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Seller Rules

All changes

20 published, newest first. Open a row to see each claim and its source sentence.

  • Act now

    USPS raises Priority Mail and Ground Advantage 6 percent from Oct 4 to Jan 17

    USPS · Shipping & postal · Effective Oct 4 · in 23 days
    Who does this affect?
    Any seller shipping domestic parcels with USPS through the holiday season, and anyone whose checkout shipping rates or 3PL contract are pegged to USPS list prices.
    What it costs
    A 6.0 percent increase on every domestic Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, Ground Advantage, and Parcel Select label from October 4, 2026 to January 17, 2027, at both retail and commercial prices.
    Do this now
    Reprice holiday shipping now: if your checkout or 3PL passes USPS list rates through, expect about 6 percent more on every domestic label from October 4 to January 17, and check whether your negotiated commercial rates follow the list before you set free-shipping thresholds for Q4.
  • Act now

    CBP will void importer numbers with inaccurate Form 5106 data from September 18

    CBP · Tariffs & customs · Deadline Sep 18 · in 7 days
    Who does this affect?
    Every importer of record, especially sellers whose broker or forwarder filled in the form, brands registered at a registered agent, mailbox, or 3PL address, and foreign sellers importing into the US.
    What it costs
    No fee. The cost of getting it wrong is a voided importer number and every shipment stuck until CBP reinstates it; the notice gives no reinstatement timeline.
    Do this now
    Before September 18, have your broker pull the Form 5106 on file and confirm the physical address is your real location (a home address is allowed), the email and phone are yours and not the broker's, and the EIN matches the IRS; correct it through ABI or your Center now, because a voided IOR number stops every shipment until CBP reinstates it.
  • Act now

    FTC order names the e-commerce merchant profile processors must refuse

    FTC · Payments & fraud · Published Sep 8
    Who does this affect?
    New online stores, sellers using a UPS Store or virtual address as their business address, and anyone running subscription or negative-option billing.
    What it costs
    $12 million paid by the processor, not by sellers. For a store that gets dropped, the cost is a frozen merchant account, held reserves, and weeks without payouts.
    Do this now
    If your business address is a mailbox service, expect processors to ask for a physical location, bank history, and chargeback data before approving you. Keep chargebacks well under card-network thresholds and never split volume across multiple merchant accounts to hide it.
  • Act now

    Section 232 drone duties of 25 to 100 percent took effect September 3

    CBP · Tariffs & customs · Effective Sep 3 · In force
    Who does this affect?
    Anyone importing or selling drones, drone docking stations, or drone parts, including camera and hobby drones sold on Amazon and Shopify, from any country of origin.
    What it costs
    An additional 100% of customs value on drones with thermal imaging, docking stations, and parts for drones over 25 kg, and 25% on other drones, on top of existing duties, for goods entered on or after September 3, 2026; a further 25% on the remaining drone parts from February 9, 2027.
    Do this now
    If you sell drones or drone parts, get the HTS classification of every SKU from your broker this week and check whether it falls in the 100 percent group (thermal imaging, docking stations, parts for drones over 25 kg) or the 25 percent group; reprice or pause inbound orders accordingly, and diarize February 9, 2027 for the remaining parts.
  • Act now

    Section 301 tariffs of 10 or 12.5 percent hit all goods of 60 economies from July 24

    USTR · Tariffs & customs · Effective Jul 24 · In force
    Who does this affect?
    Every importer sourcing from any of the 60 economies whose products are not on the exemption annexes; apparel importers from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Malaysia pay 10 percent until the promised textile quotas exist.
    What it costs
    An additional 10 percent or 12.5 percent of customs value on nearly all imports from the 60 economies since July 24, 2026, on top of existing duties, unless the product appears in the exemption annexes.
    Do this now
    Pull a duty report by country of origin for entries since July 24 and confirm your broker applied the right Section 301 rate (10 or 12.5 percent, or net of the MFN rate for EU, Japan, Korea, Switzerland, and Taiwan goods) and checked the exemption annexes; any landed-cost sheet built before July 24 is wrong for almost every origin.
  • Deadline

    CPSC may adopt a revised button-battery standard; comments close Sept 17

    CPSC · Product safety · Deadline Sep 17 · in 6 days
    Who does this affect?
    Anyone selling products that contain coin or button cell batteries, including toys, remotes, lights, and small electronics.
    What it costs
    Re-testing every SKU that contains a coin cell if the revised standard changes a test you rely on; the notice gives no cost estimate.
    Do this now
    If you sell anything with a coin or button cell, ask your supplier which edition of UL 4200A the test report cites. If the revision changes a test you rely on, comment on docket CPSC-2023-0004 before September 17.
  • Review

