Interesting. AliExpress added this last week as a line item cost during checkout. I took up a new hobby in 2021 and was buying materials from Amazon and eBay.

Interesting. AliExpress added this last week as a line item cost during checkout. I took up a new hobby in 2021 and was buying materials from Amazon and eBay. There’s more transparency on eBay for products shipped directly from China. As a result I stated to realize when shopping on Amazon (and not buying a known Branded Manufacturer, but choosing same category product at lower price) I was buying the exact same low quality Chinese products on Amazon as I was buying on eBay and paying more. Of course, Amazon has better customer service and more consistent return policies compared to eBay stores. There’s benefits for the price, but the products are the same. Then I discovered AliExpress, and found the same products I was buying on eBay, and Amazon, but my costs were even less. Downside was longer shipping times, and (effectively) no returns. Last week I looked to buy more materials at AliExpress, and found the line item tariff cost had doubled the price. I think you see the differences I’m highlighting here are cost and customer service—ALL for the SAME products. I’m bummed my hobby costs are going up for the same quality products. I’m bummed the sub-800$ exemption is going away. I believe AliExpress is the Chinese equivalent of eBay. Everybody is buying from the wholesale marketplace, Alibaba. If an Amazon seller is adding tariffs, then I think they’re an AliExpress seller on the Amazon platform.