ULPT: Avoiding import duties on e-commerce in the US
Posted by Blobloblobl@reddit | UnethicalLifeProTips | View on Reddit | 38 comments
With the loss of de minimis import exemptions in the US, I’ve been trying to think of ways around it and coming up blank.
Anyone have any thoughts on this?
JohnHazardWandering@reddit
Get a friend in Canada or Mexico and ship all your stuff there. Then go drive and pick it up but make sure that it's out of its packaging and tags torn off so it looks like you brought it with you on the trip so you don't have to pay import duties.
It is usually more work than it's worth to do all that.
chickyloo42by10@reddit
Used to do this when cross border shopping was the big deal in the 90s. Oh Walden Galleria Mall, with your screaming parking lot… memories.
feckineejit@reddit
You have to explain the screaming parking lot though.
chickyloo42by10@reddit
Not sure what they used to “pave” the parking garage, but you could be going 2mph and your tires would squeal so loud, like you’re in some fast and furious bit.
feckineejit@reddit
Oh yes I know what you mean, its like a latex rubber coating it has texture sometimes but it shrieks when you turn your wheels on it
LocusofZen@reddit
Sure. Don't live in a country that votes in fascists and nazis in the future.
Comfortable-Tap-9991@reddit
get a grip
LocusofZen@reddit
LoL fucking bootlickers.
UnethicalLifeProTips-ModTeam@reddit
Your comment was removed for violating rule 14: No reason to be a dick. Seriously, get therapy or fuck off.
Tsobe_RK@reddit
based on the post you made 1 day ago, you should take your own advice
UnethicalLifeProTips-ModTeam@reddit
Your post or comment was removed for violating rule 12: No politics.
Blobloblobl@reddit (OP)
Sounds like a good plan, bud. I’ll get right on that.
Seeing as I only have one nationality, mind lending a hand to help liberate California?
LocusofZen@reddit
I would but I'm currently doing everything I can to help out NC. Really hoping you're doing the same for your state.
Blobloblobl@reddit (OP)
We’re trying. Solidarity from the west.
LocusofZen@reddit
We'll get there, brother. Ain't the first time these assholes have tried to get the world to "hate" and be afraid.
Portland420informer@reddit
The state with the highest taxes? Good luck with that.
distributingthefutur@reddit
NY has the highest. CA and HI are up there.
JohnHazardWandering@reddit
That's a different ULPT question
virtual_adam@reddit
The UK charges 20% from the first dollar, and then tariffs above $180. Joking or not everyone should understand de minimis has always been abnormal
JackDiesel_14@reddit
You realize the EU has the same shit? How does it feel to be so ignorant?
"If you buy products online from a non-EU seller, the import VAT is handled in one of two ways:
At the point of sale: The seller may be registered with the Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS) and collect the VAT at the time of purchase. This is common for goods under €150.
Upon delivery: If the seller does not use IOSS, the courier or postal operator will charge you for the VAT (and any customs duties) before releasing the package for deliver"
ponyboy3@reddit
Woah! Edgy!
LocusofZen@reddit
Says the whiny bitch that cries about having to read more than 2 sentences. Stay gold, ponyboy. /snicker.
RustBucket59@reddit
Welp, there go all my Discogs CD imports from Germany.
Comfortable-Tap-9991@reddit
No mr. Temu rep, we won’t be creating loopholes for you to flood your crap into the US
SkyHoglet@reddit
While China and Hong Kong accounted for 60% of de minimus imports before this year, that still leaves all the other countries which make up that remaining 40%. In this article it mentions the story of a small fashion boutique which imports materials from France, and a Rugby gear company which depends on a specific Italian design for headwear, which cannot be replicated elsewhere. There's lots of small businesses that are going to suffer because of this.
https://apnews.com/article/de-minimis-exemption-end-date-dutyfree-48862fc5b6a563a077284e364fb14f08
Late-Mathematician55@reddit
That's right. We can manufacture our own crap right here. (At 4x the price). /s
chad917@reddit
As if it was unsolicited. Freedom right? We can order what we want, and you'll take cheap consumer crap out of my cold dead hands.
IndependenceBrief955@reddit
I used to import from China to my country in South America, it's better to import amounts in small quantities. The shipping was usually cheaper because the Chinese government subsidized that cost. In case the customs would stop it, it was a very small loss and since it was smaller packages the problem was not that it would get confiscated or taxes but that could get lost and you had to get track of everything.
godzillabobber@reddit
I am looking at licensing an overseas manufacturer if retaliatory tariffs get unreasonable. We sell a lot in Canada and the EU from the US.
Nanocephalic@reddit
The word you’re looking for is “smuggling”.
As you’re referring to the trump fuckery, it’s illegal but quite ethical. Is there a r/IllegalButEthicalLifeProTips?
ThePureAxiom@reddit
Well, what a lot of Chinese companies would do (and likely still are) is ship their products from a location with lower tariffs.
During the first term of this nonsense, particularly around car parts, they'd warehouse them in India and other nearby countries and ship them from there to avoid the tariffs. Probably less useful now that everyone is getting tariffed, but unless domestic products come down in price it'll remain cheaper to do so to some degree.
DisenchantedByrd@reddit
I'll think you find that most countries in the world will no longer ship to the US. Either because in the first place they never did, or secondly because global postal services don't want to act as tax collectors for the US government, especially since the rules and methods of payment are vague.
ThePureAxiom@reddit
You're not wrong, just read an article the other day saying 25 countries won't ship to the US because of imposed duties.
notactuallyacupcake@reddit
Bandcamp also sent out an email this week warning US users that they may not be able to purchase merch from some bands now as a lot are ceasing shipments here.
JohnHazardWandering@reddit
Just the postal service. Fedex and others still running I assume.
BigMikeInAustin@reddit
Getting around import duties is not unethical, it is illegal, with federal enforcement coming down on you.
gwinerreniwg@reddit
Actually the court has ruled the tariffs are illegal so you’d just be complying with the courts by avoiding it.
badfuit@reddit
On a small scale - find people who are flying and have them transport your goods. Technically you should declare imported goods upon arrival but realistically nobody is going to know if your friend is travelling with a few extra items in their suitcase.
Fun fact - this is how I got my wedding ring. I live in the UK, found a ring from a Jeweller in the US which was exactly what I wanted. Instead of paying hundreds in import fees (plus shipping costs) I hatched a plan to have somebody bring it back for me.
I asked around in my company to see if anybody from our office was doing a business trip to the US any time soon. Then I had the ring shipped to our office in LA and kept safe by the team at reception. My work friend then collected the ring on his business trip and brought it back for me :)