Recently, the ever-changing tariffs put into place by the Trump Administration has dominated both the news and customers’ shopping carts.
After President Trump announced a wide range of tariffs hitting most countries and territories on the planet, many tariffs have since been scaled back, making it difficult for businesses to plan around them.
For example, as noted by the BBC, tariffs on Chinese goods have gone from 10%, to 20%, to 145%, to 30%, all over the course of just a few months.
Many erroneously believe that these tariffs are paid by foreign countries sending goods to the United States—one December 2024 study found that only 45% of respondents could accurately recognize how tariffs worked. But that belief is not actually how tariffs work, and now, consumers are feeling the impact that these tariffs are having on prices.
Some cosmetics brands have already announced that they are increasing their prices, while other experts are alleging that their own industries are either currently being hit by, or are about to be hit by, the wide-sweeping tariffs.
Now, a user on TikTok is claiming that a simple clothing order resulted in over $200 in additional fees, and it’s all thanks to the tariffs.
Why did this shopper have to pay $230 to get her package?
In a video with over 47,000 views, TikTok user Sam Fricano (@samfricano) says that she was shopping online when she found the “cutest bridal set.” Consequently, she purchased it.
“A few days later, I get this email from UPS saying I owe $229.67,” she recalls. “I literally thought it was spam.”
Fricano soon learned that the charge was real, as a short time later, a UPS driver showed up at her door and asked for around $230 in tariff charges, which Fricano paid.
“I work in finance so I know all about tariffs,” Fricano explains. “Maybe this is me being naive, but I kind of assumed the retailer would take that main impact of the tariff charge, and then we would feel that, like, secondary impact when the prices start to increase.”
“Definitely did not assume that I would be paying for the tariff myself—especially when there’s nothing on the retailer’s website that even alludes to me paying any sort of tariff charge,” she adds.
To close, she notes that this is not the fault of UPS, but the government for imposing these tariffs—and advises that one should do their research before they shop online.
Is this normal?
Several internet users have recently claimed that they’ve received surprise bills along with their packages, including one who claimed that she had to pay over $160 to pick up her order from SSENSE.
This is largely due to import duties and, as previously mentioned, tariffs. Yale’s Budget Lab estimates that consumers in the United States face an overall effective tariff rate of 17.8%, and while some businesses may pass those costs onto the consumer in their pricing, others may leave it to the consumer themselves to pay.
Previously, there was an exception on many associated fees with imports called the “de minimis” exemption, which allowed goods under $800 to be imported largely fee-free. However, this has recently been lifted by the Trump Administration for goods coming from China—meaning that, if one buys a good from China, they can expect to pay duties and associated fees.
That said, Fricano claims in the comments section that her order was around $100 and came from an American company, even though the packing and shipping company mentioned in her UPS email, Gimp AB, is based in Stockholm, Sweden.
Tariffs and customs duties may still apply, however, if the package was received from abroad, even if the company she ordered from was based in America. Additionally, the logistics company may have charged fees that Fricano was not previously aware.
@samfricano My wallet hurts lol. Fashion tariff PSA!! #fashiontariffs #fashion #retail #retailtariffs #greenscreenvideo ♬ original sound – Sam Fricano
“Send that bill to the white house.”
In the comments section, users expressed their displeasure at the possibility of being charged additional fees while online shopping.
“I would have been like, I didn’t vote for that. Send that bill to the white house,” declared a commenter.
“FedEx and UPS are going to be broke. No one but you will be paying them at their doorstep,” stated another.
“They’re gonna end up with a whole ton of packages with nowhere to go because nobody can afford it,” shared a third.
The Daily Dot reached out to Fricano and UPS via email.
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