So I order an item. DHL sends me confusing emails about how to get it through customs. Interacting with robots gets me nowhere. Finally, it comes down to them needed my SSN. The furriner I just talked to (and yelled at a bit) said there’s no way around it. And now it’s too late, and the package is automatically retuning to sender. Not much of an effort on their part to get it to me. I said to the guy “I can’t be the only one who ordered items from Japan, and they all give their SSNs?” Thanks, trump!
Wow, sounds like a mess. I ordered an eBay package from the UK to the US a few weeks ago and it was shipped via Pitney Bowes as part of eBay’s “global shipping”. Arrived relatively quickly (for having gone over an ocean and through customs) and without additional hassle.
I don’t know if this seller used a different method or if eBay uses different shippers for different nations, all with their own rules. Anyway, I’d be pretty frustrated as well.
I bought some manga from ebay that came from Japan and I paid the ‘buy it now’ price. The next day, I get a message from the seller saying the price doubled because of the tariffs. I told him either send it to me or refund me. I felt like it was a scam, because why not have the doubled price at the beginning, and I bought the same item from a Japanese seller with no issue and no random “you have to pay more”. I received my items a couple weeks ago and no need to share my SSN. Sounds frustrating..
I have ordered several items from Japan, Thailand and some Indonesian island and have never been asked for my SS number. The most recent was last month.
What shipper?
I ordered something from Japan, directly from the seller, and they warned me about probable tariffs. They sent through DHL Express (not sure if that is the same as regular DHL). Sure enough, I followed the tracking, and the item was held in the US for tariffs. The DHL Express interface made it very easy to pay the tariffs with a credit card or through Paypal (I chose the latter). That was on Friday morning at about 11:15. Being a Federal holiday weekend, I figured nothing was going to move until today, and so it did, it arrived a couple of hours ago.
I cannot say why my experience was different from the OP’s, but I agree with their stance not to give your SSN. It just does not seem worth the candle. I assume you will get your money back from the seller; I think in your place I would relate your experience to the seller and ask them to try with a different shipper. If I understand correctly, if a tariff or duty is due, the package should be held here, in the US, not in the sending country.
As I write the above, it occurs to me to wonder whether the issue is less about the duty and more about the contents of the package. Did they need to certify somehow who was receiving this package? Was there anything about the contents that might cause Customs some concern? I had that happen to me once, but even then, I dealt with it here in the US where the package was on hold for more information.
It was a pool cue. The waybill that accompanied the emails they sent me had the contents, value, where it was from, where it was going, and who it was going to, and the weight. I was reluctant to give my SS, and even asked an agent(?) in an email response if there was anyway around it. He never wrote back, and next thing I know it’s on its way back 
This describes my experience since the imposition of Trump’s tariffs. Easy peasy.
I order a lot of stuff from international sellers and using various shipping companies. In the beginning, shipments were slow while the bugs were being worked out. I’ve been asked to pay the tariff separately occasionally, but I’ve never had someone come back and say the price has now doubled. But if you ordered something, and the seller didn’t mention the cost of the tarriff that seems like their problem.
ETA: I’ve never been asked for my ssn.
I just got a package from Japan, with no additional input outside of hitting ‘Buy Now’ on Ebay, yesterday with the UPS. It was 2 Blu Ray movies.
DHL is returning the package to sender. Now I just want a refund, and I hope I don’t have to fight for it.