Why am I paying extra customs fees on international packages?
US buyers frequently assume that checkout totals cover all shipping and import costs, leaving them blindsided by unexpected carrier bills upon delivery. Furthermore, the payment requests often arrive via strange text messages or odd emails that look indistinguishable from phishing scams, leading customers to reject parcels and accuse legitimate sellers of fraud.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- Most of it landed at once — the busiest month was September 2026, with 11 people.
- This comes up 41.3× more often in r/shopify than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Refunding customers minus shipping feesDid this help you?
- 2Rolling tariff costs directly into higher upfront shipping pricesDid this help you?
- 3Switching to Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) shipping modelsDid this help you?
- 4Using automated landed cost calculators and pre-alert emailsDid this help you?
- 5Temporarily blocking or stopping shipments to the US marketDid this help you?
- 6Adding items to the cart separately instead of using bundle deals to see if normal shipping rates applyDid this help you?
- 7Using Managed Markets with FedEx for DDP shippingDid this help you?
- 8Combining Zonos with Canada Post to calculate tariffsDid this help you?
- 9Finding a 3PL, drop shipper, or establishing a US officeDid this help you?
- 10Eating the fees or increasing pricesDid this help you?
- 11Using Chit ChatsDid this help you?
- 12passing the charges to the customerDid this help you?
- 13looking through the Etsy policyDid this help you?
- 14asking for feedback or advice on the best course of action for getting a refundDid this help you?
- 15Accepting a one-time platform credit instead of a cash refundDid this help you?
- 16Paying the carrier fees to ensure deliveryDid this help you?
- 17Refusing the package and letting it return to the senderDid this help you?
- 18Visiting the customs office in person with import documentation to clear customs yourselfDid this help you?
- 19Looking for alternative Canadian print-on-demand dropshipping suppliers that can compete on price.Did this help you?
- 20Accepting the adjustments as the cost of doing businessDid this help you?
- 21Conducting full shipping process audits and double-checking dimensions and weightsDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“With the US, since this mess started it’s ridiculous how many people are rejecting parcels. Even when they are warned before hand, and i personally let them know before hand before i ship.”source ↗
“Especially because already i have had several very rude people call me a scammer and use profanity over it too.”source ↗
“A lot of US buyers get hit with surprise customs fees because they assume shipping includes everything.”source ↗
“The way that DHL contacts you is so odd that it feels like a scam. They send you text saying “you have an outstanding payment, click this link below to pay your balance to receive your package”.”source ↗
“I bought a jacket that was advertised as shipping from the UK with same day dispatch but it ended up shipping way later from Pakistan and I got stuck paying for the import.”source ↗
“Seller tried to extort me for £100 for expedited shipping and said it was a manufactured item that had lead time (this was not what was advertised.)”source ↗
“Even both of the two items in this bundle deal would have normal shipping cost (20EUR) if I would add them to the cart separately. But the sale deal has the crazy upcharge.”source ↗
“It's so weird, I tried around with other items from their shop including the single items in this package deal and it showed appropriate shipping cost. So the crazy shipping cost is only for certain items.”source ↗
“Any US Etsy buyers have experience refusing delivery because seller didn’t use DDP?”source ↗
“I received an email from FedEx with a tracking number and a link to pay $30 in taxes/duties/import fees.”source ↗
“This is irritating because I already spent so much on this order and the order listing itself says free shipping.”source ↗
“If I don’t pay it, Google says it will affect my credit score as well as future FedEx deliveries to my house.”source ↗
“I paid them and submitted a help request demanding reimbursement of the fees under the US DDP policy. The seller refused to reimburse.”source ↗
“I was under the impression that the DDP policy is absolute, and that US buyers are entitled to refunds of import duties from non-compliant sellers. Apparently not.”source ↗
“Annoying to pay a small fee to Zonos even in case of no tariff, but beyond that, works fine.”source ↗
“UPS charges absurd cross border fees. Is there anyway I can keep shipping without finding a US drop shipper?”source ↗
“It’s ridiculous now that an 80$ CAD set of bezels is $63 in duties plus $23 CAD shipping”source ↗
“Last year we paid an additional $4,000 in APV. And before anybody wants to bark at me, yes I check all of my weights all the time. Box sizes are entered correctly. But when it's a matter of just a couple ounces here and there, they get you either way..”source ↗
“the DDP thing is a nightmare”source ↗
“I can assure, nearly every single one of my shipments gets a price adjustment that is basically a second initial charge, essentially doubling the price.”source ↗
“I am STILL getting hit with adjustment fees. Most without explanation, one did say, wrong package type (it says the correct type, soft package), the dimentions were LESS than what i stated (aka rounded up) and it weighs LESS than what i stated (again, rounding up)”source ↗
“I recently shipped a $2500 dress from the U.S. to the UK. I know there are duties and those ended up equaling about $450. But then there was a VAT of about $800 which is insane. So altogether I paid over 50% on taxes/fees.”source ↗
“For me, the nearest CBSA office would take me 3 hours and 200km of driving. Id rather just pay the $18.”source ↗
“I ordered an item costing around $90 CAD and about a week before the package is meant to arrive, I randomly got an email from DHL charging me around $18 CAD in import fees. I’ve never used DHL before and I’m just wondering if I should pay it? It just seems ridiculous”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 15Why is QuickBooks still taking credit card fees from my bank account?
- 11How to handle crazy high shipping costs for small business
- 10Why am I being double charged or seeing higher prices when booking flights?
- 9Where do I declare gold bullion at LAX customs?
- 2Shipping software that doesn't charge per label
- 3Why are there hidden fees and surprise charges on wedding services?