Chit Chats Updated Blog on Tariffs

[sin-n-dex]

You can read it here:

https://chitchats.com/blog/what-if-the-tariffs-go-into-effect-apr-2

Basically they're going back to the "need manufacture info" to unlock "duties paid postage".

Thing is the tariffs apply to Chinese goods, so why do we need the manufacture information if the country of origin isn't China? How are we going to sort out the manufacture information on vintage goods?

I'm getting different answers... Google says declaring it as vintage (instead of manufacture info) is acceptable, along with country of origin and tariff code. Chit Chats customer service told me that if the items are vintage I can say they're made in Canada (but that's not exactly the truth is it?) I wasn't able to get an answer from CBP when I tried inquiring before the April 2 tariff deadline (not that their answer matters, if Stallion is handling my packages I have to do things their way, and I got no answer from them, and I expect they probably don't know since it hasn't been put in effect yet).

Some of my items have an obvious manfacture (like the Royal Canadian Mint, or some other mint), some not so much... It's not like I have invoices from items that were manufactured before I was born... I recently sold a bunch of paper money from the Weimar Republic (dated 1923), like I'd know where that was manufactured (but Chit Chats said since Weimar republic doesn't exist anymore putting Canada is OK, I'm thinking CBP will not share that viewpoint if the item is spot checked).

C.

[cottagewoman]

Best advice I had from a Canadian broker (not US) is to do some research on where an item was made of if it's vintage and include some of those details in the item description, declare the country of origin as best as you can based on your research, and cross your fingers. You want to build as convincing a case as possible - the more the info in the description on the manifest and invoice (within reason of course) the better.

[sin-n-dex]

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@cottagewoman wrote:
Best advice I had from a Canadian broker (not US) is to do some research on where an item was made of if it's vintage and include some of those details in the item description, declare the country of origin as best as you can based on your research, and cross your fingers. You want to build as convincing a case as possible - the more the info in the description on the manifest and invoice (within reason of course) the better.

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When I approached Stallion to find out if I could declare it as vintage (in lieu of manufacture), I had suggested for a token it could be a description like "Upper Canada 1/2 Penny Bronze token dated 1813", which would provide lots of information about what it is, where it comes from, and what it's made of. I didn't get an answer from Stallion, but at the time they were talking about how this "manufacture info required" was something we were going to have to do, but it didn't actually happen yet. I'm thinking it has to happen for a few days to iron out some of the details and find out what's going on (which is why my store is being shut down in the next half hour until some of this chaos is sorted out, or we find out the chaos will continue which means I'll be offline longer.

C.

[jtg204]

What happens if a Canada Post Tracked Packet USA delivery that has unreasonable tarrifs/fees on delivery is declined by a buyer/receiver and is sent back to sender?

[dinomitesales]

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@jtg204 wrote:

What happens if a Canada Post Tracked Packet USA delivery that has unreasonable tarrifs/fees on delivery is declined by a buyer/receiver and is sent back to sender?

---

Based on the ways eBay's policies are written, if a buyer refuses a package for any reason they void their Money Back Guarantee protection. You would technically be within your right to not refund them at all, and eBay would back you up.

Should you do that? No, probably not - the buyer would likely just file a chargeback and who knows how that would be handled. But you would be within your right to provide a refund less any shipping costs or fees you incur as a result of the shipment and eBay should back you up.

In reality we have no idea how any of this is going to work. This is all uncharted territory. Canada Post hasn't even made a statement on the matter - there is still no requirement for any parcels shipped through them to have a country of origin specified. One would think this would cause an issue for anything going over the border, but maybe they know something we don't know?

[dinomitesales]

DYK Post made a statement on their Facebook page on how they're handling things.

For them, they're actually requiring their staff to visually inspect and confirm the country of origin on anything you want to ship through them. That means you need to drop off your package unopened, and then seal it while there, or you need to provide an external photograph of the item proving the country of origin.

Apparently they've been explicitly told by the Montana US CPB that they will be checking all packages at the border to ensure compliance.

From DYK:

All customers' packages drop off will be examined by our front staffs to verify its country of origin. If you do not want us to open your boxes, please take prior pictures of the products and show these to our staff. We reserve our right to open all boxes. There will be a paper work for the shipper to sign and certify for customs clearance.

