Donald Trump’s staggering tariffs on Chinese imports have hit nearly every category of consumer goods, from electronics and automobiles to clothing and footwear. One of the most vulnerable industries is the ultracheap e-commerce sites like Shein, Temu, and AliExpress that American shoppers have become accustomed to. It is already showing signs of a bloodbath.
Last week Shein and Temu warned shoppers that price increases were coming on April 25th. A spot-check of prices on Shein show modest increases across categories, though not every item is more expensive than it was a week ago. A pair of kid’s fleece pants that were $8.29 on April 17th are now $10.19. A women’s plus-size dress that was $22.39 is now $27.51. A pair of pants that were $13.99 have gone up to $17.09. Shein’s inventory and prices change daily so it’s impossible to pinpoint why an item has changed in price, but Shein shoppers have noticed their shopping carts and wish lists getting more expensive: shoppers on Reddit report some items doubling. According to data provided to The Verge by Bright Data, price increases on Shein until early March were for the most part modest compared to late 2024 prices, and many products hadn’t changed in price in that timeframe. As prices begin to rise, many of the posts on the Shein subreddit come from shoppers confused about what additional, hidden costs they’ll incur, or from people questioning whether they’d keep shopping on Shein.
“Bye Shein time to buy somewhere else,” a user wrote under a screenshot of three items totaling $74.
A notice on the Shein site indicates that tariffs are baked into the price displayed to consumers. “Tariffs are included in the price you pay,” a pop-up reads. “You’ll never have to pay extra at delivery.” The current tariff rate on Chinese imports is 145 percent, but that doesn’t include additional taxes that are set to take effect May 2nd. Beginning then, packages valued under $800 that previously entered the US duty-free will be subject to new taxes of either a $100 flat rate or 120 percent of the value of the package. It’s not clear if this round of Shein price increases accounts for the tariffs that will be placed on low-value packages beginning in May, and Shein didn’t immediately respond to The Verge’s questions.
An order of three items totaling $172.45 would incur $282.69 worth of tariffs
On AliExpress, the cost of tariffs is displayed more prominently. The site sells everything from clothes and accessories to tech gadgets and components in bulk, and some listings now show “import charges and other taxes” below the price of an item. Here too tariff rates vary widely — a pair of sneakers for sale for $160 have a whopping $260.80 import charge listed. Products shipped directly from AliExpress do not display import taxes, possibly because they are coming to shoppers from a domestic warehouse. An order of three items totaling $172.45 (all shipping from global sellers) would incur $282.69 worth of tariffs, according to the AliExpress checkout page.
The AliExpress subreddit is similarly filled with shoppers’ screenshots of the taxes their orders would be subject to. The tariffs will affect US-based businesses that import components that are then assembled into full products domestically — some shoppers report that supplies they use for their small business have become unavailable for purchase on AliExpress.
Small businesses have been some of the most vocal opponents of Trump’s tax increase on imports. On Thursday, a group of tabletop game companies sued the Trump administration over his tariffs, calling them “unlawful and unconstitutional.” For years, Trump has falsely claimed exporting countries pay tariffs; economists and businesses have regularly warned that the cost of import duties eventually get passed onto consumers.
Read the full article here
