NJ online shoppers hit with surprise fees. Are these a scam?

New Jersey shoppers are finding out that some online purchases now arrive with unexpected fees.

Is this a result of President Trump's trade war?

Anyone not familiar with the "fine print" of how goods from outside the U.S. arrive at their doorstep are wondering whether this is a scam.

A recent thread on the social media app, Nextdoor, started in a Mercer County neighborhood, shows this issue in real-time.

One post said that some Amazon third-party sellers were apparently leaving the expenses tied to high tariffs to be collected from customers without advance warning.

Are these extra fees on imports due at delivery real or a scam?

Customers are responsible for the unpaid fees on a package if the retailer did not cover the tariffs.

This applies to third-party sellers on Amazon and any online or app retailer offering items not made in the United States.

This has become an issue recently because last month the Trump administration ended the longstanding "de minimis exemption," which had allowed customers in the United States to purchase products directly from other countries without paying tariffs and fees as long as the shipments were worth less than $800.

The exemption was taken away for products made in China and Hong Kong because administration trade officials said companies there were using this as a loophole to avoid tariffs.

Trump called the exemption a "scam" and said it was being exploited by fentanyl traffickers as well as Chinese manufacturers.

Still, it helped keep costs down for American consumers, who now will be paying more in the form of these separate bills.

Online, foreign-made purchases sometimes mean extra fees after shipping

There are cases when a shipping company like DHL, FedEx and UPS fronted the money to import a good, leaving it to the individual who hit “purchase” on those storefronts.

The federal government explains this on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website.

“When goods move from any foreign country to the United States, they are being IMPORTED. There are specific rules and regulations that govern the act of importing — and they can be extremely complex and confusing — and costly.”

“If any duty is owed, CBP will charge a processing fee for clearing your package. Duty and the processing fee are usually paid at your local post office, where your package is forwarded,” federal customs officials say.

But shoppers who select courier shipping on goods coming from an international seller face a different system.

“Buyers often have the misunderstanding that when the purchase price includes shipping and handling, all the costs associated with clearing the package through CBP are covered by the seller. They don't realize that brokers' fees and CBP duties may be an additional charge that the buyer is responsible for,” the federal website says.

Tariffs are based on which country made the item

The New York Times Wirecutter offers tips for navigating the murky conditions of international online purchases.

“If your order is shipping internationally — from any country, not just China or Hong Kong — you should confirm where the product was made. The tariff is determined based on this, the country of origin, not the country from which it is shipped.”

The same article points out that “delivered duty paid (DDP) shipping means that duties will be covered by the shipper.”

A red flag is delivered duty unpaid (DDU) or "tax unpaid" shipping.

It means the shopper is “likely to owe the full amount of duties, brokerage charges, and other fees when your item is delivered.”

A tariff is a specific type of duty applied to items coming from outside the country. Another way to think of it is all tariffs are duties, but not all duties are tariffs.

One way savvy shoppers can avoid the guesswork is by looking for retailers that offer UPS Global Checkout.

The tool shows the full amount at checkout to be paid in duties, fees and taxes.

Shoppers need to stay alert for scams and phishing in "lookalike" messages and alerts.

Legitimate fees will be included in the same messages that have a valid tracking number.

Never click or select a link in an email or text that you're not sure about.

When in doubt, call the main customer service number for the company handling a shipment and ask for help from there.

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