If you are researching options to ship your orders internationally, you may have come across the term DDP, or Delivered Duty Paid. Under this method of customs clearance, the seller is responsible for handling the destination customs formalities including payment of duties and taxes prior to delivery to the consumer.
DDP shipping is the fastest, most efficient and most consumer-friendly shipping option for online retailers and marketplace sellers for B2C traffic. If you are considering a better way to ship your global online orders, DDP is the solution for you.
How Does DDP Shipping Work?
To understand how DDP shipping works, let’s back up a bit. When you ship products to other countries/regions, each can have a different set of customs regulations and duty/tax rates depending on the commodity being imported. These duties and taxes are automatically calculated at the time of arrival to the destination and paid to the destination customs/tax authorities immediately so that the shipments can be released for delivery without having to contact the receiver for any payment of duties/taxes. So with DDP clearance, duties and taxes if assessed are automatically invoiced to the seller/shipper in the origin country.
However, under DDU clearance, or Delivered Duty Unpaid, it is the receiver’s obligation to pay any duties or taxes assessed before the shipment is released from customs and sent out for delivery. As you can imagine, this is frequently a hassle for consumers who often are not even aware of or expecting to be charged duties/taxes on their orders or who thought they were done with all charges related to the transaction at the time of checkout.
What are the Benefits of Using DDP Shipping?
Shipping under DDU terms may appear to be cheaper at checkout, but this option comes with headaches for both the sender and the receiver. To make this shipping option work, consumers/receivers need to be made aware that they are responsible for all duties/taxes which may be assessed. Consumers are often unaware of this and become frustrated when they can’t have their shipment released.
DDP shipping is more expensive on the front-end, but it results in a positive customer experience during delivery. To make things easier, you can include these duties/taxes at checkout, collect them from the customer and pay for DDP shipping. Be sure to communicate on your product pages, email confirmations and shipping policies what your customers can expect for international shipping.
Here are the benefits of DDP shipping:
- Fixed fees that are cheaper than DDU fees
- Shipment will clear customs and be delivered to the consumer’s door
- Consumers won’t be contacted for additional fees
- Shipment won’t be abandoned by recipients
- No surprise fees for you or the buyer
- Smooth, easy delivery experience
So finally, what are the charges when shipping DDP with YunExpress?
YunExpress offers superior DDP shipping solutions to Europe and beyond. We operate our own customs clearance hubs (and subsequent delivery network) for all destinations we serve.
With YunExpress, the following duties/taxes apply when shipping DDP into Europe:
Into the UK, there are no taxes or duties for orders below GBP 15. Between GBP 15-135, sellers will only pay 20% import tax, but no duties. For high-value orders from GBP 135 and up, duties possibly apply, depending on the commodity (YunExpress can help you with that calculation upfront).
Into all other EU destinations, there are no taxes or duties for orders below EUR 22. Between EUR 22-150, sellers will only pay 21% import tax, but no duties. For high-value orders from EUR 150 and up, duties possibly apply, depending on the commodity (YunExpress can help you with that calculation upfront).
With YunExpress, the calculation is extremely easy and straightforward. Contact us today to learn more about our affordable and easy to use DDP shipping solutions.
