Over the past few years, U.S.-based PC collectors and hardware aficionados have witnessed a sharp rise in import expenses when acquiring vintage computer components. Federal authorities in the United States have intensified their oversight of low-value imported items, causing numerous previously affordable vintage parts to fall under the purview of hefty tariffs. To illustrate, a California-based collector imported an Apple logic board and a classic graphics card, collectively valued at $355, from Germany, only to be slapped with a tariff bill amounting to $684. In August of this year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection scrapped the 'de minimis exemption' rule, which had previously permitted packages with a value not exceeding $800 to bypass tariffs. Presently, every package is subjected to rigorous tariff inspections and necessitates the thorough completion of detailed information forms. This policy shift has substantially driven up the import costs associated with vintage hardware.