Sometime seller from Canada here. I'm a working photographer, but I do like to try a lot of lenses, and I hate returning purchases. This leaves me with with a surplus of good lenses which I sell for a bit less than what I paid. I see the time I spent with these lenses as a rental fee.
So off they go to the FS section.
Recently, I've noticed a very abrupt slowdown in lens sales.
This co-incided with the whole tariff business back in the spring.
I wanted to ask: are those of you in the US holding back or refusing to buy from Canada because you might get dinged with extra fees in the form of tariffs?
Or maybe I'm just selling overpriced junk?
FYI: For my business, I ship to the US nearly every day, but I did add a note to my home page saying that US customers do not pay taxes or tariff fees when buying from me. Maybe I should add something similar to my FS ads.
It probably would not hurt to add a note to your FS items here with the statement that the buyer will not be charged import taxes or fees.
I don't know what the situation is a the moment, but a few months ago, my husband bought something from a guy in Canada and it took nearly a month to arrive. The guy shipped promptly, but there was some delay between the postal service and customs. Maybe it was a backlog with all of the confusion. This problem was happening a lot so it does not help with your situation.
ATPphoto wrote:
Great, a fantastic way to kill small businesses and discourage commerce.
Perhaps, but the stated reason is to stop illicit drugs shipped in low valued packages, which are rarely inspected and to stop other high value goods from getting through customs without tariffs. Secondly, the tariff situation with U.S./Canada is especially bad right now, but that will get resolved. So, everyone pays something and everyone complains and this likely pressures those involved to find another way to solve the problem of undesirable goods transported in low declared value packaging. I doubt that this is more than a short term solution to the problem. The real question is, what time frame is “short term”?
ATPphoto wrote:
Great, a fantastic way to kill small businesses and discourage commerce.
A couple points:
The elimination of de minimus is indeed bad for small businesses selling low value items into the USA. On the flip side, it's an unfair advantage compared to domestic retailers who would otherwise have to officially import the same widgets and pay tariffs on those. This is an argument used here in Canada for charging GST/HST on incoming shipments. In another thread on another board here at FM, someone argued that the tariffs are de facto a US federal sales tax.
Regarding your photo equipment sales/shipments into the USA: AFAIK tariffs are typically charged based on country of manufacture/origin. For photo gear, that would mean Japan, China, Germany, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, South Korea, etc. Even though you'd be shipping it from Canada. Prior to all this tariff mess, most photo gear had no tariffs or very low tariffs, plus the de minimus going into the USA probably meant that your customers rarely, if ever, paid any duties.
That's all out the window now.
Regarding whatever you 'manufacture' here in Canada, if anything, and ship to the US, tariff-free CUSMA eligibility apparently only applies if your products have been certified as CUSMA compliant. Apparently it's a pretty strict certification process and $$$. Otherwise, it's probable your customers will pay a 35% tariff on import. And won't be happy about it.
Just noticed your URL and . I think it's going to be tough, because everything you sell is either made in Germany or China. Whether it's shipped into the US directly from the factory or via Canada shouldn't make a difference and should get hit by the same tariff rate based on country of origin. That's how it *should* work. But it's Trump and normal rules apparently no longer apply.
bwcolor wrote:
Perhaps, but the stated reason is to stop illicit drugs shipped in low valued packages, which are rarely inspected and to stop other high value goods from getting through customs without tariffs.
I am not sure I can take the stated reason at face value. How can charging tariffs stop illicit drugs crossing the border and how can it stop high value goods from getting through customs without tariffs?
I mean unless they open every single package and thoroughly examine its content, they cannot stop drugs that may be transferred through mailing. Moreover, they need to have a system that once the package contents was verified (after the package was opened) and a value was associated to it based on a value association system which they need to introduce and charge the import fees based on the value they associate to the package (not on the declared value by the sender), they cannot stop high value items being passed through customs in a cheaply manner. Suppose somebody sends a $10000 piece of jewelry and declares its value as $10! Now if the system charges the recipient the new rate of tariffs based on the declared value of $10, the problem they have claimed they want to resolve remains unresolved.
So IMO, the reason they have posed these new higher tariffs is something else and the stated reasons are simply excuses which brings up this question: why do they need to hide the real reason behind the raised tariffs?
raminolta wrote:
I am not sure I can take the stated reason at face value. How can charging tariffs stop illicit drugs crossing the border and how can it stop high value goods from getting through customs without tariffs?
