Shopify Managed Markets stopped Delivered Duty Unpaid (DDU) wherever Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) is supported on August 24, 2026. Affected Managed Markets were moved to DDP, so duties and import taxes are calculated for the customer at checkout instead of being collected unexpectedly by the carrier at delivery. Merchants should now audit product HS codes and countries of origin, DDP-compatible shipping labels, pricing, policies, refunds and fulfillment locations.
DDP can create a clearer international buying experience, but it does not make customs data optional. The amount collected and the ability to clear a shipment depend on accurate product classification, origin, destination, value and carrier documentation. A wrong HS code or non-DDP label can still produce delays, adjustments or a poor customer experience.
Last reviewed: August 30, 2026. Shopify’s Managed Markets availability, supported destinations, carriers and fees can change. Confirm eligibility and the cost breakdown shown in your own Shopify Admin before changing international pricing or shipping promises.
What Changed When Shopify Managed Markets Ended DDU?
Shopify announced that Managed Markets would end DDU support on August 24, 2026 in places where DDP is supported. Affected markets were automatically moved to DDP. Merchants that wanted to keep a DDU model were instructed to turn off Managed Markets before the deadline.
After the transition, keeping Managed Markets active means accepting the DDP path for supported destinations. A merchant should not relabel the same experience as DDU in store policies or campaign copy. Checkout, shipping labels, customer communication and accounting need to describe the actual flow.
Why Shopify made the change
DDU can expose the buyer to charges and carrier handling at the door. Customers may refuse the parcel, delay payment or conclude that the merchant hid the full price. DDP moves the expected duties and import taxes into the purchase decision, making the landed cost clearer before payment.
The tradeoff is operational discipline. The merchant must maintain customs data and use a compatible fulfillment route so that the collected amount and shipping documentation belong to the same DDP shipment.
DDU Versus DDP in Plain English
| Question | DDU | DDP |
|---|---|---|
| When are duties and import taxes handled? | Usually after shipment, before or at delivery | Estimated and collected during checkout |
| Who may contact the customer? | Carrier or customs representative can request payment | Carrier clears the shipment using DDP documentation |
| Price clarity at checkout | Customer may not see the full landed cost | Customer sees the applicable checkout calculation |
| Risk of refused parcels | Higher when charges are unexpected | Usually lower when the checkout amount is clear |
| Merchant data responsibility | Accurate customs data is still required | Accurate customs data and compatible DDP fulfillment are essential |
DDU and DDP are commercial shipping terms, not a promise that every customs event is predictable. Authorities can inspect or reassess a parcel. The store should explain the customer-facing model accurately without guaranteeing that international delivery can never be delayed.
How DDP Duties at Shopify Checkout Work
Shopify uses available product and destination data to estimate applicable duties and import taxes. The customer sees the relevant amount during checkout, and the order proceeds through a DDP-compatible fulfillment path. Depending on the store’s international pricing configuration, the cost can appear as a checkout charge or be incorporated into market pricing.
The calculation needs five reliable inputs
- the destination country or region;
- product price and currency;
- HS tariff classification;
- country or region of origin;
- the applicable tax, customs and de minimis rules.
Product title, vendor or marketing category is not a customs classification. Two visually similar products can attract different rates because their material, use or origin differs.
What the customer should see
The checkout should make the payment obligation understandable: product cost, shipping, taxes and duties must not appear to contradict the promise on the product or policy page. Test at least one eligible destination from product page to completed order.
If shipping profiles, locations or mixed carts create several shipping charges, resolve that separately using our guide to fixing split Shopify shipping costs.
Shopify Managed Markets Eligibility and Restrictions
Managed Markets is not a universal switch for every merchant, product and fulfillment model. Shopify documents store, payment, business-location, product and tax requirements. The supported configuration can differ by merchant country.
Store and payment requirements
Shopify Payments is part of the Managed Markets requirements. Store currency and business details must meet the conditions for the merchant’s supported home country. Merchants in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom should check the current country-specific business and fulfillment requirements in Shopify’s documentation.
Product restrictions
Restricted, controlled or otherwise unsupported products cannot be assumed eligible simply because they are published online. Review the Managed Markets restrictions before advertising a product internationally. Product availability in a market and customs eligibility are separate checks.