    CBP weighs requiring foreign export documents and supplier IDs on every entry

    CBP · Tariffs & customs · Deadline Dec 1 · in 81 days
    Who does this affect?
    Every importer of record, especially brands that buy through trading companies or third-party logistics providers and marketplace sellers whose supplier paperwork never reaches them.
    What it costs
    No cost yet. If adopted, every entry could carry a document-collection burden and a supplier-identifier requirement; CBP asks commenters to quantify those costs and whether small entities should get a longer implementation timeline.
    Do this now
    Ask your supplier or forwarder this week whether you can get copies of the export declaration and commercial invoice they file abroad, and how long that takes; if the answer is no or weeks, say so in a comment on docket USCBP-2026-1058 before December 1. Small importers who stay silent get a rule written for large ones.
  • Review

    CBP raises the merchandise processing fee cap to $670.86 per entry on October 1

    CBP · Tariffs & customs · Effective Oct 1 · in 20 days
    Who does this affect?
    Every importer filing formal entries, most sharply those whose entry values are large enough to hit the per-entry cap, plus anyone paying informal entry, dutiable mail, or express consignment fees.
    What it costs
    Merchandise processing fee limits move to a 34.58 minimum and a 670.86 maximum (in dollars) per formal entry from October 1, 2026, up 2.84 percent; the 0.3464 percent rate is unchanged, so entries between the floor and the cap pay the same as before.
    Do this now
    If a single entry is worth more than about $193,700 (the cap divided by the 0.3464 percent rate), the cap binds and each formal entry costs $670.86 in MPF from October 1; many small entries each pay the $34.58 floor, so consolidating shipments into fewer entries saves fees either way. Check your broker's October invoices against these numbers.
  • Review

    Antidumping duties on Chinese and Vietnamese walk-behind mowers revoked

    Commerce (ITA) · Tariffs & customs · Effective Sep 8 · In force
    Who does this affect?
    Importers and online sellers of gas-powered walk-behind mowers or mower sub-assemblies from China or Vietnam.
    What it costs
    A saving: no antidumping or countervailing deposits on entries made on or after July 13, 2026, and deposits already paid on those entries may be refundable through your broker.
    Do this now
    If you import these mowers, re-quote landed cost for shipments entered after July 13, 2026 without AD/CVD deposits, and ask your broker about deposits already paid on entries after that date. Separate duty orders on small vertical-shaft engines from China are not affected by this notice.
  • Review

    Nuvei pays $4.85M; FTC requires screening merchants by chargeback rate

    FTC · Payments & fraud · Published Sep 4
    Who does this affect?
    Any seller opening a new merchant account, selling by telemarketing, or carrying elevated chargebacks.
    What it costs
    $4.85 million paid by Nuvei. Sellers with a prior termination or elevated chargebacks now face declined applications and reserve holds rather than fines.
    Do this now
    If a processor ever terminated you, disclose it when applying elsewhere; the order treats prior terminations as a red flag processors must catch. Track your chargeback ratio monthly and keep it far below one percent.
  • Review

    Commerce proposes 25 percent Section 232 duty on fire extinguishers, safes, and cables

    Commerce Department, Industry and Security Bureau · Tariffs & customs · Deadline Aug 27 · Passed
    Who does this affect?
    Importers of fire extinguishers and fire-safety products, safes, electrical cables, musical instruments, welding-equipment parts, and trailers, and any brand whose product is mostly metal by weight, since this inclusion process now runs on a rolling basis.
    What it costs
    A proposed 25 percent Section 232 duty on the listed articles, 50 percent on filled steel containers applied to the container's value only, and 15 percent on agricultural trailers, on top of existing duties, if the inclusion is adopted.
    Do this now
    If any SKU is on the list (fire extinguishers, floor safes, conductor cables, brass instruments, welding parts, heat-exchanger parts, trailers), ask your broker to model a 25 percent Section 232 add-on now and watch the Federal Register for the inclusion notice; the same rolling process can reach any product that is mostly steel, aluminum, or copper, so check your top SKUs by weight.
  • Recall

    SHEIN seller recalls 12,461 kids' loungewear sets for flammability

    CPSC · Product safety · Published Sep 10
    Who does this affect?
    Apparel sellers offering children's pajamas, loungewear, or sleep sets.
    What it costs
    About 12,461 sets sold at $8 to $12, all refundable: roughly $100,000 (12,461 × $8) to $150,000 (12,461 × $12) at retail.
    Do this now
    If you sell children's loungewear, either make it tight-fitting under the sleepwear sizing rules or have the fabric flame-tested to 16 CFR 1615 and 1616. Loungewear that looks like pajamas is regulated as pajamas.
  • Recall

