This article explains what landed cost is, what it includes, and how Swap calculates and guarantees it for every international order.
What is landed cost?
Landed cost is the total cost of getting a product from its origin to the customer's door. It covers everything beyond the product price itself — all the charges required to move, clear, and deliver a shipment across borders.
Product price + shipping + duties + taxes + fees = landed cost
What's included
The components of landed cost vary by shipment, but typically include:
Import duties — taxes levied by the destination country based on the product type and declared value
VAT or sales tax — consumption tax applied at the point of import or sale
Customs clearance fees — charges for processing the shipment through customs
Shipping costs — carrier fees for transporting the goods
Insurance — cover for loss or damage in transit, where applicable
Other fees — handling charges, port fees, or ancillary carrier surcharges depending on the route
How Swap handles landed cost
Swap calculates duties, taxes, and customs fees for each order at checkout and presents the customer with a total landed cost upfront.
We then bill you for exactly what you collected — no more, no less. If rates shift between the time of calculation and settlement, Swap covers the difference.
This removes the main risk of DDP shipping: that a merchant ends up absorbing unexpected duty shortfalls. You collect a guaranteed amount from your customer; we handle the rest.
Why it matters
Accurate pricing — know your true costs upfront before setting prices in a new market
Protected margins — Swap's guarantee means rate changes never come out of your pocket
Fewer failed deliveries — customers who see the full cost at checkout are far less likely to refuse packages on arrival
Faster customs clearance — pre-paid duties mean shipments move through customs without delays
Scale without complexity — Swap handles the calculations for every market you ship to, automatically