This is what I will be doing on Aug 26/25 re Tariffs. What a pain in the butt.
Summary: musicyouneed discusses their strategy to transition CD sales from a .com platform to a .ca platform due to tariff and shipping policy changes. They are ending listings of CDs not made in the US and converting them to .ca, with concerns about potential tariffs for buyers. nhl_automotive advises against overly worrying about tariffs, noting eBay's protection for sellers. flipistics warns of potential pitfalls if deadlines are missed, having lost many listings themselves. Additionally, easoss and ilikehockeyjerseys discuss complications regarding the origin of packing materials and substantial transformation rules. shallow_karl highlights shipping cost challenges with .com, prompting musicyouneed to update their plan by ending all .com listings by August 24/25, restricting shipping to Canada, and noting reluctance to pay tariffs for US buyers.
I sell CD's.
On .com,
I went through all my listings (1,412) and have identified COO in the notes. I have been moving over CD's from .com to .ca if they were produced anywhere else except for the USA. It is a slow process and have converted about 45 so far. On Aug 26/25, I will end all the CD's that were not made in the US. Some not made in Canada I will convert to .ca. The others made in Canada I will slowing do that but will take take my time, have a 90 day window. Hopefully they will be covered under CUSMA and I might be able just to relist them. Problem is that even a Canadian buyer will not be able to purchase them until I list them on .ca.
On .ca,
I have 1,119 CD's listed. I also have created a business shipping policy to eliminate shipping to the US. I also have written in the note field where the CD was made so I can do a bulk edit changing the shipping. Any CD's made in the US will remain listed on .ca
I have a sale going on right now until Aug 24th so hopefully I will have less to end or convert.
musicyouneed
OP11 months agoI will never pay the tariff for my US buyer.
musicyouneed
OP11 months agoUpdate: The fact that we cannot use Canada Post after the 25th of Aug, that changes things. I will be ending all my listings on .com (1,450) on Aug 24/25. Slowly moving them over to .ca. On .ca I will change the shipping to only Canada. I also will restrict shipping to the US like I do to Russia. Oh well. Things change.
ilikehockeyjerseys
·11 months agoYou should keep in mind that this is most likely a temporary measure until Canada Post adopts DDP shipping.
Which isn't a suggestion of how you should handle this, I'm just pointing this out in case it informs what you choose to do.
(Nobody knows what the time frame for Canada Post offering DDP might look like.)
shallow_karl
·11 months agoThe main issue is DOT com. You cannot separate Canadian and European shipping costs and of course, you cannot of course have a calculated costs as the choices for shipping are USPS and the couriers. If you do move to .CA you avoid the issues, but you "may" vastly reduce your visibility.
easoss
·11 months agoHopefully they don't figure out that jewel cases are made n China. Then let the true nightmare begin. This is why this policy is unsustainable in the long run.
musicyouneed
OP11 months agoEverything including the wrapping material, shipping labels, bubble envelopes, cardboard came from China. What a mess.
ilikehockeyjerseys
·11 months agoI don't think they count packing supplies as far as COI.
In terms of where jewel cases are sourced from, I assume this all falls under substantial trasnformation. Most older CDs are printed in USA or Canada, DVDs are typically printed in Mexico, USA, or Canada.
Unless you sell jewel cases individually as replacement cases, my assumption would be that when the manufacturer of a CD prints inlays+booklets in the North America, presses the CD in North America, and then houses it inside a Chinese made jewel case, that it is still considered as Made In Canada because the jewel case likely fits under substantial transformation (the person isn't buying a jewel case, they are buying an album to listen to).
If the CD was pressed in China, placed in the jewel case, but the booklet was printed in the USA, it might then fall under Made In China.
Obviously, I'm not a lawyer. So the above shouldn't be considered legal or professional advice. It's just how I would view it as someone who also sells media.
I read a recent post somewhere else where a seller was upset that they got hit with a $1000 fine from Stallion for marking a Chinese product as Made In Canada. What they sold was a build a bear where all the components were Chinese made, but they perceived it to be made in Canada because the physical bear was stuffed and assembled in a shop in Canada. They obviously were incorrect because all the primary components were made in China.
If you're super concerned, you could always ship CDs without the case, with just the inlays, booklet, and disc - but a lot of buyers don't like this, even if it saves them more on shipping than a jewel case is worth.
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https://www.trade.gov/rules-origin-substantial-transformation
Substantial Transformation Examples:
flipistics
·11 months ago@musicyouneed Be careful with that window. I accidentally let it lapse last month (I actually checked a few hours too late) and lost 1100+ listings.
musicyouneed
OP11 months agoI also would like help on wording on the terms saying something like:
Although this CD will be mailed from Canada, it was made in the USA so there will not be any tariffs for you to purchase this item.
What do you think of that wording?
This is what I have on the other CD's not made in the US.
Import tariffs, duties, taxes and charges are not included in the item price or shipping charges. These charges are the buyer's responsibility. Please check with your country's customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to buying.
nhl_automotive
·11 months agoI wouldn't worry too much about putting these kinds of notes in your listings. Ebay warns the buyers about tariffs and fees when they check out. If they can't read that or ignore that then they're not going to care about any note on the listing. Remember, you are protected by eBay from refusal to pay fees by customers and if they leave neg. feedback about tariffs.