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 people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Refunding customers minus shipping fees
- 2Rolling tariff costs directly into higher upfront shipping prices
- 3Switching to Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) shipping models
- 4Using automated landed cost calculators and pre-alert emails
- 5Temporarily blocking or stopping shipments to the US market
- 6Adding items to the cart separately instead of using bundle deals to see if normal shipping rates apply
- 7Using Managed Markets with FedEx for DDP shipping
- 8Combining Zonos with Canada Post to calculate tariffs
- 9Finding a 3PL, drop shipper, or establishing a US office
- 10Eating the fees or increasing prices
- 11Using Chit Chats
- 12passing the charges to the customer
- 13looking through the Etsy policy
- 14asking for feedback or advice on the best course of action for getting a refund
- 15Accepting a one-time platform credit instead of a cash refund
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, 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 ↗
“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 ↗
“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 ↗
“Annoying to pay a small fee to Zonos even in case of no tariff, but beyond that, works fine.”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 $800 which is insane. So altogether I paid over 50% on taxes/fees.”source ↗
“Even both of the two items in this bundle deal would have normal shipping cost (20EUR) if I would add them to the cart separately. But the sale deal has the crazy upcharge.”source ↗
“It's so weird, I tried around with other items from their shop including the single items in this package deal and it showed appropriate shipping cost. So the crazy shipping cost is only for certain items.”source ↗
“Any US Etsy buyers have experience refusing delivery because seller didn’t use DDP?”source ↗
“UPS charges absurd cross border fees. Is there anyway I can keep shipping without finding a US drop shipper?”source ↗
“It’s ridiculous now that an 80$ CAD set of bezels is $63 in duties plus $23 CAD shipping”source ↗
“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 ↗
“the DDP thing is a nightmare”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 6Where do I declare gold bullion at LAX customs?
- 2Why are wedding invitations taking weeks or months to arrive in the mail?
- 3Why does return shipping cost more than the item?
- 4Are full service moving quotes really this expensive?