U.S. Buyers' Import Allowance?

[rose-dee]

Some figures were mentioned recently on another thread comparing U.S. to Canadian buyers' personal import allowances, and it was stated that $800 US is the current allowance for Americans. 

Does anyone know -- for certain -- whether this is presently true, and/or where to verify it?  

Frankly, I was under the impression it was something closer to $200 US, but I'd be delighted to hear it's higher, especially considering I'm going to be abandoning eBay.ca once the forced $Cdn listing rules come into effect.  If I know I can list higher-priced items in $US on the US site, without the complication of import duties for my American buyers, it will be a distinct advantage. 

[2nd-time-around-jewelry]

If you go to Announcements posted on March 10/16 you will see that it has increased from $200. to $800. Hope that helps

Selling to US buyers just got easier.

As of today, the United States has increased their de minimis threshold from US$200 to US$800. In practice, this means that goods shipped by Canadians to US buyers will only be assessed for duties if their value exceeds US$800.

This change should make Canadian exporters on eBay even more competitive: Canadian inventory does well in the US and now a key barrier for US buyers has been lifted. Canadian sellers who have previously shied away from listing high-value items should re-consider these decisions in light of this de minimis increase.

The threshold change is due to the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, which President Obama signed into law in late February. eBay actively supported this legislation and we’re pleased to see it finally come into effect – it will be a huge benefit for international sellers who ship to the US.

- See more at: http://announcements.ebay.ca/2016/03/10/7745/#sthash.mCGMzz5h.dpuf

[dmil8030]

Hello 'rose-dee', 

You are right, it used to be $200 but recently went up.  You will be getting inundated with links but here are

some of the ones I found:

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/246/~/duty--free-exemption

If you like lots of reading, this one has a Mailing and Shipping Goods section:

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/kbyg/customs-duty-info

This one is a little noisier (all those ads):

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/duty-free-limit-america-1.3467632

Others will come a long here with better ones, but yes, I believe it to be true.

[hlmacdon]

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@rose-dee wrote:

Does anyone know -- for certain -- whether this is presently true, and/or where to verify it?  

---

Just to reinforce the helpful links provided by the other posters, I've been though numerous commercial crossings (I ship USPS) at the border since the change and the border staff there confirmed the new threshold and have changed procedures to reflect that. A welcome change as it simplifies crossings and the staff there are a bit more relaxed and focused more on the correct area (detecting improper items) rather than wasting their time and resources looking up values of small packages.

[rose-dee]

Thank you so much for confirming this -- I hadn't noticed the eBay announcement, but this is welcome news indeed.  And thanks to everyone who responded, very much appreciated.  

This will make a big difference to me.  I would like to be able to sell in the $300-500 range to the U.S., but have hesitated so far.  This change means there will no longer be worries about complaints or misunderstandings by U.S. customers over duties/tariffs that might backfire as returns or negative FB.  It seems this is the only good news we've had on eBay in the last few months!  

Ironically, I feel the announcement by eBay you quoted actually flies in the face of their policy to force Canadian sellers to list in $Cdn on .ca.  For those of us whose market is primarily in the U.S., with trade barriers lowered, why would we want to list in any currency but the one that will appeal to most of our buyers?

It seems President Obama has been busy in the background doing a few things to leave a legacy before he departs.  Hopefully Americans won't elect someone who will undo all his work.  

[recped]

FYI Even prior to this change shipments sent via the Post Office pass through US Customs untouched 99.9% of the time if the value is below US$2500.

It's been standard practice for decades and especially since the 80's when the original US/CAN FTA went into effect.

For private carriers (UPS/FedEx) there has always been strict adherence to $200 rule so the change is helpful for those that use private carriers.