Toys and Tariffs (US customers)

[thomasw100]

i don't understand that.  Sounds like a total rip off to me.  What is the 55 supposed to be for and what was the 45 for?  If the charge is for a tariff because it is made in China that is only 10% and if because it was coming from Canada then 25% of 135 is about $34.  And tariffs on items coming in through the mail were only in place for one day before they were suspended due to lack of manpower.

Seems like a total scam.  But if you don't pay the seller gets charged.

Yeah it makes no sense to me. They charged me fees and I paid them, took two weeks for them to sort out and this was supposed to be before the tariffs took place ( I was told they were getting ahead of the game ), The item was delivered weeks ago. Now  I get a bill that arrived today but says it was due to be paid by the 8th of March or else there would be added fees.  I'm not a wholesale importer.

We are entering some sort of wild west due to the unclear and continuously changing tariffs and rules associated with them. Courier companies apparently see this as a golden opportunity for charging any fees they can invent and they know they will get away with this because the rules are not clear, keep changing and nobody has the energy to take legal action against them or unjustified surcharges and fees.

[andrewsaurus rex]

That's why it's best to avoid couriers for now and stick with having international items shipped through the postal system if at all possible.  It will take longer to arrive but there won't be any outrageous courier charges and they all may learn a lesson if everyone just stops using them in response to their fees and charges.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

I didn't have an option. When Toy Snowman in Canada shipped I had no idea who they were using. It just said Free Shipping. It wasn't until it shipped I saw it was UPS.

[andrewsaurus rex]

i run into that a lot too.  So i always email the seller first and ask who they use for free shipping....it's usually a courier.  Free shipping may not turn out to be so free if one gets nailed with all kinds of courier charges they wouldn't be charged if it was shipped via the postal system.

Another reason i email first is because sometimes sellers use flakey cut rate couriers who are not always very reliable.  It's worth spending a few extra dollars to get a more reliable courier or the postal system.

You and other US based buyers will learn quickly.  My first courier experience years ago i ended up getting charged by the courier nearly as much as the item was valued at.  Boy did i blow a gasket.  But i learned fast how to avoid it going forward.

[Shane]

i don't understand that.  Sounds like a total rip off to me.  What is the 55 supposed to be for and what was the 45 for?  If the charge is for a tariff because it is made in China that is only 10% and if because it was coming from Canada then 25% of 135 is about $34.  And tariffs on items coming in through the mail were only in place for one day before they were suspended due to lack of manpower.

Seems like a total scam.  But if you don't pay the seller gets charged.

For what it's worth, China tariffs are 20% on items entering the USA as of March 4th.

Also, it's confusing, but I believe the de minimis exemption (on shipments valued below $800) that was originally ended by the administration in early February was paused a few days later, and as far as I am aware that pause is still in effect.

[GojiraGuy1954]

A shame free discussion is not encouraged or allowed, as toy dinosaurs leads to science, which inevitably leads to philosophy, which ultimately leads to politics. The younger set here would have a great learning experience observing rational and respectful political discourse of differing opinions and viewpoints (at least that is my impression from my brief time here).

THE PERSONAL DINOSAUR TOY IS THE POLITICAL DINOSAUR TOY

Sorry we don't think whether certain people get their human rights or not is in any way up for polite discussion

[stargatedalek]

A shame free discussion is not encouraged or allowed, as toy dinosaurs leads to science, which inevitably leads to philosophy, which ultimately leads to politics. The younger set here would have a great learning experience observing rational and respectful political discourse of differing opinions and viewpoints (at least that is my impression from my brief time here).

THE PERSONAL DINOSAUR TOY IS THE POLITICAL DINOSAUR TOY

Sorry we don't think whether certain people get their human rights or not is in any way up for polite discussion

Don't give us that. Silence only supports oppressors. How is not being allowed to talk about the anti-science, anti-free-trade, anti-human-rights orange thing supporting human rights? Supporting human rights would be calling him and his ilk out and saying they are unwelcome, not saying any mention of politics is unwelcome.

[Torvosaurus]

Guys, c'mon. Lack of political discussion is what draws me here. I don't have to discuss or defend my politics or religion. Folks from all over the world are here and have differing political and religious views, yet this forum does quite well without discussing their religions or politics. Even this thread was simply a matter of discussing the changes to tariffs and shipping, without any political attachments involved. If you don't agree with something you just don't post there. Plain and simple.

