What do you think is going to happen to our shipping on May 2?

[sin-n-dex]

So de minimis on China/Hong Kong made goods goes away May 2. If history is any lesson, there's going to be bedlam at the border.

I'm wondering what the shippers like Stallion and Chit Chats are going to do, while we are allowed to continue to ship non-China goods across the border, I'm expecting chaos while they're sorting all the packages to determine what can go, and what is subject to 145% tariffs (which no longer apply to electronics from what I read in the US forum).

With 145% tariffs, no one will be using services like Stallion and Chit Chats to send their items across duties paid, it would cost the seller money to sell the item with those types of tariffs. But it won't likely stop some people from trying to sneak their China items across under the guise of them being from a different COO.

There was talk a few weeks ago about needing manufacture name and address info for the shipments. That's going to cause chaos for those of us who ship vintage goods. Declaring it as "vintage" instead of providing a manufacturer was correct according to CBP, but whether or not that's accepted under the new rules is anyone's guess.

I think I'm going to have to go offline a few days before May 2 (yet again, for the fourth time) to wait and see what happens. There's no sense in continuing to sell if they just decide to treat all shipments as if they're Chinese (like I was told they were doing when the de minimis on China items first went away, February was it?) Stallion told me all my packages were going formal entry and tariffs were going to be charged back to my account even though I didn't ship anything made in China, they were treating all the packages as if they were made in China, then they repealed the rules and put de minimis back, and at that point my packages made it across the border (without tariffs).

It's just complete chaos, and this "wait 30 days" for things to happen and having to stop selling every 30 days to make sure we can comply with the new rules is exhausting.

For those of us who've decided to just ship Canada Post, I still think there's going to be bedlam at the border, significant delays in Canada Post packages, customers getting mad and filing INRs. I don't think shipping the items from Canada and letting the tariff be the buyer's problem is necessarily going to help escape the chaos that's pending. Plus the fact I think numerous packages will not be claimed due to tariffs. If the tracking is anything like the EU packages that are refused due to tariffs then a lot of customers will be entitled to refunds. Although I knew my EU package was refused, the integrated tracking didn't show what the carrier tracking showed me, and eBay forced me to refund the customer $50 because he didn't want to pay VAT on his import. I'm expecting with US tariffs to see a lot more of that noise.

C.

[fergua3]

Fallsavenue: where did you find that out? The latest info i have and reported here is that ONLY items shipped from HK/China will be subject to the 145% rate.   Chinese made goods shipped to the US from any other country will only be charged the tariff rate of the country they were shipped from, not the China tariff rate.

[fergua3]

that's interesting because i have noticed an uptick in US sales this month.  Perhaps aware buyers trying to beat the May 2 deadline?  Or maybe just a fluke, as the sales numbers are small.

[ricarmic]

Interestingly I've noticed an update in "Canadian" lots going to the US, including bulk stuff. Makes me wonder if folks are purposefully buying Canadian stuff or using the wholesale Canadian centric stuff for something to promote Canada down south. I do have a number of folks apologizing for the current situation.

[fallsavenue]

@fergua3 It's been stated on the White House fact sheet where the affected goods are referred to as China origin and not just shipped from China. Also, it makes sense. Chinese sellers could easily send goods to other countries to ship from. Cearly, Trump is after China made everything. 

[brettjet38]

How tariffs work in the vintage & secondhand market — and what’s affected?

https://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Central/How-tariffs-work-in-the-vintage-amp-secondhand-market-an...

Everything you need to KNOW about exporting Used items, 3rd Party Chinese Sellers and lots of other info about TARIFFS.

[sunraycity]

I am optimistic that Trump may delay the end of the de minimus exemption and announce that China is engaging in trade talks. 

The amount of administrative work to assess each incoming package and then try to collect the tariff owing is significant. Secondly, I would have expected that eBay would announce the ability for it to start collecting the tariff on sales from non US sellers just as it does now for state taxes. 

[flipistics]

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@sunraycity wrote:

I am optimistic that Trump may delay the end of the de minimus exemption and announce that China is engaging in trade talks. 

The amount of administrative work to assess each incoming package and then try to collect the tariff owing is significant. Secondly, I would have expected that eBay would announce the ability for it to start collecting the tariff on sales from non US sellers just as it does now for state taxes. 

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He's also announced the $100 per package fee going up to $200 in June. It's not completely clear if the duty and the fee stack, but I suspect they do. If that's the case, they won't be losing money on the administration end and will have a built-in reason try and assess everything as being from China and letting the buyer (importer) file a complaint to prove origin (if they can) and get the money back.

I'm not expecting him to delay it again. I do think there's going to be chaos though. I suspect the USPS will deal with it by refusing any Chinese shipments from being handed over, which I imagine Trump is just fine with.

[darak10]

all the while reading of the chaos this is creating for fellow etailers a tiny voice in the back of my head reminded me of the feds deal with Canuck Post expiring on May 22 and the likely high potential of those guys walking off the job again....

