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[Nothing371]

Originally Posted by PGW

In spite of what Jesse says, tariffs are not a "tax on the American people." They're a tax on importers who may or may not pass the costs on to their consumers. And, as he admits, these charges DON'T APPLY to blu-rays. The fact that he's pissed off because he's fighting with a "carrier" who wrongfully changed a code to make his items taxable is a matter of misbehavior from the carrier, not some fault of the tariff system.

I don't like what I'm seeing from certain companies, either, that look like they're using people's confusion about all of this as an excuse to charge us more, even though it's not justified. "But we don't know if they're going to process them as tariff-free" doesn't seem like much of an excuse for extra charges.

Sir please do not drink your kool aid here this is a public venue.

[PGW]

Because, you know, facts don't matter.

[PGW]

Originally Posted by kk1

If the importers are American yes it is. I am an importer and American if I want to buy an anime figure from Japan I am importing it.

Blu-rays aren't subject to tariffs. Granted, figures are. But I don't give a shit about figures, and this is a blu-ray forum, so luckily I don't feel compelled to care.

[kk1]

Originally Posted by PGW

Blu-rays aren't subject to tariffs. Granted, figures are. But I don't give a shit about figures, and this is a blu-ray forum, so luckily I don't feel compelled to care.

Whether YOU care or not they are still a tax...

[BigOnAnime]

Originally Posted by TThomas

Isn't Amazon Japan - unlike most other Japanese stores - handling any taxes & duties on their own? Or does this not apply to US customers?

At least for EU customers Amazon JPN added a pre-calculated fee during checkout for taxes, duties & such and if the actual fees was higher, Amazon JPN paid the difference - and if the actual fees were lower, Amazon JPN refunded the difference to the customer. During a change some years ago on how things got processed, some customers even received full refund on taxes & duties for older pre-orders.

In July 2022 they began charging me Minnesota sales tax (as of last month the rate is 8.375%). Took me months after they started doing it for me to notice. Worth noting that Hobby Search charges US state sales tax, only JP shop I know of besides Amazon Japan that does that. It's still weird when you think about it that if I was actually in Japan buying stuff at a physical store, I'd be paying Japanese sales tax (like when I order stuff through a proxy (Ex: Buyee, Japan Rabbit (formerly White Rabbit Express) or ship to a forwarding service (Ex: Tenso)), but instead I'm being charged US sales tax for where I live across the ocean...

I also just finally made my monthly magazine order there (7 magazines total), and during checkout there was an "Import Charges" line for 576 yen. The entire order is 12,944 yen including shipping. I'll share more details later when the order arrives.

[Shirowed]

Originally Posted by PGW

Blu-rays aren't subject to tariffs. Granted, figures are. But I don't give a shit about figures, and this is a blu-ray forum, so luckily I don't feel compelled to care.

Curious about this. Every now and then I sell into the US, is there a list of all tariff-exempt items? Was under the impression everything under the sun was subject?

[BigOnAnime]

Originally Posted by Shirowed

Curious about this. Every now and then I sell into the US, is there a list of all tariff-exempt items? Was under the impression everything under the sun was subject?

It's based on certain items relating to the IEEPA (International Emergency Economic Powers Act), the law being used to implement most of these tariffs. Said law is also having ongoing court cases over whether tariffs can be implemented using it.

Some info I came across.

Are there any exemptions to Executive Order 14324?

Duty-free de minimis treatment shall remain available for the following:

Goods covered under 50 U.S.C. § 1702(b) – such as certain donations and informational materials.

Bona fide gifts as defined in 19 C.F.R § 10.153(a) – articles formerly owned by a donor who gave it outright in its entirety to a donee without compensation or promise of compensation. It does not include articles acquired by purchase, barter, promissory exchange, or similar transaction, nor does it include articles said to be “given” in conjunction with a purchase, barter, promissory exchange, or similar transaction, such as a so-called bonus article.

Mail flats, documents and letters that do not contain merchandise (P and G format mail shipments).

https://www.cbp.gov/trade/basic-impo...-commerce/faqs

List of codes exempt as of April 2025.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/president...25-as-amended/

[Edit]

Originally Posted by kk1

Although U.S. customs regulations suggest that certain items—such as CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays, and books (informational materials)—may be exempt

Well that would be cool, wish we could get some clarity on that.

