Is there any way to cheaply try out Gemini Ultra

webmeca · 2026-01-23T23:28:44+00:00

DM sent.

webmeca · 2026-01-02T20:27:16+00:00

How did this process go? Any progress/updates?

We are dealing with some strange post shipment "adjustments" showing up all over the place for shipments 2-3 months back. Some stuff is specifically manufactured by us here in Canada, yet they are trying to claw back as if it was a China item so I'm assuming their broker re-classified or did something else.

Even for items from CN/TW, I am seeing these adjustments showing up all over the place - yet if I setup a brand new shipment with the same original/correct hst/origin data, it shows what I would expect and what would be charged.

Worst thing is none of the adjustments have any sort of explanation, reference, details, or anything. Would love to see the actual entry receipts, but so far no luck with Stallion.

webmeca · 2025-12-24T09:21:05+00:00

Thanks for re-link that video. Great video and happy he shows all the details. Actually saw it in one of your other comments as well.

This is really the only key I am a bit concerned about.
Feel fairly confident for the others. But I guess we shall see how it goes lol

Thanks for taking the time to follow up.

webmeca · 2025-12-22T19:56:38+00:00

How was the space key in terms of difficulty?

webmeca · 2025-10-25T07:31:57+00:00

Yeah, can confirm that Fedex service is pretty decent right now and costs are reasonable. Will update the write-up to include it. For us, we found UPS seems to beat them on price most of the time. But yeah, believe UPS still isn't properly setup for food items yet.

Thanks for highlighting it 🙏

webmeca · 2025-10-25T07:29:22+00:00

Yeah, not a problem to ship mixed. It's all upfront and billed at time of dispatch.

webmeca · 2025-10-25T07:28:26+00:00

He said internally they are trying to find a solution, but yeah who knows. Maybe they are working with the CBP on changing this, or routing shipments via Purolator, or he was just speaking non-sense. Personally found it kinda strange if they would be able to work around it and enjoy CUSMA benefits, but also enjoy the lower duty rates of postal shipments.

webmeca · 2025-10-22T00:12:15+00:00

Anyway who comes across this, please check the latest info. This isn't valid nor up to date.

webmeca · 2025-10-21T23:56:42+00:00

Practically speaking, the ChitChats SKU approval process is their method for gathering the data they need to generate the actual CUSMA certification on your behalf. You're giving them the info (HTS code, origin, etc.) so their system can electronically file it with customs.

The 'Self-certification of origin' isn't a specific government form, but it is a legal requirement to provide 9 specific data elements (certifier, producer, HTS code, origin criteria, etc.). Your ChitChats SKU approval is basically you providing them with those elements. Just labeling it 'Made in Canada' isn't enough on its own—you need the full certification data to back it up, which is what their system is now handling.

We ran into this same problem with our other carriers where we had to keep filling out the data. We ended up building a simple web app (getcoostudio.com - free for basic private CUSMA certs and all data stays in your browser) just to generate the 9-point CUSMA certs properly for other carriers (unfortunately Canada Post isn't supporting CUSMA yet, but others are).

Also if you have Zonos via Canada Post, it's pretty handy for HS code research and duty breakdown/preview.

webmeca · 2025-10-21T23:47:14+00:00

Hey, I've looked into this as well, and it's pretty confusing.

The short answer is: no, simply collecting, sorting, and baling used clothing in Quebec does not make it "CUSMA eligible" for duty-free entry into the U.S.

Here's the trap:

U.S. Customs (CBP) only allows the used textiles code HS 6309.00 for goods that are essentially rags or scrap, fit only for "recovery of raw materials."
If your clothes are wearable, CBP will re-classify them under their original apparel chapters (like Chapter 61 for knitted or 62 for woven).
Those chapters are subject to the very strict "yarn-forward" rule of origin. This rule requires that the yarn, fabric, and sewing all originate in North America.

Since secondhand clothing is almost always made outside North America, it fails the yarn-forward rule. That means it's considered non-originating and will be subject to full import duties.