F @Fuse This "PERSONAL DINOSAUR TOY IS A POLITICAL DINOSAUR TOY" is bullshit. You chose to make it political when you came upon this thread, maybe sooner since you only have three posts. You chose to make it political, and possibly religious, at the same time. It is only a political toy if I choose to make it one. We can talk about the facts, but leave the politics and religion out of it.

Trust me, I do understand the politics and religious beliefs behind all of this, but I choose NOT to make it a part of any discussion.

Torvo

[DinoToyForum]

Please curtail the intentional political discussion The rules are clear and based on years of experience running the forum, working out what does and doesn't work in the interest of the community as a whole. Look at how rude and angry people got here immediately - and all to no avail.

We tried allowing politics here before and it was destructive to our primary objective: celebrating our shared passion for dinosaur toys. 

I encourage those of us who want to take proactive political action to invest our efforts through other means that could really make a difference: write letters to our representatives, join a political protest or activist group, reach out with posts on general social media platforms where politics is allowed.

You don't take a hockey stick to a football game. If politics continues here, I will take action.

I'm also issuing a formal warning to F @Fuse for instigating on this occasion. Thanks for understanding.

[Primeval12]

Just did an AliExpress order, the first since the new administration took office and tariffs were implimented. I'm happy to say that I was not charged a tariff! I was a little nervous but the Huayangosaurus was worth the risk. Glat it paid off

[andrewsaurus rex]

At this point online purchased items from China are not likely to see a tariff; not until a lot more staff at US Customs has been hired and trained to be able to handle the inspection and assessing of tariffs of every single package that comes into the US from the rest of the world.  But that is the plan.

[RobinGoodfellow]

UK Everything Dinosaur will suspend sales to USA customers from April 15th :


https://blog.everythingdinosaur.com/blog/_archives/2025/04/07/an-important-announcement-from-everything-dinosaur.html

[Over9K]

UK Everything Dinosaur will suspend sales to USA customers from April 15th :


https://blog.everythingdinosaur.com/blog/_archives/2025/04/07/an-important-announcement-from-everything-dinosaur.html

A great many things can change in a week.

Just sayin'.

[Faelrin]

Makes me glad I got my BotM Dilophosaurus from them when I did. Unfortunate to see but understandable I suppose, as it isn't good for either party in this situation.

Also seems like this isn't just the tariffs but also the de minimis thing. I recall the previous administration was working on closing loopholes or the like for it with things like Aliexpress, Temu, etc, back in September I think? I know a big concern then was large qauntities of unsafe (large qauntities of lead), and bootleg items able to bypass typical regulations or the like, among other things. Though I don't if any of what was planned then has gone unchanged or not.

[Carnoking]

Definitely a blow to wake up and see that from Everything Dinosaur. They've been a reliable and extremely pleasant company to do business with since I got back into this hobby nearly a decade ago and I hate the thought of not being able to get figures from them down the line. Not only that, but I hate to think how much business this is costing them as an independent retailer through no real fault of their own.

That being said, the one certainty in all this has been how quickly things change, for better or for worse. Here's hoping a positive resolution is forethcoming

[RobinGoodfellow]

..from what I read, any item manufactured in China will have a significant price increase, no matter which store sells it.
And 99% of figures are manufactured in China..

[Primeval12]

This is a gut punch for sure... completely unfair and disgusting. I am hoping the de minimus is somehow restored... I do have hope

[Gwangi]

I think I'll mostly be focusing on acquiring vintage figures on the secondary market for the next few years.

These tariffs really have me worried about Safari Ltd. It's an American company but we all know where their figures are made. They had a rough go of COVID and this won't help. Safari's prices have already increased to a point that has sapped some of my enthusiasm for their models. 

[Shane]

Nobody really knows what's going to happen from one day to the next unfortunately. In the past month we've had tariffs on Chinese goods go from 10% to 20%, then from 20% to 54%, and now they're threatening to add another 50% which would be 104% on Chinese imports.

Obviously this is going to heavily disrupt the toy industry if it all goes through as scheduled.

[thomasw100]

The statement from Everything Dinosaur reads as if these tariffs are cumulative. So a dinosaur figure was manufactured in China and gets 30% tariff because of that, then it is imported to the UK and exported again to the US and gets 10% additional tariff for coming from the UK. Basically the level of tariff can be made up as the customs officers want.