On Tuesday, the eBay Inc. Government Relations team scored a victory for our customers, when the U.S. and Canadian governments announced that they had jointly decided to raise and harmonize their informal entry thresholds at $2,500.  What is the informal entry threshold you ask?  The informal entry threshold is the level below which goods coming into the country are not subject to the most stringent paperwork & customs fees requirements by the government.

What does that mean for me you ask?  It means U.S. sellers shipping goods to Canada costing between $1600-$2500 CDN will see their shipments get to their customers faster and the customers will have lower government fees associated with the shipments.  It also means that U.S. buyers who purchase goods costing between $2000-$2500 USD from international sellers will no longer have to complete a lengthy government form or pay a minimum of $25 in Merchandise Processing Fees.  This makes international shipping easier and cheaper for buyers and sellers.

eBay Inc.’s Commerce 3.0 report revealed the incredibly high percentage of our sellers that are engaged in global trade.  We believe that the future of commerce is global.  As such, the eBay Inc. Government Relations team is working hard to make it easier for eBay sellers and PayPal merchants to ship to customers around the world and for buyers to get the goods they want regardless of where the seller or merchant is located.