If you buy from China and you are in the United States, the rule that most guides still quote is no longer true.
The $800 figure — the value below which a parcel was said to enter the country without duty — is not a threshold any more. It was suspended, and the suspension was made indefinite rather than extended on a rolling basis. A $30 parcel and a $700 parcel now go through the same customs entry. So the useful question is no longer “is my order under the limit” but “what will this actually cost me, end to end”. This article is about the second question.
What actually changed
The United States suspended its $800 de minimis exemption during 2025, and in 2026 the suspension was made indefinite. What was a temporary measure has become the standing position.
In practice that means low-value parcels are now entered through customs like any other shipment, and duty applies to them. There is no longer a value below which a parcel enters free — the old mental model of “keep it under $800 and you’re fine” has nothing left holding it up.
It is worth being precise about what did not change. The goods themselves are not banned, and buying from China is not restricted. What changed is that the entry is assessed, and assessment is where the money is.
Who this affects
Anyone receiving goods from China into the United States, whether that is a single parcel or a consolidated box of several orders. It applies to purchases you make through us and to purchases you make directly.
Two groups feel it least. If you are buying a few low-value items for yourself, the duty assessed on a small declared value is usually proportionate to that value. And if your destination is not the United States — the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore or Malaysia, all of which we also ship to — different thresholds apply, and some of them still have a genuine low-value relief. We cover those separately in Shipping & Duties.
What you pay now, in order
One of the reasons a duty change feels confusing is that duty is only one line in a longer sequence. Here is the whole sequence for a purchasing order, in the order it accrues.
| Stage | What it is | Who sets it |
|---|---|---|
| Item cost | The price of the goods themselves | The Chinese seller |
| Domestic delivery | The seller to our warehouse in China | The seller (usually free or a few yuan) |
| Our service fee | 5% of the item cost — 3% on a first order, minimum $5 | Us, stated up front |
| Packing | $2–5 per parcel, depending on size and reinforcement | Us, quoted before we do it |
| International freight | Charged at the carrier’s actual rate, with no markup | The carrier |
| Import duty and taxes | Assessed when the parcel enters your country | Your customs authority |
| Clearance or handling | Charged if the carrier or its broker applies one | The carrier or broker |
Notice where the uncertainty sits: everything above the line is known before you commit, and everything below it is set by someone else. That asymmetry is why we quote the first part precisely and refuse to invent the second.
Why we will not put a duty figure in your quote
Two reasons, and both are about being useful rather than cautious.
First, the rate depends on how your specific product is classified, and classification is not something a purchasing agent can determine on your behalf. A ceramic mug and a ceramic vase can sit in different categories with different rates. Second, the rules have been changing repeatedly, and a figure we printed in a quote last month may not be the figure in force on the day your parcel is entered.
What we can do is remove the guesswork we are able to remove: we tell you the declared value and the exact description the parcel will carry, before it ships. That is the input your customs authority works from, and it is the part we control.
How to estimate your own landed cost
The arithmetic is not complicated once you separate what is known from what is not:
Landed cost = (item cost + our fee + packing) × exchange rate
+ international freight
+ duty + any clearance or handling fee
Everything except the last line is known before you approve shipping, because it is all in the quote. For the last line, the honest version is: declared value × your product’s duty rate, plus whatever the carrier charges for clearing it. We do not know your product’s rate. Your customs authority does, and it publishes the schedule.
That leaves a two-step habit worth forming. One, decide your maximum total before you shop, not after — the moment to walk away from a $40 item is before it is bought, not when a duty bill arrives. Two, if a purchase is large enough that the duty matters, ask a customs broker for the classification before you commit, not after.
The three practices that get parcels held
There is a reason this section exists in an article about cost. The cheapest-looking options are the ones that turn a routine parcel into a delayed, opened or seized one, and the loss is never just the duty.
- Under-declaring the value. The declared value is the figure the assessment is built on. Writing a smaller number than the goods are worth is not a discount; it is a misdeclaration on an entry document.
- Splitting parcels to stay under a threshold. When a threshold has been removed, there is nothing to stay under — and splitting several genuine orders into separate shipments is what a pattern of threshold avoidance looks like.
- “Duty-free” or “double-clearance” channels. These exist because some operators absorb the risk of a misdeclared entry. They are also what customs authorities are actively targeting, and the parcel — not the agent — is what gets held.
Our position is simple and it is not negotiable: every parcel ships at its real value with an accurate description.
What that means in practice for you
If you are weighing up a purchase now, the useful move is to get a quote that separates the known from the unknown, then decide whether the total still makes sense to you. Our quote breaks out item cost, our fee, packing and freight, and states the declared value we will use. Duty is the one line we hand to your customs authority instead of inventing.
That is not the most exciting promise a purchasing agent can make. It is the one that does not fall apart when a parcel reaches the border.
Questions we get asked
Is there any legitimate way to avoid the duty?
Not by routing around it. Duty is a tax on importing goods, and the lawful ways to pay less are the ordinary ones: buying fewer or cheaper goods, choosing a slower line so freight is lower, and consolidating several orders so you pay one set of clearance fees instead of five. Anything advertised as a way to make the duty disappear is either under-declaring or misrouting, and both are exactly what customs authorities are looking for.
My order is small. Will it really be assessed?
With the $800 threshold gone, there is no longer a value below which a parcel is automatically free. Small parcels are still small parcels, and in practice a low declared value may attract a modest or no duty depending on your product’s classification — but that is an outcome of the assessment, not a rule you can rely on in advance. Treat duty as possible on any order and you will not be surprised.
Do you pay the duty for me and add it to the bill?
No. As the recipient you are the importer of record, and the duty is assessed against you by your own customs authority. We can tell you the declared value and the description we will use before the parcel ships, so you can work out your position or ask a broker — but we cannot pay a charge that is addressed to you.
Can I see what you will declare before it ships?
Yes, and you should ask. Before we hand a parcel to the carrier we confirm the declared value and the description it will carry. If either looks wrong to you, that is the moment to say so.
Does this apply to a gift?
The assessment is made on the entry, not on your intention for the goods. Marking a commercial purchase as a gift does not change what customs sees, and a false description is the kind of thing that turns a routine parcel into a held one.
What happens if I refuse the parcel because the duty is high?
That depends on the carrier and on the line, and it is worth asking before you ship rather than after. Refused parcels can be returned, abandoned or destroyed at the carrier’s discretion, and the freight is not refunded in most cases.
Where to start
Upload photos of the items from Taobao, Tmall, 1688 or Pinduoduo in the photo upload box on our home page and you will get the item cost, our fee, packing and freight as separate figures, with the declared value stated. No account, no obligation, and no invented duty number at the bottom. If you want to understand the sequence first, How It Works walks through all four steps, and Your Order, Step by Step shows when money changes hands.
Related reading
- Import Thresholds by Country in 2026: Where Low-Value Parcels Still Enter Free — where low-value parcels still enter free.
- Who Actually Pays the Import Duty on a China Parcel? — the liability question, answered properly.
- Estimating Your Landed Cost Before You Buy From China — the six-line worksheet, with the two lines nobody can quote.
- Shipping & Duties — delivery lines, charging basis, and each customs authority’s own page.
- Send Photos — the four figures we can give you, and no invented duty number.
- How It Works — the four steps of a purchasing order.
This article describes how importing works in general terms as we understand it in September 2026, and is not customs or tax advice. Duty rates and thresholds change, and your own authority’s rules on the day of entry govern your parcel. For a binding position on your goods, ask a licensed customs broker. Questions about a specific order? Email info@elovyrhaven.com.
