How to Avoid a Huge Customs Bill on a Cheap Online Order

New York Times

20-05-2025

A whole lot of items worth less than $800 are imported from overseas: Between October 2023 and September 2024, 1.36 billion de minimis shipments entered the US. But because those items weren't especially valuable, buyers didn't have to pay tariffs on them.
'It's crazy amounts of stuff,' said Lawrence Friedman, a Chicago-based attorney who has been practicing trade law for more than 30 years. 'The whole point of this de minimis exception has been that it is not worth the administrative trouble to collect this small amount of duties.'
Now items made in China or Hong Kong sent via the international postal network are subject to a tax of either 54% of their value or a flat rate of $100 per postal item. Products shipped through services such as FedEx, DHL, and UPS are now 'subject to all applicable duties,' which, broadly speaking, means the current tariffs of 30% for products from China. In early May, those numbers were as high as 120% of their value for postal items and 145% for products shipped by courier, which is how we ended up with a $158 ukulele.
I placed orders at AliExpress, Amazon Haul, Quince, Shein, and the aforementioned China-based headphones company to arrive at customs after the de minimis exemption was lifted. I also spoke to four international-trade attorneys, as well as representatives from US Customs and Border Protection, DHL, FedEx, and UPS, all to figure out: Who's on the hook for these bills? How much can you expect to pay? And how does this change online shopping? My haul for this article. Kimber Streams/NYT Wirecutter
Many retailers are doing what they can to avoid passing on surprise fees to shoppers. Some have raised prices, added import fees at checkout, and promised not to charge buyers extra at delivery. One gaming-handheld maker, Retroid, has even offered to cover any unexpected customs charges. Temu and other retailers have paused shipments from China and limited fulfillment to US warehouses. Some companies, such as Quince, have rapidly moved manufacturing operations away from China.
But despite everything retailers are doing to help, if the full fee isn't collected when you purchase an item, you could be on the hook for a customs bill at delivery. Here are a few simple steps you can take to shop wisely, and what your options are if you get a surprise bill.
You don't have to worry about a customs bill unless your purchase is coming into the US from another country. If you buy something that ships locally from a US retailer — such as first-party purchases from Amazon, Best Buy, or Walmart — or a warehouse located in the US, the import fees have already been paid and are included in the price you pay at checkout.
But it's easy to click that buy button without even thinking about it. Friedman, for example, recently purchased a new watch band and didn't realize it was shipped from Montreal until he received the FedEx shipping notification. 'This is my job, and I didn't even notice it was an imported watch band,' he said.
To find out where a product ships from: Look for warehouse options. Some companies allow you to choose whether your order is shipped from a US warehouse or an international warehouse.
Some companies allow you to choose whether your order is shipped from a US warehouse or an international warehouse. Check a company's shipping-policy page. It may say where a product ships from or contain information on warehouse locations for different regions. This page can also provide information on which shipping company the seller works with.
It may say where a product ships from or contain information on warehouse locations for different regions. This page can also provide information on which shipping company the seller works with. Ask customer support. Take this step, but keep in mind that in our experience, some chat-support representatives didn't know the answer or provided inaccurate information. If you do this, save the conversation and order with a payment method that provides buyer protection in the event that you have to dispute unexpected charges.
If your order is shipping internationally — from any country, not just China or Hong Kong — you should confirm where the product was made. The tariff is determined based on this, the country of origin, not the country from which it is shipped. So even if a product is shipped to you from Canada but made in China, as our ukulele was, these fees apply to your purchase. Unfortunately, finding out if a product is made in China can be tricky to impossible when you're shopping online.
Here are two quick ways to check if a product was made in China: Search for 'China' and 'Hong Kong' on the product page. This information may be buried behind a drop-down or menu; using Ctrl+F can help.
This information may be buried behind a drop-down or menu; using Ctrl+F can help. Ask customer support via email or chat. But again, the agent may not always have accurate information. Save a screenshot of the conversation in case you need it for a dispute.
If you've determined that a product is made in China or Hong Kong — or if you haven't definitively proven that it isn't — look for tariff or import charges during the checkout process. You might not be happy to see those additional fees at purchase, but it's much better to know what you owe up front than to get a surprise bill weeks later.
You may also see something called delivery duty paid (DDP) shipping, which means that duties will be covered by the shipper. In contrast, delivery duty unpaid (DDU) or 'tax unpaid' shipping means you're likely to owe the full amount of duties, brokerage charges, and other fees when your item is delivered. Magicx asked for my Tax ID during checkout but we don't recommend giving out your Social Security number to any retailer.
Watch out for companies asking for your Tax ID — which, for individual shoppers, means your Social Security number — at checkout. This information is necessary to list you as the 'importer of record,' which means you're responsible for the duties. We also don't recommend giving any retailer your Social Security number.