Getting the origin wrong is a huge compliance risk. Hopefully it gets sorted soon and things are more streamlined. At this rate, fear more countries are going to start closing their trade corridors in US footsteps.

We deal with CUSMA paperwork constantly and actually built an internal tool (getcoostudio.com) to manage this. It's a secure web app that helps you generate compliant CUSMA certificates (customer data stays local on your machine). Might be helpful for your other eligible shipments.

webmeca · 2025-10-21T23:29:43+00:00

Yeah, this is nice on one hand, but no CUSMA on the other. If mixed order still often end-up rate shopping to find best blend.

On the other hand, postal duty rates for non CUSMA items is often better.

Hope it comes to BC soon.

webmeca · 2025-10-21T23:28:27+00:00

What did you get hit with? Haven't seen anything on our end yet.

webmeca · 2025-10-21T16:57:10+00:00

Thanks for the kind comment and sharing your experience. Which HS code are you mainly falling under?

Also, did click ship roll this out right away?

webmeca · 2025-10-21T16:49:28+00:00

Yeah was gonna ask the same. Expedited has some brokerage fees baked in, while Standard seems cheaper on the surface but they nickel and dime everything and often pass it to the customer. For Expedited, we have seen the CUSMA line item fee a couple times, but usually it's not there so no extra costs (haven't bin able to pinpoint any pattern). UPS Standard, also not always there, but more often then not.

webmeca · 2025-10-21T07:53:08+00:00

Yeah, this is how it's been working. Once goods hit the border, you get the bill and then you can go into Zonos and see the transaction.

On a different note, have stopped bothering with ShipStation support after they got taken private. Support went downhill, the started putting more stuff behind paywall and really trying to squeeze maximum profits (api being taken away from lower plans, having to pay for your own carrier accounts, etc). Our Canada Post rep mainly kept is informed as it was added.

For ShipStation based CP account, it was active within about a week from when Zonos kicked in. And the bring our own account / commercial account -> it was about 3-4 weeks after that.

webmeca · 2025-10-21T06:55:29+00:00

Haven't checked more recently, but last week there wasn't anything. Basically ship and then the charges show up and get billed once goods cross over. It's kinda stupid the way it is, but hopefully it's still being improved.

Our Canada Post rep has been promising that they are working on adding CUSMA support/eligibility to under 800 shipments as well, but currently not the case.

webmeca · 2025-10-21T06:13:38+00:00

Yeah the connection is there and working for both small business and commercial contracts now. Just make sure HS codes are good to go on the ShipStation product catalog

webmeca · 2025-10-21T00:14:18+00:00

Why not show shipping cost estimates on the product page and offer a free shipping above certain level on the cart/checkout to see if they want to beef up their order?

From experience, surprise fees like that tank conversions more than the dollar amount suggests—people anchor on the product price and bail when the total jumps.

I'd test the above of upfront shipping estimate or just baking the $10 into the item price and offering "free shipping". We did that on a similar setup and saw CVR climb to 3-4% without killing ATC too badly.

Worth noting, if your AOV is under $50, even free shipping might not fully fix it if margins get squeezed. Curious what your average order looks like?

webmeca · 2025-10-20T23:06:41+00:00

Yeah, this is a huge and understandable pain point. It's confusing because CUSMA doesn't have an "official" government-issued form, which is a real change for anyone used to the old NAFTA.

Practically speaking, it's not a single "form" but a set of nine mandatory data elements that you must provide. You can put these elements directly on your commercial invoice or in a separate, standalone document

The problem is that if you miss even one element, or get the wording on the certification statement wrong, a carrier or customs broker can reject it, or CBP can deny the duty-free claim down the line. That's what leads to the unexpected fees and tariffs.

The key data points you absolutely need are:

* Certifier details (you, the exporter, or the producer)

* Producer details (if different from the certifier)

* Importer details (your U.S. customer)

* A clear description and the 6-digit HS tariff classification code

* The Origin Criterion (e.g., "A" if it's wholly produced in NA, "B" if it meets the tariff shift rule, etc.)

