The landed cost is the number that matters
Duty and import VAT are generally assessed on the landed value: the item price plus international shipping, and in some regimes plus insurance. So "free shipping" does not mean the shipping is cost-free to you — it may simply mean the shipping is folded into a declared value you will be taxed on.
Two shoppers paying the same advertised price can have different total costs entirely because of where they live, not what they bought.
De minimis thresholds
Most countries do not collect duty or tax below some value threshold. The thresholds differ enormously between markets, and they are a political variable rather than a fixed fact — several major markets have changed theirs in recent years, specifically to address the volume of low-value cross-border parcels.
This is the number to look up for your own country, at the time you order. Any specific figure quoted in an article, including this one, should be treated as a starting point for a search rather than an answer.
Who collects it, and when
Three patterns exist in practice:
Collected at checkout. The store calculates the charge and remits it. Nothing happens at your door. This is the smoothest experience and the strongest sign that a brand has done the work to sell into your market legitimately.
Collected by the carrier before delivery. The carrier pays the authority on your behalf and then bills you, usually with a handling fee on top. You may get a text or email asking for payment; the parcel is held until you pay.
Collected by the customs authority directly. Less common for consumer parcels, but it happens on high-value shipments and generally requires a formal declaration.
The middle case is where most unpleasant surprises live, because the handling fee is often a flat charge that is disproportionately large relative to a small order.
What genuinely changes the calculation
Splitting an order can cost more, not less. Beyond the de minimis threshold, the calculation is usually percentage-based, so splitting rarely helps and creates a second handling fee.
Gifts and misdeclarations are not a workaround. Asking a brand to mark a commercial order as a gift or to under-declare value is asking them to commit customs fraud on your behalf. It is also the fastest way to have a parcel seized, because the declared value on a tracked commercial shipment is checked against the manifest.
Duty rates are product-specific, not store-specific. The rate depends on what the item is classified as, not which brand sold it. This is why two identical-price orders from two stores can attract different duty: the classification differs.
Returns do not automatically refund the duty. If you return an item, the import charge you paid generally is not refunded by the store, and recovering it from the authority is a separate and often impractical process. This is a real cost of cross-border returns that rarely appears in a returns policy.
How to plan for it
Estimate the landed cost before you order: item plus shipping, plus the applicable duty rate for the product category, plus import VAT, plus any carrier handling fee if the charge is collected on delivery. If the total is still compelling, order. If it is close to buying domestically, you are buying an experience rather than a saving — which is fine, as long as you know which one it is.
Duty rates, de minimis thresholds and carrier handling fees vary by country, product classification and over time. This is a description of how the system generally works, not tax advice. Verify current rules for your jurisdiction.