You can also contact customer support to ask who will be listed as the importer on the shipment — if it's you, you're legally responsible for the duties.
Shipping carriers pay the tariff to get a package through US Customs. Then, if the fee hasn't already been covered up front by the seller, the carrier may pass it along to you at delivery. Even though the tariff numbers differ for packages that go through USPS versus couriers like DHL and UPS, the process is the same: The carrier will notify you before delivery that you owe duties and how much, and you have to pay in order for the carrier to release the package. (We reached out to FedEx, but it did not confirm its process.) An example of a customs bill we received from DHL for this article.
If you expected a bill — perhaps your seller warned you at checkout that you'd be responsible for duties at delivery — and the amount looks correct, you can go ahead and pay it. We recommend looking at the paperwork provided by the shipping carrier to confirm that you haven't been stuck with any outsize administrative or brokerage fees.
But if the bill is exorbitant or a surprise (or an exorbitant surprise), you have a few options: Ask the seller for help. First, contact the retailer you purchased from. It may be able to work with the shipping carrier to cover the charge. Some companies, like Retroid, have offered to cover these bills for their customers during this period of confusion.
First, contact the retailer you purchased from. It may be able to work with the shipping carrier to cover the charge. Some companies, like Retroid, have offered to cover these bills for their customers during this period of confusion. Dispute the charge. If the seller can't or won't help, you can dispute the charge with the courier if you think the tariff or brokerage fees have been improperly calculated. Mistakes happen — these shipping companies are currently dealing with a lot of extra paperwork as a result of this de minimis change.
If the seller can't or won't help, you can dispute the charge with the courier if you think the tariff or brokerage fees have been improperly calculated. Mistakes happen — these shipping companies are currently dealing with a lot of extra paperwork as a result of this de minimis change. Refuse the package. If you cannot or don't want to pay the fee, you may be able to refuse delivery. But you don't get your stuff, and depending on the seller's policy, you may be responsible for return shipping. You may not get a refund for your order, either. We've seen claims floating around that delivery companies will send unpaid customs bills to collections, but we haven't seen evidence of that happening. Shipping couriers have a contract with the shipper, not with the recipient. FedEx's and UPS's policies say that they try to collect customs fees from the recipient at delivery, but if the recipient doesn't pay, the shipper is responsible. While DHL says that recipients are responsible for duties, the company also provides instructions for how to refuse a package at delivery. If your package goes through USPS, though, that might be a different story. If you're listed as the importer of record on the shipment, you are responsible for the duties and processing fees owed to the US government.
If you cannot or don't want to pay the fee, you may be able to refuse delivery. But you don't get your stuff, and depending on the seller's policy, you may be responsible for return shipping. You may not get a refund for your order, either. Make use of purchase protection. Some sellers — such as e-reader company Boox, for example — say they will not refund your order if you refuse to pay duties at delivery. But if you contacted customer support before purchasing and were told that the product was made in or shipping from a different country, you may be able to use buyer protection to get your money back.
Think twice if you receive a text, email, or phone call about issues with a package that claims to be from DHL, FedEx, USPS, or another shipping carrier. This is a common scam used to steal personal and financial information, and scammers may try to take advantage of the current tariff confusion.
If you're concerned about a delivery, check the package tracking with the company you ordered from and contact the shipping carrier directly — never tap or click a link in a text or email.
Although I had no idea what would happen, I definitely didn't expect the lengths to which retailers would go to shelter me, a customer, from the effects of these changes. Without notifying me, Shein swapped my first international order to a local shipment to prevent fees. And even though Quince's chat support said that my sweater would ship from China, it was fulfilled from a local warehouse instead.
Before the headphones company shipped my order, it emailed me with a warning about customs fees, a detailed breakdown of how much to expect, and an offer of alternative shipping options that would include duties. I had to confirm: Yes, I really did want these headphones and the 145% bill that was supposed to come with them.
I'm lucky — the only surprise I got was a bill that was much lower than I expected.
It's unclear whether the de minimis exemption will ever be reinstated — or if it will be closed for additional countries in the future — or what the tariffs on China will be on any given day. But if you follow our advice, you'll hopefully avoid a surprise bill. If you do get one, we want to hear from you: Email us at [e-mail].
This article was edited by Caitlin McGarry and Jason Chen.
Lawrence Friedman, partner at Barnes, Richardson & Colburn in Chicago, video interview, May 14, 2025
Josephine Aiello LeBeau, partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, video interview, April 29, 2025
Anne Seymour, senior counsel at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, video interview, April 29, 2025
Jahna Hartwig, of counsel at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, video interview, April 29, 2025
What I Cover
I've been Wirecutter's resident laptop expert for more than a decade. In 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.