Etsy is updating its Seller House Rules for orders shipped to the United States. Starting July 9, you are expected to account for all your costs, including duties and import fees, in your pricing upfront, so the buyer pays the full cost of their order at checkout. In practice, that means shipping DDP.
The enforcement mechanism is Etsy Purchase Protection. Orders shipped without duties prepaid will no longer qualify. If a buyer is charged tariffs or a collection fee by the carrier on arrival, they can be refunded, and that charge is deducted from you, the seller. So a shipment sent the old way, with duties left for the buyer to pay, now carries real financial risk if a case is opened.
This sits on top of a wider shift. The US de minimis exemption, which used to let low-value shipments enter without duties, ended in 2025. More parcels arriving in the US are now subject to customs duties, regardless of how small the order is.
The short version: ship to US buyers with duties prepaid (DDP), price those duties into your listings, and you stay covered by Etsy Purchase Protection.
DDP stands for Delivered Duty Paid. It means you, the sender, are responsible for customs duties and taxes, and the buyer receives the parcel with nothing left to pay. The alternative, where the recipient settles duties before or on delivery, is DAP (Delivered At Place). Etsy's new rule pushes sellers toward DDP because it removes the surprise fees, customs delays, and refused deliveries that come with leaving duties to the buyer.
On Swotzy, you choose this when creating a shipment by setting the Duties Payor. Selecting Sender (DDP) means duties and taxes are charged to you after the shipment clears customs.
These charges are not part of the platform shipping price you pay at label creation; they are billed separately afterward. That timing matters, and it works differently depending on which carrier you use.
The carriers you can use for US shipments on Swotzy fall into two groups, and each clears customs differently. Understanding which group you are shipping with tells you how predictable your duties will be.
Latvijas Pasts and Omniva move US-bound parcels through the postal customs process. For most shipments, as long as the contents are not restricted, this route clears at the standard duty rate applied to goods of EU origin entering the US.
That rate is set by US trade policy, not by Swotzy or the carrier, and it has changed repeatedly through 2025 and 2026. What stays consistent is the mechanism: duties are calculated on the declared value of your shipment at the EU-origin rate in force when it clears, and they are billed to you afterward. Before you ship, check the current rate so you can price it into your listing.
For US shipments, both Latvijas Pasts and Omniva can only be sent DDP on the platform. The sender pays the duties, which aligns them directly with Etsy's new requirement.
FedEx, UPS, and DHL clear customs through a customs broker, and the broker's fee is already included in the shipping price you see on the platform. The trade-off is that duties on this route are less predictable than the postal route.
Here, duties are calculated from the HTS code of the product you are sending. This is worth pausing on: the US uses HTS codes, which can differ from the HS codes you may be used to. The code you enter, and the item description attached to it, drive the duty the broker applies. If the code is wrong, or the description does not clearly match it, the broker can reassign a code that better fits the description, and that can change the duty charged. In some cases, or for certain item types, an express carrier's broker may apply the same EU-origin rate you would see on the postal route.
The practical takeaway: on express services, an accurate HTS code and a clear, specific item description are what keep your duties predictable. Vague descriptions invite reclassification.
For US shipments on Swotzy, FedEx and UPS can only be sent DDP, so the sender pays the duties by default. DHL also supports DAP, but for Etsy orders you will want DDP in nearly all cases to stay within the new rules.
FedEx adds a fixed guarantee fee to each shipment that clears customs. FedEx pays the duties to US customs as soon as they are charged and issues its own invoice afterward, and this fee covers that. If you ship with FedEx, expect this fixed fee alongside the customs duties on your Swotzy invoice.
Because duties are settled after a parcel clears customs, they arrive on a separate Swotzy invoice rather than being charged at label creation. The rhythm depends on the carrier group.
| Carrier group | Carriers | How duties reach you |
|---|---|---|
| National post | Latvijas Pasts, Omniva | Carrier issues customs invoices monthly; Swotzy bills you once a month, on a Friday |
| Express | FedEx, UPS, DHL | Carrier issues customs invoices on a rolling basis; Swotzy bills you weekly, on a Friday, after receiving them |
Plan for this. The shipping price is fixed when you create the label. The duty comes later, on a separate invoice. So price duties into your Etsy listings ahead of time, as Etsy recommends. That keeps them from eating into your margin.
Here is the part that makes this simple. When you create a US shipment, you fill in a few details about what you are sending, the item, its value, weight, country of origin, and its code, and set yourself as the party paying duties (DDP). That's it. Swotzy takes that information and generates the customs documents for you when you create the label. No separate paperwork, no third-party customs forms to chase.
Tracking then syncs back to your store automatically, so your buyer sees updates without any extra work from you.
The one thing worth getting right is the item description. A clear, specific description like "Men's t-shirt, size M, black, 100% cotton, made in Latvia" clears customs cleanly. Something vague like "gift" or "sample" can cause delays. Enter it well once and the platform handles the rest.
A short checklist to be ready:
Every carrier covered here, Latvijas Pasts, Omniva, FedEx, UPS, and DHL, is available directly on the Swotzy platform, with no separate carrier agreement needed. You can meet Etsy's DDP requirement without negotiating your own contracts with each carrier.
Getting set up is straightforward. Create a free account, connect your Etsy store and import your orders automatically. From there you can compare services side by side on delivery times and prices, and pick the right one for each US parcel.
Creating a shipment is just as direct: select the order, choose your service, fill in the customs details, and generate the label. Swotzy produces the customs documents for you, and tracking syncs back to your store on its own.
No contracts, no minimum volumes, no monthly fees. Register, check your rates, and start shipping to the US with duties handled in one place.
