DDP shipping in Europe, your customer pays nothing at the door
When a cross-border parcel arrives and the carrier asks the customer for duty and tax, the order is half-refused before it lands. Delivered Duty Paid removes that moment: you prepay the charges, the customer receives the parcel clean. Get matched to European partners whose customs and carrier setup can quote, prepay and reclaim DDP charges reliably.
The difference
Prepaid at the border, clean at the doorstep
DDP, Delivered Duty Paid, is the term where the seller carries the whole cost of getting goods to the buyer, duties and import taxes included, so the customer is never stopped for a charge. It protects conversion and cuts refused deliveries, but only works if your fulfilment can prepay the charges and account for them cleanly. The matching filters to European partners set up to run DDP end to end rather than leaving the border step to chance.
See partners set up for DDP
Filter to European partners whose customs and carrier capability supports delivering duty-paid on your lanes, so the promise of a clean doorstep is one your fulfilment can keep on every order.
Charges priced in, not sprung
Duties and import taxes are calculated and prepaid as part of the shipment rather than billed to the customer on arrival, so landed cost is known up front and the buyer's experience stays intact.
How DDP shipping works
- 01
Set your DDP lanes
Tell us which destinations you want to deliver duty-paid, your order profile and average values, so the shortlist reflects partners who run DDP on the routes you actually sell into.
- 02
Compare partners on customs capability
Partners are filtered to those that can classify goods, prepay duty and import VAT, and reclaim where eligible, then scored on the lanes, carriers and cost of running DDP reliably.
- 03
Request an intro
Send your profile so a partner can quote the true landed cost of delivering duty-paid on your lanes, rather than a headline rate that hides the border charges.
- 01
Classify and cost
Each product is classified to its commodity code so the duty and import VAT are calculated correctly before the parcel moves, making the landed cost predictable.
- 02
Prepay and clear
The partner acts as, or arranges, the importer of record, prepaying duty and taxes and clearing the goods so the carrier has nothing to collect from the customer.
- 03
Deliver clean
The parcel is delivered like a domestic order, with no charge, no hold and no customer action, which is what keeps conversion and repeat rate intact.
Deliver duty-paid, keep the customer
Start from the directory, or publish a store profile and let the matching find a European partner whose customs and carrier setup can run DDP reliably on your lanes.
What is DDP shipping?
DDP, Delivered Duty Paid, is the Incoterm under which the seller takes responsibility for delivering goods all the way to the buyer with every cost paid, including carriage, export and import customs clearance, import duty and import taxes such as VAT. Under DDP the customer receives the parcel exactly as they would a domestic order: nothing to pay, nothing to sign for at the door, no hold at customs. For cross-border ecommerce this matters because the alternative, where the carrier stops a delivery to collect duty and tax from the recipient, is one of the largest causes of refused deliveries, chargebacks and lost repeat custom. Running DDP well requires more than choosing the term: the fulfilment operation has to classify each product to the correct commodity code, calculate duty and import VAT accurately, act as or arrange an importer of record, prepay the charges, and reclaim them where the tax rules allow. Done properly it converts an unpredictable border experience into a clean, domestic-feeling one and lets a brand quote a single landed price. Done loosely it leaks margin through misclassification and uncollected reclaims. DDP is the opposite end of the spectrum from EXW, where the buyer bears almost everything, and sits one step beyond DAP, under which the seller delivers but the buyer still owes the import duty and tax. It is the term most European direct-to-consumer brands aim to trade on for exactly these reasons.
Also called: Delivered Duty Paid, duty-paid delivery, landed-cost shipping
Common questions
What does DDP mean in shipping?
DDP, Delivered Duty Paid, means the seller delivers the goods to the buyer with all costs paid, including carriage, customs clearance, import duty and import taxes. The customer receives the parcel with nothing to pay on arrival, exactly like a domestic order.
Why does DDP matter for ecommerce?
Because the alternative, asking the customer to pay duty and tax to the carrier at the door, is a leading cause of refused deliveries and lost repeat custom. DDP removes that moment, so cross-border orders convert and arrive like domestic ones. It only works if your fulfilment can prepay and account for the charges reliably.
What is the difference between DDP and DAP?
Under DDP the seller pays the import duty and taxes, so the customer pays nothing. Under DAP, Delivered at Place, the seller delivers but the buyer is responsible for those import charges. DDP protects the customer experience; DAP leaves the border charge with the recipient.
Does DDP cover VAT?
DDP means the seller is responsible for import taxes, which includes import VAT at the border. It does not remove your obligation to be correctly registered for VAT or IOSS on your EU sales; it decides who pays the tax on arrival, not whether the tax is due. A good partner handles both the payment and the reclaim where eligible.
Is DDP more expensive than DAP?
DDP moves the duty and tax cost onto the seller, so the headline price you pay is higher, but the true comparison includes the refused deliveries, chargebacks and lost customers that DAP causes when buyers are surprised by a charge. For most consumer brands the clean doorstep is worth the prepaid cost; match to a partner who quotes the real landed figure.
Do I need to be the importer of record for DDP?
Someone must be, and under DDP it is the seller's responsibility to arrange it. Many fulfilment and customs partners can act as or provide an importer of record so you do not have to establish one in every country. This is one of the main capabilities to check when comparing partners for DDP.
Explore further
Incoterms for ecommerce in Europe
How DDP compares with DAP, FOB and the rest.
EU customs clearance for ecommerce
The clearance step that DDP prepays on the buyer's behalf.
VAT and IOSS fulfilment in Europe
The tax registrations behind a clean duty-paid delivery.
UK to EU fulfilment
A lane where duty-paid delivery keeps customers post-Brexit.
Browse the directory
Filter every partner by country, platform, carrier, COD and VAT/IOSS.
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