Temu and Shein after de-minimis — what your cart actually costs

The two marketplaces most exposed to the August 2025 rule change are also the two most US consumers use directly: Temu and Shein. Both platforms ran their entire US growth motion on the $800 de-minimis ceiling — single-parcel direct ship, no formal entry, no duty. With that gone, the platforms now have to either collect duty from the buyer or eat it on margin.

How they actually handle it

As of late 2025 both Temu and Shein show "import fees" or "import charges" as a line item at checkout. The fee is not a service charge — it is the duty plus tariff add-on the platform is remitting to CBP on your behalf. The platforms negotiated bulk-clearance arrangements (Section 321 alternatives, Type 86 or formal Type 11 entries depending on shipment value), but the per-order duty still gets passed to the consumer.

What you will typically see:

• Apparel from Shein — duty at 16-32% (HTS Chapter 61/62 rates are high) plus Section 301 if the goods are of Chinese origin (most are). Effective rate often lands at 25-50% of merchandise value once tariffs stack.
• Home goods / electronics from Temu — duty varies widely by HTS chapter (Chapter 39 plastics, Chapter 85 electronics, etc.). Section 301 List 4A items add a base 7.5%; some items reclassified into higher lists land at 25%.
• Shoes — high base duty (Chapter 64 rates are punishing — often 20-40%) plus Section 301.

Why the line item can look small even now

Two reasons your import fee may look modest:

1. Declared value, not retail value. The duty calculation uses the customs value the platform declares — often closer to wholesale than the price you paid. This is legitimate (the entered value is the transaction value at first sale, with adjustments), and platforms have always had latitude in declaration. It does mean the duty looks smaller than naive math suggests.
2. Platform absorption on hot SKUs. For promo-heavy items the platform may eat the duty to hold the advertised price. This is unsustainable at scale but explains why some items still feel "free."

How to estimate before you buy

For a quick pre-checkout estimate without our calculator:

• Country of origin — assume China unless the listing says otherwise (Temu and Shein both source primarily from Chinese factories).
• Approximate HTS chapter — apparel = 61/62, footwear = 64, electronics = 85, plastics = 39. A 10-second classification gets you to within a few points of the right base rate.
• Add Section 301 — for China-origin goods, add 7.5-25% on top of the base rate depending on the list. Use 15% as a middle-of-the-road estimate.
• Brokerage — if it ships courier (UPS, FedEx, DHL), add a brokerage fee (usually $5-15 for low-value parcels, more for higher-value).

Run the same numbers through the duty calculator on this site for a precise figure that accounts for IEEPA 2025 layers and current Section 301 list assignments.

When the platform fee differs from CBP's actual duty

If you ever see a Temu or Shein invoice with one fee and a CBP entry summary with a different one, the platform usually reconciles the difference at year-end. You are not on the hook for the difference; the platform is. But it is worth saving the platform invoice in case there is a discrepancy you want to query.

Bottom line

The "Temu price" you see in 2026 is now a real near-final price for most goods — the platform handles duty upfront. The era of $5 dresses arriving with no customs friction is over, but the per-item math is still attractive for many SKUs once you know the all-in number. The point of this site is to put that number in front of you before you click checkout, not after.

HTS codes in 60 seconds — how the rate gets picked

Every duty calculation starts with a single number: the Harmonized Tariff Schedule code, or HTS. It is the lookup key for the rate, the gateway to tariff add-ons, and the field CBP officers actually verify when they pull a package for inspection. Understanding the basics takes about a minute and saves a lot of guessing.

The shape of a code

A US HTS code is 10 digits, arranged in five pairs:

• Chapter (2 digits) — the broadest grouping. Chapter 61 is knit apparel. Chapter 85 is electrical machinery. Chapter 64 is footwear.
• Heading (4 digits) — narrows the chapter. 6109 is "T-shirts, singlets, and other vests, knitted or crocheted."
• Subheading (6 digits) — international level (HS6). 6109.10 is "of cotton."
• Tariff line (8 digits) — US-specific narrowing. 6109.10.00 might split by gender or style.
• Statistical suffix (10 digits) — full classification. 6109.10.0012 might be "men's, knit, cotton, sized for adults."

The rate attaches to the 8-digit tariff line. Anything past that is statistical reporting.

How to find the right code

For consumer imports the shortcut is:

1. Identify the chapter from the type of good. Memorize a handful you buy often:
   • 61, 62 — apparel
   • 64 — footwear
   • 85 — electronics
   • 95 — toys, games, sports
   • 39 — plastics
   • 73 — iron/steel articles
2. Use the USITC HTSUS search — type two or three words ("cotton T-shirt", "lithium ion battery"). The hierarchy narrows fast.
3. Read the General Rate of Duty column — that is the base rate before tariff add-ons.

For consumer parcels you do not need to nail the 10-digit code. The 8-digit tariff line is enough to get the rate, and CBP officers handle the statistical suffix administratively.

