Pausing shipping from Canada to the US because of tarrifs

Pausing shipping from Canada to the US because of tarrifs

Why We Can’t Ship Wax Melts to the U.S. Right Now (and What’s Next)

If you’ve been hoping to order our wax melts from Canada to the U.S., you may have noticed that shipping isn’t currently available. We want to be transparent about why we’ve paused U.S. shipping and explain how tariffs, customs duties, and rising shipping costs affect small businesses like ours.

Rising Costs of Shipping Wax Melts from Canada to the U.S.

In recent years, the cost of shipping wax melts and candles internationally has skyrocketed. A few years ago, sending a small parcel across the border cost around $10–$12 CAD. Today, the same package can cost $18–$28 CAD — sometimes more.

For example:

  • A single wax melt bar costs about $6 CAD.

  • Shipping that same wax bar to the U.S. can cost 3–4 times the product price.

  • Larger candle or wax melt bundles increase the weight, which drives the shipping price even higher.

These international shipping rates are set by carriers such as Canada Post, FedEx, and UPS. Unlike big-box retailers, small businesses do not qualify for bulk discounts, which makes cross-border shipping unaffordable for us — and for you.

How Tariffs and Customs Fees Affect U.S. Orders

Even if shipping prices weren’t so high, tariffs and import fees create another challenge. Here’s what happens when you try to ship wax melts or candles from Canada to the U.S.:

  1. Tariffs/Duties – Certain products, including candles and wax melts, are classified under categories that may carry additional tariffs when entering the U.S.

  2. Customs Duties & Import Taxes – Depending on the value of the order and state laws, U.S. customers may have to pay extra taxes on imported goods.

  3. Brokerage & Processing Fees – Couriers often add a clearance fee of $5–$15 USD per package, just for handling customs paperwork.

This means that a U.S. customer ordering $20 of wax melts could end up paying $25–$40 in shipping and fees alone, before even receiving their products.

Why We’ve Paused U.S. Shipping

As a Canadian small business, we want to offer fair and transparent pricing. Right now, we face two options:

  • Charge unreasonably high shipping rates for U.S. wax melt orders, or

  • Absorb the extra costs ourselves, which would mean operating at a loss.

Neither is sustainable, which is why we’ve made the difficult choice to temporarily pause shipping to the U.S.

Our Plans for the Future

We know so many of you would love to order our handmade wax melts in the U.S., and we are actively looking for solutions.

Our goal is to make our Canadian wax melts available to U.S. customers again — without unexpected fees or inflated costs.

Thank You for Your Support

We deeply appreciate your patience while we work through these challenges. Supporting a small Canadian business means the world to us, and we’re committed to finding a way to bring our wax melts back across the border soon.

For now, our products are available across Canada, and we’ll keep you updated on when U.S. shipping for wax melts will return.

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