    Amazon busy board toy recalled for lead in the zipper

    CPSC · Product safety · Published Sep 10
    Who does this affect?
    Sellers of children's toys or any product for kids 12 and under, especially multi-component wooden toys.
    What it costs
    About 1,835 units sold at about $31: roughly $57,000 at retail (1,835 × $31), plus lab testing of every accessible part before relaunch.
    Do this now
    Have a CPSC-accepted lab test every accessible part of a children's product for lead, including hardware, zippers, and coatings, and keep the Children's Product Certificate on file.
  • Recall

    DTC brand Prepared Hero recalls 31,000 fire spray canisters

    CPSC · Product safety · Published Sep 10
    Who does this affect?
    DTC brands importing pressurized, chemical, or safety products; anyone selling fire extinguishers or sprays.
    What it costs
    About 31,000 units sold at $18 to $30, all refundable or replaceable: roughly $560,000 (31,000 × $18) to $930,000 (31,000 × $30) at retail, plus a replacement product and a hotline.
    Do this now
    If you import anything pressurized, keep batch and date codes on every unit and in your order records. A narrow, traceable batch turns a total recall into a partial one. Budget for replacements plus a hotline, as this brand had to.
  • Recall

    Amazon hair dryer brush recalled after 10 fires; no immersion protection

    CPSC · Product safety · Published Sep 10
    Who does this affect?
    Sellers of hair dryers, styling brushes, or any plug-in bathroom appliance.
    What it costs
    About 1,738 units sold at about $27: roughly $47,000 at retail (1,738 × $27), small next to the fire and injury exposure the recall describes.
    Do this now
    Do not list a hair dryer without an immersion protection device on the plug; it is not optional in the U.S. Ask the factory for the UL 859 or equivalent report before your first order.
  • Recall

    Cross-border seller recalls 9,000 Amazon dressers under the STURDY Act

    CPSC · Product safety · Published Sep 10
    Who does this affect?
    Anyone selling dressers, chests, or clothing storage units, especially through Amazon or Wayfair.
    What it costs
    About 9,000 units sold at about $170, all refundable: roughly $1.5 million at retail (9,000 × $170), plus disposal and the Amazon listing takedown.
    Do this now
    If you sell clothing storage furniture, get an ASTM F2057 stability test report for every SKU and keep it on file. Amazon will ask for it, and the CPSC recalls units that fail.
  • Recall

    Amazon-sold finger light toys recalled: 179,739 units, accessible button cells

    CPSC · Product safety · Published Sep 10
    Who does this affect?
    Sellers of any toy or novelty that contains button or coin cell batteries.
    What it costs
    About 179,739 units sold for $5 to $16 each, all refundable: roughly $0.9 million (179,739 × $5) to $2.9 million (179,739 × $16) at retail.
    Do this now
    If any product you sell contains a coin cell, confirm the compartment needs a tool or two independent motions to open and that the packaging carries the required ingestion warning. Ask your factory for the ASTM F963 and UL 4200A test reports before reordering.
  • Recall

    SHEIN recalls stacking toy with small balls; only 963 units sold

    CPSC · Product safety · Published Sep 3
    Who does this affect?
    Sellers of toys for children under three, and marketplace sellers who assume low volume avoids enforcement.
    What it costs
    About 963 units sold at $6 to $16: roughly $5,800 (963 × $6) to $15,000 (963 × $16) at retail; the recall process costs more than the product did.
    Do this now
    Volume does not protect you. If a toy could be used by a child under three, run the small parts and small ball tests before listing, regardless of the age you print on the label.
  • Recall

    Water-bead squishy toy recalled; Amazon seller named in the title

    CPSC · Product safety · Published Sep 3
    Who does this affect?
    Toy and novelty sellers, especially anyone sourcing squishy or sensory toys.
    What it costs
    About 8,000 units sold at about $20, all refundable: roughly $160,000 at retail (8,000 × $20).
    Do this now
    Stop sourcing any toy that contains water beads; the CPSC recalls them repeatedly. Put permanent identifying marks on products so a recall can be scoped to a batch instead of everything you ever sold.
  • Recall

    Two Amazon sellers recall adult bed rails for entrapment and missing labels

    CPSC · Product safety · Published Sep 3
    Who does this affect?
    Sellers of mobility, senior-care, or medical support products on marketplaces.
    What it costs
    About 2,200 units sold at $40 to $50, all refundable: roughly $88,000 (2,200 × $40) to $110,000 (2,200 × $50) at retail.
    Do this now
    Adult portable bed rails are covered by a mandatory CPSC standard. If you list one, require the test report and the printed warning label before it ships; the missing label alone was one of the four violations here.

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