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I’m not a Shein shopper, but whenever I report on it I inevitably venture to its overwhelming site and am left slightly slack-jawed. A 5-piece set of Cartier knockoff bracelets for $2.70? A Halloween skeleton serving tray for 19 cents?! This time around, I even discovered you can get 10 plastic toes, designed to be dangled out of Croc holes, for under $5 (terrifying).

Along with Amazon ("the everything store"), Chinese ecomm giants Shein and Temu have become go-tos for affordable clothing and household goods. And with the holidays upon us, that means more Americans are (or will be) shopping for Shein Halloween costumes, Temu Thanksgiving decorations, and Amazon Christmas gifts.

But an extra 100% tariff on Chinese imports, which President Trump said is set to take effect on Nov. 1, could make shopping on these sites a lot pricier. And the “de minimis” rule — which exempted shipments under $800 from tariffs — was scrapped earlier this year, so it no longer applies to imports from China or anywhere else. In fiscal 2024, there were over 1.36 billion de minimis shipments to the U.S., or 3.7 million a day. That’s almost 10 times as many as a decade earlier.

Now that the de minimis workaround is gone, everything is fair game for tariffs. So even if that Temu turkey apron you spotted is only $5 now, it could end up costing $10 if companies pass on all of their tariff costs to consumers.

Given all the tariff news, I can’t help but wonder how much the stuff I’m buying would have cost just a year ago, especially when the “origin” description on Amazon says it’s imported or when the tags on my clothing reveal they’re made outside the U.S. (That’s usually the case — the U.S. is the largest apparel importer in the world).

When imports from China became the first to lose the de minimis loophole this spring, Shein and Temu both immediately announced they would be hiking prices.

According to an analysis by Bloomberg, prices on 100 Shein beauty and health products climbed an average of 51% in a single day (eyebrow gel nearly tripled!), while kitchen products and toys jumped more than 30%. Another study by Reuters in July showed prices for some popular kids' clothing items had risen over 60% since April. Meanwhile, Amazon quietly raised its prices on many low-cost items, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of 2,500 products.

It’s possible that the tariff math could change. Trump has softened some of his rhetoric on China ahead of his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, saying it will lead to a “fantastic” trade deal. And of course, any of this year’s sweeping new tariffs, which affected imports on virtually every country, could get scrapped if the Supreme Court decides that Trump didn’t have the legal authority to impose them. (SCOTUS is expected to hear oral arguments on this on Nov. 5). That would be a game-changer for businesses and consumers.

Regardless of what happens, this may be a perfect time to lean into the thrifting and secondhand shopping trend, especially given all the sustainability issues and labor concerns surrounding companies like Shein, which has been accused of being the biggest polluter in fast-fashion.

Personally, I love a good treasure-hunt, and who knows — the plastic skeleton you find at Goodwill might end up being cheaper than the Shein version.

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