so! last time i saw ya'll, i was discussing how the recent changes to how tariffs worked now caused certain items to have massively high tariff rates (as high as 43% for the batpacks). since then, i've been looking into options for alternate forms of shipping/alternate tariff payment platforms, and results have been... mixed.

the broker that chitchats uses applies the highest rate of tariffs (with individual tariff codes resulting in different tariff rates -- some may be in the high 30s%, while batpacks themselves are around a 43% tariff rate. the tradeoff is that they offer the lowest base shipping rate (around $14 ~ $16 CAD for US bound shipments) and they integrate for free with shopify.

one of the other tariff platforms i took a look as was zonos. zonos, in contrast to chitchats, has a different tariff broker who applies tariffs differently. with zonos, all items imported from china incur a flat 10% tariff rate, no matter what specific tariff code they are. (but this is currently only true while the section 112 tariffs are in place.)

at first, this seemed super promising! however, the caveats with using zonos are:

- impossible to integrate with shopify (which is how i ship backerkit orders) without paying for shipstation, which would be another ~$25 CAD a month monthly payment id have to make on top of paying for my shopify store (among other things).
- im less familiar with it, so i may make mistakes. the UI is also a bit clunkier to use than chitchats, as well.
- the tariff fee is billed to me after the fact by zonos, so i just have to assume that they'll apply the blanket 10% fee and hope that the rate doesn't change unexpectedly.
- canada post's shipping rates are more expensive. think about $26ish CAD per shipment -- even for smaller items, like pins and charms.

so, while the tariff fee may overall be lower, you guys will have to pay a higher base shipping fee (which will raise rates for people with just things like charm & pin orders) and the overall shipping process will be slower due to the less-automated and intuitive UI interface.

so, previously, i had assumed that there was no method currently available to ship items to the US without paying for duty fees ahead of time (DDP shipping). looking more into it, it seems as if the shipping service purolator still offers DDU shipping (delivery duties unpaid), which would allow me to just pay the base shipping rate & would rely on you guys to pay tariff fees directly to purolator when your items enter the states.

while this would completely relieve me of the responsibility of pre-paying tariffs, the caveats with this are:
- a higher base shipping rate than chitchats, but a lower base shipping rate than canada post (about $23 CAD per package).
- you guys would be responsible for paying duty fees once your items enter the US. this would be in the form of a duties invoice sent to you by purolator. i do not know what broker system purolator uses, so i don't know how much in tariff fees you would need to pay upon receipt (but i would assume it's similar to canada post since canada post owns purolator, so, currently, it would be around 10%).
- so, while your shipping payment to me may be lower initially (you'd only pay the shipping fee, id take off the tariff fee on my end completely), if you're unfamiliar with the process of paying duties fees yourself, it might be a little confusing/frustrating to have to pay a tariff fee later on. i would also be unable to assist with paying tariff fees administered by purolator.

so, just to recap, each of these options have their pros and cons. if you ordered solely tariff-free items, like stickers and prints, your order will still be shipped out via chitchats, since they're the only service that offers CUSMA compliance services.

if you ordered smaller items like pins & charms, using chitchats may still be the way to go, since the difference in tariff rates for lower price items will likely offset the higher base shipping rate of canada post.

but, if your ordered includes a batpack, shipping via canada post/zonos and/or purolator would likely incur a much lower tariff fee that's worth paying a bit more for shipping.

right now, i'm currently leaning towards using chitchats for smaller orders (stickers/prints/charms/pins/etc) and switching to purolator for larger orders that include batpacks. i like the idea of using zonos, but the uncertainty of of tariff fees remaining consistent + having to pay for another set of apps on top of what i already pay for seems like it just may be worth it to offload tariff issues onto a 3rd party service that presumably knows more about the process & current rates than me (purolator). but i'd love to hear what everyone else's thoughts are as well!

apologies if this post is a bit rambling/confusing; ive spent the better part of the last few days researching and testing out different fulfillment methods, and i am so burnt out, haha. i hope i was able to get the needed information across to you guys well enough, and i'm hoping we'll be able to 100% settle on a game plan for shipping before the end of the month.