Shipping to US (from UK or anywhere else) after 29 August...?

[HerbertTarkel]

The Pendraken newsletter came through today and, predictably, most of it was concerning the tariff situation. Pendraken are suspending sales briefly while they put the new postage system to the US into place, which does now appear to be the straight 10% fee - but what caught my eye was the fact that it's 10% of everything; cost of goods plus cost of postage. That fact alone may catch many people out and will require a reworking of many site carts, I feel.

Canada Post is flat 35%. Plus whatever fees - so it will kill all US sales effectively, I think.

[Blackwolf]

We are but pawns in the palm of Adam Smith's invisible hand...

I never thought to see an economist/philosopher mentioned on the LAF, particularly Adam Smith. Fair play Cat,fair play

[fred]

The Pendraken newsletter came through today and, predictably, most of it was concerning the tariff situation. Pendraken are suspending sales briefly while they put the new postage system to the US into place, which does now appear to be the straight 10% fee - but what caught my eye was the fact that it's 10% of everything; cost of goods plus cost of postage. That fact alone may catch many people out and will require a reworking of many site carts, I feel.

Yes, Pendraken (now they have finally had an answer on how it works - basically Royal Mail will collect the tariff at point of sending then pay at arrival) seem to have been able to make fairly quick changes to their shopping cart software - I suspect because they had already put in place the equivalent functionality needed for European shipping.

[Oldgamer]

Please excuse my ignorance but is this affecting all items sent to the States, ie, l sell a few painted figures via the forum and a buyer in the US is rich enough to be able to afford the postage fees, do l have to pay tariffs on the transaction?

[HerbertTarkel]

Please excuse my ignorance but is this affecting all items sent to the States, ie, l sell a few painted figures via the forum and a buyer in the US is rich enough to be able to afford the postage fees, do l have to pay tariffs on the transaction?

You absolutely do not pay tariffs - YOUR US CUSTOMER DOES. That’s how tariffs work.  There is no longer a de minimus exemption. And you have to charge your customer up front, and pay forward to the US the tariff received , before the parcel gets to the US.

Article this morning I read said there are ~25 countries suspending mail service to the US now.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/article/25-countries-suspend-postal-services-to-us-over-tariffs-un/

So much winning!!!

[zemjw]

Please excuse my ignorance but is this affecting all items sent to the States, ie, l sell a few painted figures via the forum and a buyer in the US is rich enough to be able to afford the postage fees, do l have to pay tariffs on the transaction?

I am not any sort of expert in this, but it looks like anything that isn't a gift is subject to tariffs, which you have to pay before it's sent (added to your customer's costs). How that works on an individual level is way beyond me

This is having a big impact worldwide - https://edition.cnn.com/2025/08/27/economy/postal-service-halt-japan-australia-intl-hnk

one bit that worries me from the linked article is

According to the latest executive order, businesses may face an $80 per item charge for a country with a tariff rate less than 16%, or costs as high as $160 per item for a country with a tariff rate of between 16% and 25%, and $200 per item for a country with a tariff rate above 25%.

Does that mean $80 in addition to the tariff, instead of the tariff. I'm confused as a bystander, I can only imagine what the people who have to deal with this are going through

[Oldgamer]

Thanks for clearing this up, l stopped selling outside of the UK on eBay due to how their new postage system works, l guess l will no longer sell via LAF etc now, my sympathies to anyone trying to make a living selling stuff to the States.

[HerbertTarkel]

From the article I linked above

Under the new U.S. measures, individual customers will still be able to send documents and items worth up to $100 as presents to the country without being taxed.

But anything above that value is expected to be hit with the same tariff rates applied to other imports from the sending country.

That means 15 percent for countries in the European Union and 50 percent for India.

And Germany’s postal service DHL warned last week that even exempted items would be subject to extra checks to prevent the service being used for commercial goods.

[Cosmotiger]

Does that mean $80 in addition to the tariff, instead of the tariff. I'm confused as a bystander, I can only imagine what the people who have to deal with this are going through

My understanding is that the flat fees are being implemented as an option for a 6 month transitional period.  The seller (or shipper) can chose whether they want to collect the tariff based on the correct percentage, or just tack on a flat fee. But that option goes away after 6 months.

[JonGZG]

Well, Royal Mail's new system SHOULD be going live today, according to their website... although it's now nearly 5:30 pm and it doesn't appear to be working yet... 

As far as I can tell, it will enable online payment of the tariffs by the sender when the postage is purchased; the recipient in the US should then get the package delivered as normal without having to stump up any further charges.
It is up to the sender how they recover the tariffs and fees from their customer, most likely by adding them on to the total bill at the point of ordering.

We'll see how it works in the next few days, I guess....?

Jon (GZG)

[OSHIROmodels]

I'm assuming a business account needs to be held in order for this to work?

[Fighting15s]

Well, Royal Mail's new system SHOULD be going live today, according to their website... although it's now nearly 5:30 pm and it doesn't appear to be working yet... 

We'll see how it works in the next few days, I guess....?

Jon (GZG)

Some of us are going to wait at least a few weeks after the Royal Mail's system goes live to see whether early adopters' parcels actually get through.

[Fighting15s]

I'm assuming a business account needs to be held in order for this to work?

If Royal Mail's messages can be believed, it should be available for ordinary Click and Drop account holders, not just business account holders.

[OSHIROmodels]

Thank you.

[JonGZG]

If Royal Mail's messages can be believed, it should be available for ordinary Click and Drop account holders, not just business account holders.

Yes, that's how I read it too...

I just checked the RM site again this morning, and the new system still doesn't seem to be up - in fact, it's looking like right now you can't buy online postage for ANY destinations other than the UK! In the drop-down menu, where you normally find all the country options listed, currently the only option available is United Kingdom...

Who would have thought it, eh? A Royal Mail IT system that doesn't work properly...?   

Jon