I mean unless they open every single package and thoroughly examine its content, they cannot stop drugs that may be transferred through mailing. Moreover, they need to have a system that once the package contents was verified (after the package was opened) and a value was associated to it based on a value association system which they need to introduce and charge the import fees based on the value they associate to the package (not on the declared value by the sender), they cannot stop high value items being passed through customs in a cheaply manner. Suppose somebody sends a $10000 piece of jewelry and declares its value as $10! Now if the system charges the recipient the new rate of tariffs based on the declared value of $10, the problem they have claimed they want to resolve remains unresolved.
So IMO, the reason they have posed these new higher tariffs is something else and the stated reasons are simply excuses which brings up this question: why do they need to hide the real reason behind the raised tariffs?...Show more →
Maybe..Those questions will certainly be asked by Congress and by the press.
si_film wrote:
So lens made in japan, goes to canada, used a small bit, sold to someone in US. Customs will probably call that a "transshipment" and put 40% tariff.
Yep. Otherwise why wouldn’t a business purchase the merchandise, open the box, call it used and bypass the tariff when shipping to the us.
snapsy wrote:
Less than 1% of fentanyl, the original raison d'être behind these targeted tariffs, enters the USA from Canada. It's an absurd justification.
ATPphoto wrote:
Sometime seller from Canada here. I'm a working photographer, but I do like to try a lot of lenses, and I hate returning purchases. This leaves me with with a surplus of good lenses which I sell for a bit less than what I paid. I see the time I spent with these lenses as a rental fee.
So off they go to the FS section.
Recently, I've noticed a very abrupt slowdown in lens sales.
This co-incided with the whole tariff business back in the spring.
I wanted to ask: are those of you in the US holding back or refusing to buy from Canada because you might get dinged with extra fees in the form of tariffs?
Or maybe I'm just selling overpriced junk?
FYI: For my business, I ship to the US nearly every day, but I did add a note to my home page saying that US customers do not pay taxes or tariff fees when buying from me. Maybe I should add something similar to my FS ads.
Have you looked at all the hoops you have to jump through to ship anything to the USA now? I can't imagine anyone wanting to deal with that headache (and all the extra costs) now.
Cliff L. wrote:
Have you looked at all the hoops you have to jump through to ship anything to the USA now? I can't imagine anyone wanting to deal with that headache (and all the extra costs) now.
I recently ordered a new Japanese lens from Crete on EBay. I thought that the shipment would be hit with at least a 10% U.S. import tariffs. It was over the $800 limit. It took forever to clear customs, but one day it just showed up at my door..no tariffs and no fees. So, the issue here is that there isn’t any clarity. The U.S. import tariff situation seems to be a mystery. I was considering the purchase of an expensive Fuji rangefinder from a Japanese seller. At this dollar amount there is a requirement to have a broker and insurance to make sure that all tariffs and fees are paid. This isn’t a new requirement.
Sorry American neighbours, but apart from photo gear, many Canadians will no longer buy American goods or travel to the U.S. for one simple reason, and that is Donald Trump.
bwcolor wrote:
I recently ordered a new Japanese lens from Crete on EBay. I thought that the shipment would be hit with at least a 10% U.S. import tariffs. It was over the $800 limit. It took forever to clear customs, but one day it just showed up at my door..no tariffs and no fees. So, the issue here is that there isn’t any clarity. The U.S. import tariff situation seems to be a mystery. I was considering the purchase of an expensive Fuji rangefinder from a Japanese seller. At this dollar amount there is a requirement to have a broker and insurance to make sure that all tariffs and fees are paid. This isn’t a new requirement....Show more →
There's no mystery when it comes to shipping to the USA from Canada - the seller now has to pre-pay all tariffs, duties, taxes, customs clearance fees, and any other related fees before the parcel can even be shipped. That means these costs will all be added to your purchase price up front. No doubt other countries will have to follow suit at some point.
. I think it's going to be tough, because everything you sell is either made in Germany or China. Whether it's shipped into the US directly from the factory or via Canada shouldn't make a difference and should get hit by the same tariff rate based on country of origin. That's how it *should* work. But it's Trump and normal rules apparently no longer apply.