Mark Packages as "Gift" & value under "$100"
Canadian sellers, your thoughts on marking all your packages going to the USA (if you ever get any US buyers anymore) as "Gift" with a value under $100.
I'm thinking US Customs is going to see every second package marked as a gift,,,,, who knows what's going to happen in the near future!!!
34 comments
kangamoose_shop
·11 months agoYou could have just as easily written "non-USA sellers". My thought as such is it would be wonderful if that were legal, but it is a form of tax evasion. It's perfectly normal to think about doing it, and doesn't make you a bad person in anyone's eyes. Morality issue aside, doing such a thing is illegal. You have to admit, it unfortunately sounded a bit like a suggestion, though you may not have realized it when you posted. Emotions over this tariff issue are running hot.
If it wasn't so expensive, I would just love to see the reaction in the USA if every US resident suddenly received gifts from abroad. I would be gifting pieces of last years used winter road gravel and dryer lint. Valued at $99.99 each.
marnotom!
·11 months agoThere’s some interesting thoughts on marking US-bound items as “gifts under $100†on this Canada Post FAQ page:
https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/support/campaign/shipping-to-us-duty-updates.page#frequently-asked-questions
msha3839
·11 months agoWhat’s going to happen to you promoting fraudulent activities? 🤷…😈
12345jamesstamps
·11 months agoI think USA sellers will get more USA buyers as well as Canadian sellers will get more Canadian buyers.
I think auctions in general will take a 'hit' and I think eBay will take a 'big hit' with international sales in general
plus eBay will probably get a lot of 'items not received' on estimated dates.
On the positive side...maybe there might be, I say might be...less 'freight forward' and 'drop-shopping' going on...I can hope...right?
aldo1959
OP11 months agoCanadian sellers are absolutely done on Ebay if your sales were mainly going to the USA.
Two items shipped, two item refused by the buyers because of the brokerage and government fees which were 2 to 3 times more then the items sale price.
Any suggestions or possible ways around this and still trying to be “honest†when filling out shipping info.
Just couldn’t leave good enough alone and had to screw another thing up!!!!!
soh.maryl
·11 months agoJust checking: You do know that the entity who "just couldn't leave good enough alone" was not anyone connected with eBay or any other online venue, right?
And that the effect of this isn't limited to Canada?
aldo1959
OP11 months ago“ “ NOPE “ “
lacemaker3
·11 months ago@aldo1959
I would recommend that you list your items on eBay.cam so that you can set up separate shipping costs to the US. Or block sales to the US.
If you prefer to continue to list on eBay.com, then it would be just as easy to increase the cost of your domestic (meaning US) shipping to include the duty/tariff as described below.
If you are using a non-postal carrier, make sure that you use a Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) option so that the duty/tariff and brokerage fees are prepaid. You can do a test label through the carrier's website to find out what the cost will be, then include it in your shipping cost to the US.
If you are going to use Canada Post, you can do a test label through Zonos (Canada Post's partner for handling the customs declaration and duty/tariff) to get the customs cost and add it to the shipping cost.
I would not send anything to the US anymore, where the buyer is expected to pay the costs at delivery. Too many of them won't pay, even though it is their responsibility. The US CBP guidance is clear that the duty/tariff needs to be prepaid.
If that is not acceptable, then I would agree that you should not sell to the US anymore.
eBay should add the duty/tariff to the checkout, based on the chosen shipping carrier, so the buyer can see these costs up front before they buy, and pay them at checkout.
However, Amazon was threatened to not do that, when the they proposed showing the tariff/duty cost transparently at checkout. I think they had to hide it in the shipping cost, so it would not be transparent. Or increase the selling price if the items were in one of Amazon's fulfillment centers in the US.
aldo1959
OP11 months agoReally good points made in your reply.
It’s pretty hard to add the tariffs, duties, brokerage and government fees in the shipping cost at time of listing.
$50 item with a shipping cost of $100 - $200 🫣
Thousands of people on both sides of the border that are/were trying to make a little extra money to get by are now done.
