Social media users are calling out online retailer Fashion Nova for taking a not-so-subtle swipe at rival Shein, mocking the fast-fashion giant in promotional texts sent to U.S. customers as new Trump tariffs trigger sharp price hikes on Chinese imports.
Screenshots posted to X show messages that read: “Fashion Nova: She-In?! Nahh, SHE-OUT!! 40% Off EVERYTHING + FREE 1-Day Shipping!” The texts touted “Lower Prices, Faster Shipping!!” with a discount code labeled “SHEOUT40.”
Not @FashionNova shaming on SHEIN lmao byee this shot deadass funny pic.twitter.com/O2IKwGpPM1
— B (@Bee_is_hereee) April 29, 2025
Newsweek reached out to Fashion Nova for comment on Tuesday.
Why It Matters
Shein and Temu, two China-based e-commerce companies, will raise prices for U.S. customers starting next week. The move follows the closure of a key import loophole, part of a new policy driven by President Donald Trump‘s push to reduce the trade imbalance with China through higher tariffs.
Until now, Americans could buy inexpensive goods from China and Hong Kong without paying tariffs or filling out customs forms. That exemption is ending, likely driving up costs for both retailers and consumers.
What To Know
Multiple versions of the text message circulated on social media, all using the same “SHE-OUT” code—a not-so-subtle jab at Shein, which is currently grappling with a trade crackdown that ends the duty-free “de minimis” exemption for imports under $800 from China and Hong Kong.
One version of Fashion Nova’s text message featured the phrase “Better Quality, And Faster Shipping!”—a direct shot at Shein’s reputation for cheap products and slow delivery.
“This is a full-blown diss track in SMS form,” one user wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Fashion Nova is funny as hell for that Shein text. Give the marketing team a RAISE!” another user added.
Behind the marketing drama is a serious pricing shift for shoppers. The average price of Shein’s top-selling women’s clothing items rose by 8 percent last week, with some categories like health and beauty up by 51 percent. One kitchen towel set spiked 377 percent in price.
In a statement on its website, Shein confirmed that the tariff increase will be included in the listed price. Customers won’t have to pay anything extra upon delivery.
E-commerce companies have been the biggest users of the widely used exemption. As many as 4 million low-value parcels—most of them originating in China—arrive in the U.S. every day under the soon-to-be canceled provision.
A Congressional Research Service report released last month found these low-value packages totaled $66 billion in 2023, up from $5.3 billion just five years earlier in 2018. About 67 percent of imports using the loophole came from China from 2018 to 2021, according to the report.
What People Are Saying
Shein said on its website earlier this month: “Due to recent changes in global trade rules and tariffs, our operating expenses have gone up.”
William Alan Reinsch, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told Newsweek: “Getting rid of ‘de minimis’ will hurt those companies in the short term, but it appears they have concluded their customers are willing to tolerate slower delivery if they can still get favorable prices.”
What Happens Next
Starting Friday, shipments arriving through the U.S. Postal Service will be hit with a tariff equal to 120 percent of the package’s value or a flat fee of $100—whichever is higher. That fee will rise to $200 in June.
The post Fashion Nova Trolls Shein Over Trump Tariff Price Hikes appeared first on Newsweek.
