Pricing

Learn about the fees associated with Zonos Landed Cost and how they are calculated. Landed Cost is a guaranteed calculation of duties, taxes, and import fees for international shipments.

Landed Cost fee 

For its guaranteed landed cost calculation, Zonos charges 2 USD and 10% of duties, taxes, and other import fees, such as country or carrier fees levied per order. This amount is included in the total landed cost calculation in addition to applicable duty, tax, and carrier fees. All landed cost is typically paid for by the shopper at the time of checkout as a "customer-paid fee" and is not burdened by the seller.

With guaranteed landed cost calculations, the API may return the following Zonos fees based on account setup:

Zonos fee breakdown

As part of Landed Cost, Zonos also generally passes on discounts it receives on carrier fees to the retailers, helping to lower the cost of the overall landed cost. See “Landed Cost value” below for further information. Zonos will invoice duties, taxes, and fees for non-checkout customers on a weekly basis.

How landed cost is calculated 

For this example, let's say you are exporting a product with a product and shipping value total of 100 USD to a country with an applicable VAT (value-added tax) of 20% and a duty rate of 8%. Additionally, assume there is a 13 USD advancement fee.

To calculate the total duties, taxes, and import fees, you would first add the VAT and the duty. In this case, (100 * 0.20) + (100 * 0.08) = 28 USD.

Then add the advancement fee to that total, giving you a total of 28 + 13 = 41 USD.

Finally, Zonos charges 2 USD and a 10% fee on this total amount of duties, taxes, and fees. This equates to a Zonos fee of 2 + (41 * 0.1) = 6.10 USD.

The full calculation is provided below.

How it works 

Landed Cost, which includes a guaranteed calculation, is typically paid for by the shopper as a "customer-paid fee" and is not burdened by the seller. Included in the landed cost calculation is the 2 USD + 10% of the duty, tax, and carrier fees paid at the time of checkout by the customer when they purchase goods.

When able, Zonos offers discounts for many carrier fees, which lowers the total landed cost. In many cases, due to the discount, a Zonos guaranteed landed cost is less expensive than a typical DDP (delivery duty paid) or DDU (delivery duty unpaid) shipment with published brokerage and advancements fees.

Landed cost breakdown

Landed Cost value 

Zonos’ charge to guarantee the landed cost is generally less than the brokerage, advancement, DDP service, or COD fees. In the following example, based on a typical average order value (AOV) for an online retailer selling internationally, we see this firsthand. Check out the user guide on import fees to learn more regarding individual fees.

Example order: Product 196 + shipping 27 + duty and tax 46 = 269 USD

Fee breakdown

In addition to providing a guaranteed landed cost valuation, in certain instances, Zonos can also offer discounts for many carrier fees. In such cases, Zonos’ guaranteed landed cost is less expensive than a typical DDP (delivery duty paid) or DDU (delivery duty unpaid) shipment with published brokerage and advancements fees.

Zonos is able to provide merchants with discounts on advancement fees from carriers. On average, the Landed Cost guarantee with Zonos will save you around 50% in advancement fees, which often is more than the Zonos Landed Cost fee. This includes discounts on the following carrier fees:

• UPS disbursement fees
• FedEx advancement fees
• DHL DTP fee of 17 USD

Pricing variations