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346 points Kye | 3 comments | | HN request time: 0.635s | source
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dcchambers ◴[] No.45016965[source]
Semi-related: I make orders from Amazon Japan a couple times a year - shipping to the US isn't cheap but it's nice that Amazon has always handled import taxes/customs/everything else involved in international shipping. Other than taking longer, it's basically the same experience as ordering from Amazon domestically.

It's a shame that the ending of the De Minimis Exemption and other tariff-related stuff from the current administration is going to basically kill off Amazon Japan deliveries to the US.

From my understanding, once De Minimis ends, the delivery guy may ask you to pay import duties when he drops the goods off at your house. This is impractical for so many different reasons - what if I'm not home? How do I verify the import taxes? If I miss the carrier and don't pay, what happens to my order?

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1. timr ◴[] No.45017086[source]
I don't know what Amazon specifically will do (didn't know they allowed international shipments to begin with!), but the customs process via any normal carrier is that you get a bill when your items arrive at the port of entry.

You pay the bill, the item is released, and you get it a few days later. FedEx, for example, does the whole thing online.

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2. ArchOversight ◴[] No.45017199[source]
FedEx in my case paid the bill to customs, shipped me my item, and then secondary sent me a bill to pay for the customs fees after I had already received the item.

They don't want shipments stuck in port because storage there is expensive.

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3. timr ◴[] No.45017243[source]
Yeah, they'll do that up to a certain amount. Obviously, they're taking a risk that way.