UPDATE APRIL 27 2025

We have turned shipping off to the USA temporarily.

We are anticipating a fair amount of chaos and confusion at the border, primarily due to the upcoming May 2 removal of ‘de minimis’, a policy that until now, allowed parcels valued under $800 USD to clear customs quite easily.

Effective May 2, ‘de minimis’ will no longer apply, which means that packages of all value will require ‘formal clearance’, which means significant time and administrative effort on the part of the vendor/shipper (us), and the addition of duties, tarrifs, and other fees for you, the recipient (aka the ‘importer’). 

We will be watching closely to see how this all shakes out and will re-evaluate the situation in the coming days. 

Thank you for your understanding. If you have bought tea or drinks from us previously, we thank you for your business. 

 

UPDATE MARCH 11 2025

Hello friends to the south. The below information is left as further context should the situation change, but as of this writing we are happy to inform you that shipping is proceeding as usual and no major delays or additional costs appear to be affecting any shipments of tea, teaware or packaged drinks to American addresses. Even for tea and teaware that is a product of China, as yet we have not seen any of our shipments charged new or unusual duties, customs charges or processing fees. Although the 'de minimis' exemption of duty on parcels valued under $800 was declared repealed, it has since been at least temporarily reinstated.

Thank you for your patience and confidence as we do our utmost to safely and speedily ship orders during these unusual times. We aren't at war, our governments are and they can both get bent (personal editorial position staked). Amongst ourselves we are all equal. Do not hesitate to reach out with any concerns, and thank you again.

 

UPDATE MARCH 4 2025

The excitement continues! While there is plenty of uncertainty about whether or not shipments will actually be charged duty at US Customs, as of now the tariff trade war is back on. This includes 25% tariff on Canadian goods, and 20% on Chinese goods.

We are a Canadian company and all orders to customers in the United States must cross the border and be approved and released by US Customs and Border Services. These new tariffs are applied on the basis of the country of origin of the goods being shipped, not the country from which those goods are being shipped. That means that drinks and merchandise such as locally made teaware etc that we stock and specialize in as craft Canadian product is liable to have an additional 25% of retail value owed to customs prior to release. And all tea, as products of China, will have the current 20% China tariff applied. We are not able to control the outcome of this assessment, nor are we able at this time to prepay those costs on our customers behalf. 

By placing an order with us, or any international vendor, US customers are de facto the importer and responsible for communicating with and paying any fees required at the border. We will do our best to provide ample documentation and paperwork, including filing FDA Prior Notice submissions on your behalf where required. We appreciate your understanding and we are here to answer your questions and support you in this process as best we can.

Please note one of the major costs that result from these new tariffs are the brokerage fees applied by the courier in support of clearing your shipment through customs. There are several shipping services which include free brokerage, which we will preferentially select on your behalf. But as with the tariffs, unfortunately we are not ultimately able to control the brokerage costs that may be applied by the courier. Should you choose to refuse a shipment due to unexpected costs, we will refund your order on safe return of the parcel but we will not be able to refund the shipping costs which we will be otherwise unable to recoup as a result. Thanks again for your understanding, we're all in this together.

 

UPDATE FEB 21 2025

We are continuing to ship orders to USA customers with no trouble. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we navigate ongoing disruptions to the regulations and requirements of US Customs.

Our analysis and words of caution remain in place below, as the situation could continue to evolve. However, for the moment we have not experienced any extra delay to orders through US customs, and to the best of our knowledge no extra duties or fees have been applied to any of our shipments. Please keep in mind this could change and a tariff on Chinese or Canadian goods could come into effect, but for the moment please have confidence we are doing our best to safely and quickly ship and document all orders.

So far so good, stay safe and stay sane friends!

xo Softer Drink

 

IMPORTANT UPDATE FOR ALL ORDERS TO USA

UPDATE, FEB 13 2025

Our current understanding is that ALL packages containing goods from China will now require 'formal clearance' in order to clear the border, and will incur the 10% tariff on Chinese goods. This means no exceptions for orders under a certain value. 

Formal Clearance means additional paperwork will be filed on your behalf by the courier's brokerage department - we have confirmed that several couriers such as FedEx and UPS offer shipping services with these fees included. We will be using these services, which in some cases cost a little more than the cheapest possible option. (If you select flat rate or free shipping, we will ensure to use these options - but this does cost us more.) 

However, the tariffs (10%, and any other possible 'processing fees' Customs and Border Protection may charge) remain your responsibility and need to be paid before the broker can clear your parcel at customs. 

Note - USPS is also able to clear parcels but I believe they charge a $10 fee that is collected at the same time as paying the tariffs, etc - there's no way for us to cover that fee. If you prefer to ship USPS, select any of the Canada Post rates displayed at checkout, but please keep this in mind.

