(Credit: Osume)
Are tariffs ruining your latest PC build? A Redditor looking to purchase a custom keyboard reports being hit with a $380 import bill when the order itself was only $340.
Nalipas96 took to Reddit to warn other mechanical keyboard buyers after delivery provider FedEx sent an invoice for import duties.
“This is the tariff situation now. Importing anything in any amount is simply out of the question now. I can't believe this is real,” according to Nalipas96, who purchased the peripherals through keyboard and keycap vendor Osume.
FedEx added 20%, 25%, and 125% tariffs on various parts of the order, which included a collection of keycaps, $14 worth of keyboard lubricant, a cable, and free items Osume had bundled with the order, including a calendar.
(Credit: Reddit user Nalipas96)The situation is alarming since the order was placed on April 16, well before May 2, when the "de minimis" exemption was lifted and a 120% tariff on small packages from China took effect. The order itself was delivered on May 1.
The other issue is that the Trump administration exempted keyboards from the 125% tariffs on China. However, Nalipas96 didn’t buy a fully assembled keyboard; keyboard parts and other components can still get hit by tariffs.
FedEx didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the pricey import bill. But Osume told PCMag: "We found this situation strange as well."
(Credit: Osume)"This particular shipment was under the $800 de minimis threshold and was imported on April 22, so we’re not sure why duties were charged,” the company says. “We've already contacted our FedEx rep to investigate and have asked the customer to hold off on paying the bill until we get more clarity.”
In a message to Nalipas96, an Osume representative also noted: “This is the first time I'm seeing a case like this… I'm inclined to believe that this may have been charged in error.”
Still, the situation might not be a one-off. Following Trump's wave of new tariffs, others users have also reported FedEx adding import charges on shipments that they contend should have never been imposed.
Canada-based Osume currently sources most of its manufacturing from China, so it has paused customer shipments to the US to avoid Trump’s tariffs. It's working to resume sales to the US through a "Delivered Duties Paid" shipment process from Canada to the US that’ll let it absorb the costs.
(Credit: Osume)"It’s a short-term fix, but one we feel is necessary to avoid unexpected costs landing on a customer's doorstep. That said, as a small business, covering even a 20% tariff puts a real strain on our margins—but we still believe it’s the right call,” Osume tells PCMag.
Osume says manufacturing its products domestically isn’t realistic. “We work with long-standing partners [in China] to maintain a high level of quality and consistency. Even if we were to assemble certain parts in Canada, the final product likely wouldn’t meet the legal requirements to be considered ‘Made in Canada,’” Osume says. “Plus, many of the core components would still need to be imported from China, which means they’d still be subject to tariffs and higher costs.
“Realistically, making a keyboard entirely in the US isn’t feasible without drastically raising prices,” the company adds. “Even Cherry, one of the oldest names in the industry, recently moved manufacturing from Germany to China just to stay competitive. Brands that don’t adapt end up having to raise prices—or stop selling in the US altogether—leaving consumers with fewer options.”
Others, including PC case brand Hyte, have also suspended shipments to the US, citing Trump's tariffs and the high costs they can add to their business.