"Is this the end of ordering from UK?" Topic

Around 6pm today, I got an email from Ral Partha Europe about the new tariffs from UK to US, import duty, shipping, and such. Below is much of the email.

Adding $80 USD to every order completely kills it for me, if I'm reading this correctly. Shipping was already tough from UK the past ~10 years. Are other UK miniature companies dealing with the same tarrif/duty thing? So many of our hobby's manufacturers are UK. (And no, I'm not going to buy a 3D printer. ) I'm sad and a bit confused.

The end of De Minimis exemption for US orders

This only applies to our US customers- up until now we have been able to send packages into the States under the 'de minimis' rule- if the order value was below $800 USD then there was no import tax applied. On July 30th the White House announced that the de minimis rule was ending for all countries on August 29th and that the new tariff rates and import duty, where applicable, would apply to all packages. Royal Mail have yet to announce an option for us to deliver parcels duty paid and if nothing changes then, at least up until January, all packages from the UK to the US will have a flat fee of $80 USD charged to the customer.

Much as we had to introduce a new shipping system for our EU customers after Brexit, we are now forced to implement similar for our US customers. Over the next week we will be switching over to this system- the main difference you will notice is that our prices will be a little more expensive as we have to collect the tariff to pay on to the US govt, thankfully the rate for the UK is 10%

We have managed to secure shipping rates that are similar to current Royal Mail rates and may even potentially be cheaper for larger orders.

We are currently clearing all outstanding US mail orders before the new rules come into force.
We value all our US customers and intend to continue supplying you with great miniatures and trouble free shipping.

It's not adding $80. USD It's a 10% tax on the total of the order. $60 USD order becomes $66 USD

Perfect Six Miniatures announced this week that they will no longer ship from the UK to the US as it is unaffordable for them to do so. I suspect others will follow suit. The smaller companies will be more affected than the larger ones.

The flat $80 USD fee is temporary for the first six months while the government gets it together, plus anytime it's too hard to figure out for the customs guys. After that the actual value based fee will apply. The $80 USD will kill it, tho I would pay 10% if I felt it was worth it.

@smithsco – the RAl partha email explicitly states that the end of De Minimis exemption for US orders will mean that minimum postage will be $80 USD

all packages from the UK to the US will have a flat fee of $80 USD USD charged to the customer

So the $60 USD becomes $66 USD with the tariff and the postage on that will be $80 USD for a total cost of $146. USD Which obviously will put off 99% of people.

The whole point is that it is meant to kill import trade, but I doubt that small UK wargaming companies will set up usa based production. It'd make no sense.

My first thought is fewer and larger orders--once or twice a year, getting together a group order or both. I'm also not really expecting this to be the "new normal." Six months to a year is my guess.

You can all get together and mock me in Fall 2026.

Northstar states in their latest email that they MAY have to add a 10% charge to every mail order. No mention of $80 USD anywhere that I could find. Nothing about any changes to postage on the Perry site. Still free postage on orders over 250 BP.

To be viable I think all they need is a US distributor that will be able to place large orders to amortize the shipping costs rather than having to do US production. It'll still drive up costs but not as prohibitively as the $80 USD dollar flat shipping would on individual orders.

Too many people shipping Fentanyl to the US using the de minimus exemption ruined it for everyone.
As I understand it the $80 USD is temporary and then it will go to 10%.
I expect it to be different as negotiations on trade and tariffs are complex and on-going.
How many companies make small scale miniatures in the USA anymore? Not many.
It's all a moot point anyway, 3D printing will take all the casting jobs away soon and we will just buy software and either print it ourselves or have someone else print it.
Bunkermeister

Oh, and all the toys at Dollar Tree today were $1.75 USD each, including Hot Wheels, except a few old stock items.

Mike

I could live with a 10% bump even if I bought a net 10% less. I won't do $80 USD but the real issue is the chaos as the US Customs Service is not prepared to handle 4,00,000 added parcels per day to inspect and collect in some fashion.

The data on fentanyl in de minimus packages supports such measures for at most two nations, neither in the EU or UK.

