I was scrolling through Digitaka to re-up on baits. Prices there were surprisingly low, and don’t seem to have increased much from the tariffs. Ordinarily, I’d be happy to buy but I’ve heard that some online retailers have been adding extra fees at checkout to keep price tags down.

 

Has anyone experienced this when buying foreign fishing tackle online? I’ve always had  good experiences with Digitaka, but I want to be sure things haven’t changed given current economic happenings. I’d hate to get charged additional fees without knowing

58 minutes ago, Buzzbaiter said:

 don’t seem to have increased much from the tariffs. 

That's because YOU as the importer pay the tariffs once it crosses into the US and not the originating country.

 

So as soon as whatever you buy crosses into the US, you will pay the tariffs on whatever country made the item. In this case most likely China or Japan.

Just few days back I got the BFS Aldebaran and I didn't pay anything to anyone paid normal price for reel and it gets to my door as usual. Actually I just sent one invoice to one of my Japanese customer and I didn't know if I should increase price or not. It was two $500 items and I gave discount to him as well because he bought two and he is long time customer of my shop LOL. Lets see if they going to charge me anything or not.

FedEx or whoever can pay the tariffs to get it released. You than you will be invoiced separately from them. I know people have mentioned this in the past. It’s luck of the draw who gets nailed I guess.

the de minimis exception would have been in place when all of you got your most recent orders.  Basically anything under $800 was exempt from import duties.  That exception has been eliminated so I would expect duties going forward on JDM shipments.  I would guess (but do not know) that the freight handlers will be responsible for collecting it as they have in the past.

I bought my airplane tickets to Japan.  

 

I am taking orders.  hahahha...just kidding.  I am NOT taking orders.  I want my wife to continue to love me.  

 

I'll probably buy some Zillions and baits for myself.  maybe the Triza Stymepaledes.   ship myself the Madbull from Osaka.  

 

gah..she might wavier in the love department.!!  

7 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

the de minimis exception would have been in place when all of you got your most recent orders.  Basically anything under $800 was exempt from import duties.  That exception has been eliminated so I would expect duties going forward on JDM shipments.  I would guess (but do not know) that the freight handlers will be responsible for collecting it as they have in the past.

That sucks. How much would duties be on something like a 350 dollar reel? 

It is my understanding that the $800 exemption ends today (May 2) but only on items from China.  It is supposed to end for all countries but the timeline has not been announced.   I could be wrong.  

 

30 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

It is my understanding that the $800 exemption ends today (May 2) but only on items from China.  It is supposed to end for all countries but the timeline has not been announced.   I could be wrong.  

 

 

You are correct.  I thought the EO was the entire exception, but it is just repealed for China and Hong Kong.  Crisis averted for now. 

On 5/2/2025 at 5:49 PM, casts_by_fly said:

 

You are correct.  I thought the EO was the entire exception, but it is just repealed for China and Hong Kong.  Crisis averted for now. 

Yep. If my understanding is correct, they’re going to see how it works on China and HK and see if it’s feasible to remove it globally. Hopefully they decide it’s not feasible.

I will say prices have gone up on Digitaka. I had a Shimano Bantam in my cart a couple weeks ago and went back yesterday and the price had increased from $209 to $240.00 plus shipping is on a halt until the 12th.

guess I’ll wait…….

From everything I can find researching with ChatGPT, as long as you are buying stuff from Japan that is made in Japan, and keeping it under $800, you will not have to pay any extra fees as of now when ordering from the JDM stores. Double check this before your order. 

 

@motobass That price makes sense because the value of the USD has dropped and the Yen has stayed about the same over the past few months. Also, it looks to be consistent with some of the other shops including shipping. You may want to go ahead and grab it. I doubt the price will get any better anytime soon. 

Soooooooo who's going to be the guinea pig? LOL

After asking ChatGPT a series of questions regarding tariffs, and projections over the next six months, I asked it this- "Taking all of this into consideration, is it best to buy fishing tackle directly from Japan now, or wait to see if prices get better"?

 

I'm pasting the answers below-

 

Reasons to buy:

 

U.S. Dollar Is Declining: The dollar has already dropped ~9% since January and is projected to weaken more in the next 6 months. A weaker dollar means Japanese imports will cost you more in USD later, even if product prices stay the same in yen.

 

De Minimis Threshold Still Exists for Japan: You can currently still import up to $800 worth of Japan-made fishing tackle duty-free. There’s no guarantee this policy won’t change — especially given how aggressively trade rules are shifting right now. If tariffs expand or the de minimis exemption for Japan gets reduced or repealed, you could get hit with 10–35% tariffs later.

 

Japanese Domestic Prices Are Stable Now: With the U.S. dollar weakening and potential for yen appreciation, Japanese shops may start raising export prices in response to currency swings. You could lock in lower prices today.

 

No Immediate Signs of Trade Deal Improvements:  Waiting for trade policies to improve in the near term seems unlikely.

