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Heads up to US residents who purchase from overseas vendors

BlingDreams

BlingDreams

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 12, 2015
Messages
2,308
The following countries have now said they won't be shipping packages worth less than $800 to the US:
  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • New Zealand
  • Norway
  • Russia
  • Singapore
  • South Korea
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • Spain
  • Taiwan
  • Thailand
  • United Kingdom
You can read more here
 
I'll post the article when I get home but it's a major headache to vendors with customers in the US
 
There was a "policy" (rule/law/whatever) regarding packages worth LESS than $800 paying tariffs. So many, many tons of small value packages from China paid NOTHING in tariffs; as I understand it, they could bring in a full container of, let's say T-shirts. Then as they shipped 'individual' packages out (think Amazon orders) no tariffs were ever paid. Very, very advantageous to China.
 
Last edited:
Rockdiamond said:
Wouldn’t it also be advantageous to US consumers???
Click to expand...

of course, cheap goods from China particularly = low prices for America. Really horrible working conditions for the employees in China--American goods can't compete; American factories close.

I make a concerted effort to NOT buy anything made in China, if possible; sometimes there is no good alternative (cell phones?). I have no problem purchasing from other countries (I think my Lee brand jeans come from Turkey maybe?)
 
It just brings the US closer in line with other countries for example Canada:


For Mail and Courier Shipments
The rules for shipments depend on the origin country and the value of the shipment.

  • From the US and Mexico:
    • Up to CAN$40: Duty and tax-free.
    • Above CAN$40 to CAN$150: Duty-free, but taxes still apply.
  • From Other Countries:
    • Up to CAN$20: Duty and tax-free.
    • Above CAN$20: Duties and taxes apply.
 
Germany:
Packages to Germany may be mailed free of duty if their value does not exceed € 45 (Euro).

Alcoholic beverages, coffee, tea, and perfumes are excluded from this provision. For these items, certain limits on quantity apply.
 
France:
For goods shipped to France from outside the EU, customs duties are waived on the first €150 of the value, but VAT is charged on all imports.
 
Australia is another exception with a high threshold like the US used to be:

Customs duty: No customs duty is charged on most imported goods valued at AUD$1,000 or less.

New Zealand is NZ$1,000 for most goods.
 
i too worry about the conditions of Chinese workers
but the rest of the world is not China, let us continue to do business

ive been buying Californian necterines the last two weeks
they are delicouse
 
Karl_K said:
Australia is another exception with a high threshold like the US used to be:

Customs duty: No customs duty is charged on most imported goods valued at AUD$1,000 or less.

New Zealand is NZ$1,000 for most goods.
Click to expand...

but GST of 10% is collected on all goods.
We also have free trade agreements with lots of nations so there is not customs tariff.
 
Yeah I’m in Canada and have never paid duty on anything I’ve imported… just sales tax I pay for any purchase.
 
I'm in Canada, and have noticed the whopper-to-me retaliatory tariffs being applied to purchases from the US. I purchased some skin care products (only made in the US, and I love them so continue to purchase) and the last time they arrived there was 40% tacked on top of the usual sales tax. Although I still love the products, I'm hesitant to order more, and may purchase something else when I run out. :confused2:
 
Garry H (Cut Nut) said:
but GST of 10% is collected on all goods.
We also have free trade agreements with lots of nations so there is not customs tariff.
Click to expand...

our GST is 15%
a while ago the govt brought in legislation to collect taxes from goods we buy overseas
i make sue to only buy through places that can handle the tax for me

i dont think anything this end has changed when buying from the US
 
Daisys and Diamonds said:
our GST is 15%
a while ago the govt brought in legislation to collect taxes from goods we buy overseas
i make sue to only buy through places that can handle the tax for me

i dont think anything this end has changed when buying from the US
Click to expand...

15% tariff by another name.
 
Karl_K said:
15% tariff by another name.
Click to expand...
no its sales tax
its like the UK'S VAT
its on everything that is sold in NZ ( not 2nd hands goods or houses) in NZ
AUstralia dont charge it on fresh fruit and veg which we would love them to do that here

the funds go into the govt's consollitaed fund along with all other tax
 
Daisys and Diamonds said:
no its sales tax
its like the UK'S VAT
its on everything that is sold in NZ ( not 2nd hands goods or houses) in NZ
AUstralia dont charge it on fresh fruit and veg which we would love them to do that here

the funds go into the govt's consollitaed fund along with all other tax
Click to expand...

Minor correction D&D - it is a value added tax.
All buyers pay it - B2B too. The wholesaler sells a $10 thing to a retailer and pays $1.5 to the government. The retailer sells the product for $20 and pays the government $3. The consumer actually paid that $3.
The retailer actually gets a credit on the $1.5 and really only pays the government $1.5.
Sale tax is not collected from consumers - it is a B2B payment only and is typically marked up to consumers.
It is illegal to mark up the value added tax.
The tax must be included in the retail price (but is an add on in wholesale price).
In the USA from sate to state and town to town taxes are all over the place.
The GST / VAT is collected nationally and distributed back to states.
Simpler, fairer and less costly to operate.
 
