DutyGlobal

Shipping & customs guides

12 sourced, dated guides on the parts of cross-border shipping that actually matter — import duty, landed cost, dimensional weight, DDP shipping, and which platforms deserve a slot in your stack.

Cross-border shipping & duty

Decision-support guides for sellers shipping into the US, UK and Australia.

How to avoid surprise import fees

New

Verified 2026 thresholds for the US, UK and Australia, plus the one checkout setting that stops surprise fees.

Last reviewed: 2026-05-06

Shippo vs Easyship

New

Honest, multi-locale comparison: pricing, carrier coverage, duty-at-checkout and locale support.

Last reviewed: 2026-05-06

Best shipping software for importers

New

Seven-platform shortlist by use case — free labels, multi-carrier, DDP at checkout and 3PL fulfillment.

Last reviewed: 2026-05-06

Best 3PL for cross-border ecommerce

New

Nine fulfillment providers compared on warehouse footprint, DDP support and cross-border capability.

Last reviewed: 2026-05-06

Customs fundamentals

How duty, tax and customs valuation work — concepts every importer needs.

CIF vs FOB explained

How customs valuation method changes your duty bill — and which countries use each.

Last reviewed: 2026-03-15

Duty vs VAT vs GST

What each charge is, how it stacks at the border, and who pays.

Last reviewed: 2026-03-15

How to reduce import costs

Legal strategies — trade agreements, HS code optimisation, free trade zones, consolidation.

Last reviewed: 2026-03-20

Landed cost calculation

How to estimate the true total cost of an imported shipment.

How to calculate landed cost

Step-by-step worked examples for the full goods + freight + duty + tax build-up.

Last reviewed: 2026-03-15

The landed cost formula explained

The math behind every line item, with country-specific worked examples.

Last reviewed: 2026-03-15

Freight & shipping weight

Volumetric weight, CBM and chargeable weight — the calculations carriers actually bill on.

How to calculate CBM

Cubic meters for sea freight (LCL/FCL) — formulas plus container references.

Last reviewed: 2026-03-10

How to calculate dimensional weight

Volumetric weight with carrier-specific divisors for DHL, FedEx, UPS and USPS.

Last reviewed: 2026-03-10

How to reduce chargeable weight

Practical tactics — packaging, density, carrier presets — to lower the billed weight.

Last reviewed: 2026-03-10

Pair the guides with the calculators

Most of these guides reference the same free tools: landed cost, dimensional weight, CBM, chargeable weight, HS code lookup, and the 2026 tariff impact calculator.

Monthly tariff & freight cost update

One short email a month: the duty, tariff, and freight changes that actually affect cross-border shippers. No spam, unsubscribe in one click.

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