ALLEGAN, Mich. — Many people use online shopping to snag good deals. However, new tariffs and reciprocal tariffs on many imports into the United States may have shoppers double-checking their orders. Ronald Grinnel found this out the hard way when he purchased a part for his Chevrolet Camaro online.
“I just love having the top down and taking it for a drive,” Grinnel said. “My wife even says, ‘Let’s take the fun car.’”
Enjoying life with the top down and the wind in his hair, Grinnel decided to buy a windscreen for his car from eBay, hoping to enjoy the ride through the fall season.
There was one unexpected problem.
“I bought it on eBay, and then I got this bill from UPS a week later,” Grinnel recalled.
To his surprise, the bill was for $183 on top of the nearly $300 he had already spent on the part.
“I was dumbfounded. Why do I own this?” he wondered.
Grinnel was shocked to receive the bill on its due date—an additional delay might have meant paying even more.
“So I went ahead and paid it.”
It turns out, Grinnel was purchasing the item from the Netherlands. The UPS bill reflected the tariff charged on the imported product. Despite being promised free shipping, Grinnel discovered that the listing contained a disclaimer buried in the fine print—something he had overlooked.
“When I called eBay, she said it says it on there. I looked it back up, and way on the bottom in small print, it said Netherlands. But I still didn't know that kind of tariff applied.”
According to eBay, beginning in late August, all U.S. imports became subject to applicable duties, regardless of value. Before that date, items under $800 were exempt. eBay now encourages sellers to include the country of origin in their listings.
Some eBay listings clearly state the origin and additional shipping costs—for example, a listing priced at $299.95 with shipping costs of $750 from the Netherlands. Others, however, advertise “free shipping,” despite being international shipments.
According to eBay, if the listing says ‘free shipping,’ it may only apply to domestic shipments within that country.
As for Grinnel, he plans to pause his online shopping for now.
For tips on estimating shipping costs by country when purchasing products from overseas, eBay has tips here.
