Bride's Bridesmaid Hit with $600 FedEx Bill After Returning Six Stories Dresses: A Wedding Dress Shopping Nightmare. Learn about unexpected import tariffs and how to avoid costly surprises when buying bridesmaid dresses online. #bridesmaids #weddingplanning #importtariffs #onlineshopping #sixstories #fedEx
Bridesmaid's $400 dress order turns into a $600 FedEx bill thanks to surprise import tariffs. A wedding planner's nightmare: unexpected Chinese import tariffs on bridesmaid dresses lead to a costly return and a warning to other brides about hidden fees and international shipping. Learn how to avoid costly tariff surprises when shopping for wedding attire online
Bride's Bridesmaid Hit with $600 FedEx Tariff Bill After Dress Return: A Wedding Planning Nightmare. A bridesmaid's $400 dress order from Six Stories turned into a $600 FedEx import tariff bill after a return, highlighting the hidden costs of online shopping and the impact of fluctuating tariffs on Chinese goods. The unexpected fees, incurred due to President Trump's previous tariffs, underscore the importance of checking product origin and import duty responsibilities before purchasing, especially when wedding planning on a budget. This cautionary tale serves as a reminder to carefully review online retailer policies and be aware of potential tariff surprises when buying from international sellers
Wedding budget woes: Unexpected import tariffs on bridesmaid dresses inflate costs by $600. A bride shares her bridesmaid's costly experience with online retailer Six Stories and warns others about hidden import duty fees on goods from China. Learn how to avoid surprise tariff charges and protect your wedding budget
Unexpected Import Fees: Are Tariffs Hitting Your Wallet? Consumers are facing surprise import duty bills from FedEx, UPS, and other logistics companies, sometimes exceeding the original purchase price. These charges, resulting from Trump-era tariffs on Chinese goods, are passed on to buyers even after returns, leaving consumers like Kat Omecene and her bridesmaid struggling with unexpected wedding expenses. Learn how to avoid costly tariff surprises when shopping online and understand your responsibility for import duties
Bridesmaid Dress Shopping Nightmare: $600 FedEx Bill & Wedding Budget Woes. Omecene's sister, a bridesmaid, faces a hefty $600 FedEx invoice after returning dresses purchased from Six Stories. Unexpected import tariffs from China, coupled with unclear return policies, created a costly snafu. Learn how this wedding budget is impacted by hidden import fees and how to avoid similar tariff surprises when shopping for bridesmaid dresses online
Avoid costly wedding bridesmaid dress surprises! This bride's $600 FedEx bill due to unforeseen import tariffs highlights the hidden costs of online shopping. Learn how to avoid unexpected fees and keep your wedding budget on track
E-commerce: Hidden Tariffs Impacting Online Shopping Experiences. The ease of online shopping, with free shipping and quick delivery, often masks the complexities of international trade. Unexpected import tariffs and duties, however, are increasingly impacting consumers. Recent changes in trade policy, particularly those related to Chinese imports, mean shoppers are now directly responsible for these added costs, sometimes resulting in significant unexpected fees. Learn how tariffs are affecting online purchases and how to avoid costly surprises
Understanding Import Duties and Tariffs: Avoiding Unexpected Costs
High import duties and tariffs are impacting American consumers. More products are subject to these fees, and the rates are increasing. When ordering goods from abroad, understand that import duties and tariffs are calculated based on the item's declared value and origin. Often, the carrier (like FedEx) pays these upfront (DDU – Delivery Duty Unpaid), then bills you later, sometimes adding brokerage fees. Even returned items may incur these charges, as they were technically imported. Be aware that these costs aren't typically included in the checkout price, leading to unexpected bills. Check the seller's policies and product origin carefully to avoid surprises
Hidden import fees can turn a simple online purchase into a costly surprise. Many shoppers unknowingly buy internationally shipped goods, often from websites that appear local. Unclear checkout processes frequently omit details about included duties and taxes, and some retailers even over-declare package values, inflating import fees. Avoid unexpected customs charges and high import duties—always check the product origin and inquire about included taxes before completing your online purchase
Hidden Import Fees: Two Shoppers' Tales of Unexpected Tariff Costs
Kevin Wood's $160 Tangem crypto wallet ring, ordered in February, arrived in May with a surprise: a nearly $250 FedEx import fee. Despite Tangem's Swiss headquarters, the ring originated in China, resulting in unforeseen tariffs. Even contacting Customs and Border Patrol confirmed the unexpected charge, highlighting the complexities of international shipping and the importance of understanding import costs. While Tangem's website states customers are responsible for these fees, the lack of upfront disclosure left Wood frustrated.
