DDP Parcel Decision Calculator

How to use this calculator

The rules this calculator uses

Five dated changes decide whether a parcel is worth shipping at all. On 29 August 2025 the United States suspended its $800 de minimis exemption for all countries — every parcel pays duty, whatever its value. On 17 October 2025 eBay required DDP for Japan and Korea to the US under US$2,500. On 9 July 2026 Etsy required DDP for every non-US seller shipping to a US buyer, enforced through Purchase Protection. And the EU added its own layer: a €3 flat duty per distinct tariff line from 1 July 2026 (until 1 July 2028) and a €2 Union handling fee per distinct tariff line from 1 November 2026, at any value, never refunded.

The rules above are verified 12 November 2026 against the policy pages linked in the sources box under the results. Marketplaces and customs authorities change them in policy updates — check the policy page before you ship, because a rule that changed in July is already a refused parcel by November.

Worked example — the calculator’s default numbers

The defaults are a $45 Etsy parcel from China to the US, so you can reproduce every figure: sale price $45.00, product cost $12.00, declared value $45.00, 0.8 kg, marketplace and payment fees 9.5% ($4.28), outbound shipping $8.00, return freight $12.00, duty 15% ($6.75), import VAT 0%, entry fee $10.00, DDP fee $6.00, refusal rate 10%.

Ship DDP: −$2.03 per order ($45.00 − $12.00 cost − $8.00 shipping − $6.75 duty − $10.00 entry − $6.00 DDP fee − $4.28 fees). The duty bill and the fixed fees eat the whole margin on a $45 parcel. Ship DAP: $16.65 expected ($20.72 when it delivers, minus an expected refusal cost of $4.07 per order at a 10% refusal rate — each refused parcel costs $40.72 in lost margin plus return freight). Bulk-import: $13.72 per order, but it needs $4,400.00 upfront for one 200-unit load. eBay International Shipping: not available — this is an Etsy parcel, and the programme is eBay-only. Best compliant option: bulk-import at $13.72 — DAP looks better on paper but Etsy requires DDP on this lane, so DAP would cost the order its Purchase Protection. DDP break-even parcel value: $31.47 — at a 15% duty rate DDP stops paying once the parcel value passes that line, and this $45 parcel is past it. Cheapest compliant break-even sale price: $29.83 (bulk-import); cheapest overall is $24.55 (DAP — not compliant here).

How to cut the risk

Price the duty in before you list, not after the sale. The duty bill is now part of the price on every lane — a parcel that made money under de minimis can lose money on the same sale price today. DDP is the default for Etsy and eBay US lanes now. If your marketplace requires it, DAP is not a cheaper option — it is a non-compliant one that costs you Purchase Protection and invites disputes. Use eBay International Shipping where it fits. If you are a US or Canada-based eBay seller, it moves the duty bill to the buyer at checkout with no refusal risk to you. Bulk-import once a lane proves itself. The per-order math beats DDP on most lanes, but only if you can fund the load — $4,400 for 200 units in the worked example — and store it at the destination. Raise the price or stop shipping low-value parcels. Below the do-not-ship threshold no compliant option makes money; a $20 parcel with a $10 entry fee and a $6 DDP fee was never going to work.

DDP Parcel Decision Calculator: what this tool models

This DDP parcel decision calculator compares the net profit of one cross-border parcel under all five real options — ship DDP, ship DAP and risk refusal, use eBay International Shipping, bulk-import and fulfil domestically, or stop shipping to that country — using your own sale price, costs, duty and VAT rates, the refusal rate you enter, and the marketplace DDP rules verified 12 November 2026. It outputs the profit per option, the expected refusal cost, the DDP break-even parcel value, and the do-not-ship threshold: the lowest sale price at which any compliant option breaks even. It is the decision no carrier or marketplace will make for you — the same trade-off ZAXIUS’s own DDP freight team prices every day.

What it deliberately does not model: the exact HTS duty rate for your product (you enter it), carrier-specific DDP availability on your lane, import VAT recovery if you are VAT-registered in the destination country, and the conversion hit when eBay International Shipping raises the buyer’s checkout total. Run it before you list a new international lane, before you reprice after a duty change, and every time a marketplace updates its DDP rule. Our import duty & landed cost calculator answers the next question: what one unit truly costs once product, freight, insurance, duty and fees are all counted.