paid for a purchase and certainly couldn't charge your card without proper authorization. It sounds more like that sentence is saying if your information is compromised because you bought from YesAsia, you're responsible for dealing with any resulting fraudulent charges.

 

[Bandersnatch]

For your red inked comments, did you owe any "special taxes" when you bought things overseas? You mentioned it would be the buyer's (me) responsibility to see if there are any import taxes due on arrival and to cover them. Any idea how that might work and how to pay such taxes if owed?

Would I be paying those taxes to the U.S. government/IRS, the postal service, etc.?

Those would be the customs taxes levied by the authorities at the point of destination. So whatever authority is responsible for that, it'd be affiliated with your government.
I never had them hold my packages, but from what I read they wait for you to pay any tax you might be due before releasing the package.
As far as I know this is only concern for the more pricey products (such as the aforementioned electronics; laptops etc.), that people often try to shop for abroad, pretty much in the hopes that they might be able to get away with avoiding certain taxes (which makes the item a few dozen percent cheaper than if bought domestically). People are sometimes unaware that such taxes is the main reason for cheaper prices at foreign retailers, and are surprised when the customs authorities hold their packages. Thus the retailer is telling the user that it's not their problem when it happens.
Again, I don't think it is of any concern with a single DVD.

 

[Bandersnatch]

I doubt it's referring to payment of any taxes not already included in the transaction at the time of purchase. purchase. The tax-collecting authority isn't going to have any knowledge of how you paid for a purchase and certainly couldn't charge your card without proper authorization. It sounds more like that sentence is saying if your information is compromised because you bought from YesAsia, you're responsible for dealing with any resulting fraudulent charges.

Nah, the customs tax is definitely a thing. See here for an example of EU regulations: https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/buying-goods-online-coming-non-european-union-country_en
There's a whole process with the seller declaring the value of the package and the type of its contents, and the customs authorities may check if what was declared is correct.
Although it's definitely possible it's the risk associated with potentially stolen info that the quote had in mind.

 

[vela]

Nah, the customs tax is definitely a thing.

I know customs tax is a thing. I'm saying that governments don't charge the card used in the transaction after the fact. They don't have that information, and they're not contacting each and every seller to charge an additional amount for tax. They just notify the purchaser if they want to get the item out of customs, he or she needs to pay the tax.

The use of the word unauthorized suggests that the charges are fraudulent. Of course, it could just be poor English by an Asian seller, which isn't exactly unheard of, but the rest of the text seems pretty well written.

 

[Bandersnatch]

Fair point, and I agree.

 

[jtbell]

I sometimes buy things with my Mastercard Debit card, and if its not in NZD currency, then I'd be charged a foreign currency conversion fee. These (the fees etc) are usually listed on the issuers website. I gathered its the norm.

In my case, in the US, it depends on the card. I occasionally buy stuff online that is priced in EUR or GBP. I used to use a Chase Freedom Visa, which charged me a currency conversion fee of maybe 2% or 3%. Now I use an Apple Card (Mastercard) which doesn't charge such a fee. However, I don't know how the exchange rate compares between the two cards.

 

[StevieTNZ]

If I can, I try and force the website to show me the price I'd pay in NZD, and charge me in that currency. Therefore I don't get charged the foreign currency fee. Of course, not all online stores cater for that and I simply use xe.com to guess what I'll be paying, excluding the fee.

 

[StevieTNZ]

Now I use an Apple Card (Mastercard) which doesn't charge such a fee.

I guess if it is Apple behind it, they can afford to absorb such a fee for you.

 

[jtbell]

One of the Apple Card's selling points is no fees. Apple probably sees it as another way to tie you to their "ecosystem" and buy iPhones etc.

There are some other cards with no foreign transaction fees. IIRC Capital One has one, but I think you have to pay an annual fee for it.

 

[kyphysics]

I know customs tax is a thing. I'm saying that governments don't charge the card used in the transaction after the fact. They don't have that information, and they're not contacting each and every seller to charge an additional amount for tax. They just notify the purchaser if they want to get the item out of customs, he or she needs to pay the tax.

The use of the word unauthorized suggests that the charges are fraudulent. Of course, it could just be poor English by an Asian seller, which isn't exactly unheard of, but the rest of the text seems pretty well written.

The "unauthorized" part is just so weird. Even if they're saying: "Hey, we're only responsible for what we charge and nothing else." I don't think you'd have to say I'm responsible for unauthorized charges.

Interesting interpretation of how it could also be a language-barrier thing. I was definitely just all-around weird. Never seen that written in any purchase language.

re: "getting the item out of customs"

So, would it be correct to assume that IF I DID owe some additional taxes, that I'd definitely be contacted and offered to pay them and then I'd be delivered my product? This is in contrast to me having to do investigative work in case my package never arrives. I wouldn't know who/what/when/where, etc. to look up. If it's mostly a passive process (me being contacted and paying), then that's not too bad. If I need to actively figure out a bunch of stuff, then I don't think I'd want to buy from overseas again.

Probably not worth the hassle, as I'm already paying $17.99-ish (shipping) + $1.99-ish tax = ~$20.00 (total fees/taxes thus far) for a ~$50.00 DVD. Maybe not a DVD I HAD TO HAVE.

 

[kyphysics]

One of the Apple Card's selling points is no fees. Apple probably sees it as another way to tie you to their "ecosystem" and buy iPhones etc.

There are some other cards with no foreign transaction fees. IIRC Capital One has one, but I think you have to pay an annual fee for it.

I guess if you're already "tied" into their ecosystem (know lots of people - often the elderly and artsy folks who ONLY use Apple), then it's actually pretty cool to get that perk.

 

[vela]

The "unauthorized" part is just so weird. Even if they're saying: "Hey, we're only responsible for what we charge and nothing else." I don't think you'd have to say I'm responsible for unauthorized charges.

Interesting interpretation of how it could also be a language-barrier thing. I was definitely just all-around weird. Never seen that written in any purchase language.

I agree it's a strange thing to mention in the terms. Have you tried emailing the company for clarification?

So, would it be correct to assume that IF I DID owe some additional taxes, that I'd definitely be contacted and offered to pay them and then I'd be delivered my product? This is in contrast to me having to do investigative work in case my package never arrives.

Yes. It's not reasonable for the USPS, FedEx, UPS, etc. to expect that everyone who has items coming from abroad to diligently track the progress of their shipments and then proactively contact them to pay any import duties.

 

[kyphysics]

I agree it's a strange thing to mention in the terms. Have you tried emailing the company for clarification?

Not yet.

Couldn't find a "contact us" option on website until just now (lots of searching, as it wasn't in the "usual" places). I shall write them later tonight. It's a good idea.

On a positive note, this is a very well-known company, so I sort of doubt I'll have any crazy troubles (was actually more worried about the foreign import tax situation vs. any scam charges). If it was a no-name offshore company and it had that language, I'd be creeped out (although, it's still weird) and probably never do business with them. This is sort of like the Amazon of Asian DVDs, lol. So, because of that, I have been okay with things. For better or worse, "size" and big branding does matter (for me) in these situations. Even if I paid more, but trusted the company, it's okay vs. doing business with a table-top kitchen (home) business from overseas.