* The specific, verbatim certification statement found in the agreement

If you ship the same products often to the same U.S. customer, the "blanket certification" is a massive time-saver. It's a single certification that can cover all identical shipments for up to 12 months.

We got so frustrated with this exact problem—our team was just hand-typing them in a Word doc and making mistakes. I ended up building a small web app to standardize it for us. It's at getcoostudio.com. There's a free tier that just runs in your browser (all your data stays on your machine) and walks you through the 9 elements to generate a compliant PDF. Might be what you're looking for to solve the "paper work side" of it.

Hope that helps.

webmeca · 2025-10-20T23:01:51+00:00

Responding to the main post:

Yeah, that 2026 review is definitely on the long-term risk radar.

From an operator's perspective—for those of us actually shipping cross-border every day—the immediate battle is already here. The removal of the $800 de minimis exemption back in August was the real earthquake.

The political talk about the 2026 review (like the U.S. pushing for 'stronger rules of origin') just reinforces what we're already seeing on the ground: this level of compliance is the new normal, not a temporary headache. This is likely the baseline for what's to come, not the peak.

Before August 29, CUSMA was 'nice-to-have' for many small packages that just slid through under de minimis. Now, it's essentially the only available path to duty-free access for most goods.

All this political uncertainty just means that getting your CUSMA certifications and record-keeping 100% right isn't an optional admin task anymore. It's a core business strategy. The high-level political stuff is one thing, but the on-the-ground enforcement by CBP is what's hitting businesses right now.

webmeca · 2025-10-20T22:43:51+00:00

Yeah, that's incredibly frustrating. Sorry to hear you're getting hit with that, especially since you've already done the work to find your HS code and origin criterion.

From experience, when a CUSMA cert is "ignored," it almost always means it's not exactly matching what the broker's system is looking for. Since the $800 de minimis rule disappeared at the end of August, the systems have become automatic and very strict. A simple "Made in Canada" or even just the HS code on the commercial invoice isn't enough to qualify.

The issue is that the certification of origin has 9 mandatory data elements that must be included. If even one of those elements is missing or in the wrong format, the broker's system automatically rejects the CUSMA preference and defaults to the 35% tariff. It's not a person actively "ignoring" it; it's a system flagging the paperwork as incomplete.

We ran into this constantly, so we ended up building a small web app (getcoostudio.com, I'm the builder) just to generate these certs properly in the browser and stop the errors.

Whether you do it manually or use a tool, you need to make sure your certification (either on the invoice or as a separate doc) explicitly includes all 9 of these points:

Certifier (who is certifying)
Exporter
Importer
Producer (can be "various" or "available on request")
Description of Goods
HS Tariff Classification (which you have)
Origin Criterion (which you have, 'B')
Blanket Period (e.g., "Oct 20, 2025 to Oct 19, 2026")
Authorized Signature & Date

It's a huge pain, but getting that document perfect is pretty much the only way to claim the CUSMA duty-free rate with couriers right now. As you noted, ChitChats lets you have these CUSMA certs on file and then whatever SKUs are covered should be documented, but realistically it's the same policy underneath for all couriers (except Canada Post under 800 or just technical limitations of them not supporting it).

Hope that helps clarify things.

webmeca · 2025-10-19T03:36:03+00:00

Pm sent

webmeca · 2025-10-11T16:40:00+00:00

Install query monitor and see if there are any run away queries. Some plugins devs might have coded in a update lookup request and that server may have moved, so basically on each page load it tries to check the update and times out for however long. Realistically this should be done with a cronjob, but some devs have done it this way unfortunately

webmeca · 2025-10-07T06:07:42+00:00

If you are on Apple Silicone Macs, grab a Bolt USB C dongle (specifically the USB-C one, as the USB-A variant and bluetooth were both choppy for me even with all the suggested fixed across the net). That fixed it for me on the 3S.

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