Because I also saw this in a Reddit forum

Jesse from Diabolik here. Yes this is true. But also up to the whim of whoever is processing your import. I have literally 10k worth of customs duties I have been fighting with ups and FedEx about. The packages were tagged correctly and then the carrier change it to an hs code that is taxable. Also I pay a minimum of $50 in fees to import a box. They have come up with all kinds of new fees to charge importers to make up for the time it costs to process shipments. As a country we process 4 million packages a day from other countries. With the end of the de minimus most of these packages are now going to be scrutinized but there aren’t enough people that know what they are doing to make this happen correctly. This is all a potential nightmare of bullshit. Also I want to reiterate that tariffs are a tax on the American people not any other country.

If anyone wants the Reddit source, I just randomly found it when Googling "Blu-ray tariffs".
https://old.reddit.com/r/boutiqueblu...xempt_from_us/

[BigOnAnime]

Just came across this from the Umbrella thread.

Originally Posted by Umbrella

USA fans! You could have heard that Australia encountered issues shipping Stateside due to tariffs but we have a solution ��

The standard shipping option is still available but we do estimate it will take until September 20 for these orders to resume shipping and will take up to 20 days to arrive.

We now have two DHL options for faster shipping at added cost. Both options will dispatch within 2 business days with DHL E-commerce taking up to 10 days to arrive and DHL Express taking up to 5 days to arrive.

All of these options will also include duties in the cost to ensure we do not pass any additional tariff charges onto you.

We'll continue to monitor updates to international shipping policies and will keep you informed if circumstances change in the future. However, we endeavour to not allow these changes to impact our loyal fans.

If you would like to amend your shipping on a recent order, please reach out to our email at customerservice@umbrellaent.com.au and we will assist with the alteration.

Thank you all for your continued support from across the world. We appreciate your patience while we worked this one out.

https://twitter.com/UmbrellaEnt/stat...31045237293376

[Glorian]

I'm curious if anyone has had any practical experience with how these tariffs are being handled yet. Anyone received any packages this would apply to yet? I've got a package coming from Australia that unfortunately didn't arrive in the US until August 30th, so if no one else has had any experience with it yet, I'll comment on how that works out for me when it gets here in the next day or two.

[BigOnAnime]

Closest thing is what Reddit user experienced for a package that came via UPS. Looks like the OP submission was removed, but from what I remember seeing when it was still up (and the replies give an idea of what was there), it was something from China and UPS demanded they pay via check only, card or cash was NOT an option. No checkbook=No delivery
https://old.reddit.com/r/AnimeFigure...P6wFyaQU4B0yFr

I recommend following the MFC thread as more info on how things are working are popping up.
https://myfigurecollection.net/thread/21580

Apparently with DHL, they'll request payment online or else they won't deliver the package. Can't remember what was said about FedEx, but I believe it's similar.

[psychopuppet]

You can pay online with a card but in person it is Check or money order only. Been that way for a bit. It’s to prevent drivers from carrying cash which people could steal from them and probably prevent some from pocketing cash unfortunately. UPS only holds packages and attempts delivery for like 3 or 5 days now before it’s returned so pay as soon as you can.

[NLScavenger]

Originally Posted by NLScavenger

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners - November 20
• Deluxe Edition (Anime Planet exclusive)
• Limited Edition Steelbook

No pictures yet. Discs are shared with the UK and French release. I'm hoping that Plaion didn't mess up the audio like they did with The Colors Within German, Italian, UK release.

Specs have been updated. Deluxe Edition seems to have the same physical extras as the Aniplex release.

[NLScavenger]

Originally Posted by NLScavenger

Specs have been updated. Deluxe Edition seems to have the same physical extras as the Aniplex release.

[chidecki]

Originally Posted by Glorian

I'm curious if anyone has had any practical experience with how these tariffs are being handled yet. Anyone received any packages this would apply to yet? I've got a package coming from Australia that unfortunately didn't arrive in the US until August 30th, so if no one else has had any experience with it yet, I'll comment on how that works out for me when it gets here in the next day or two.

I've got a figure coming from CD Japan and had to pay an extra $8 and change for updated shipping. I have no idea what's going to happen once they send it, (I believe via Fed Ex) and how much extra I'm going to have to pay. If the tariffs go to the Supreme Courts I hope they strike them down seeing that congress is suppose to set tariffs, not the president. If this continues, then they'll force me to go through more local figure suppliers and I can see paying more in the long run. I may just stop buying any figures until this gets straightened out, but I'm not holding my breath.

[PGW]

Originally Posted by chidecki

If the tariffs go to the Supreme Courts I hope they strike them down seeing that congress is suppose to set tariffs, not the president.

That's true, but in the Trade Act of 1974 Congress gave that authority to the President to remedy trade imbalances, which is how it's being used here.

[Glorian]

In case anyone was interested, I got my package from Australia today; it was delivered through the US Postal Service. No fees or payments were required; they just left it in the mailbox with the rest of my mail.