 

Reasons to wait:

 

If You’re Watching for Sales: Some Japanese tackle retailers occasionally run seasonal or inventory clearance sales (typically in June and December). If your desired items aren’t urgent, you might hold out for a June promotion.

 

Possible Dollar Rebound on Geopolitical Shocks: If a major global crisis hits (Taiwan, Middle East, financial sector shock), the dollar could rally temporarily as a safe haven. That could make imports cheaper for a brief window — but this is speculative and risky to wait for.

 

Bottom Line Recommendation (from ChatGPT not me)

If you’ve got specific tackle in mind and it’s under $800, it’s smarter to buy now.
The risk of a weakening dollar and possible trade rule changes outweigh the modest chance of a short-term price dip or sale.

If you’re buying big-ticket items (like premium reels $800+) and can wait a couple of months for a potential June sale, that might be worth holding off — but only if you confirm they’re Made in Japan and would stay under $800 shipped if split into smaller orders.

 

 

31 minutes ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

Soooooooo who's going to be the guinea pig? LOL

I ordered an under $800 reel from JLS a couple of days ago. I'll let you guys know if I am charged anything. 

 

I remember almost 25 years ago I was charged duties on a prop that I ordered from Canada. That was the only time I can remember that happening. Never once from JP. 

De minimis is still in place and the tariffs on Japan (and all countries bar China/Hong Kong) are paused until July 9th or 10th. 
 

Prices on rods, tackle etc made in China will be going up substantially between May 27th and June 1st. 
 

Most tackle, rods etc. are made in China. Unless something changes, this hobby is about to become significantly more expensive. 

 
 

4 hours ago, woolleyfooley said:

De minimis is still in place and the tariffs on Japan (and all countries bar China/Hong Kong) are paused until July 9th or 10th. 
 

Prices on rods, tackle etc made in China will be going up substantially between May 27th and June 1st. 
 

Most tackle, rods etc. are made in China. Unless something changes, this hobby is about to become significantly more expensive. 

 
 

Correct.  Some Japanese soft baits and tackle are indeed made in China. So anything with the label "Made in China" regardless of where it originates from is about to be borderline unaffordable when it enters the USA.

Nishine Lures, a small Japanese bait company out of Canada has already halted all shipments to the U.S. They'll take orders from the U.S., but they won't process them for now...indefinitely.

 

 

I just need to say that threads like this make it extremely difficult to follow the forum guidelines but so far so good. 😆

 

 

 

39 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

I just need to say that threads like this make it extremely difficult to follow the forum guidelines but so far so good. 😆

 

Just keep in mind this thread is about potential extra fees and costs when ordering tackle from other countries.  This is NOT a discussion about tariffs, the economy, or inflation.

Keep in mind that reciprocal tariffs to other countries other than China are on hold until July 9th. At that point WE the importers will be paying the tariffs in order to clear customs. (25% from Japan,)

 

18 hours ago, Glenn said:

Nishine Lures, a small Japanese bait company out of Canada has already halted all shipments to the U.S. They'll take orders from the U.S., but they won't process them for now...indefinitely.

 

 

Why would they do that? 

7 hours ago, Gera said:

Keep in mind that reciprocal tariffs to other countries other than China are on hold until July 9th. At that point WE the importers will be paying the tariffs in order to clear customs. (25% from Japan,)

 

Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. 😕

19 hours ago, RRocket said:

Correct.  Some Japanese soft baits and tackle are indeed made in China. So anything with the label "Made in China" regardless of where it originates from is about to be borderline unaffordable when it enters the USA.

Apparently some items are being outright discontinued as it stands right now. 

On 5/6/2025 at 7:09 AM, Tennessee Boy said:

I just need to say that threads like this make it extremely difficult to follow the forum guidelines but so far so good. 😆

 

 

 

On 5/6/2025 at 7:50 AM, Glenn said:

 

 

Just keep in mind this thread is about potential extra fees and costs when ordering tackle from other countries.  This is NOT a discussion about tariffs, the economy, or inflation.

Yeah, I had to edit ChatGPT's answers a little lol. I thought I noted that in my post, but I guess I didn't. 

 

Good topic though. Especially for us JDM tackle degenerates 😂

I'm probably going to make a small order of baits here in the next couple of days. I'll let you guys know if anything interesting happens. 

On 5/6/2025 at 11:03 AM, Gera said:

Keep in mind that reciprocal tariffs to other countries other than China are on hold until July 9th. At that point WE the importers will be paying the tariffs in order to clear customs. (25% from Japan,)

 

The de minimis rule still applies to all countries except China and Hong Kong. So even if/when the reciprocal tariffs go into effect, as long as you keep your orders from Japan under $800 you should be good. 
 

Please correct me if I’m wrong.

There was a pretty good discussion of the intersection of the fishing industry and the tariffs on one of the fishing podcasts recently. Probably tackle talk. Their source was talking to tackle manufacturers on a no-names basis. 

 

Great to know about de minimus only being china for now!