Thanks dude!!!!!
kangamoose_shop
·11 months agoI think you should write to the Canadian customs department head, and ask them if it's OK to smuggle goods into the USA now, because after all, the tariffs are hurting your sales to the USA. Be sure to ask using a letter with your mailing adress so they understand that it's an actual serious issue for you.
powell-collectibles
·11 months agoI don’t see where the OP was encouraging anyone to do this or telling us that he was thinking about doing this because of issues selling to the US. I think it’s a reasonable question – nothing wrong with asking a question. I have opined that we should see a big increase in “gifts“ coming into the country. I’m not recommending it, I’m not selling from outside of United States, It’s just what is going to happen.
kangamoose_shop
·11 months agoaldo1959
OP11 months agoMr. Kangaroo, I mean Kangamoose!
You were definitely trying to stir the pot with your sarcastic response.
I am cool with that, just trying to see what other sellers and buyers are thinking of doing with all the new rules,,,,,,, Now back to my ABBA music !!!!!!
kangamoose_shop
·11 months agostainlessenginecovers
·11 months agoWhen the 'new rules' are (especially) 'new government federally backed rules'; what YOU and your fellow Countrymen are supposed to do is quite simple:
Follow The Rules
and NOT try to 'find out' or 'figure out' or 'even put it out there for opinion' ....a workaround.
marnotom!
·11 months agoSorry to be late to the party, but I feel I should point out that Canada Border Services only concerns itself with items entering the country, not leaving it.
kangamoose_shop
·11 months agoSorry to be late to the party, but I feel I should point out that Canada Border Services only concerns itself with items entering the country, not leaving it.
So, filling out a customs form at the Canadian Post Office means the Canadian sender is actually filling out an AMERICAN customs form, ergo Canadian Border Services don't concern themselves with attempted smuggling? Doubtful. I suggested that the OP ask them himself, and if you don't already know what their answer will be, I can assure you they won't say "Go for it, it's fine by us."
Marking an item as a "gift" when shipping from Canada does not incur a penalty itself, but
misrepresenting a commercial shipment as a gift can lead to penalties, as it is against Canadian law to falsify customs documents to avoid duties and taxes.
aldo1959
OP11 months agoI'm tapping out of this thread as it seems to me,,,,,, people seem to be saying I am the worst kinda guy trying to tell everyone to falsify documents, break the law and to circumvent the system at all costs.
All I asked from the beginning were "peoples thoughts" on this subject!
marnotom!
·11 months agoPro tip, @aldo1959: If you’re looking for responses from Canadian eBay users, you’re better off posting on the Canadian eBay community discussion boards.
https://community.ebay.ca
lacemaker3
·11 months ago@kangamoose_shop
The form that a seller has to fill out to send a package to the US with Canada Post, is actually a form with a company called Zonos, that is one of the companies that US CBP has authorized to collect the duty payments and customs declaration information, and submit them to US CBP.
All international postal services, and all non-postal shipping carriers will have to submit the customs declaration information and duty payments through one of those companies, because they are the ones that US CBP has granted status as a "Qualified Party" to collect and remit duties on international shipments entering the U.S.
As long as a sender has the Declaration ID from Zonos, to prove they have entered the declaration info and paid the fees to US CBP, then Canada Post will sell them a shipping label to send their package to the USA.
If you have more questions about this, it has been thoroughly discussed on the eBay Canada community:
https://community.ebay.ca/
kangamoose_shop
·11 months agoI see, but the authority and responsibility to enforce customs laws still ultimately lies with Canadian CBP. The way you described it, Zonos is a private 3rd party, a "middleman" tasked with administration. They collect their service fees whether the sender is honest or not.
Is my other statement in that post true of false?
"Marking an item as a "gift" when shipping from Canada does not incur a penalty itself, but
misrepresenting a commercial shipment as a gift can lead to penalties, as it is against Canadian law to falsify customs documents to avoid duties and taxes."
lacemaker3
·11 months ago@kangamoose_shop
From what I have read in news articles, Canada Border Services and US Customs and Border Protection cooperate in many cases if import/export fraud between the two countries is suspected. My understanding is that CBS is primarily concerned with enforcing Canadian law related to imports into Canada, and US CBP is primarily concerned with enforcing US law related to imports into the US.
You asked for the source of my statement about "qualified parties".
