A quick guide to what’s changing, who it affects, and how to prepare.
Starting August 29, 2025, the United States is ending its de minimis exemption — a policy that previously allowed international shipments valued under $800 to enter the U.S. duty-free and without full customs processing. This change means all physical goods shipped to fans in the U.S. from outside the country will now be subject to customs duties and import processing.
Below is a guide to help you understand what’s happening and how to prepare.
Who this change may affect
You may be impacted if you:
- Ship physical rewards from outside the U.S. to fans in the U.S.
- Use international fulfillment services (including most shipping companies)
- Import materials like packaging, merchandise, printed goods, or stickers
Digital rewards (downloads, videos, access to media) are not affected by these changes.
How to adapt
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach, but here are a few practical ways creators are adjusting:
- Use U.S.-based fulfillment providers: Services like Printful, ShipBob, Easyship, and Printify can store or ship products from within the U.S., helping you avoid cross-border duties and delays.
- Ask your shipping provider about DDP: If you still plan to ship internationally, talk to your carrier about Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) shipping. This allows you to pay customs duties in advance, which helps prevent surprise delivery fees or delays for fans.
- Consider switching to digital rewards: Digital offerings like PDFs, wallpapers, tutorials, or zines avoid international shipping entirely and aren’t subject to customs duties. Visit our Help Center to learn about updates to selling digital products and selling one-time purchases on Patreon.
Adjusting your pricing if needed
If your shipping, materials, or fulfillment costs are going up, it may be time to review your pricing. Patreon provides tools to adjust your tier pricing smoothly and transparently. You can:
- Apply new prices to future fans only
- Decide whether to update pricing for current fans
- Notify fans 31 days in advance of any changes
Being transparent about why prices are changing — and reminding fans of the value they receive — can reduce confusion or cancellations.
Wondering how much your costs might go up? Some vendors may notify you about price changes, but not all will. If you'd like to ballpark what kind of increase you might face, public resources like TariffCheck.org and PassportGlobal’s U.S. Tariff Summary offer approximate tariff rates by country. These tools can help you estimate the additional cost on imported goods, though rates may continue to change over time.
Communicating with your fans
If you make changes to how you ship or price your rewards, keeping fans informed can go a long way in maintaining trust. You can update your tier descriptions, share a post, or include a note in your monthly update.
Example message: “U.S. customs rules are changing starting August 29. If you're based in the U.S. and receive physical rewards from me, there may be delivery delays or new import fees. I’ll keep you updated and do my best to minimize any issues.”
Staying informed
We're closely monitoring how this change impacts creators on Patreon — especially those who rely on physical rewards or international fulfillment. While we don’t manage shipping directly, we're actively listening to creator feedback and exploring ways to make it easier to navigate changes like this.
FAQ
- It allowed shipments under $800 USD to enter the U.S. without duties or customs paperwork. That rule ends for all countries on August 29, 2025.
- Tariffs are taxes on goods imported into a country. They vary by product and country of origin and are usually a percentage of the item’s value.
- Any creator who sends physical goods to fans in the U.S. from outside the country — whether directly or through an international fulfillment partner.
- No. These changes only apply to physical goods. Digital files and access-based media are unaffected.
- It depends on your carrier:
- Postal carriers (e.g., USPS, Canada Post): Fans may be asked to pay fees at delivery (Delivered Duty Unpaid).
- Express carriers (e.g., UPS, FedEx, DHL): You may be able to pay duties up front using Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) shipping.
- Their package may be delayed, returned, or discarded. You might also be billed for the return. DDP shipping helps avoid this risk.
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Yes, but only with clear communication. If you want to change which countries you ship to, you’ll need to update your reward tier description accordingly and follow through on any promised rewards. Creators cannot silently stop fulfilling rewards to certain regions.
If you’d like to remove shipping to a specific region (like the U.S.) or restructure your tiers, consider updating the tier description and using our tier pricing tools to make those changes transparent to fans. You might choose to:
- Adjust pricing for tiers with physical rewards
- Create a new tier with updated shipping availability
- Clarify that your current tiers are only available to regions you still support
- If you have questions about your rewards, fulfillment setup, or tier pricing, contact our Creator Support team. We're here to help.