We independently review all recommended products. If you purchase a product through our links, we may earn a commission. Learn more ›
Kimber Streams is a writer who has covered laptops and other tech devices for Wirecutter for over a decade. She once built a fort out of her keyboard.
President Trump signed an executive order suspending de minimis exemptions for all international freight shipments, effective August 29.
I may be the only person in the US who has ordered goods online recently and is expecting a huge customs bill.
The previous import waiver, which allowed all goods valued under $800 to enter the United States without additional fees, ended on May 2. This policy only applied to packages from mainland China and Hong Kong. Following the publication of this article, Trump signed an executive order suspending the import waiver from all countries, effective August 29.
You may have seen some buyers posting their mind-boggling customs receipts on Reddit and TikTok. Wirecutter also obtained one such receipt: a $56 ukulele was inflated to $158 because it was made in China and shipped from Germany to the United States.
So we dove headfirst into the chaos, buying a bunch of stuff to see what would happen. Frankly, the results were puzzling. The bills we received were sometimes higher than expected, sometimes lower, and often we received nothing at all. One Chinese headphone manufacturer, trying to save me money, claimed their products were worth a fraction of what I paid. This was truly “excellent” customer service, but it could also have been customs fraud.
Here are some tips we’ve learned from our own experience and from experts to help you avoid unexpectedly high customs duties when buying inexpensive items.
A significant number of goods priced under $800 were imported from abroad: 1.36 billion small shipments entered the United States between October 2023 and September 2024. However, because these goods were low-value, buyers did not have to pay customs duties.
“This amount is simply staggering,” said Lawrence Friedman, a Chicago lawyer who has practiced trade law for over 30 years. “The significance of this minimal exemption is that the imposition of such a small number of duties does not justify the enormous administrative costs.”
In June, goods originating in mainland China or Hong Kong and shipped via the international postal network were subject to either a 54% tax on the item’s value or a flat tax of $100 per item. Items shipped via services like FedEx, DHL, and UPS were subject to “all applicable customs duties,” meaning roughly 30% customs duty on items originating in China. In early May, the tax rate for items shipped via post reached 120% of the item’s value, and the tax rate for express delivery items was 145%, so we ended up with a ukulele that cost $158.
Starting August 29, all international cargo shipments, including shipments from Canada and Mexico, will be subject to customs duties.
I placed orders on AliExpress, Amazon, Quince, Shein, and the aforementioned Chinese headphone company. These items only arrived at customs after the minimum purchase price exemption was lifted. I also consulted with four international trade attorneys, as well as representatives from US Customs and Border Protection, DHL, FedEx, and UPS, to determine who would bear these costs? How much would I have to pay? And how would this impact online shopping?
Many retailers are doing everything possible to avoid passing on unexpected costs to consumers. Some have raised prices, added import duties at checkout, and promised to waive additional shipping fees. Retroid, a maker of portable gaming consoles, even offered to cover any unexpected duties. In May, Temu and other retailers suspended shipments from China and limited shipping to US warehouses. Some companies, such as Quince, quickly shifted production out of China—however, it remains unclear whether this shift will continue after August 29, when the minimal exemptions for all countries (not just China and Hong Kong) expire.
While sellers do their best to help, you may be required to pay customs duties upon receipt of your item if you haven’t paid the full amount at the time of purchase. Here are some simple steps to take when shopping and what to do if you receive an unexpected bill.
Unless your items are imported into the US from another country, you don’t need to worry about customs duties. If the items you purchase are shipped from a US retailer (such as Amazon, Best Buy, or Walmart’s own warehouse) or from a US warehouse, import duties are already included in the price you pay at checkout.
But people can easily click the “buy” button without even realizing it. For example, Friedman recently bought a new watch strap and didn’t realize it was shipped from Montreal until he received a delivery notification from FedEx. “That’s my job, and I didn’t even notice it was an imported strap,” he said.