REFUNDS:

NO REFUND ON SHIPPING COST IF YOU REFUSE YOUR ORDER & RETURN TO SENDER.

If you place an order, are presented with a bill for tariffs, then refuse the shipment and return to sender, we will not be refunding your initial shipping cost. Please only place an order if you are comfortable with the strong likelihood of having to pay these tariffs.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as everyone learns to adapt to the US Government's new trade policies.

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Update Feb 7, noon PST

As of today the US Gov't is exempting low value packages (under $800 USD) from the tariffs. So, for now it looks like packages will get through the border as normal, with no additional brokerage/paperwork/fees required.

Things could change at any time but this is the current status. 

Starting in late 2024 the previous administration began work to phase out the "low value shipment" program - so in the future there may be no such exemption, but for the moment it looks like it will hold.

edited Feb 6, 11am PST

Effective February 4th, 2025 new tariffs have been put in place on goods moving into the USA.

This includes a 10% tariff on Chinese goods, such as the tea you may have been hoping to purchase from us.

While there has been a pause on the proposed 25% tariff on Canada, (which would apply to us as a Canadian company), this tariff on Chinese goods still affects the teas we sell.

✿ How does this affect you?

This means your order could be held at the border and could incur a 10% tariff on the value of the goods,  and it will also require USPS or the courier to clear the package on your behalf, so they may charge additional brokerage or admin fees.

Because this is all evolving rapidly, we do not know what these fees might be. It could be as low as $15 or as high as $50+. We don't know if carriers will set a flat rate or charge on a case by case basis.

 ✿ Your options

We are still shipping to the USA, but the responsibility for these fees and for clearing the parcel at customs falls on you. 

USPS may be the most affordable option, but it may require you to physically go in person to a post office to pay the tariffs and fees. (Select any of the Canada Post rates shown at checkout - these are all handled by USPS as soon as they hit the border.)

Couriers (like UPS, Purolator, FedEx, etc) may be able to clear the parcel on your behalf and deliver to your door, but they will likely charge higher fees for this service.

Those rates are still shown at checkout as well but be aware that the fees vary from courier to courier.

These fees are your responsibility - unfortunately we cannot shoulder these costs or assist in the process of clearing your parcel. 

 ✿ What if I refuse the shipment

In the event that you place an order, then refuse the shipment due to unexpectedly high fees from the courier and then have it returned to sender, we will not refund you the initial shipping cost. If you received free shipping, we will refund you the value of the products minus our cost to ship.

As a small business we simply cannot afford to lose money due to policies put in place by the US government. 

We apologize for the state of uncertainty, and will do our best to understand and communicate the impact these new tariffs will have on our business and your orders. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

 

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SHIPPING is available to Canada and the USA, with a flat rate of $15 for orders up to 5kg.

LOCAL DELIVERY is available free of charge for orders over $60, the delivery radius extends 15km from downtown Victoria. *Delivery fee may apply if you are >5km from downtown. See below for help troubleshooting if you can't see this option at checkout, or DM us for assistance.

LOCAL PICK-UP is available on all orders from our shop in Downtown Victoria at 760 Broughton Street during regular business hours, Wednesday to Sunday. Pickup can also be arranged at our good friends Green Muse Herbs in Quadra Village, at 2612 Quadra Street, Victoria BC. Pickup orders are usually ready within 24 hours, but can be arranged same-day where possible by request.

Please see below for complete details regarding delivery, local pick-up, and shipping. We can be reached at hello@softerdrink.ca or via DMs on instagram @softer.drink if you have any questions!

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SHIPPING NOTICES

FLAT RATE SHIPPING:
$15 to Canada and USA for orders under 5kg. 

FREE SHIPPING on tea/teaware orders over $79 CAD! (You will still see "flat rate shipping" but you will also be given a $15 discount on product to cancel it out.) 

 

Important Note About Winter Shipping Conditions

Softer Drink assumes responsibility for the safe transit of your products. If you receive a shipment from us and find your items are broken or damaged, we will refund the value of the product or replace it, at our own expense. 

For this reason, if you are placing orders for liquids - drinks that are vulnerable to freezing: 

1. Orders placed for drinks in winter will be held until safe to ship. 

2. We exercise this caution in support of our policy where, if damage occurs, we will assume responsibility to refund or replace damaged merchandise.

3. If you prefer to ship regardless of weather conditions, we are happy to proceed and while we will do our best to pack your order safely, we cannot be held liable for any damage that may result in this instance - we will not refund or replace any product that suffers breakage or damage during transit.

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See below for even more details, and do not hesitate to be in touch with any questions or issues. This is not drop shipping, we personally pack every order with care and attention and appreciate your support.