So rereading that I did initially get it wrong. Ral Pratha also has it wrong though. I looked it up. The $80 USD flat fee is only if your customs paperwork isn't in order. If they get their paper work right it's 10%. So if you want to compete as a small UK retailer, get your paperwork right and customers will experience a small cost increase instead of a massive one.

Where does the 10% come from? Is that a standard rate for all packages from UK or special for "toy soldiers?" Duties will vary by product plus a tariff?

According to US instructions for sending to foreign countries, very specific descriptions for items will be needed. Something like, "28mm cast metal figurines of humans"
link

Maybe this will be same for items coming to US? In any event the cost of gaming with UK products will be higher for US folks:(

10% is the tariff in place on goods imported into the US from the UK

On top of the tax or fees the pound has risen steadily against the dollar that last couple of months. The exchange rate today is almost$ to $1.36 USD to a GBP. Even if someone runs a decent sale, it's still expensive. The Euro is also on the climb.

Good thing I have way more stuff than I need currently in my possession. Don't need to order from anyone.

I order all my figures and flags from the UK because they, with a few exceptions, are superior to anything US based companies can produce. I am sorry but that is the hard truth. The US produces better rules and scenario books. I also get most of my figure painting done overseas. I didn't vote for this.

I wonder how this effects UK companies bottom line. Can they afford to just write off business from US customers? I did manage to order off to the UK last week. But I have a project I'm working on that will require more purchases overtime. I didn't vote for any of this.

Oh well, the US still puts out great board games, GMT, Compass and others. So maybe switching hobbies. I wonder if the value of my Perry and Foundry figures went up?

Exchange rates are another monster altogether, Titch. I can remember the GBP at $2.40 USD. A brother bought furniture in West Germany on time payments with the Mark at $0.25 USD. Sadly, the payments were in Marks, and he was still paying when it hit $0.50 USD. Tracking short-term rates is a game for specialists.

This from the UK Office of National Stats:

"In 2023, the United States was the UK's largest import and export partner for services and was the UK's largest export partner and second largest import partner for goods."

So I don't think the UK can afford to write off US business.

A major US company charge a flat fee of $95 USD for over seas orders, why should you guys be any different? Yes, they will refund if too much, BUT its the same thing in the first place when you have to pay for your order.

The Uk may be able to afford to lose US business, it may not, but can the US afford to lose business with other countries? And it can happen. During Covid, Australia lost or had severely reduced markets to China because we upset them. It smashed a number of our major export industries, however we survived and found other markets. So countries can go elsewhere if they have to. Europe, BRICS, Africa, South America.
Its a new world order but may not be how people wanted it.

I just received a hefty order from Skytrex this week and I am scheduled to receive another hefty order from Perry Miniatures next week. There has not been a price change from either of these two companies and in fact I received a 10% discount from Skytrex. Far from this being the end of ordering for the UK, I plan on making a few more large orders in November or December.

The killer is that non-US sellers must collect any duty/tax and prepay it to US customs before an order ships to the US. Small businesses don't really have access to the necessary prepaid duty delivery services to meet this requirement. Larger operations with, say, Royal Mail business accounts, do have easy access to such delivery services.

After careful consideration, and with much regret because my US customer base has been fantastic over the past 20+ years, Fighting 15s has immediately ended shipping to the US. I'm getting the last few orders ready to go to arrive in time for the cut-off date and that will be it.

Some sellers may simply not be aware that the system doesn't rely on US customs collecting duty/tax, which would massively increase the workload of the customs service (and which is why no one has until now bothered collecting piddling amounts of tax/duty on small orders), but shifts the obligation entirely onto sellers.

I did see an email posted on one of the other forums that Royal Mail and Parcelforce were already working on a duty-covered class of shipment, that would calculate the tariff rate into the shipping. The tariff would get paid when the postage is purchased.

The $80 USD charge per package is just temporary, until the international mail system adjusts to the new requirements. At that point the tariff is based on the general/specific tariffs for each country. In the case of the UK and Miniatures, that should be right at 10%.