A similar situation unfolded for a bridesmaid purchasing dresses from Six Stories. Her $400 dress order, returned for a refund, incurred a shocking $600 FedEx import bill due to unforeseen tariffs on Chinese imports. The seller, despite the return, disclaimed responsibility, citing the website's fine print regarding import duties. These experiences underscore the hidden costs of international online shopping and the potential for unexpected tariff surprises, especially with goods from China
Blindsided by $400 FedEx bill for returned bridesmaid dresses? One bride's wedding planning nightmare highlights hidden import tariff costs. Learn how unexpected Chinese import tariffs and unclear online retailer policies can lead to hefty surprise fees, even on returned items. Avoid costly wedding dress shopping mistakes – understand import duties and shipping charges *before* you buy
Bridesmaid's $600 FedEx bill highlights hidden import tariff costs. A last-minute tariff reduction on Chinese goods left a bridesmaid with a surprise $600 FedEx bill for returned dresses, despite the seller claiming it's the buyer's responsibility per their terms and conditions. This unexpected cost underscores the hidden dangers of import tariffs and the importance of checking product origin and duty implications before online purchases, especially when shopping for wedding attire on a budget
Tangem is investigating reports of customers facing unexpected tariff charges on returned goods. As a goodwill gesture, they're reimbursing affected customers. This follows reports of similar issues from a small number of users
TikTok Influencer's $1243 FedEx Bill After ASOS Dress Return Goes Viral: A Warning About Unexpected Import Fees. Lifestyle influencer Amanda Ivanelli's viral TikTok video exposed a shocking $1243 FedEx invoice for returning almost all of an $800 ASOS dress order. The unexpectedly high cost, attributed to import tariffs, sparked outrage and media attention. Ivanelli's experience highlights the hidden costs of online shopping and the potential for unexpected import fees, even after returns. The incident led to FedEx waiving the charge and revealed similar experiences from others, proving a cautionary tale for online shoppers
“We just kept calling back, and they were like, ‘OK, well, one time, we never do this, but we’ll waive it for you,” Ivanelli says.
It’s not just FedEx that’s passing along fees. One woman I spoke to for this story was able to head off a charge from UPS on an $850 bag she’d ordered from Lupo, based in Spain. Before she got the item, she received a text from UPS saying she owed $250 for the delivery. She thought it was fake, but then a UPS driver at her door told her she owed it, too. “I thought, ‘UPS is charging me for what? Are they charging customers for delivery now?'” she says. She wound up refusing the shipment and is still waiting for the refund on her bag, minus return fees.
Some consumers have begrudgingly gotten used to tariffs being the cost of doing business. Fernando Rivero recently bought his girlfriend a collectible Japanese figurine from an online shop based in China, and wasn’t surprised when he got a bill for over $60 in “government charges” on top of $38 for “brokerage charges.” He runs a side hustle helping small businesses set up their AI operations, which often entails sourcing hardware from China, so he knew that the extra costs were legit since he has passed on similar fees to his clients. Rivero has stopped making personal orders from China and is just waiting out the storm. It’s really the brokerage fee that irks him, UPS’s extra add-on for its service and expertise, which goes to the company’s bottom line rather than offsetting the cost of tariffs. “That has to add up very quickly at the scale that UPS is operating at,” he says. “I’ve never had to pay money to pay taxes.”