If your order is being shipped from any country, including Mexico and Canada, you should verify the item’s country of origin. Customs duties are determined based on the country of origin, not the country of delivery. Therefore, even if an item is shipped to you from Germany but manufactured in China (for example, our ukulele), you will still be responsible for paying Chinese customs duties. Unfortunately, determining the country of origin of an item when purchasing online can be very difficult, if not impossible.
If you’ve determined that an item is being shipped internationally, pay attention to customs duties or import fees when placing your order. While you may not want to see these additional charges at the time of purchase, it’s always better to know them upfront than to receive an unexpected bill weeks later.
You may also see a shipping option called “Delivered Duty Paid” (DDP), which means the sender pays customs duties. “Delivered Duty Unpaid” (DDU) or “Tax Free” shipping, on the other hand, means you may be responsible for all customs duties, fees, and other charges upon delivery.
Be careful if vendors ask for your tax identification number at checkout—for private buyers, this usually means your Social Security number. This information is used to classify you as an “importer,” meaning you’ll be liable for customs duties. We don’t recommend disclosing your Social Security number to any vendor.
You can also contact customer service to find out who will be listed as the importer on the invoice – if it is you, you will be responsible for paying customs duties in accordance with the law.
Carriers are required to pay customs duties before handing over packages to U.S. Customs. If the seller hasn’t paid this fee in advance, the carrier may pass it on to you upon delivery. While the amount of customs duties varies depending on whether the package is shipped via the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) or a courier company such as DHL or UPS, the process is the same: the carrier will notify you of the customs duties before delivery, and you will be required to pay them to receive the package. (We contacted FedEx, but they have not confirmed their specific procedures.)
If you’re expecting an invoice—perhaps the seller already reminded you to pay customs duties upon receipt of the goods—and the amount appears correct, you can pay directly. We recommend checking the documentation provided by the carrier to ensure no excessive administrative or customs fees have been charged.
If you receive a text message, email, or phone call from DHL, FedEx, USPS, or other courier companies claiming there’s a problem with your package, please consider it carefully. This is a common scam aimed at stealing personal and financial information, and scammers may be taking advantage of the current confusion in customs regulations to commit fraud.
If you have any questions about the delivery of your package, please check the tracking information on the website of the company you ordered from and contact the carrier directly – do not click links in text messages or emails.
While I had no idea what was going to happen, I never imagined retailers would go to such extreme lengths to protect me, their customer, from these changes. Shein changed the shipping method for my first international order to local delivery without notifying me to avoid additional fees. And Quince customer service told me my sweater would be shipped from China, but it was ultimately shipped from their local warehouse.
Before shipping the headphones, the company sent me an email reminding me to pay attention to customs duties, detailing the expected costs and offering alternative shipping options that included customs duties. I had to confirm that yes, I really wanted these headphones, and that I would have to pay a 145% customs duty along with them.
With the minimum order waiver for international shipping approaching its expiration, smart shopping is more important than ever. But if you follow our tips, you can avoid unexpected bills. If you do receive an invoice, please let us know by filling out the contact form.
Lawrence Friedman, partner, Barnes, Richardson & Coleburn, Chicago, video interview, May 14, 2025.
Josephine Iero Lebo, partner at Wilson, Sancini, Goodrich Rosati, video interview, April 29, 2025
Anne Seymour, senior associate, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, video interview, April 29, 2025
Video interview with Jana Hartwig, Senior Associate, Wilson, Sancini, Goodrich, and Rosati LLP, April 29, 2025.
I’ve been the in-house laptop expert at Wirecutter for over a decade. During that time, I’ve tested hundreds of laptops, including Ultrabooks, gaming laptops, Chromebooks, and budget Windows laptops, as well as thousands of keyboards, mice, and other peripherals.
Wirecutter is a product recommendation service owned by The New York Times. Our journalists combine independent research with (sometimes) slightly exaggerated testing to help you make quick, informed purchasing decisions. Whether you’re looking for quality products or practical advice, we’ve got you covered.
Post time: Apr-17-2026
