Almost no one is talking about something that will have a MASSIVE and overwhelmingly negative impact for collectors and dealers in the United States who purchase sports cards and other collectibles from Canada or other countries (as well as Canadian / international small businesses such as myself who offer rare and unique items to the American market)

The US administration has signed an order ending the 'de minimis' exemption which until then allowed shipments valued under $800 to be exempt from import taxes. After August 29th, all shipments, regardless of value will need to go through formal customs clearance and be assessed duty based on the applicable tariff code.

Impacts I believe this will have in the hobby:

1) See attached notice I just received from eBay - Canada Post and other postal services around the world are not equipped to collect this duty and there is a high likelihood packages sent via these methods will be returned to sender. For small / low cost items, the postal service is the most economical method to ship - Couriers are MUCH more expensive and don't make sense for $10 cards for example.
2) For buyers, this may make international purchases much more expensive - in addition to duties, you may now see customs brokerage fees
3) This will likely significantly increase transit time - packages may take days or even weeks longer than previous to arrive
4) Much longer time for sellers to prepare packages for shipment and far greater complexity than previous.

See the article below for more details - I would encourage you to search "De Minimis" in google news or other news apps to learn more - you'll find lots of articles from a variety of sources

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/trump-suspends-de-minimis-exception-1.7597830

NOTE: Please DO NOT turn this into a political post - I have friends on all sides of the political spectrum in the USA and Canada. I am posting for education and knowledge sharing only since almost no one I've talked to has been familiar this was happening

If any Canadian sellers have effective solutions for a large catalog of vintage items (9000+ vintage pieces sourced from around the world), please DM me as I would love to hear how others are navigating this

I'm always browsing auctions and came across the interesting opportunity below - Thousands of vintage movie photos and related memorabilia items. Photos of the type shown in the listing sell individually for $5-$35 each - in some cases much more (not my specialty area but I do sell them myself)

There will be a TON of work involved here in transporting, sorting, photographing, listing etc. That said, I see HUGE money potential for a dealer with the right space, time and audience.

Anyone going to bid?

(Note I have no affiliation with the auction or seller)



https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/205021099_lifetime-hollywood-photos-and-memorabilia-collection

Nothing better than receiving new collections! Just arrived from Germany and should be some amazing automobilia art and photos. Follow to see the finds

Original vintage circus photo stamped “photo Nadir” on back. This is what it feels like sometimes trying to balance a hobby business with a busy day job. Can anyone relate?

Original card in my personal collection

I think business cards from famous and infamous titans of industry are a growing area of collectibles that will rise significantly in value. Have seen a rise in cards from Bill Gates, Steve Jobs etc. Thoughts?