$320 camera lens buyers hit with $2,000 delivery fee in tariffs fight — some sellers implement exorbitant shipping costs to dissuade US customers

President Donald Trump ended the de minimis exemption for goods coming from China and Hong Kong in May 2025, with imports from the rest of the world following suit at the end of July 2025. This means that products entering the U.S. are now subject to customs duties and import taxes, even if their value is less than $800. This change most heavily affected online shoppers, especially those who are used to purchasing cheap goods from abroad. This has caused some retailers to take extreme 'countermeasures,' often to dissuade Americans from purchasing their products.

Some sellers, particularly on eBay, have resorted to charging exorbitant shipping fees to deter Americans from purchasing their items. 404 Media reports seeing several listings of lightweight items from across the globe with high delivery costs.

For example, there’s a camera lens from Japan priced at around $320, which only costs $29 to ship globally — except for the U.S., which has a $2,000 delivery fee. Other sellers charge more than $500 to ship their items to the U.S., far more expensive than the actual price of the product. According to the report, this is much easier than taking down hundreds of listings and excluding the U.S. from them. There’s also the issue that some American buyers might not understand how tariffs work, and leave negative feedback on the seller, affecting their profile on the platform.

According to the Wall Street Journal, one customer bought a $77 shirt from a Swedish brand and was charged an extra $42.35 on top of the $30 shipping fee. Another person bought $640 worth of oven replacement parts from Canada and was surprised by a $1,196.12 “government charges” bill and a brokerage fee of $128.17. These tariffs and import taxes heavily affect tech goods, especially as many of them are manufactured outside of the U.S. Tom’s Hardware staff are also encountering a similar problem, though not to these extremes, even when dealing with review samples.

This change has caused widespread confusion in international shipping, with many post offices across the globe suspending e-commerce shipments until they’ve updated their systems to account for the new charges. The big shipping companies in the U.S. — FedEx, DHL, and UPS — reported that customers are confused by the new rules. And although they process tariff payments for imports, either by the buyer or the seller, the service is not free, resulting in additional brokerage or processing fees.

Some sellers pay the tariffs upfront to make the transaction smoother for their customers, while others leave all these extra costs to the recipient. Nevertheless, the person who bought the item will ultimately be the one responsible for import taxes. But even though couriers are trying to make the process as smooth as possible, the payment process can sometimes be confusing.

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