I’ll start this post by saying two things. First, I don’t intend this post to be a discussion of politics, rather it’s an anecdote of my personal experience in the world we’re currently living in. Second, I apologize to our international readers since this post is going to be entirely from an American perspective. I’ll return to more universal coverage next Tuesday.
It’s close to the end of the year, and I am nearing 2 years of entries into my daily journal: my Notebook Therapy Tsuki Kinoko Bullet Journal. Which means it’s time to start thinking about the next book. One thing you should know about me is that I’m a Type A person. I like everything orderly and neat (don’t look at my craft room though.) Basically, the idea of having a shelf full of journals that are matchy matchy appeals to my aesthetics. I know I could use anyone one of the notebooks I have acquired over the ages, but I kind of wanted to buy myself another journal that more or less matched the first. When I told Ana, she suggested that if I was going to do it, it could make an interesting blog post.
So Notebook Therapy is located in China and as you may know the United States has enacted heavy tariffs on items originating in China. (The US has also done away with the de minimis exemption which allowed individuals to purchase foreign items under $300 without triggering customs duties.) I do love their notebooks though, and decided it would be an experiment. On October 8, I placed an order for a Tsuki Whimsical Woodland Bullet Journal ($34.08). And then I sat back and waited. Once I received my tracking information, I waited some more. And watched as my order bounced around… a lot.
So what’s the final result? The journal was delivered with Saturday’s mail on 10/24. There was no delivery fee or customs charge that I know of. Sort of anti-climatic, eh? Based on the fact that it took only 16 days, I also don’t think there were significant delays in shipping.
Again this is just an anecdote. This is the first item I have ordered since tariffs have gone into place, and it certainly wasn’t an expensive fountain pen. But I also expected I might have more trouble than I did. I guess I also don’t know if that’s because it was delivered via USPS for the last mile, versus UPS or DHL who would charge administrative fees.
Have you ordered anything internationally since tariffs went into effect? What are your experiences?
I have a monthly subscription box from Ireland. And September’s box was a disaster. A hundred or so of the boxes were shipped after the Sept. 1 sudden imposition of new tariffs. Which held the boxes up for weeks at UPS in Kentucky. And eventually there was such a backlog that UPS just destroyed the boxes, so a lot of us never got them. (Thankfully the company refunded the charges, but it was aggravating as ****.)
We got those boxes before our trip to Ireland – LOVE them…
Ugh. I’m so sorry. I’ve heard lots of stories! I wasn’t exactly hoping mine would be more dramatic, but I also wasn’t expecting it to not be either. 🙁
I think your experience (as mine from books ordered from Waterstones in the UK) might be the following. They might have classified it a (Book). As it IS a bound volume…
Books and other “informational materials” remain exempt. These new tariffs have been imposed under “emergency” powers using the IEEPA Act. IEPPA contains a clause known as the Berman Amendment, or 50 U.S.C. § 1702(b)(3), that protects “informational materials” (including books) from the additional IEEPA‑based duties.
The Customs and Border Patrol factsheet published on 08/18/2025 specifically notes that goods covered by § 1702(b) (including informational materials) are still eligible for duty‑free treatment.
In practice, parcels containing books should claim an exception using a Chapter 99 code.
Oh interesting. You could be right!
I backed a Kickstarter campaign. I should have gotten my pen last week, but I got an email instead. It said that all the pens heading to the US were returned to the manufacturer because of a problem with customs. They did not know at that time that was going to happen. Only that they were going to try again.
So sorry your package got sent back. The US system has not been set up for individual customs collections. Businesses have systems in place already to handle collecting tariffs but there was not the staff or the knowledge of the ever-changing rules for individuals. Definitely not thought out when the rules for tariffs changed.
I’ve ordered a number of items internationally since September and here’s what happened:
For a two Japan orders, Hobonichi and Stationery Selection, they used a logistics company and charged the duties up front as a separate line item. One custom made planner from China didn’t include duties as a separate line item but they took care of it. Louise Carmen in France charged duties up front as a separate line item.
For another Japan order (eBay), they didn’t charge me the duties and it was delivered on my end with no additional charges. It doesn’t appear that they were charged either. The sender was an individual name, not a business.
For charms orders on Etsy from China (to dress up TN covers),these arrived with no additional charges.
For Aesthetic Planner Co (Australia), UPS notified me of the duties and processing charge several days before delivery so I had the opportunity to pay online so the delivery was not delayed. The processing fee on top of the duties feels more painful for some reason, especially on a small order.
Waiting on my Take A Note order (Taiwan), we’ll see how that goes.
Yes, I’ve heard UPS and FedEx charge large fees for processing tariffs. They are large for individuals anyway. So difficult to know what we will owe when packages are shipped!
A couple of UK sites are charging with checkout. About $25 at one site.
I haven’t placed an order so I don’t know if there are any issues with delivery.
I’m not sure about China but bound books of any type are exempt from tariffs from the UK, maybe that is true elsewhere.
True, books are supposed to be tariff exempt, as are philatelic materials, but most foreign postal administrations that I know of are still refusing to accept packages bound for the USA. Using DHL, Fedex, or UPS for a book makes it prohibitively expensive.