Tariffs on parts when seller is not U.S. based?

[ultrarunner]

Did something I rarely do and bought from EBay.

It’s a small part and under $100 and it said ships free USPS from New Jersey with confirmation and tracking already provided.

The seller’s location is Philippines which I missed.

EBay included, when I clicked on tracking, a note that tariff collected prior to delivery?

If the item ships inside the United States why would it be subject to tariff? It’s also a made in USA vintage part.

Also, why only notify of tariff after purchase when tracking is clicked?

Philippine Tariff is 19% from what I learned so not the end of the world.

I don’t like surprises and to be determined costs that show up only after the sale.

Stay tuned.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

I just bought some parts on Ebay direct from Japan. The listing said the tariffs would be my responsibility.

It arrived yesterday, no tariff. Purchase price was just over $500.

 

[jfsawatzky]

My experience based on being Canadian buying from American sellers… there could be differences I do not know about.
There are a number of confliciting factors with the seller being international… If the part is made in the states and that can be verified you shouldn’t need to pay tariffs when it’s shipped to or back to the us. Since the part is already in the us you shouldn’t need to pay tariffs unless tariffs were paid by the seller before you bought it. I suspect the seller included the statement about tariffs as a disclaimer, that if tariffs are charged, the buyer would be responsible for those additional costs and not the seller. But based on what you described I would not think you would be charged tariffs for something made in the USA.

 

[domin]

Let us know when it arrives please. Tariffs really do make imported parts a pain — both in cost and delivery time. It feels like every year the rules change slightly, too. While tracking a shipment once, I ended up needing the PostNL customer service number because the package got stuck in customs. Not fun, but they eventually sorted it out. Hopefully the rules get streamlined someday.

 

[ultrarunner]

Let us know when it arrives please.

Part arrive in mailbox a day early and nothing about tariff nor did I pay any additional fees.

As others mentioned it may be boiler plate language now that tariffs are a thing?

 

[Torvy]

1) in general, tariffs are bad
2) some sellers will use any excuse to jack prices
3) tariffs allow sellers to blame others for price hikes
4) it doesn't matter where a company is based, it matters where the item was produced
5) some prices are legitimately up due to tariffs
6) not all price hikes blamed on tariffs are truthful

 

[CliffordK]

I purchased an item on Kickstarter about 3 years ago. After an unbelievably long wait, it finally arrived a couple of months ago. I got a call from DHL demanding a tariff payment before delivery. Item was just over $800, and came from Taiwan, I think.

After payment they did deliver it.