Rich DeThomas never thought ordering wine from Italy would be this complicated.
Citing recent tariff changes, UPS requested more details about the shipment before saying it couldn’t deliver the wine to DeThomas at all.
After receiving a replacement shipment from the vineyard, he also got a $13 bill from UPS for “abandoning” the first case.
DeThomas is one of the Americans finally experiencing the ramifications of President Donald Trump’s April announcement of sweeping tariffs on most countries.
The chaos has become especially apparent for UPS customers like DeThomas.
Ordering wine from Italy is more complicated than Rich DeThomas ever imagined.
He had a dozen bottles of red wine shipped to his Huntsville, Alabama, home in late August. It never appeared. UPS asked for more information about the shipment, citing recent tariff changes, before stating that it was unable to deliver the wine to DeThomas.
He also received a $13 UPS bill for “abandoning” the first case after the vineyard sent him a replacement shipment.
DeThomas stated, “It’s the headache of dealing with it all.”. “What’s going on? What the hell?”.
One of the Americans who is finally feeling the effects of President Donald Trump’s announcement in April of broad tariffs on the majority of nations is DeThomas. After the Trump Administration closed the de minimis loophole in August, which exempted shipments under $800, which are often the most frequent purchases made by consumers, many customers are now facing additional difficulties.
In order to ensure that their online order arrives, some customers are now having to become amateur customs brokers in addition to paying the cost of tariffs.
UPS customers like DeThomas have seen the chaos in particular. Customers’ US-bound packages have been left at the service’s warehouses for days or weeks, and in certain instances, the company has stated that it will discard their shipments due to customs problems following the closure of a loophole for small shipments under $800.
UPS has admitted that problems relating to US import laws have prevented many packages from passing customs. The first day after arriving in the United States, “more than 90 percent of all imported packages” that pass through UPS’s network pass customs, a representative told Business Insider.
Customers are frustrated by tariff tedium.
Economists and business leaders forecasted a surge in inflation and shipping chaos following Trump’s so-called Liberation Day. Amazon and Walmart were among the businesses that announced price increases. Importers placed more orders in order to accumulate stock prior to the imposition of tariffs.
We then waited. Stories of unexpected bills for online orders started to circulate as inflation increased a little over the summer.
Associated narratives.
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Customers now claim that they must educate themselves on the complexities of tariffs, such as how to confirm that they are paying the correct amount and what the product’s country of origin is.
When DeThomas’ twelve bottles of red wine were delayed for days at UPS’s Louisville facility in early September, a UPS customs broker emailed him to inform him that they would either be left behind or sent back to the sender at their expense. The broker stated, “Personal wine imports ORDERED ONLINE are NOT permitted.”.
Inquiries from Business Insider regarding DeThomas’ experience, including which policy its broker was referring to when they stated that wine orders placed online are prohibited, were not answered by UPS.
“I’m not ordering it if this is going to happen,” DeThomas declared.
Katie Golden, a clothing resale on Depop, stated that she anticipated paying some tariffs when she placed an order for $179 worth of used clothing from the UK. However, she claimed that when her shipment arrived in the US, UPS surprised her by sending her a bill for $769, which included a $54 brokerage fee.
Golden stated that she is attempting to contest the tariff and get her bill lowered. She expressed her suspicion that UPS applied the incorrect tariff rate because they were unaware of the contents of her shipment.
“Ordering a package shouldn’t be this difficult,” she remarked.
Business Insider has learned that some UPS customers are attempting to challenge their tariff bills after their shipments were subject to a 200 percent tariff rate for Russian aluminum, which is one of the highest rates the US imposes on imports, even though the shipments did not contain any metal from the nation.
Tom Strohl, president of consulting firm Oliver Wight Americas, stated that if consumers continue to encounter issues with tariffs, they may seek alternatives to purchasing goods overseas. He suggested that companies that ship to the United States either include tariffs in their purchase prices or let customers pay for them at the time of order.
“If customers are confused, it’s going to affect their brand,” he stated. “I think that’s the worst thing that can happen to a supplier. “.
For companies preparing for another hectic holiday shipping season, like many in the US, that is a worry. Owner of two luxury car parts companies in Ontario, Canada, Kunal Sharma, claimed to have already seen UPS lose or return some of his shipments headed for the US since the de minimis loophole was closed.
He remarked, “I’m not even sure how bad things will get on Black Friday.”.
Other effects that economists anticipate tariffs will have on US consumers include price increases and difficulties finding employment. According to Fed Chair Jerome Powell, tariffs have kept the central bank from lowering interest rates earlier.
One of the most obvious ways that the duties are affecting Americans, however, may still be the impact they have on international shipping and ordering.
George Hayes is thinking about reducing the amount of orders he receives from countries outside the US.
The resident of North Carolina imports from Japan items that are popular among the Otaku community, such as pillows and figurines. The products are frequently less expensive there than comparable ones sold in the US. However, Hayes stated that he intends to wait for more precise instructions on what he can and cannot import, as well as which tariffs will be applicable, before placing any additional orders, given the new tariffs on small shipments and backups at services like UPS.
On his most recent shipment, Hayes paid roughly $700 in tariffs. It goes beyond the price, though, as he now has to report the nation in which many of the items were made in order to calculate the appropriate tariff. He claims that this is difficult because he frequently purchases used goods.
He claimed he never had to consider that before the de minimis loophole ended.
“I wish we could have that again,” Hayes remarked of the tariff-free system from this year. “We were unaware of its quality. “.
