Models from China

John, my understanding is the tariff is applied and charged when the importer/retail purchaser takes possession of the goods from the carrier. I would assume that USPS collects the tariff if you ship from an overseas seller on Ebay. In the case of a purchase of a Chinese made model from an Ebay seller in Hong Kong,I would assume that the tariff would be based on the vendors retail price to you which would be on the customs import declaration. A wholesaler would pay a tariff based on the wholesale price.The retail price would not be disclosed on the import declaration when the wholesaler takes possession of the merchandise.

Posted by: @nickies

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@randyrusk This is exactly what I thought would happen from the beginning.

Nobody buying can circumvent the tariffs on anything coming from China country of origin to enter USA, no matter a new or used product. The US dealers and retailers will just take Only pre-paid orders and keep no inventory if they want to survive. 

By the way, among the news, Jaguar/Land Rover will not ship any new cars to USA for a month. They try to figure how to split the 10% tariff with the dealers.

 

 

IMO, anyone who buys a Land Rover is up "Schitts Creek", come on now that's the title of a TV program, financially already. 

If anyone would like a little light reading, you can download the current Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States here: https://hts.usitc.gov/ . All 4421 pages of it.

You can skip to section 9503.00.00.90, which is the code for scale models. This is the 10th revision so far this year, released this month, and it is not even up to date. It is still showing the tariff on models as FREE, but that is definitely inaccurate.

I received my latest shipment from Stamp/GLM in March, and a few days later I got a bill from UPS for the tariff and additional fees. At that time, the tariff was only 20%. The wholesale value of the shipment was $6879.45, so the tariff worked out to $1375.80. With the other misc. fees from UPS, my total bill was $1441.68. Since I can absorb 0% of this bill, I must tack it on to the price of the models in the future. At the current tariff rate of 145%, this same shipment would have cost me an extra $9975.20. 

Tariffs are based on COUNTRY OF ORIGIN, so it doesn't matter where it is shipped to you FROM. If you have ordered retail from another country and did not pay any tariffs, it is only because the system is so screwed up nobody knows what is going on. If they ever figure out which end is up, you will have to pay the tariff on the package upon delivery. SO BE AWARE! Just because you didn't get charged a tariff on your last order, doesn't mean you won't have to pay it on your next order. 

Until this insanity abates, I will not be ordering any new product from anywhere or anyone. Fortunately, I stockpiled some product late last year, and also have a lot of estate/consignment items to sell, so I'll be able to stay afloat for a good while. Good times.

@jkuvakas It is also important to note that the tariff is based on the COUNTRY OF ORIGIN, not the country that is shipping it to you. 

Also from eBay:

@daveg 

Thanks for the update.

🤐 🤐 🤐 🤐 🤐 🤐 🤐 .   🤐 🤐 🤐 🤐, 🤐 🤐 🤐 🙄  - 🤐 🤐 😯 😲      😠 😠 😡, 😬 😬 😬 😲 😲 🤐 🤐 🤐 🤐 🤐 .   

Finally, * 🤐 🤐 🤐 🤐 🤐 ,  * *****! 

Not much of an update yet but just wanted to bring the topic up.

I shipped a bunch of parcels to the US yesterday, all contain models of Chinese original, and all parcels are under $800. Some are going through Canada Post, some are going through the local courier that takes them across the border and drops them with USPS.

So, Canada Post has no clue of any tariffs, and they accept the parcels just iike they used to. The courier company, on the other hand, warns me with every parcel that the recipient may have to pay the tariffs. 

I will have an update in about a week. By then I will know if my parcels slipped through or by some magical tool the USPS is now capable of checking each and every parcel that says CHINA on it, mark it with a TARIFF REQUIRED, and request the money from the recepient. If they do, I assume most buyers will refuse to pay it, and the parcel will be sent back to me. And this will be the end of my business, as most of my items are made in China and most of my buyers are in US.

Posted by: @albert-kopans

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I assume most buyers will refuse to pay it, and the parcel will be sent back to me. And this will be the end of my business, as most of my items are made in China and most of my buyers are in US.

...don't get me started.    😠 😠 😠 😠 😡 😡 😡 

Oh, and one more thing. Let's say Sergio receives a new batch, and pays the tariffs based on his cost. Then I buy a bunch of models from him, they arrive to Canada, and then I have a buyer in US. Guess what - the tariff will have to be paid again, this time on the price I charged to the buyer. So, the same model is taxed twice. 

In theory, Sergio should sell me the models free of tariffs, as he is exporting them out of the country, and apply for the reimbursement, but I don't believe there is a mechanism for that. And I only used his name because I am actually a distributor of Goldvarg models It's an example. I also buy Esval and TSM from USA. 

@albert-kopans Canada Post has nothing to do with the tariffs. They don't even need to know anything about them.

This is handled by USPS or any other carriers in the USA as soon as the packages cross the border. US buyers now have to go to their local post office or carrier like UPS, FEDEX offices to pay the tariffs to get their package if shipped from a foreign country. There is no other way to handle this matter.

I doubt any of your buyers were not aware it would be different. Furthermore, they have to pay the tariffs on the retail price plus shipping. This is certainly hard to swallow.

Posted by: @nickies

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@albert-kopans Canada Post has nothing to do with the tariffs. They don't even need to know anything about them.

Yes, and no. As a carrier, they will bear the cost of handling the returned parcel, if the buyer never pays the tariff. The competing service actually has an option for the shipper to pay the tariff directly, so it's all good to go when it passes the border. DHL and FedEx work like that too, as they are registered customs brokers, in addition to being  carriers.

Posted by: @albert-kopans

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Posted by: @nickies

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@albert-kopans Canada Post has nothing to do with the tariffs. They don't even need to know anything about them.

Yes, and no. As a carrier, they will bear the cost of handling the returned parcel, if the buyer never pays the tariff. The competing service actually has an option for the shipper to pay the tariff directly, so it's all good to go when it passes the border. DHL and FedEx work like that too, as they are registered customs brokers, in addition to being  carriers.

 

 

How will the US Customs know country of origin on a small box sent to the US from a 3rd country?  Is there a new customs form for the US with Country of Origin?  Otherwise, will they open every box and search for a label which says Made in...?  Then repack it?

Posted by: @nickies

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So...... you pay the tariff for the customer before you ship the product...... For example, you sell a model for US$150 including shipping. You can bill  and collect US$175 more to secure for the carrier before it leaves Canada. Am I right?

 

Correct. 

Posted by: @karl

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How will the US Customs know country of origin on a small box sent to the US from a 3rd country?  Is there a new customs form for the US with Country of Origin?  Otherwise, will they open every box and search for a label which says Made in...?  Then repack it?

The form has always existed, it was just ignored by me and anyone who shipped models. Certain products have always had tariffs, so the forms where there, and they were mostly concerned with larger shipments, as there was a $800 "de minimis" exception. Now the exception is gone, and the tariffs apply to everything.  

To answer your other question, yes, I can write "USA" instead of "China" on the form, but the punishment for lying is severe, and they will randomly check the content. There is something like a $50,000 fine for the first offense, and so on. We still have a problem with some handmade models that simply don't say where they were manufactured.... If they are checked, US Customs may request proof of some sort. This whole thing is a big mess, and I don't know how they will dig themselves out of it.