[sapphyres-designer-jewellery]

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@darak10 wrote:

all the while reading of the chaos this is creating for fellow etailers a tiny voice in the back of my head reminded me of the feds deal with Canuck Post expiring on May 22 and the likely high potential of those guys walking off the job again....

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I keep forgetting about that, but you're right. Even if we do sort things out with our shipping stuff after the May 2 chaos, Canada will have chaos of it's own (which will halt our shipping within Canada as well).

C.

[reallynicestamps]

I am optimistic that Trump may delay the end of the de minimus exemption and announce that China is engaging in trade talks.

Since all that would be required to make such an announcement true would be a low level official in the Trade Commission office in Beijing to meet a low level official from the Chinese diplomatic corps, I would not be surprised.

Or just lie about it.

Probably the second.

they won't be losing money on the administration end and will have a built-in reason try and assess everything as being from China ..I do think there's going to be chaos though. I suspect the USPS will deal with it by refusing any Chinese shipments from being handed over, which I imagine Trump is just fine with.

Look at the backups when the effort to get China to pay a reasonable share of UPU fees and the fentanyl crisis hit at the same time.  Packages from China were delayed for weeks, occasionally months.
China caved on the UPU fees (September 2020) and rented warehouses in the USA to avoid the searches /delays for fentanyl.

[fallsavenue]

DHL announced no shipments over $800 to USA starting April 21 and to expect delays for all other shipments. Yikes, that can't be a good sign. It's temporary and they're saying it's due to lengthier customs clearance. 

[fallsavenue]

@reallynicestamps  I'm thinking the same though Trump really needs a win (as in something that sticks) so unlikely. But I really hope you're right.

They should implement an import tax of $5 per item or use a federal tax rate and have marketplaces/POs collect. No issues, no bull, no delays. Trump just wants non-Americans to pay for access to the most lucrative market online. It would still suck for us but at least it's doable. 

[niceoldstuff-1]

I quit shipping to the USA because of the tarriff situation.... We have already been getting gouged for many years by Ebay fee's...taxes..... I was an ebay seller for 25 years and the tarriff's are the final nail in the coffin for me.

[musicyouneed]

"For those of us who've decided to just ship Canada Post, I still think there's going to be bedlam at the border, significant delays in Canada Post packages, customers getting mad and filing INRs. I don't think shipping the items from Canada and letting the tariff be the buyer's problem is necessarily going to help escape the chaos that's pending. Plus the fact I think numerous packages will not be claimed due to tariffs."

This is what scares me, I sell CD's and most are under $20, made in the US or Canada.  I have switched from Chit Chats to Canada Post.  If the US is going to impose tariffs on Chinese mail goods, there is going to be a sh--show for all mail packages.  I might put my US listings on time away and make my CDN listings only shipping to Canada for a couple of weeks until I know more.  

Also someone mentioned that the Canada Post discounts we have been getting will be going away in May, can someone please clarify that for me?

[sapphyres-designer-jewellery]

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@musicyouneed wrote:

"For those of us who've decided to just ship Canada Post, I still think there's going to be bedlam at the border, significant delays in Canada Post packages, customers getting mad and filing INRs. I don't think shipping the items from Canada and letting the tariff be the buyer's problem is necessarily going to help escape the chaos that's pending. Plus the fact I think numerous packages will not be claimed due to tariffs."

This is what scares me, I sell CD's and most are under $20, made in the US or Canada.  I have switched from Chit Chats to Canada Post.  If the US is going to impose tariffs on Chinese mail goods, there is going to be a sh--show for all mail packages.  I might put my US listings on time away and make my CDN listings only shipping to Canada for a couple of weeks until I know more.  

Also someone mentioned that the Canada Post discounts we have been getting will be going away in May, can someone please clarify that for me?

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Yikes, we can't get a break (re discounts going away, I hope not, but I can't clarify this for you, sorry I haven't heard anything).

I have a store on dot com that has US shipping by default (because it's on the dot com site) so I'm going to put that on time away on April 29. My store here will remain open. I've stated in my listings that items ship from Canada, I'm just going to cross my fingers on that. I know I can turn off US shipping but I don't actually get very many US orders on the eBay.ca store. I'll reach out to buyers if I get any US orders during this time of chaos.

I agree with your statement though, it will be a horror show at the border for ALL packages with ALL carriers due to the de minimis going away on Chinese packages. I don't think the fact we're not shipping anything made in China will change the fact there will be definite chaos on May 2.

I really hate having to shut down sales every month because of this, it's like make new rules and stick to them, stop this on and off thing that happens every month for several days of the month. People who advise me on what to do with my eBay business are warning me that I might get US buyers who don't realize the tariffs are paid by them and think I'm going to pay their tariff to get their item in to the US.

Also I had a very interesting conversation with someone a few months ago about "what if tariffs are 100%". So I said if I have an item to sell that's $100, and there's 100% tariffs I will need to pay the US government $100 to get the item across the border (in a delivery duties paid situation). So they said "then sell the item for $200 and then you can pay the $100 tariff". I pointed out if the item sells for $200, the tariff is then $200. The point of 100% tariffs is your entire gross sale pays the tariff if it's DDP. With Canada post the buyer pays, but I doubt many buyers will like the now $100 package fee on small items, basically I expect shipments from China/Hong Kong to the US to completely shut down. It is noteworthy that HK Post has already made that decision to not ship or accept any USPS shipments, and other carriers are doing similar things.