Tax and registration considerations
Managed Markets can automate parts of tax and import handling, including supported VAT and IOSS processes, but the merchant still needs accurate business information and must understand which obligations remain outside the service. Obtain professional tax advice when a business structure or registration decision is material.
B2B limitations
Shopify documents that B2B orders cannot be Managed Markets orders. A store serving both retail and wholesale customers should not assume that the consumer DDP workflow applies to company locations or B2B catalogs. Review the architecture in our Shopify B2B catalog and pricing guide.
HS Codes, Country of Origin and Product Data
Customs data is the foundation of a credible DDP quote. Create a remediation project before expanding the number of Managed Markets destinations.
Assign a defensible HS code
The Harmonized System classifies traded goods. Use the product’s material, construction and purpose to select the appropriate code. Do not copy a competitor’s code without verifying that the products are materially equivalent. Record the reasoning and source used for high-volume or high-duty products.
Record the country of origin
Country of origin generally reflects where the product was manufactured or substantially transformed, not where the warehouse is located and not necessarily the vendor’s address. Confirm it with the supplier and keep evidence.
Keep variants accurate
Variants can differ in material, bundle contents or origin. If the customs-relevant facts differ, a single product-level assumption can be wrong. Audit variant data and confirm that the correct item reaches checkout and the fulfillment order. Our guide to wrong Shopify variants in the cart covers selection and theme issues that can corrupt the order before customs handling begins.
Use clear descriptions
Commercial documents need a meaningful goods description. “Sample,” “accessory” or an internal SKU alone may be insufficient. Use an accurate description that identifies the product and material without stuffing marketing language into customs fields.
Audit data at catalog scale
Segment products into complete, incomplete, uncertain and restricted. Block uncertain products from affected markets until their classification is resolved. This is safer than allowing a generic fallback to produce a misleading landed cost.
DDP Labels, Carriers and Managed Markets Fulfillment
A checkout calculation does not turn a DDU parcel into DDP. The fulfillment team must purchase and use a compatible DDP shipping label and supply the required customs documentation.
Supported carrier paths
Shopify’s current Managed Markets shipping documentation lists supported carrier options by merchant location. For merchants in the United States, documented options include DHL eCommerce, DHL Express, FedEx and UPS. For merchants in the United Kingdom and Canada, the documented set includes DHL Express and FedEx. Verify current availability in the store before promising a service.
Fulfillment-location restrictions
Shopify states that app-managed and custom fulfillment locations are not supported for Managed Markets orders. A merchant using a 3PL, marketplace connector, print-on-demand service or custom warehouse workflow must check whether the actual fulfillment location and label purchase path are compatible.
One label per package
Managed Markets documentation requires one shipping label per package. If an order is split, each physical package needs its own correct label and documents. Do not reuse a label or combine contents that do not match the declared parcel.
Commercial invoices and documents
Provide accurate commercial invoices where required. Product description, quantity, value, HS code, origin, weight and parties to the transaction must agree with the shipment. Keep an operational checklist for the warehouse and review the first orders after any carrier change.
Pricing, Fees and Margin Planning
DDP changes when the buyer sees and pays import costs. It also changes how the merchant should model contribution margin and price competitiveness in each market.
Separate the cost layers
- base product cost and margin;
- international shipping;
- duties and import taxes;
- payment-processing and currency-conversion costs;
- Managed Markets or duties-calculation fees;
- carrier brokerage or disbursement charges where applicable;
- returns, refusals and unrecoverable logistics costs.
Shopify’s general duties-at-checkout documentation identifies a 0.85% transaction fee when duties and import taxes are calculated at checkout and Shopify Payments is used. Managed Markets pricing and other charges can have additional rules, so use the amount shown for the actual store rather than building forecasts from one percentage alone. For a broader fee model, see how much Shopify takes per sale.
Adaptive pricing
Managed Markets adaptive pricing can adjust localized prices to account for duties, taxes, fees and currency. This can make the displayed market price feel more complete, but it can also change price points and margin. Compare representative products across destinations and preserve commercially sensible endings where possible.
Do not hide a reconciliation problem
If the amount collected differs from downstream carrier or customs costs, investigate the product data, origin, declared value, destination and label type. Raising every international price is not a substitute for finding the source of repeated adjustments.
Customer Messaging, Policies and Refunds
Update the shipping policy, FAQ, returns policy and customer-support scripts to reflect DDP. Remove DDU language such as “the customer is responsible for all import charges on delivery” where Managed Markets now collects them at checkout.
