When the United States ended the long-standing $800 de minimis exemption for low-value imports on August 29, 2025, cross-border e-commerce didn’t just wobble — it seized. Within days, global postal traffic into the U.S. fell by roughly 80–81%, according to the Universal Postal Union, as carriers and posts struggled to collect new duties. The policy now subjects small parcels to either ad-valorem duties, which is duty levied as a percentage of value of the services or goods being imported, rather than on their weight or the number of units, in the 10%–50% range or a temporary flat $80–$200 per package, depending on origin. For many Canadian resellers who relied on affordable U.S. shipping, the change transformed a dependable revenue stream into a maze of costs, forms, and delays.
Against that backdrop, Vancouver’s Storage Warrior chose action over stasis. On her Business of Reselling podcast, Jessica Omen detailed how U.S. tariff uncertainty and buyer confusion dragged her eBay results—down 40% year-over-year in August—and why she was done with legacy auction tech that “looked like it was built in the 1990s,” charged steep upfront fees, and offered little in the way of marketing analytics. She turned instead to BidRush, a modern auction platform designed for resellers, estate-sale organizers, and business inventory clear-outs. In her words: “This platform works. It’s simple. It looks good. It’s easy to use… And unlike others, there are no setup fees. Just a percentage of sales — that’s it.”
With Storage Warrior’s pilot auction now complete, Omen says concerns about demand were quickly put to rest and that the experience reshaped her plans. “I honestly wasn’t sure about BidRush since they had no buyers in Vancouver yet, but their marketing reached the right people and the platform was so easy to use that buyer participation and bidding weren’t a problem at all. Seeing it ramp up from a zero buyer base so quickly gave me the confidence to keep going — and now we’re planning to hold two auctions every month.”
A similar pivot is playing out in other cities such as Toronto, Kingston and Winnipeg. Reporter Gabrielle Piché at the Winnipeg Free Press chronicled how vintage seller Lisa Boland — whose Etsy and eBay sales slowed sharply as the de minimis policy sunset approached — embraced BidRush calling it “a great idea.” Piché also noted the broader scramble among platforms ahead of eBay’s October shipping rollout for Canadian sellers, underscoring the timing pressures resellers face.
The loss of the $800 exemption isn’t just a Canadian seller issue — it directly impacts buyers in the U.S. as well. Shoppers who once enjoyed affordable access to Canadian goods are now running into surprise duties, stalled or canceled orders, and fewer choices as sellers pull back from cross-border sales. The result is a shrinking supply of unique, one-of-a-kind items that have long fueled the resale and circular economy.
This is where BidRush becomes more than a Canadian fix. Its frictionless model strengthens local circular economies city by city. The same hyper-local approach already proving itself in Canadian markets translates directly into the U.S. In Boston, Orlando or Los Angeles, sellers can use BidRush to run auctions within their own communities — giving items another life instead of sending them to the landfill.
By putting the same tools in the hands of U.S. sellers, BidRush ensures that resale remains vibrant, sustainable, and truly local. It’s about keeping the circular economy thriving on both sides of the border — with buyers benefiting from more access, more trust, and more unique finds in their own backyard.
The “why BidRush” in each case is about the mechanics of the platform. Sellers emphasize that there are no starting costs, no monthly fees, and that they pay only a percentage of sales rather than buying auction packages up front. They also point to how buyers’ premiums — a sore point on legacy platforms that collect from both sides — are optional on BidRush and entirely the seller’s to keep if they choose to add one. Combined with a clean, current interface and Stripe-based checkout, the model removes friction where it counts: listing, bidding, and paying — without spring-loaded fees or 1990s-era UX getting in the way according to Storage Warrior's Jessica Omen who has tried practically every platform under the sun.
While the early adopters have been Canadian sellers navigating tariff uncertainty, BidRush is not standing still. What began as a soft launch in August is already preparing for broader expansion. The platform will grow beyond its first wave of auctions in Canada into the United States, Europe, and Australia. The model is the same in each case: empower local sellers to run their own auctions, give buyers access to unique items without hidden fees, and replace the sense of friction with something that feels transparent and modern.
None of this undoes the structural shock of August 29. CBP is enforcing the new regime under the Trump administration’s executive order, and even with partial flat-rate windows before full ad-valorem duties take over, cross-border parcels are simply more expensive and complicated now than they were a month ago. But the early outcomes suggest a practical route forward: sellers can sustain volume by re-centering on local buyers through modern auctions, and buyers can keep access to unique inventory without surprise tariffs and stalled deliveries.
As Piché’s reporting and Omen’s experience both show, the reselling market is adjusting in real time. The difference maker isn’t just policy fluency; it’s execution—clear marketing that finds the right local bidders, technology that removes needless friction, and an economic model that stops taking a cut from every direction. That, more than anything, is what turned Storage Warrior’s first-auction nerves into a plan: two sales a month, starting now.
Resellers, estate sale organizers, and businesses clearing out inventory need tools that are fast to set up, easy for buyers to understand, and transparent in how they handle money. BidRush offers exactly that. It doesn’t claim to erase tariffs or untangle international regulations, but it does give sellers and buyers a reliable way to connect without the gauging by these platforms.
References
- Reuters: U.S. low-value package tariff exemption ends, raising costs
- Postal traffic into the U.S. fell 80–81% after August 29 – AP News
- Statistics Canada: Trade in goods by exporter characteristics, 2024
- Winnipeg Free Press: Winnipeg transport company maps route through low-cost U.S. parcels loophole, Gabrielle Piché
- CBP: Ready to enforce end of de minimis loophole