U.S. grandma receives $30 Barbie from Canada, then $802 tariff charge from shipper

Bonnie O'Connell received a US$802 tariff charge from shipper after ordering a $30 Barbie from Canada. (WCVB via CNN Newsource)

BOSTON -- Bonnie O’Connell has a long history of paying her bills on time.

“I tend to do the right thing,” she said. “If I get a bill, I pay it.”

But not this time.

When O’Connell received an US$802 invoice for a package she received recently via FedEx, she knew something was wrong.

After all, the bill was for a Barbie doll that cost just $30.

“I just got a pain in the pit of my stomach,” O’Connell said. “I didn’t even know what to do or what to say.”

A veteran bargain shopper, O’Connell was thrilled when she first spotted a Barbie wearing a Professional Women’s Hockey League jersey with a Tim Horton’s logo.

It was a perfect holiday gift for her 4-year-old granddaughter, who just started skating and is enamored with Barbie dolls, so she asked her cousin in Nova Scotia to pick it up and ship it to her.

But with the United States adding a 35% tax — or tariff — on goods from Canada, that means filling out all sorts of new paperwork to ship them.

A clerk at the local FedEx told her cousin they would take care of it.

“They just did it for him,” O’Connell said. “What he didn’t notice — because there was a line behind them — is when they handed him the thing to sign, instead of putting $29.97, they had messed up the decimal point somehow.”

That decimal point had been moved two places to the right, meaning the $30 Barbie was now valued incorrectly at nearly $3,000 Canadian dollars.

“How many Barbies do you know that cost close to $3,000?” O’Connell asked with a laugh.

The exchange rate brought the price to about $2,100 U.S. dollars, but at a 35 percent tariff rate, the entry tax was $742, plus fees, which totaled $802.

FedEx delivered the Barbie first.

The tariff bill arrived weeks later.

“First of all, what are you doing giving me a package where I owe that kind of money to you?” O’Connell said.

“I love my granddaughter dearly, but none of my grandchildren get that kind of money spent! The budget for Christmas isn’t even close.” O’Connell’s ordeal underscores the new reality of gift-giving for cross-border families this holiday season.

The Trump Administration’s tariffs — as well as the elimination of the de minimis exemption, which allowed most products valued less than $800 to enter the country duty-free — mean added costs and complex paperwork.

When O’Connell emailed FedEx, the company told her it could take months to correct.

Hoping to wrap up this problem a little quicker, she asked NewsCenter 5 to try working a little Christmas magic.

After we intervened, FedEx reversed course and removed the $802 charge from her account.

It’s a good reminder to look closely at any paperwork you sign.

The Canada Post Office says every package bound for the U.S. — even gifts under $100 in value — must be assessed for tariffs.

The tax is supposed to be paid before the package is sent.

By Ben Simmoneau