Looking to sell in US

[projectquirk]

I currently sell my products only in Canada but have been toying with the idea of selling in USA as well.

I am however a little confused with Shipping, Delivery & taxes. Here are my questions:

1. Shopify shipping only gives me the option of Canada post - Is that the best option?

2. Apart from the shipping costs, should I also charge my customers anything else like Duties, taxes etc?

3. What exactly is handling fee?

4. Is there any other legal aspect to selling in US from Canada?

Thanks,

Tracy

[Victor · Accepted solution]

Hi Tracy,

Thank you for getting in touch! I'll do my best to answer your questions below.

1. If you're based in Canada you will only have the option of using Canada Post through the Shopify Shipping service, which allows you to buy and print labels directly from the admin. However, if you're able to find cheaper rates from other couriers (e.g. FedEx, Purolator) then you can opt to use these services instead of Canada Post, and either buy labels directly from the courier or via a third-party app that integrates with your Shopify store.
2. Shipping duties are typically paid by the customer on delivery if applicable, I believe, but some shipping couriers allow the merchant to pay for the duties instead. This would allow you to incorporate the cost of any duties or taxes into the price of your products. If you leave the duties to be paid on the customer's end, you can add import information to your products ahead of time and use third-party duty calculator apps to show international customers duty estimates at checkout.
3. A handling fee can charged for any number of reasons and would typically be added on top of the order and shipping prices, but are not mandatory or necessary in most cases. You can incorporate handling fees into the price of your shipping fees if you deem it to be necessary.
4. Shopify cannot advise directly on the legal aspect of selling internationally, although I believe it would be relatively straightforward for you to sell from Canada to the USA. If you have any sort of physical presence in the United States (e.g. an office, warehouse or employees), or start selling a large amount to specific states (typically $100,000+ or 150-200 orders per year), then you may be deemed as having a tax nexus in a state and may need to register your business with the state-level tax authorities. However, if you are just starting out, you likely won't need to worry too much about this for some time.

I hope I've been able to answer your questions and offer some guidance here, but please let me know if you have more questions!

Kind regards,

Victor | Shopify Social Care

[projectquirk]

Hey Victor,

This is some great feedback. So all in all I guess I can start selling in the US and might just do it as a Pilot.

Thanks a lot for all the help.

Tracy

[Victor]

Hi @projectquirk,

My pleasure! I'm glad I could help. Please feel free to reach out again if you have further questions.

Kind regards,

Victor | Shopify Social Care