I wonder how this effects UK companies bottom line. Can they afford to just write off business from US customers? I did manage to order off to the UK last week. But I have a project I'm working on that will require more purchases overtime. I didn't vote for any of this.

Believe it or not, the UK's economic future doesn't depend on small companies shipping toy soldiers around the world.

I'm not a 40K/Warhammer guy but I'm guessing GW and Warlord are the biggest fish in this small pond. Have either of these two firms stated how they are reacting to the changes?

@goibinu My thoughts exactly – GW aside, wargaming is small beer indeed for international trade.

It's a small hobby, and a lot of the companies are still a handful of people at most. We all appreciate and value them but it's not like we're computer games, cars, or whisky.

I am now worried. If the UK has a tariff of 10% then the EU has a tariff of 15%. Should I also stop exporting to the US now?

And what HS code do you use for the tin soldiers when exporting? I have so far declared 800700. The US HTS is longer, would it be 8007.00.1050?

I have been see a number of UK companies saying they will not be selling to the US for the time being. That is not a good sign.

The good news is that digital goods are considered services and are not subject to tariffs. Time to consider 3d printing? The question may be whether buying a print from Etsy for example is still considered a service. Plenty of US based printing services though. Printers themselves are getting to be plug n play as well.

As for switching to boardgames that is jumping from the frying pan into the fire since the majority of the publishers print the games in China.

Until 3D printed figures are made of stronger unbreakablle material they are not going to replace metal or plastic figures anytime soon. I find that many of the 3D figures that I've bought break off at things like muskets, swords, plumes, horse tails.

3D works great for terrain pieces and buildings, but not so much for Wargame figures.

I'd also take issue with the statement that all UK miniatures and flags are superior to anything made in the USA. This is not a hard fact, but rather an opinion. I can find plenty of good products on both sides of the pond.

I currently import Brigade, Baueda, Freikorps and 1st Corps. If they are unable to ship to me I'll have to close up shop.

I had an email from 1st Corps saying they were halting exports to the US. They were disabling the order button for the US today and not sending anything to the US from next Monday 18th August until the situation alters for something better as I understand it.

Shipping costs from the UK have been high for a while and I know some companies have changed operations by using distributers. Maybe shopping has to go through them instead of direct for the short term.

It's 15% from New Zealand. I guess that puts a big break on any orders going to the USA!
Just as we are about to add the long awaited dismounted dragoons to the Triguard AWI catalogue.

I would encourage everyone to write his congresscritter, and the President. No, they won't read every letter personally, but staff do keep track of voter sentiment. And we have the Laffer Curve going for us: no one makes money on a tariff so high it's never paid.

As I said, I expect this all to settle out in six months or a year, and a 10-15% tariff would not shock. But let's say it's much worse, or longer. Aside from EC, who has legitimate concerns as a businessman, if all imports stopped, and no American manufacturer took advantage of the opportunity, how long will each of you be finishing up your existing lead pile?

I think a very reasonable estimate in my case is that I will die of old age without finishing the RISK figures in the garage, let along the back-up 6mm SYW behind them. (Yes, of course I have more figures and terrain on order. What sort of wargamer do you think I am?)

Fentanyl isn't the only thing shipped to the US to feed the cravings of addicts.

It might be cheaper to travel there yourself, and carry figures back wrapped in your socks in checked baggage.
Oh, wait. That's how I smuggle drugs and guns.

Plenty of good miniature companies here in the US to take advantage of.

I prefer to smuggle my miniatures a different way, although you have to be very careful how you position the bayonets.

I've been checking the NZPost site for information about how this change will affect small NZ exporters like me. I think I broke the chat bot!
No news about this at all. The information from the Whitehouse mentions one of two methods being used to calculate the tariff amount, but doesn't explain how that decision is made.
Oh what fun.

I initiated some chat about this tariff thing on The Lounge a few days ago, as well. Interesting how some folks want to poo-poo it all. But it's a real problem and it's not going away. Sure, we gamers are small fry in the overall scheme of things but we're also among the easiest to get hit hard early and see a significant impact, unlike some bigger business concerns.

