Situation as of 21th August 2025
From 29th August the US is ending the de minimis duties threshold of $800, which allowed items under this value to enter the country without duties, taxes or lengthy customs checks.
I’ve seen so many other sellers pause their sales to the US indefinitely due to the increased costs faced by them and their customers. There was talk of an $80 flat fee being imposed on each parcel and concerns that this needed to be paid by the sender.
I’m not one to panic and pre-emptively cut off approximately 50% of my sales income (thank you all my customers in the US!)
I’ve been doing some research and have found slightly more clarity from @globaltradedept who have had calls with Royal Mail.
It looks like the fees will be 10% of the total cost that the buyer paid for the item (including postage cost).
It’s also hopeful that Royal Mail will integrate a new function into their Click and Drop portal (where I buy my postage labels) that will enable me to pay the customs fees ahead of time.
I’ve decided that for any US orders that come in in the week/s around the 29th August, I will absorb the customs fees while everything is sorted out.
Once the increased cost is clearer and easier to see at my end, I may then put the postage price up slightly to cover the fees.
If something drastic happens and the fees are huge and unexpected and not something I can easily absorb (i.e. they do impose $80 a parcel), I will communicate with the customer and see how they want to proceed, issuing full refunds where necessary.
During the next few weeks I am really hoping that none of my US customers get a shock with import fees, however it’s something to be aware of. If you’re hit with a fee you weren’t expecting please let me know.
Shipping times may also be a bit slower as there will be a backlog as customs have a lot more admin to complete for each parcel.
This situation seems to be constantly changing so I will post another update when I have more information.
Thanks for your continued support and patience while these changes are implemented.