The biggest problem is the lack of clarity about the rates (like different origins and types of items attract different rates) and how they are collected and how paid to the US Govt.
Yes, many Countries apply customs, duties and taxes to imported items but frameworks and clear understanding is available.
Australia has a $1,000 exemption for personal items and gifts. That was changed to include 10% GST on all overseas purchases from $1 including those from eBay and Etsy. What stung was that preloved items get caught up the same whereas the purpose was to make a more level playing field for stores /businesses. Businesses got upset that people were buying goods online for 0% import cost meaning they weren’t going to the store to buy them.
It is what it is and life goes on, albeit 10% more expensive.
So whether or not you agree with the new US tariff arrangement the fact remains that for American buyers they will have to pay more than before and/or overseas seller might decide the selling to the US is too complicated and therefore no longer offered.
If the tariffs were protecting US businesses or improving their cost base against imported items it would be of benefit at least to US businesses (US customers lose out before the previously cheaper OS item now isn’t cheaper) but the US tariffs are across the board for everything. So the only outcome is more expensive prices in the US for anything that comes from OS. Americans will pay more and/or have less choice.
 
Bron357 said:
The biggest problem is the lack of clarity about the rates (like different origins and types of items attract different rates) and how they are collected and how paid to the US Govt.
Yes, many Countries apply customs, duties and taxes to imported items but frameworks and clear understanding is available.
Australia has a $1,000 exemption for personal items and gifts. That was changed to include 10% GST on all overseas purchases from $1 including those from eBay and Etsy. What stung was that preloved items get caught up the same whereas the purpose was to make a more level playing field for stores /businesses. Businesses got upset that people were buying goods online for 0% import cost meaning they weren’t going to the store to buy them.
It is what it is and life goes on, albeit 10% more expensive.
So whether or not you agree with the new US tariff arrangement the fact remains that for American buyers they will have to pay more than before and/or overseas seller might decide the selling to the US is too complicated and therefore no longer offered.
If the tariffs were protecting US businesses or improving their cost base against imported items it would be of benefit at least to US businesses (US customers lose out before the previously cheaper OS item now isn’t cheaper) but the US tariffs are across the board for everything. So the only outcome is more expensive prices in the US for anything that comes from OS. Americans will pay more and/or have less choice.
Click to expand...

100% this. And for those saying that other countries have always imposed duties on items under $100 etc., those countries are not the economic powerhouses that the United States is.
 
I can’t get over how many Americans, sitting in their lounge chairs were convinced that poor starving children in Africa were “taking advantage of us”
 
The thing about tariffs. Billionaires LOVE them. It’s a broad based tax that has a far greater impact on lower income people. What does Musk care if furniture is double the price??
Vat does seem more fair than individual states setting sales/ usage taxes as we do here in the USA.
The only fair way is to tax based on income- or equity.
But we’re past that.
 
How about coach purses using the $800 loophole to avoid 160million in tariffs a year that they should be paying?
This is why its ending.
www.glossy.co

Coach CEO Todd Kahn on navigating tariffs and the sudden end of de minimis

Coach CEO Todd Kahn explained how the brand will address a $160 million tariff impact from the sudden August 2025 end of the United States de minimis rule while sustaining growth after a record fourth quarter.
www.glossy.co www.glossy.co

They are a very small player who pulls the same thing as mega corps to avoid paying tariffs.
A huge majority of items from China are sent the same way.
 
It’s going to be a nightmare for most.
An American eBay buyer bought a pre loved Louis Vuitton handbag from a Japanese seller. They got hit with the tariff, but was confused why a second hand item was taxed but moreso why the rate applied wasn’t for buying from Japan but for France because that’s where the bag was made.
So this will be interesting for say gemstones. How can you know if a sapphire originated from Australia or Burma or Montana without a lab certificate? How do you know if a lab diamond was made in China or India?
That’s why the tariff arrangement is going to be disastrous. How and who decides origin of goods? It matters because it could be 10% or 50% or 200%.
It’s fair enough to cease the 0% entry for goods under $800 because it was being taken advantage of but it makes more sense to just set a standard rate like 10% for everyone and everything to make it simple and easy to implement.
 
Bron357 said:
It’s going to be a nightmare for most.
An American eBay buyer bought a pre loved Louis Vuitton handbag from a Japanese seller. They got hit with the tariff, but was confused why a second hand item was taxed but moreso why the rate applied wasn’t for buying from Japan but for France because that’s where the bag was made.
So this will be interesting for say gemstones. How can you know if a sapphire originated from Australia or Burma or Montana without a lab certificate? How do you know if a lab diamond was made in China or India?
That’s why the tariff arrangement is going to be disastrous. How and who decides origin of goods? It matters because it could be 10% or 50% or 200%.
It’s fair enough to cease the 0% entry for goods under $800 because it was being taken advantage of but it makes more sense to just set a standard rate like 10% for everyone and everything to make it simple and easy to implement.
Click to expand...

What does “pre loved” mean?
 
Bron357 said:
It’s going to be a nightmare for most.
An American eBay buyer bought a pre loved Louis Vuitton handbag from a Japanese seller. They got hit with the tariff, but was confused why a second hand item was taxed but moreso why the rate applied wasn’t for buying from Japan but for France because that’s where the bag was made.
So this will be interesting for say gemstones. How can you know if a sapphire originated from Australia or Burma or Montana without a lab certificate? How do you know if a lab diamond was made in China or India?
That’s why the tariff arrangement is going to be disastrous. How and who decides origin of goods? It matters because it could be 10% or 50% or 200%.
It’s fair enough to cease the 0% entry for goods under $800 because it was being taken advantage of but it makes more sense to just set a standard rate like 10% for everyone and everything to make it simple and easy to implement.
Click to expand...

This is what happens when things are done hastily, without trying to work out the bugs first.
 
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