The people I spoke with for this story ordered from a website that suggested somewhere that customers would be responsible for any duties and taxes. In no case was the information obvious or easily available. Still, Armstrong says, people shouldn’t necessarily be shocked — consumers in many countries outside the US are used to this because of their countries’ trade regimes, and in cases where duties applied for US customers, this has long been happening, too.
“People have been getting this beforehand, it’s just with some of the changes recently, people are seeing it more commonly,” he says.
Sellers should tell customers up front and clearly that they will be on the hook for tariffs, but they’re probably not going to get into any legal trouble if they don’t. Given how chaotic all of Trump’s trade actions have been, they might not even know themselves what import taxes will apply.
Sebastian Vasquez, a customs broker at Omega CHB International in California, says that in many cases, the original seller, or “origins” in broker parlance, isn’t really cluing in their customers to the shifting trade winds. “That’s why people all of a sudden are like, ‘Oh, I didn’t know I had to pay that.’ But it’s like you kind of have to pay it now if you want to get your stuff,” Vasquez says. “It is what it is.”
In an email, a FedEx spokesperson emphasized that the amount of duties and taxes and who is invoiced for it is not decided by logistics companies like FedEx — they’re just facilitating the required payment to the government on behalf of sellers and/or buyers. They added that when completing an international shipping label, shippers decide whether they or the recipient are responsible for paying, and if a party isn’t identified, the recipient is the default. If the shipper doesn’t tell the buyer about the fees, the buyer is informed when the shipping company sends them an invoice.
UPS declined to comment on the record for this story. Apart from Tangem, none of the seller websites responded to requests for comment.
I’ll be honest, when I first heard that people were getting hit with tariff bills, I was shocked. But the more I’ve dug into it, the more I’ve realized this shouldn’t be that big of a surprise.
When I reached out to Peter Quinter, a longtime customs and trade lawyer at Gunster, and described the horror of the $600 bridesmaid dress tariff in detail, his reaction was nonplussed. “It will happen to them more often,” he says. He deals with corporate clients on a much larger scale who have built out operations in China and are now discovering their businesses are no longer financially feasible under Trump’s trade regime.
“It’s a surprise to the US importer who’s not knowledgeable whatsoever about US customs import requirements,” he says. “So, nevertheless, it’s always the importer’s responsibility. So if you’re a US consumer and you’re buying something online and you don’t know where it’s made, and when you finally get the item or a bill for the item and it’s made in China and you’re going to pay more, that’s your responsibility.”
Some online shoppers are, essentially, unwitting importers and thus responsible for paying import taxes.
At some point, one would presume, much of this will get ironed out. Sellers have incentives not to be up front about tariff costs, because said costs will probably deter people from buying. But as more tariff-related horror stories spread, many will hopefully get better about telling customers what’s what. Perhaps carriers will get faster at alerting people about potential charges, though their role here is really as a law-abiding intermediary. Some of the dust around Trump’s initial trade moves has settled, giving buyers and sellers alike a better lay of the land. And some tariffs have come down. All of the logistics people I spoke to for this story acknowledged it’s difficult for the average consumer to decipher whether they’ll get charged for tariffs. When making a purchase, they should check whether the seller has already factored in duties and taxes or ask the seller directly, but they may not think to or even realize the item is coming from abroad.
“If you’re hit with a bill and it was not disclosed at the checkout or clearly, reach out to the brand,” Armstrong says.
The combination of modern capitalism and technology has made it all too easy to never have to think about where we buy things from or how we get them. Tariffs, for better or for worse, have thrown a wrench into that in a multitude of ways, including proving to be a rude awakening for unlucky and unsuspecting online shoppers.
Emily Stewart is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.
Business Insider’s Discourse stories provide perspectives on the day’s most pressing issues, informed by analysis, reporting, and expertise.
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