Where consumers get it wrong

Three classic mistakes:

• Material confusion. A "leather-look" PU jacket is plastic (Chapter 39 or apparel-with-plastic depending on construction), not leather (Chapter 42). The duty differs.
• Use vs construction. A power bank is classified by what it is (a lithium-ion battery, Chapter 85), not by what you use it for (consumer electronics charger).
• Sets and kits. A "gift set" of items can be classified by the item that gives the set its essential character, which can be the lowest or highest rate component.

Section 301 and IEEPA layers

Once you have the HTS code, two more layers can stack on top of the base rate:

• Section 301 (China) — if the country of origin is China, look up the HTS code in the Section 301 List 1-4A schedule. Each list carries a different add-on (7.5%, 25%, etc.).
• IEEPA 2025 — additional executive-order tariffs signed in early-to-mid 2025. These apply by country-of-origin pairing and are layered on top of the base rate plus any Section 301.

The duty calculator on this site walks through all three layers automatically. If you want to do the math manually, the order is: base HTS rate × declared value, plus Section 301 % × declared value, plus IEEPA % × declared value, plus MPF/HMF (small flat or percentage fees).

Practical advice

For most consumer parcels you do not need to file anything yourself. The platform or the courier handles the entry. Knowing the HTS code is useful for estimation — being able to plug a number into a calculator before you click buy and not be surprised at the door.

If you import the same kind of item repeatedly (e.g. you flip imported sneakers), it is worth memorizing your most common HTS line and the rate on it. It collapses pre-purchase math to a single multiplication.

Brokerage fees, bonds, and when self-clearing makes sense

For most US consumer parcels the courier handles customs. UPS, FedEx, DHL, and USPS each have an in-house brokerage operation that files the entry, pays the duty to CBP on your behalf, and bills you at delivery. The convenience comes with a markup, and once you understand the markup you can decide whether it is worth saving.

What the courier fee covers

The courier's "brokerage", "disbursement", or "advancement" fee bundles three things:

1. Filing the entry. CBP requires a customs entry for every import. The courier's broker files it on your behalf.
2. Fronting the duty. The courier pays CBP at the time of release and bills you on delivery. That short-term financing has a cost.
3. Profit margin. Pure markup.

Fee shape varies:

• UPS — brokerage scales with value. $0-100 declared = $0 (sometimes), $100-200 = $7-15, $200-500 = $20-40, then percentage tiers above.
• FedEx — similar tiering, comparable totals.
• DHL — flat handling fee + percentage of the duty itself (typically 2% of the duty with a $15-20 minimum).
• USPS — much lower flat fee ($5-10) for parcels they clear themselves. Higher-value items get handed to CBP for formal entry, which adds delay but not always cost.

When self-clearing is worth it

For a one-off $40 parcel, never. The time cost dwarfs the savings.

For repeated mid-value imports (say, you import the same SKU monthly at $200-500 declared value), the math can favor self-clearing:

• Skip the brokerage fee — DIY entries through ACE / DIS save the $20-40 per parcel.
• Skip the disbursement fee — pay CBP directly.
• Cost — your time + a Single-Entry Bond (~$1.75 per $1,000 of value with a $50 minimum, or a Continuous Bond at ~$500/year for unlimited entries).

Break-even is typically around 10-15 self-cleared entries per year if you would otherwise pay $25-40 each through a courier. Below that, the courier is cheaper.

Customs bonds — what they are

A customs bond is a financial guarantee that you (the importer) will pay duty and comply with regulations. CBP requires a bond for any formal entry. Two flavors:

• Single-Entry Bond (SEB) — covers one shipment. Sized at the entered value or higher. Costs $50 minimum and scales with value.
• Continuous Bond — covers all your entries for one year. Standard minimum is $50,000 face value (premium ~$500/year). Required if you make more than ~3-5 formal entries per year.

For a consumer importing from Temu or AliExpress at low values, bonds are typically not in your picture — the courier files informal entries (Type 11 or Type 86) that do not require a bond, and the platform handles formal entries itself.

When you genuinely need a broker

If you are importing something restricted, regulated, or high-value:

• FDA-regulated — food, supplements, cosmetics with new ingredients.
• CPSC-regulated — toys, lithium batteries above thresholds, sleepwear, anything with a children's safety standard.
• DOT — vehicles, vehicle parts above thresholds.
• EPA — engines, pesticides, certain chemicals.

For these, a licensed customs broker is not optional. The filing requires partner-government-agency (PGA) data your courier broker may not collect by default.

Practical advice for consumers

Three rules of thumb:

• Sub-$200 parcels — courier brokerage. Done.
• $200-2,500 parcels — courier brokerage by default, self-clear if you have time and the volume to justify it.
• >$2,500, restricted, or commercial — hire a licensed customs broker. The fee is real money but the consequence of getting it wrong is worse.

The bond and broker calculators on this site walk through the cost trade-off for your specific shipment profile so the decision is a number, not a guess.