Explain what is included
Use plain language: duties and import taxes for eligible Managed Markets orders are calculated during checkout. Avoid promising that no authority or carrier will ever contact the customer; exceptional reviews and documentation requests can still occur.
Explain refunds before a return happens
Product refunds, shipping refunds, duties and import-tax refunds are not the same accounting event. Shopify provides workflows for refunding duties and import taxes, but recovery can depend on the order, destination and customs process. State which amounts the store refunds and under what conditions, then train support staff to use the correct order action.
Handle refused deliveries consistently
A refused international parcel can generate return freight, brokerage and nonrecoverable customs costs. The policy should explain how those costs affect the refund, subject to consumer law. Do not improvise a different answer for every ticket.
Keep price communication synchronized
If market pricing or duty settings change, check cached product prices, feeds and campaign pages. The troubleshooting sequence in our Shopify stale-price guide can help isolate mismatches.
Post-DDU Audit Checklist for Managed Markets
- Confirm active markets. Identify which destinations are managed by Managed Markets and now use DDP.
- Review checkout. Test duties, taxes, shipping methods, currency and customer messaging with real representative carts.
- Audit product data. Resolve missing or uncertain HS codes, origin, weights, values and descriptions.
- Check restrictions. Remove unsupported products from affected markets.
- Map fulfillment locations. Confirm orders are routed to compatible locations and supported carriers.
- Test DDP labels. Verify label terms and commercial documents for each package.
- Recalculate margins. Include payment, currency, duty-calculation, carrier and return costs.
- Update policies. Replace DDU language and explain refund handling.
- Train support and warehouse teams. Provide order examples and escalation paths.
- Monitor exceptions. Track adjustments, delayed customs clearance, refused parcels and customer complaints.
Run the checklist again after adding a carrier, 3PL, product family or destination. International compliance is a maintained process, not a one-time toggle.
Common Managed Markets DDP Problems and Fixes
Duties look unexpectedly high
Check HS classification, origin, product value, currency and destination. Compare the result with the official tariff treatment for the exact goods. Do not change the code merely to obtain a lower rate.
The carrier asks the customer to pay again
Verify that the shipment used a DDP-compatible label, the commercial invoice showed the correct terms and the parcel matched the order. Escalate with the carrier using the label and customs references; do not ask the customer to solve a merchant documentation error alone.
No international shipping rate appears
Check market activation, product availability, shipping profile, inventory location, package data and carrier eligibility. A product can be visible in a market yet lack a valid fulfillment rate.
A 3PL cannot fulfill the order
Confirm whether the 3PL is represented by an app-managed or custom fulfillment location, which Shopify lists as unsupported for Managed Markets. Route only through a supported setup or change the market strategy.
The customer sees a different product price
Review adaptive pricing, currency conversion, market-specific price lists, taxes and cached storefront data. Capture the customer’s destination and market before comparing screenshots.
For an independent audit of international product data, checkout charges and fulfillment routing, SmallDeskApps can review your Shopify Managed Markets setup.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Shopify Managed Markets end DDU?
Shopify ended DDU support for Managed Markets on August 24, 2026 wherever DDP is supported.
What happened to affected markets?
Shopify announced that affected Managed Markets would be moved automatically to DDP, with duties and import taxes calculated at checkout.
Can I keep DDU while using Managed Markets?
Shopify instructed merchants who wanted to keep DDU to turn off Managed Markets before the transition. Check the current alternatives in your admin and fulfillment setup.
What data is required for DDP duties?
Accurate product value, HS tariff classification, country of origin, destination and other product and shipping data are essential for calculation and customs documents.
Do I need a DDP shipping label?
Yes. Collecting duties at checkout must be followed by a compatible DDP label and accurate commercial documentation.
Can Shopify B2B orders use Managed Markets?
Shopify’s current Managed Markets fulfillment documentation says B2B orders cannot be Managed Markets orders.
Official Shopify Sources
- Shopify Changelog: Managed Markets is ending DDU support
- Shopify Help Center: Managed Markets requirements and considerations
- Shopify Help Center: Managed Markets shipping requirements
- Shopify Help Center: Charging duties and import taxes at checkout
- Shopify Help Center: Additional duties and import-tax tasks
- Shopify Help Center: Managed Markets fulfillment
- Shopify Help Center: Adaptive pricing