We have been told explicitly by CBP at the Montana border crossing that they will try to open every single packages to check for country of origin. Our whole truck will be rejected back to Canada if a single made in China/HK product is found to be undeclared. We thank your understanding while we are still navigating during this difficult time. Hopefully, this will only be a temporary measure.

We do have other DDP (delivered duty paid) option to send to the USA. However, we do not recommend doing so because the total tax/tariff/brokerage will be at least 200% of your selling price. Other DDU (delivered duty unpaid) option is also not recommended as your buyer will most likely be refusing the delivery after seeing a huge customs bill.

----------

When asked what to do with items that don't have a country of manufacture specified, or for which the country of origin is unknown, DYK is saying you need to include "a letter to certify the country of origin". Apparently this is basically a form they will have available at their branches that you can fill out and sign that puts the onus on you that, to the best of your knowledge, the item was made in the country you say it is.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@dinomitesales wrote:

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@jtg204 wrote:

What happens if a Canada Post Tracked Packet USA delivery that has unreasonable tarrifs/fees on delivery is declined by a buyer/receiver and is sent back to sender?

---

Based on the ways eBay's policies are written, if a buyer refuses a package for any reason they void their Money Back Guarantee protection. You would technically be within your right to not refund them at all, and eBay would back you up.

Should you do that? No, probably not - the buyer would likely just file a chargeback and who knows how that would be handled. But you would be within your right to provide a refund less any shipping costs or fees you incur as a result of the shipment and eBay should back you up.

In reality we have no idea how any of this is going to work. This is all uncharted territory. Canada Post hasn't even made a statement on the matter - there is still no requirement for any parcels shipped through them to have a country of origin specified. One would think this would cause an issue for anything going over the border, but maybe they know something we don't know?

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@dinomitesales 

@jtg204 

@cottagewoman 

The default with eBay labels for refused items is return at shippers expense and only on premium shipping...Expedited and above. Unsure if the CP tool gives you the option. With Shippo you choose return or dispose. eBay needs to add that option ASAP.  Big problem for anything refused is in most cases seller would be on hook if customs processing got applied to it even in theory the item is Canadian( country of original shipment) returning with no value in scheme of things. Similar to how repaired goods are(were) processed. The duties and taxes are only on the repair. NOT on the actual goods.

[dinomitesales]

For what it's worth, in my nearly ten years of working as a Canada Post retail clerk, I've never once seen any international package returned to sender where the sender has had to pay to pick it up (not unpaid customs, or return shipping, or anything). Regardless of what the return instructions on the label were.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@dinomitesales wrote:

For what it's worth, in my nearly ten years of working as a Canada Post retail clerk, I've never once seen any international package returned to sender where the sender has had to pay to pick it up (not unpaid customs, or return shipping, or anything). Regardless of what the return instructions on the label were.

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@dinomitesales 

More of hit or miss when parcel is domestic? That's been my observation of 20 years on ebay.

[regs43]

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@dinomitesales wrote:

For what it's worth, in my nearly ten years of working as a Canada Post retail clerk, I've never once seen any international package returned to sender where the sender has had to pay to pick it up (not unpaid customs, or return shipping, or anything). Regardless of what the return instructions on the label were.

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I'm waiting for a RTS from USA Feb 5, LOL wonder when it might get here. My longest RTS was Germany at 5 months. Maybe this will be a new record haha.

Buyer provided a wrong address with their street address from Carolina and said they lived in Califoria. Needless to say the address doesnt exist lol and they used a guest account so They didnt get a refund for obvious reasons (it was their mistake and I have no item back lol). They bought a new one and got it in a good amount of time.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@dinomitesales wrote:

DYK Post made a statement on their Facebook page on how they're handling things.

For them, they're actually requiring their staff to visually inspect and confirm the country of origin on anything you want to ship through them. That means you need to drop off your package unopened, and then seal it while there, or you need to provide an external photograph of the item proving the country of origin.

Apparently they've been explicitly told by the Montana US CPB that they will be checking all packages at the border to ensure compliance.

From DYK:

All customers' packages drop off will be examined by our front staffs to verify its country of origin. If you do not want us to open your boxes, please take prior pictures of the products and show these to our staff. We reserve our right to open all boxes. There will be a paper work for the shipper to sign and certify for customs clearance.