Here is a brief factsheet from US CBP:
https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/2025-08/factsheet_suspension_of_duty-free_de_minimis_treatment.pdf
Here is the detailed guidance from US CBP, which was issued Aug `15, 2025, about 2 weeks before it went into effect on Aug 29, 2025 for all international postal carriers:
https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/USDHSCBP/2025/08/15/file_attachments/3357802/Global%20Guidance%20for%20International%20Mail%20-%208.15.25%20.pdf
The list of qualified parties, which have been approved by US CBP to collect and remit the customs declarations and duty payments to US CBP is available here:
https://www.cbp.gov/trade/basic-import-export/e-commerce
As an example of how one postal carrier has implemented this, here are the instructions and information from Canada Post about how a small business can send a package to a customer in the US. Canada Post has partnered with Zonos (as the qualified party), and senders in Canada are required to log on to the Zonos app or website, fill out the customs information and country of origin, to find out how much the assessed duty is, and then pay it through Zonos to get a Declaration ID. Once they have the Declaration ID, then Canada Post will sell them a shipping label (whether online or in-person at the post office) which includes the Declaration ID (as a bar code, I believe).
https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/support/campaign/shipping-to-us-duty-updates.page
Another example: Royal Mail UK appears to have taken a different approach. According to this post from Royal Mail, senders in the UK can take care of the customs declaration and prepay the duty when they purchase the shipping label from Royal Mail, whether they purchase the label online or at a post office.
https://www.royalmail.com/usapersonalupdates
In both cases, the reported handling charges are less than the brokerage fees typically charged by non-postal carriers, and they used the ad valorem method to calculate the duty, which charges only the IEEPA Tariff rate applicable for the item and country of origin. According to Executive Order 14324, postal shipping carriers have to use the same calculation method for all shipments, and are only allowed to change the calculation method once a month.
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/08/05/2025-14897/suspending-duty-free-de-minimis-treatment-for-all-countries
On a different, related, topic. Package that are sent by a non-postal carrier also have to have the duty prepaid when they arrive at US CBP. The shipping carriers prepay the duty, which may be more than if they were shipped by a postal carrier because the Executive Order 14324 says:
"...all such shipments, except those sent through the international postal network, shall be subject to all applicable duties, taxes, fees, exactions, and charges."
and not just the IEEPA tariff rate.
Also, the handling fee or brokerage fee for a non-postal carrier is typically much more than the postal services described above are charging. The non-postal carriers may prepay the fees for DDU shipments (delivered duty unpaid) as a courtesy, but if the recipient (buyer) refuses to pay the duty and brokerage fee, then the carrier will charge it back to the sender (seller). However, I believe that some non-postal carriers are beginning to require that the sender prepay the fees (DDP, delivered duty paid), probably because of the difficulty in collecting the fees after the fact (DDU).
kangamoose_shop
·11 months agoI'm a fan of avoiding unnecessary expenses, so hopefully Swedish Post will be able to handle the administration end of tariffs themselves. I applaud Royal Mail, they are only charging an additional fee of £0.50 for processing tariff collections.
My thanks for the info,lacemaker3, it was a lot of work. One thing struck me that made me giggle, the URL https://www.cbp.gov/trade/basic-import-export/e-commerce has a list of "Approved Qualified Parties", and the first one on that list uses a gmail adress. Maybe their company domain name won't fit in the space generously provided by US cbp. I also noticed that there are only TWELVE approved qualified parties on that list, seems to be quite a workload for 12 companies.
Marking packages as gifts on customs forms when the item is not a gift is considered fraud, packages can be confiscated and the sender fined.
Is that what you really want to tell people to do?
aldo1959
OP11 months agoJust asked peoples thoughts on this, not advising people to do anything!!!!!!
Thanks for your comment
soh.maryl
·11 months agoIf all you were doing is "just asking peoples thoughts on this", what were you planning on doing with the information received?
Your message sounds like you were recommending this for sellers.
aldo1959
OP11 months agosoh.maryl,,,,, why are you even replying to this with your odd comments.
Well I was planning on compiling all the info I received and get this,,,,,, reading it!!!!
soh.maryl
·11 months agoThank you. Am pretty sure that I am allowed to make as many odd comments here as I want.
powell-collectibles
·11 months agoAbsolutely. And, as the one that likes an interesting read, the odder comments, the better 😊
soh.maryl
·11 months agoWill keep that in mind for future communications.
kensgiftshop
·11 months agoIt's worked for China.
When I was buying items from China they were all marked as gifts.
Hopefully customs catches on and stops all those gifts.
simba6
·11 months agoMight get held up or even seized by customs.