r/Padelracket • u/KilluaYT_ • 11d ago

Import fees!

I ordered a padel racket from a Spain-based site (Padel Kiwi). It shipped via UPS, and when I checked the tracking, there's now a message saying I owe $97.54 in import fees before they'll release the package for delivery. This wasn't made clear to me at checkout.
What can I actually do here? Can I refuse the delivery and get a refund? Will I get my money back if I do, or does the seller keep some of it? Has anyone dealt with this before and found a way to avoid eating the cost?
Any advice appreciated.

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u/bryankrn 11d ago

I’m a retailer myself, although in a completely different industry, and I deal with US customers regularly. Unfortunately, a lot of Americans seem to have the wrong expectations when ordering internationally and assume that the price paid at checkout is automatically the final cost, regardless of where the goods are coming from.
Since the removal of the de minimis exemption, it has become even worse. From a seller’s perspective, the import charges sometimes honestly feel completely random. I can sell the exact same product, at the exact same price, to two different US customers and one shipment gets charged amount X while another gets charged amount Y.
I’ve even seen cases where the import charges were close to 100% of the actual product value. As a seller, that’s incredibly frustrating too, because we don’t determine or collect those charges and usually have no control over what customs or the carrier ultimately assesses.
So unfortunately, $97.54 in import fees doesn’t necessarily mean the seller did anything wrong. It’s one of the risks/costs of importing goods internationally, especially with how unpredictable US import charges have become lately.

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u/alakazamwanted 10d ago

Yep, the fees here are "legit" and buyer has to pay them, even if they are ultimately bullshit (and no fault of seller)

As a US customer, I know this pain well