We have been told explicitly by CBP at the Montana border crossing that they will try to open every single packages to check for country of origin. Our whole truck will be rejected back to Canada if a single made in China/HK product is found to be undeclared. We thank your understanding while we are still navigating during this difficult time. Hopefully, this will only be a temporary measure.

We do have other DDP (delivered duty paid) option to send to the USA. However, we do not recommend doing so because the total tax/tariff/brokerage will be at least 200% of your selling price. Other DDU (delivered duty unpaid) option is also not recommended as your buyer will most likely be refusing the delivery after seeing a huge customs bill.

----------

When asked what to do with items that don't have a country of manufacture specified, or for which the country of origin is unknown, DYK is saying you need to include "a letter to certify the country of origin". Apparently this is basically a form they will have available at their branches that you can fill out and sign that puts the onus on you that, to the best of your knowledge, the item was made in the country you say it is.

---

@dinomitesales 

@sin-n-dex 

@cottagewoman 

@regs43 

For the rest of us still trying to rely on eBay labels to do this properly without delays. See below: 

Maybe until we get the amended paperwork stream from ebay labels going forward all international packages should be forwarded to eBay's corporate office in Toronto. Then they can inspect and process on our behalf. Bonus for anyone in the GTA or Ontario. Cheaper shipping. If a few thousand packages were to show up on eBay's doorstop we might suddenly fully functioning software/paperwork to use. Hey, only a thought. This message will self destruct in 10, 9, 8, 7 .......

AI generated image of what the eBay Corporate office looks like.

Front end for envelops:

Back end for parcels:

@regs43 Maybe they can process your return back to you? Might get it quicker??

Disclaimer. PLEASE don't be implementing the above. This post was entirely tongue in cheek. For anyone who needed a smile during these challenging times. 😁 Back up plan just send in c/o @dinomitesales . The most qualified in the room!!!! 👍

Also for the folks who wondered why eBay couldn't collect tariffs on buyers behalf.

[recped]

I think the eBay Canada office looks more like this......

[fergua3]

i'd love to know how US Customs are going to be checking every single package.   Even if they now have the manpower, they don't have enough equipment, or the physical space, to inspect every single package.  Unless they're cool with every package being in Cusoms for weeks before they are cleared.

[cottagewoman-ca]

Comments on the DYK post seem to indicate that this is/will be happening at their particular port of entry in Montana, not at every port where they pass (Washington State, New York).  However get ready for MUCH slower customs entry for pretty much every method, either cross-border shippers, Canada Post, etc - can't believe there is no guidance coming from Canada Post.  I have a feeling that nobody really knows on the US side how to handle this in any official capacity - these kind of changes would normally take months to roll out, their doing all of this in weeks.  Everybody is going to be scrambling on both sides for a while, and it'll be bedlam as @sin-n-dex had noted in her other post.  The gist of this is the directives come with absolutely no plan on how to implement, manage, etc, and everybody is going to be angry AF and confused for a loooonnngg time to come.

[sapphyres-designer-jewellery]

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@fergua3 wrote:

i'd love to know how US Customs are going to be checking every single package.   Even if they now have the manpower, they don't have enough equipment, or the physical space, to inspect every single package.  Unless they're cool with every package being in Cusoms for weeks before they are cleared.

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I read they plan to check everyone on from what DYK posted.

I'm banking on this lasting all of 3 days before they give up and let a bunch of packages through.

C.

[dinomitesales]

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@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:

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@dinomitesales wrote:

For what it's worth, in my nearly ten years of working as a Canada Post retail clerk, I've never once seen any international package returned to sender where the sender has had to pay to pick it up (not unpaid customs, or return shipping, or anything). Regardless of what the return instructions on the label were.

---

@dinomitesales 

More of hit or miss when parcel is domestic? That's been my observation of 20 years on ebay.

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Yes, it's a different story domestically. Hit or miss.

[dinomitesales]

If this lasts longer than a few days, I suspect Canada Post will come out with a generic statement saying "Expect delays. On-time guarantees to the United States are no longer in effect."

They have more pressing issues apparently, like raising parcel rates. /s

(new parcel rate increase announced for July 2 by the way).