If you are an international customer, you may have noticed that you can only select DDP (Delivered Duties Paid) as a shipping option at checkout.
We know seeing the duties upfront and having to pay for them can be a bit of a hurdle when deciding to purchase from us. We also appreciate you taking the time to read this to understand why we decided to exclude DDU (Delivered Duties Unpaid) as a shipping option.
At the time of this update, October 2023, we had been experiencing a continued influx in return-to-sender parcels from our International customers. This surge was a result of unpaid taxes and duties causing our carrier to ship orders back to us in mass.
Upon investigating, it was discovered that all of the returned orders were those where DDU was selected at checkout.
We don't know what happened, but we do know that there was a change in how customs is notifying customers of the necessary duties and tax payments. Moreover, we learned that customers only have 48 hours to pay up before their parcel is redirected back to us.
The result was a lot of returns, unhappy customers, and a massive cost to us as a small business - we were still on the hook for paying shipping.
Ultimately, duties are unavoidable and have to be paid at one point or another. With this in mind, we decided to eliminate the DDU option and keep it DDP. Doing this:
- Allows you to pay your duties upfront in one transaction and avoid missing any notifications from customs that would then risk having your order returned to us.
- Gets you your order faster without having to take an additional step through customs.
- Spares both you and us from costly return fees.
Lastly, this decision came down to our International customers. Many of you, upon experiencing a return-to-send situation, advised that we should just exclude the DDU option to help simplify things and ensure your orders were delivered successfully.
You asked. We listened. And we are confident DDP will serve everyone better.
For more info on International shipping read here.