Shipping from the UK to the US: a starter guide

The US is the obvious first international market for most UK shops. It is large, it is English-speaking, and British products tend to sell well there. The friction is not demand — it is the logistics between your stockroom and a doorstep in Ohio.

Here is what to settle before you take that first order, rather than after.

Decide who pays the duty

This is the decision that causes the most trouble, and it is worth getting right at the start.

There are two ways to handle import charges:

• Delivered Duty Unpaid (DDU/DAP). Your customer is billed for any duty or tax before the courier hands over the parcel. Your shipping quote is lower, but the customer can face an unexpected bill.
• Delivered Duty Paid (DDP). You pay the import charges up front and build them into your price. The customer pays once, at checkout, and nothing else.

DDU looks cheaper and creates more problems. A customer who was not expecting a charge is a customer who refuses the parcel, opens a dispute, and does not order again. If you can absorb or price in the charges, DDP is almost always the better commercial decision — it is the model customers already expect from large retailers.

Import rules and thresholds change, sometimes at short notice. Confirm the current position for your product category before you publish a shipping policy, rather than relying on what was true last year.

Fill in the customs paperwork properly

Most delivery problems that look like courier failures are actually paperwork failures. Three things matter:

Describe the goods specifically. "Gift", "sample" and "goods" are not descriptions. "Ceramic mug, stoneware" is. Vague descriptions get parcels held.

Declare the real value. Under-declaring to reduce a customer's duty bill is a false declaration. It also voids most carrier insurance, so if the parcel is lost you have no claim.

Use the right commodity code. The tariff code determines the duty rate. Getting it wrong causes delays and, if you are consistently wrong, back-dated charges.

If you sell one category of product, you will use the same handful of codes on nearly every shipment. It is an afternoon of work once, not an ongoing burden.

Choose a shipping method that matches the order

There are broadly three options, and they suit different orders:

Method	Typical use	Trade-off
Express courier	Urgent or high-value orders	Fastest, most expensive per parcel
Standard international	Occasional, low volume	Slower, still priced per parcel
Consolidation	Regular, non-urgent volume	Cheapest per parcel, requires a cutoff wait

Most shops default to one method for everything, which is usually a mistake. The order that needs to arrive on Thursday and the order that just needs to arrive are not the same problem.

If you are sending a steady stream of ordinary orders, consolidation is the option that changes your per-parcel cost most.

Set delivery expectations you can actually hold

Whatever method you choose, publish a window rather than a date, and publish one you can hit consistently.

Customers tolerate a range. They do not tolerate a promise that gets missed. A shop advertising "5–7 days" that regularly delivers on day 11 generates far more support email than one advertising "7–9 days" and hitting it every time.

Put the window on the product page, not just at checkout. Shipping information that only appears after someone has committed to buying is a common cause of abandoned baskets.

Package for the journey, not the shelf

A parcel crossing the Atlantic is handled more times, and less gently, than a domestic one. It will be sorted mechanically at both ends and spend time in a container.

Practical points:

• Use a box that fits the contents; voids get crushed.
• Internal cushioning matters more than external branding.
• Tape all seams properly — the "H" method, not a single strip.
• Keep dimensions modest and consistent if you use a consolidation service, since size limits usually apply.

Start smaller than feels natural

You do not need to solve every scenario before your first American sale. Pick one shipping method, one duty model, and a delivery window you are confident in. Publish it clearly. Send a handful of orders and see what breaks.

Almost everything else — multiple shipping tiers, a returns address in the US, faster options at checkout — is a problem worth solving only once you have the volume that makes it a problem.