I don't know for the US, but in Europe they got expensive over the year because they had to comply with import taxes, warranty and now are shipping a lot of pro

I don't know for the US, but in Europe they got expensive over the year because they had to comply with import taxes, warranty and now are shipping a lot of products directly from europe. Who remember the good old days where anything from aliexpress would pass the customs without taxes, even on expensive products (phone/hightech) ? I always wondered if they had not an arrangment with the shipper/customs. Because at the time, anything from say a store like hobbyking, even small package worth a few dozens €, was always flagged at the customs.