Tracking toy tariffs

canprime said:
Basically your de minimis rule was supposed to help keep low cost items from getting hit with duties/fees higher than the product price itself. However over the years the constant increase in the amount got out of hand. I mean $800??? That means you guys get a huge benefit to buy from outside the US and not get hit with duties/fees/taxes. Most countries don't have anywhere near that high an amount because of protectionism.
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I'm confused by what you mean here. The $800 is just the threshold at which tariffs kick in, isn't it? So if you're importing a batch of goods such as a single order from Aliexpress or a container full of thousands of Marvel Legends the Legends container gets tariffed but the Aliexpress purchase doesn't get hit.

Isn't the de minimis threshold almost entirely designed to target goods manufactured in China by American companies who choose to cut costs by manufacturing items in China? I suppose Hasbro could choose to split a batch of 5,000 Marvel Legends into ten or more batches to avoid tariffs, but the cost savings for filling up a cargo container with as much as will fit compels them to just ship large amounts at once, and until now paying the tariffs was cheaper than splitting a cargo container up into multiple smaller shipments to fit the value of the shipment under de minimis to dodge the tariff.
 
My Mondo Spider-Man with EE jumped $21 essentially wiping out the discount that got me to order it in the first place. What was going to come in under 200 after taxes is now $220, which is what it would have cost me (before taxes) to just order it from Mondo back when it was solicited. BBTS has not adjusted its price, but I think that's because they're waiting on the final tariff amount while EE is guessing. With how fluid the situation has been (and this is an item both claim is expected in May) I prefer the path BBTS has taken.

The de minimis exemption serves multiple purposes, one being that at a certain level it probably costs the government more to enforce the tax than what they're actually collecting for it. Bootlegs and such aren't much of an issue. If they were, the companies seeing their products bootlegged would make more noise about it, but none of them want to go after Amazon, TEMU, etc. for providing the means for sellers to actually sell these products. Countries that import as much as the US should have such rules in place because, as we're seeing now, our economy is dependent upon getting goods into the States as cheaply as possible.

There probably isn't a way for a company like Hasbro to take advantage of de minimis exemptions on the volume of product they bring in. Maybe some smaller companies who are close to the threshold could figure out a way to do it by setting up shell companies and allotting a portion of each container to each shell? I don't know if that would be worth the effort or work, but never underestimate a company in a capitalist economy going to extreme lengths to save a buck.
 
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I feel like EE is jumping the gun on the increases. I only have 2 items on order with them currently, one is a SW Black Series case that’s currently in stock at places like Walmart, pulse, and Amazon so that should have already been imported and not subjected to the new tariffs. So I cancelled that and will be picking those up elsewhere now.

My other item is an Iron Studios Flint statue that’s not due into November at the earliest. I’ll hang onto that one for now as I’m sure this nonsense will be sorted out one way or another by the time that ships.

I feel like BBTS is handling this better by not doing blanket increases and not doing that until they know for sure what’s getting hit and at what price. EE might need to raise them again for all we know and optically that’s even worse than a single increase, even if it would be the same price at both places. Feel bad for them but not being strategic about this lost an order from me that is likely already in the country and avoided the mark up they already slapped on it.
 
Speaking of Mondo, it really, REALLY sucks to get half of the Real Ghostbusters--mind you, at an already bloated cost-- and the other half will likely realize at prices that might not be manageable, leaving an unfinished collection.

It really sucks that they are just hopping on to MOTU200x, admittedly my most adored adaptation of the brand...only for this to hit.

God damn it, do I hate Donald Trump.
 
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I also prefer the route BBTS is taking. It seems to make a lot more sense given how unstable the situation (re: the administration) is, and on principle I think it's important for people to see the tariff surcharge itemized so they see what it's adding to the price.
 
Ironically, by EE sending me an email about an outstanding order's price increase, it reminded me that I still had the pre-order at all, and was for something I already got months ago elsewhere, so I was able to cancel in time.

But it's a good point Misfit makes- I didn't even think of the raised prices wiping out discounts. Sales/rewards/coupons are often why I order things too, and having that wiped out defeats the purpose. There are some items that I just wouldn't pay full price for, for whatever reason, so I'd probably just cancel the order if I had to pay full price (or more). Sadly, I don't see every line surviving this increase (let alone every company). It'll be interesting (and, no doubt, heartbreaking) to see which lines end up surviving, and what they have to cut in order for that to happen. I think the bigger sellers like Black Series, Legends, etc. are at least safe from cancellation, but I wouldn't be surprised to see cuts in either accessories, paint, etc. in addition to the price increases.

Man, this is going to ruin the tour.....
 
