DDP shipping — Delivered Duty Paid — is an Incoterm in which the seller or their freight forwarder takes full responsibility for a shipment until it arrives at the buyer’s named destination: transport, export and import customs clearance, and all duties and taxes included in one price. The buyer receives the goods with nothing left to pay.
Since the United States suspended the $800 de minimis duty-free exemption in August 2025 — a suspension explicitly continued into 2026 — practically every commercial import now clears customs with duty assessed. That regulatory shift turned DDP from a niche preference into one of the most searched terms in freight. This guide explains what DDP covers, how it compares to DAP and DDU, what it should cost, and when Amazon FBA sellers should use it when shipping from China with a freight forwarder.
What DDP Shipping Includes: Who Does What
Under DDP, one party owns the entire journey. Here is the responsibility map:
| Step | Under DDP | Who handles it |
|---|---|---|
| Export packing & pickup | Included | Seller / forwarder |
| Export customs clearance (China) | Included | Forwarder |
| Main carriage (ocean / air / express) | Included | Forwarder |
| US import customs entry | Included | Forwarder’s US broker |
| Import duties & taxes (MPF, HMF, tariffs) | Included in price | Forwarder pays, bills in quote |
| Final-mile delivery | Included, to named destination | Forwarder’s carrier |
The practical value is single accountability: when five vendors touch a shipment, DDP means one of them — the forwarder — owns the outcome end to end.
DDP vs DAP vs DDU vs FOB vs EXW
Most confusion around DDP comes from its neighbors. The differences come down to two questions: who clears import customs, and who pays duty.
| Incoterm | Transport paid to | Import clearance | Duties paid by |
|---|---|---|---|
| DDP | Final destination | Seller/forwarder | Seller/forwarder |
| DAP (Delivered At Place) | Final destination | Buyer | Buyer |
| DDU/DAP (legacy term) | Final destination | Buyer | Buyer, on arrival |
| FOB (Free On Board) | Origin port only | Buyer | Buyer |
| EXW (Ex Works) | Not included | Buyer | Buyer |
Three notes sellers miss:
- DDU is not a current Incoterm. It was folded into DAP in the ICC’s Incoterms 2020 rules. Quotes still say “DDU” — read them as DAP.
- DAP plus a broker is not DDP. If your forwarder delivers DAP and hands you a customs bill at arrival, you carried the duty risk the whole way.
- FOB looks cheaper because it is less. A FOB quote covers origin only; compare all-in totals before judging a DDP price.
When DDP Makes Sense — and When It Doesn’t
DDP fits best when:
- You are an e-commerce seller without a US customs broker or importer setup
- You ship to Amazon FBA — Amazon will not act as importer of record or pay duties
- You want predictable, all-in cost per shipment for margin math
- Your shipment’s value makes duty paperwork disproportionate to handle yourself
Skip DDP (use DAP with your own broker) when you import at volume, hold your own importer-of-record number and bonds, and want to control duty timing and classification. Large importers often save meaningfully by clearing entries themselves — the DDP premium buys convenience, and at scale convenience gets expensive.
DDP Shipping from China: How It Actually Works
For China-origin cargo, DDP is normally sold by a freight forwarder, not the factory. A typical China-to-US DDP flow:
- Quote by CBM or kg — air DDP prices per chargeable kilogram, ocean DDP per cubic meter (estimate volumes with the CBM calculator)
- Cargo received at the forwarder’s China warehouse — inspected, consolidated, prepped
- Export clearance filed in China
- Main carriage — ocean 25–40 days door to door West Coast, air 5–10 days
- US entry filed by the forwarder’s broker — duties, MPF, and HMF paid under the forwarder’s importer setup or yours
- Final-mile delivery — to a warehouse, address, or Amazon fulfillment center with appointment
The duty number itself comes from your product’s HS classification — which is why a serious DDP quote asks for product details first and gives a price second. Check your own codes with the HS code lookup before comparing quotes.
Duties After the De Minimis Change
For years, packages under $800 entered the US duty-free, and many small sellers never thought about customs. That ended: per US Customs and Border Protection, duty-free de minimis treatment was suspended for all countries effective August 29, 2025, and a February 2026 executive order continued the suspension. Every commercial import — including small e-commerce replenishments — now runs through formal or informal entry with duty assessed on its HS codes.
The consequence for sellers is structural: someone must now own customs on every shipment. DDP is the cleanest answer when you do not want that someone to be you.
DDP for Amazon FBA Sellers
Amazon receives inventory; it does not import it. Amazon will not serve as importer of record, will not clear customs, and will not pay duties on your cargo. That leaves FBA sellers two options: register yourself as importer of record with a customs broker (DAP-style), or buy FBA fulfillment-bound shipping as DDP from a forwarder who handles the entry.
This is why amazon FBA DDP shipping — door-to-door, duty-inclusive delivery from China straight into a fulfillment center — became the default question for FBA replenishment after de minimis ended. Two things to verify before you buy it:
- Who is the importer of record? A credible forwarder names a US entity and explains how your goods clear. A vague answer is the single biggest red flag in DDP.
- How is duty calculated? You should see HS codes, declared values, and duty lines in the quote — not one opaque lump sum.
What a DDP Quote Should Include
A professional DDP quote is itemized even though the price is all-in:
- Origin charges and export clearance
- Freight (with mode, routing, and transit days)
- US entry filing, MPF and HMF fees
- Duty by HS line, with rates shown
- Final-mile delivery to your exact destination (an FC appointment, if FBA)
Quotes that skip the duty breakdown are not cheaper — they are less honest. Under-declared values and misclassified goods are the two fastest routes to seized cargo, and a forwarder proposing either is proposing you take the fall. The red-flag list in our China freight forwarder guide applies doubly to DDP purchases.
How Much More Does DDP Cost?
Expect a DDP premium of roughly 10–20% over the same journey bought DAP with your own broker, driven by the forwarder’s duty financing and compliance overhead. Whether that premium is worth paying is arithmetic: below a few containers a month, the handling time and broker fees you avoid usually exceed the premium. At higher volumes, the math flips.
Moving FBA inventory on a deadline? The ocean and air DDP services we run from Shenzhen cover entry, duty, prep, and FC delivery — request a line-itemed quote through the quote form and compare it against anything else you have.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between DDP and DAP?
Delivery point is the same; customs responsibility differs. DDP: the seller/forwarder clears imports and pays duties. DAP: the buyer clears and pays. Post-de-minimis, a DAP buyer with no broker setup gets an expensive education at the port.
Is DDU the same as DDP?
No. DDU (Delivered Duty Unpaid) was renamed DAP in Incoterms 2020. Goods arrive delivered but duties and import clearance remain the buyer’s job — the opposite of DDP.
Who is the importer of record in DDP shipping?
Either the forwarder’s US entity or the buyer, depending on the contract — but the forwarder pays and manages the entry either way. Ask your provider to state this in writing; it defines who answers to customs if a shipment is questioned.
Does DDP include customs clearance?
Yes — both export clearance at origin and import clearance at destination, plus the associated fees and duties. That inclusion is the definition of the term.
Is DDP more expensive than DAP?
The sticker price is higher, typically 10–20%, because duty and clearance are bundled. Your true comparison is DDP price versus DAP price plus your own broker fees, duty handling time, and risk.
Can I ship DDP by air from China?
Yes. Air DDP is common for urgent restocks — per-kilogram pricing that includes clearance and duty, 5–10 days door to door, delivered to a warehouse or FC with an appointment.
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