Etsy is updating its Seller House Rules for orders shipped to the United States. Starting July 9, you are expected to account for all your costs, including duties and import fees, in your pricing upfront, so the buyer pays the full cost of their order at checkout. In practice, that means shipping DDP.
The enforcement mechanism is Etsy Purchase Protection. Orders shipped without duties prepaid will no longer qualify. If a buyer is charged tariffs or a collection fee by the carrier on arrival, they can be refunded, and that charge is deducted from you, the seller. So a shipment sent the old way, with duties left for the buyer to pay, now carries real financial risk if a case is opened.
This sits on top of a wider shift. The US de minimis exemption, which used to let low-value shipments enter without duties, ended in 2025. More parcels arriving in the US are now subject to customs duties, regardless of how small the order is.
The short version: ship to US buyers with duties prepaid (DDP), price those duties into your listings, and you stay covered by Etsy Purchase Protection.
DDP stands for Delivered Duty Paid. It means you, the sender, are responsible for customs duties and taxes, and the buyer receives the parcel with nothing left to pay. The alternative, where the recipient settles duties before or on delivery, is DAP (Delivered At Place). Etsy's new rule pushes sellers toward DDP because it removes the surprise fees, customs delays, and refused deliveries that come with leaving duties to the buyer.
On Swotzy, you choose this when creating a shipment by setting the Duties Payor. Selecting Sender (DDP) means duties and taxes are charged to you after the shipment clears customs.
These charges are not part of the platform shipping price you pay at label creation; they are billed separately afterward. That timing matters, and it works differently depending on which carrier you use.
The carriers you can use for US shipments on Swotzy fall into two groups, and each clears customs differently. Understanding which group you are shipping with tells you how predictable your duties will be.
Latvijas Pasts and Omniva move US-bound parcels through the postal customs process. For most shipments, as long as the contents are not restricted, this route clears at the standard duty rate applied to goods of EU origin entering the US.
That rate is set by US trade policy, not by Swotzy or the carrier, and it has changed repeatedly through 2025 and 2026. What stays consistent is the mechanism: duties are calculated on the declared value of your shipment at the EU-origin rate in force when it clears, and they are billed to you afterward. Before you ship, check the current rate so you can price it into your listing.
For US shipments, both Latvijas Pasts and Omniva can only be sent DDP on the platform. The sender pays the duties, which aligns them directly with Etsy's new requirement.
FedEx, UPS, and DHL clear customs through a customs broker, and the broker's fee is already included in the shipping price you see on the platform. The trade-off is that duties on this route are less predictable than the postal route.
Here, duties are calculated from the HTS code of the product you are sending. This is worth pausing on: the US uses HTS codes, which can differ from the HS codes you may be used to. The code you enter, and the item description attached to it, drive the duty the broker applies. If the code is wrong, or the description does not clearly match it, the broker can reassign a code that better fits the description, and that can change the duty charged. In some cases, or for certain item types, an express carrier's broker may apply the same EU-origin rate you would see on the postal route.
The practical takeaway: on express services, an accurate HTS code and a clear, specific item description are what keep your duties predictable. Vague descriptions invite reclassification.
For US shipments on Swotzy, FedEx and UPS can only be sent DDP, so the sender pays the duties by default. DHL also supports DAP, but for Etsy orders you will want DDP in nearly all cases to stay within the new rules.
FedEx adds a fixed guarantee fee to each shipment that clears customs. FedEx pays the duties to US customs as soon as they are charged and issues its own invoice afterward, and this fee covers that. If you ship with FedEx, expect this fixed fee alongside the customs duties on your Swotzy invoice.
Because duties are settled after a parcel clears customs, they arrive on a separate Swotzy invoice rather than being charged at label creation. The rhythm depends on the carrier group.
| Carrier group | Carriers | How duties reach you |
|---|---|---|
| National post | Latvijas Pasts, Omniva | Carrier issues customs invoices monthly; Swotzy bills you once a month, on a Friday |
| Express | FedEx, UPS, DHL | Carrier issues customs invoices on a rolling basis; Swotzy bills you weekly, on a Friday, after receiving them |
Plan for this. The shipping price is fixed when you create the label. The duty comes later, on a separate invoice. So price duties into your Etsy listings ahead of time, as Etsy recommends. That keeps them from eating into your margin.
Here is the part that makes this simple. When you create a US shipment, you fill in a few details about what you are sending, the item, its value, weight, country of origin, and its code, and set yourself as the party paying duties (DDP). That's it. Swotzy takes that information and generates the customs documents for you when you create the label. No separate paperwork, no third-party customs forms to chase.
Tracking then syncs back to your store automatically, so your buyer sees updates without any extra work from you.
The one thing worth getting right is the item description. A clear, specific description like "Men's t-shirt, size M, black, 100% cotton, made in Latvia" clears customs cleanly. Something vague like "gift" or "sample" can cause delays. Enter it well once and the platform handles the rest.
A short checklist to be ready:
Every carrier covered here, Latvijas Pasts, Omniva, FedEx, UPS, and DHL, is available directly on the Swotzy platform, with no separate carrier agreement needed. You can meet Etsy's DDP requirement without negotiating your own contracts with each carrier.
Getting set up is straightforward. Create a free account, connect your Etsy store and import your orders automatically. From there you can compare services side by side on delivery times and prices, and pick the right one for each US parcel.
Creating a shipment is just as direct: select the order, choose your service, fill in the customs details, and generate the label. Swotzy produces the customs documents for you, and tracking syncs back to your store on its own.
No contracts, no minimum volumes, no monthly fees. Register, check your rates, and start shipping to the US with duties handled in one place.
Free to join. Free to use. Only pay for shipped orders.
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