If it's any consolation, Mondo is probably more pissed and sweating these increases than we are. They specialize in high cost collectibles and are well aware of how their Real Ghostbusters line was received when those prices were announced. I'm sure there is a lot of second guessing going on right now over there in response to this. The Spider-Man I ordered was already delivered via the collector's edition and a variant black costume. In that case, they're probably wishing they got the standard editions out in the same window assuming it was possible. Then again, for them this stuff is already sold (the ones they have yet to fulfill to their direct consumers are paid for and they're probably taking a hit when/if tariffs are assessed) and I'm guessing BBTS, EE, etc. are either unlikely to cancel or are already locked in. They may be more sweating stuff like Wolverine, Peter, and Egon who have already been paid for. I have all of those figures preordered through Mondo and I'm wondering if they're going to eventually ask for more money. Since they ship directly from the factory to the consumer via DHL, I wonder if that is a way to skirt tariffs since they won't be entering the country as a giant shipment to Mondo valued at tens of thousands, but as thousands of individual shipments all for under $800? If so, we may start to see more of that from other companies.
 
EnigmaticClarity said:
I'm confused by what you mean here. The $800 is just the threshold at which tariffs kick in, isn't it? So if you're importing a batch of goods such as a single order from Aliexpress or a container full of thousands of Marvel Legends the Legends container gets tariffed but the Aliexpress purchase doesn't get hit.

Isn't the de minimis threshold almost entirely designed to target goods manufactured in China by American companies who choose to cut costs by manufacturing items in China? I suppose Hasbro could choose to split a batch of 5,000 Marvel Legends into ten or more batches to avoid tariffs, but the cost savings for filling up a cargo container with as much as will fit compels them to just ship large amounts at once, and until now paying the tariffs was cheaper than splitting a cargo container up into multiple smaller shipments to fit the value of the shipment under de minimis to dodge the tariff.
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De minimis was instituted in 1930, long before China was the world's de facto manufacturer. Basically it was implemented to help both businesses and consumers to avoid duties and fees (including tariffs) on items coming into your country. Apparently it was set at $5 for gifts and $1 for "other items." Then increased gradually until 1994 when it went up to $200 and then 2015 it was set to $800.

So while both businesses and consumers benefit, the reality is that it was a very low threshold to help consumers, or the average person. Hence the "gift" inclusion. Originally it seems to have been used as a way to not tax consumers on small transactions with international people or businesses. However the bump up to $800 really allowed foreign companies, specifically China/Hong Kong to take advantage and make it a billion dollar loophole.

It isn't specifically geared towards tariffs, but all duties/fees/taxes for "packages" coming into the US. The weird part, according to the US Customs and Border Protection website is that it defines it as:

"De minimis provides admission of articles free of duty and of any tax imposed on or by reason of importation, but the aggregate fair value in the country of shipment of articles imported by one person on one day and exempted from the payment of duty shall not exceed $800."

So that one person, on day would seem to indicate that it is now more geared to consumers/individuals than businesses.

Again just my take on it, and why it applies to consumers buying and not businesses importing.
 
cmoney said:
I got an EE email as well, and the three things I had on pre-order each jumped roughly 10% in price. Probably not quite. I originally ordered them with a promo discount, so I'll probably hang onto them, but I will say that I took that as fairly restrained on EE's part, considering.
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I'm in the same boat. Preordered with EE for the $20 off promo, only to lose it all with these price increases. So, I guess I'll keep them. I'd rather buy from EE than Amazon, but at the same time, I don't actually want a $71+tax Snake Eyes and Bear set and I can't cancel anything without losing the discount (and possibly free shipping) on the stuff I do want. I had to add a $2 Hot Wheels track for filler to hit the amount to earn the discount, and that's all I have to show for it lmao.

Little bit disappointed with how EE is handling this, but whatever. I'm not going to flip out over them, they're not the problem here.
 
vicious said:
I'm in the same boat. Preordered with EE for the $20 off promo, only to lose it all with these price increases. So, I guess I'll keep them. I'd rather buy from EE than Amazon, but at the same time, I don't actually want a $71+tax Snake Eyes and Bear set and I can't cancel anything without losing the discount (and possibly free shipping) on the stuff I do want. I had to add a $2 Hot Wheels track for filler to hit the amount to earn the discount, and that's all I have to show for it lmao.

Little bit disappointed with how EE is handling this, but whatever. I'm not going to flip out over them, they're not the problem here.
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You will lose free shipping. So much for no penalty


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thewyldman said:
You will lose free shipping. So much for no penalty


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Even worse, since they sent me my favorite $2 Hot Wheels track pack, if I cancel the other items they'll likely charge me for shipping on said track pack.
 
vicious said:
Even worse, since they sent me my favorite $2 Hot Wheels track pack, if I cancel the other items they'll likely charge me for shipping on said track pack.
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Oh I’m in the same boat with some buy more save more deals. I stack stinger preorders with my iron grenadiers but they’ve never shipped my iron grenadiers, but I if I cancel them, I’ll get charged $200+


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