Plenty of good miniature companies here in the US to take advantage of.

Right I'm not trying to sound facetious but as a Brit the only US historical minis company that comes readily to mind is Old Glory. For fantasy there is Reaper. Obviously once upon a time there was Ral Partha. Out of genuine interest what other US historical miniature companies are there?

I think GHQ belongs on your list, Prince Rupert, though I agree the majority are in the UK. But we're collateral damage, not the actual targets the way, say, smokers or vapers are. That means we can find work-arounds and not expect the authorities to plug them.

Out of genuine interest what other US historical miniature companies are there?

Brigade Games. Lots of fantastic 28mm Paul Hicks sculpts across multiple ranges, from Polish Napoleonics and AWI Indians to WWII Chinese and WWI Italians.

Badger Games. Some lovely Paul Hicks goodies in their 19th Century Nepalese and 3rd Burma War ranges.

Khurasan Miniatures. Again a large variety of ranges rivaling Old Glory in scope if not depth. Their Medieval Tibetans and Siamese are excellent.

FAA Miniatures. One of the most comprehensive producers of 20mm WWII metals, covering minor nations such as Norway and Greece.

Rebel Miniatures
Splintered Light
Fife and Drum
Dayton Painting Consortium (RSM)
Wee Wolf Minatures has started casting some of the old Spencer Smith figures in metal.

Colonel, can you even get in touch with FAA? They seemed to have went defunct and radio silent after they purchased the range from Baxter.

The miniature buisness is not much different than any other small business. You want to make money and stay relevant, you have to make choices to do so. Plenty of reputable companies in the United States that can make your molds and cast to alleviate any tariff or world market problems. Deals can be made, royalties can be paid. We are small potatoes compared to who the tariffs are trying to enforce.

The miniature buisness is not much different than any other small business. You want to make money and stay relevant, you have to make choices to do so. Plenty of reputable companies in the United States that can make your molds and cast to alleviate any tariff or world market problems. Deals can be made, royalties can be paid.

Are you seriously suggesting that to 'stay relevant' UK (and other European) manufacturers should find US casting companies, US mould makers, and US agents?

Do you have any idea about licensing agreements, start-up costs and the maze of other legal stuff? It seems to me that a lot of Americans here are spitting the dummy because of decisions that their own government made, and expect European small businesses spend exorbitant amounts and take big risks just so you can continue buying their product.

It's not going to happen, get over it.

BTW, I'm Irish, not British. I probably dislike them more than you do.

Pendraken just emailed their take on what is happening, if you are fortunate enough to be on their mailing list. They say there are 4 options.
Option 1. the customer pays the tax on the goods to US Customs, assuming US Customs are aware of the tariff owing on their import, which isn't very likely given the huge volume of parcels entering the USA every day..
Option 2 The retailer pays the tariff direct to US Customs on behalf of the customer. However, US Customs aren't set up for dealing with this, yet.
Option 3.The retailer charges the customer for the tariff and pass the money on to Royal Mail, who then pass it on to US Customs. RM are apparently in the process of setting up the tech required in order to do this.No time limit has been specified as to when this will be up and running.
Option 4. Stop selling to the US.

Folks in the US have two choices.

Shut up and just pay the 10% or 15% or stop buying.

It's really that simple.

I don't recall seeing Europeans or Brits whining about the 20% VAT they have to pay when ordering from the US.

That's 20% on good & shipping so a $45 USD bundle of Microworld 3mm actually costs $74.40 USD.

I know we're concerned about 'toy soldiers' but there's no need to act like spoiled brats.

Gobinu,

I know quite a bit about logistics, operations and manufacturing more than you know. No one is spitting on anyone. The market is getting reset to help the US. It is what it is. Pay the fees like VAT or don't buy. They don't want to sell here by looking at different angles for their buisness, fine. Then don't sell here. It helps the US manufactures as there won't be 5-10 people at a tradeshow selling the same stuff.