C.

[mrdutch1001]

I believe this is what is going away ...(This was a special temporary discount from Canada Post and not related to eBay's discounted rates)...

"Solutions for Small Business™ (SfSB) reduced rates on Expedited Parcel and Tracked Packet USA starting February 17

From February 17 to April 27, 2025, Canada Post Solutions for SfSB customers without a commercial parcel agreement may be eligible to receive an exclusive new discount.

What you need to know

• Expedited Parcel Discount:

  • Lightweight (for items under 500g) – discount of up to a 70% saving off counter rates where customers may see shipments as low as $3.50.

  • 10% to 20% off some current shipping rates when shipping an item that is up to 5kg.

[fallsavenue]

Tariffs, discounts done soon, and a possible CP strike. Oh what a great time to be an online seller. HA! Looks like I might have to dust off my resume soon. Blech.

[fergua3]

Trump may be fine with charging a fortune for Chinese made goods and/or no Chinese goods coming into the US but the vast majority of the American population won't be.  Americans don't really seem to get the fact of how much stuff they buy is made in China and that the reason it doesn't cost 3 or 4 times more is because it is made in China.  And it's not just the price.  If Chinese goods are made inaccessible then the variety of things for Americans to buy will greatly diminish.  For example, 80% of toys are made in China.  Take those away and see how happy Americna  parents and their kids, are.  If i were China, i would refuse to send any more goods , of any kind, to the US until all tariffs are removed.  It would mean a 20% hit to the Chinese economy, it would mean social upheaval in the US.

If these tariffs and fees stay on Chinese goods, Americans will start to  freak out.  Trump is acting like a dictator and desperately wants to be a dictator but he's not a dictator...yet.  If a gargantuan portion of the US population flips out when the cost of every day goods sky rockets, Trump will cave.....he needs to be loved.

He's already lying (big surprise) about all the money that the US is collecting from tariffs, neglecting to mention it is the citizens and companies of America that are paying those tariffs, for the most part.  At the same time he is talking about all the great trade deals he's making with other countries.   If tariffs are so good why make trade deals?  And with whom are these trade deals being made?  Other than a handful of small nations i don't know of any.

He's been largely back peddling on tariffs since the beginnng and will probably continue to do so.  Eventually, within a year,  i expect all tariffs to quietly disappear as Trump-head and his dim wit advisors  realzie what a disaster they are.

[ypdc_dennis]

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@fallsavenue wrote:

DHL announced no shipments over $800 to USA starting April 21 and to expect delays for all other shipments. Yikes, that can't be a good sign. It's temporary and they're saying it's due to lengthier customs clearance. 

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That's for deliveries to USA Consumers from anywhere in the world. Deliveries to Businesses are still going through (with some possible delays). Problem is all the extra paperwork now required for shipments in the $800 to $2500 range.

Hong Kong Post will stop accepting shipments to the USA starting April 27 to avoid May 2 problems.

Source: BBC

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@ypdc_dennis wrote:

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@fallsavenue wrote:

DHL announced no shipments over $800 to USA starting April 21 and to expect delays for all other shipments. Yikes, that can't be a good sign. It's temporary and they're saying it's due to lengthier customs clearance. 

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That's for deliveries to USA Consumers from anywhere in the world. Deliveries to Businesses are still going through (with some possible delays). Problem is all the extra paperwork now required for shipments in the $800 to $2500 range.

Hong Kong Post will stop accepting shipments to the USA starting April 27 to avoid May 2 problems.

Source: BBC

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@sin-n-dex 

@fergua3 

@fallsavenue 

Who is allowed to collect duties and taxes: Canada

In Canada, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is responsible for collecting duties and taxes on imported goods. This includes commercial goods, as well as items brought in by travelers or mail. The CBSA assesses and collects these charges on behalf of the Government of Canada. 

Who is allowed to to collect duties & taxes: USA

In the United States, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the primary agency responsible for collecting duties and taxes on imported goods. While CBP assesses the duties, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) may be involved in collecting certain taxes. 

Here's a more detailed breakdown:

• CBP's Role:

  CBP enforces customs laws and regulations, and it's the agency that determines the amount of duty to be paid on imported goods. 
• Importer Responsibility:

  The importer (whoever brings the goods into the US) is responsible for paying the duties and taxes, according to CBP guidelines. 
• Potential for Third-Party Involvement:

  While the importer is ultimately responsible, they can use a customs broker to help with the import process, including duty calculations and payments. 
• Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF):

  CBP also levies an MPF on imported goods, which is based on the type of entry into the United States. 
• State and Local Taxes:

  In addition to federal duties, imported goods may also be subject to state and local taxes, which are not collected by CBP. ...........Why eBay, Amazon, Etsy can collect state and provincial taxes