At the moment, I use Shopify basic plan and if customers in europe or america want items delivered by fed ex, it is costing me around £70 to send them. Customers are choosing to pay this high price but then they are also being asked on delivery to pay taxes and duties and an additional fee to fed ex. On a £90 necklace a woman was asked to pay an additional £30 on top of the £70 shipping making the shipping and the taxes more than the necklace. I also have to contact each customer and explain this and ask if they are ok with it before posting and this takes up a lot of time. Is there a better way to export jewellery that makes it simpler and costs clear to the customer before they place their order? I know Shopify have a built in feature to collect duty and taxes but if I pay the tax and duties and the customer returns the item, I have to refund them and then make a claim and each country has different rules. I am advised by AI that FedEx charge more to process the refund paperwork than most refunds would come to. I think having terms and conditions that say customers aren’t refunded tax and duties would be bad for business as people wouldn’t read this properly and only be angry when the refund was only partially made. I am seriously considering not exporting because I feel like this is a problem waiting to happen which is a shame because I am getting sales from abroad and increased traffic because I am exporting.
Shopify isn’t really meant to be an all-encompassing business solution for everything. There is only so much they can integrate. International agreements change, tariffs change, shipping rates change, etc. The best thing you can do is go beyond the borders of Shopify Admin and explore what other companies do.
Hi Maximus, that’s what I am doing by posting this question here. 
This isn’t really a Shopify issue, it’s just how cross-border shipping works for physical products, jewellery especially.
A couple of things that would actually help. Use Shopify’s built-in duty collection so the cost is shown upfront at checkout rather than hitting them at the door. On top of that, add a clear notice directly on the checkout page for international customers showing the estimated duty amount before they place the order clearly states that duties are non-refundable on returned orders, also include this in return policy.
When people know exactly what they’re paying going in, they’re far less likely to come back angry or leave a bad review. An informed customer who still chooses to buy is always better than a sale that turns into a support headache.
Thank you, your reply has been helpful. I don’t understand though why both people in the comments so far have mentioned that this isn’t a Shopify issue? Surely asking other Shopify users how they manage exporting using Shopify is appropriate here? Perhaps someone will share how they deal with the problems I am facing?
Yes, this is still the right place to ask. Just wanted to say that this isn’t something that can be solved by simply changing Shopify settings, but you’ll still find someone here who can help you solve it the right way. I think charging upfront is the right approach, and adding a heads-up at checkout about duties and taxes is definitely the way to go.
A client I helped in the past decided to stop shipping internationally because of the extra effort and costs compared to the actual demand. Seems to have saved them some time for now. I imagine they’ll look for a courier service of similar if they get to that kind of level.
You’ll have to see how “worth it” it all is. I haven’t looked up courier services in ages, but they were pretty simple and affordable around 5 years ago… (sorry, I know, a LOT has changed since then)
Thank you. It’s helpful to know I am not alone with this issue.
Hello @CZS
What you’re encountering is typical DDP vs DDU confusion for courier deliveries. The simplest fix is to start collecting duties and taxes at checkout so your customers see the full landed cost upfront. Shopify Markets may also assist with a more precise calculation, allowing for fewer surprises at delivery.
Upideshi users can change international shipping options to bypass carrier billed duties by switching to DDP shipping labels through a partner app or fulfillment service or by changing carriers that allow for prepaid duties.
On returns, many merchants don’t refund duties as a matter of policy and keep shipping non-refundable, but it’s all about transparency at checkout, so consumers can consent before they pay.