Thank goodness for Canadian buyers of CD's

Summary: En una discusión sobre la venta de CD's a compradores estadounidenses y canadienses, musicyouneed comparte que un porcentaje significativo de sus ventas a EE. UU. son CD's fabricados en otros países, lo que podría verse afectado por cambios en políticas de envío internacional. recped comparte su propia experiencia de ventas, destacando que una gran parte de sus productos son canadienses y cumplen con CUSMA, lo que podría mitigar los efectos de la eliminación del mínimo exento para mercancías. En una discusión sobre el cumplimiento con CUSMA, musicyouneed explica cómo los productos pueden ser considerados CUSMA conformes. Otros participantes comentan la saludable demanda del mercado canadiense para medios físicos y cómo el envío económico influye positivamente en las ventas en lugares remotos de Canadá.

Doing some research of how much I would be affected by not shipping CD's made in other countries to the USA after Aug 29/25.

In the past 90 days, I sold 121 CD's of which 43 were sold to US buyers (36%). Of those 43 CD's 20 (45%) were made in Canada, West Germany, Brazil, Belguim and Holland. The remaining 23 (55%) were made in the US.

I enjoy selling CD's so I am not about to stop, besides, I have about 20,000 more to list. Canadian buyers are keeping me afloat. Thank you.

musicyouneed

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Posted 11 months ago·Last reply 11 months ago

7 comments

byto253

·11 months ago

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Power of the cheap lettermail shipping helps media sales a lot. I have shipped a good amount of them to remote B.C. locations.

dinomitesales

·11 months ago

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Personally, I find that there is still a healthy Canadian market for media of all types. I sell a lot of DVDs. Had one day this past week where all my orders sent out were to Canadian buyers! Three of them even paid shipping costs in excess of the price of the item lol.

intimewithmusic

·11 months ago

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@musicyouneed

Good to hear something postive and productive posted here for a change! We can't hit a target if we aim at the distraction.

Thank you!

recped

·11 months ago

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Since I sell in the same Category (Music) but totally different stuff (and much of it is cassettes rather than cd's or vinyl) I'll give you my breakdown for 2024.

Sold To Country / percentage of units sold / percentage or orders / percentage of gross order value

Canada - 50.85% / 52.17% / 47.97%

USA - 32.76% / 31.37% / 32.41%

Int - 16.38% / 16.46% / 19.61%

I can only give an approximate breakdown of the Country Of Origin of the goods

Canada ~ 75%

USA ~ 10%

Int ~ 15%

2024 was the first time I've compiled this data in more than 20 years. For the curious 20 years ago my numbers would be more like this

Canada - < 5%

USA - ~ 40%

Int - ~ 55%

musicyouneed

OP11 months ago

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Thanks for sharing your data, I always wonder how others are doing. It looks like removing the de minimus will affect you quite a bit as a lot of your items are made in Canada.

Many years ago, I too sold a lot to Europe and Japan, but due to VAT, packaging material restrictions and the cost of shipping I stopped.

recped

·11 months ago

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@musicyouneed wrote:
It looks like removing the de minimus will affect you quite a bit as a lot of your items are made in Canada.

Huh?

Most of my best sellers are made in Canada, they are CUSMA compliant, elimination of the de minimis exemption will have a much lower effect on CUSMA compliant goods than goods from pretty much any other country.

musicyouneed

OP11 months ago

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In essence, simply shipping a CD from Canada to the US doesn't automatically make it CUSMA compliant. The product needs to demonstrate that it meets the specific rules of origin set by the agreement

How would I check what is CUSMA compliant? Are CD's made in Canada CUSMA compliant? Where do I find that?

This is what I found out.

Audio CDs can be CUSMA (USMCA) compliant, but it depends on where the materials used to produce the CD and its packaging originate from. CUSMA compliance for goods requires that a certain percentage of the product's components originate from North America. If the CD and its packaging materials, including the plastic case, booklet, and label, are made with components sourced from within the CUSMA region (Canada, US, or Mexico), then it can be considered CUSMA compliant.

Here's a more detailed breakdown:

Rules of Origin:
CUSMA has specific rules of origin that determine if a product qualifies for preferential tariff treatment. These rules dictate what percentage of a product must be made or assembled in North America to be considered originating from the region.
Certification of Origin:
To claim CUSMA benefits, importers need a certification of origin, which can be completed by the exporter, producer, or importer. This document confirms that the goods meet the rules of origin.
Material Sourcing:
For audio CDs, the certification of origin would need to demonstrate that the materials used in the CD itself (e.g., the polycarbonate plastic), the packaging (e.g., the jewel case, booklet paper, printing ink), and any other components are sourced from North America.
Indirect Materials:
Indirect materials, like the glue used to assemble the packaging or the ink used for printing, are also considered in the origin determination, according to the International Trade Administration (.gov).
Example:
If the CD is pressed in Canada, the jewel case is made in the US, and the booklet is printed in Mexico, using materials originating from within those countries, it's likely the CD would be CUSMA compliant.
Non-Compliant:
If a significant portion of the materials originate from outside the CUSMA region (e.g., the plastic for the CD case is made in China), the CD might not be considered CUSMA compliant.