Things Americans should know about charges for foreign orders
A lot of American buyers seem to not understand charges they may incur when purchasing. Here is a breakdown:
1. Taxes. You pay your state taxes when purchasing from the U.S. OR foreign countries.
2. Tariffs. You may be subject to them if you order a non-American-made item from a foreign country.
3. Brokerage. If you order an item from a foreign country and it comes by LAND, (lowest courier service) then you may be hit by a brokerage charge, typically $20-$60 for UPS. Fedex also charges it. To AVOID this, request and AIR service. DO NOT CONFUSE BROKERAGE CHARGES WITH TARIFFS, THEY ARE NOT THE SAME THING.
4. Handling charge. Typically, a post-office charge, nominal about $10.00.
6 comments
snoopwiz
·7 months agoI ship from Canada into the U.S by post (only) and I prepay any tariffs that are applicable. Prepaying it meaning I (and most sellers) are merely adding that amount to either the item price or the ship cost that the U.S. buyer may incur. Therefore no surprises when the package arrives at your door.
In my case though, 2/3 of what I sell are shipped into the USA with no tariffs so, on those, USA buyers don't pay anything extra, as long as it is shipped by post. I do not use Fed-Ex or other courier as US buyers may incur costs by my doing so.
The other 1/3 of my items are subject to tariffs of which I prepay before shipping. My US buyers will not be subject to any further charges.
Note though, the truth of the often argued issue is this............U.S. consumers ARE, for the most part, paying the tariffs, either directly or indirectly. Please do not be bamboozled by politicians who want you to believe otherwise.
Happy to answer any questions in the hope of dispelling the misinformation circulating.
kensgiftshop
·7 months agoA good reason not to buy from other countries.
shallow_karl
OP5 months agoExcept if applied across the board, you'd be paying $100 for t-shrts at Walmart and $5000 for the latest cellphone, as examples.
kensgiftshop
·5 months agoTime to make your own clothes and who needs the latest cell phone.
soh.maryl
·5 months agoBelieve it or not, there are actually people who do not have, and do not want, a cell phone.
They are apparently pretty rare in the US and I've heard rumors that a rather large tribe in central Africa is in current negotiations with T-mobile.
Unavailable member
·7 months agoThanks, that will help me think twice about buying from over seas.