Etsy's checkout, not the shipping checkout
VAT or GST collection, where it happens, happens when the buyer pays on Etsy, under the thresholds above — already decided before a seller opens any shipping tool.
Etsy sellers
Does Etsy ship internationally?
Yes — turning it on is a setting inside a shop's shipping profiles, not a separate signup. What "international" actually triggers is three separate systems: the VAT Etsy itself collects at its own checkout on qualifying UK and EU orders, the GPSR paperwork a listing needs once an EEA or Northern Ireland buyer can see it, and whichever tool buys the shipping label, which decides who pays the duty and how many countries a US shop can actually reach. Etsy's own current pages cover the first two, checked live 2026-09-01; SMKlog's own checkout covers the third, checked 2026-08-31 — four countries today: Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia.
Etsy sources, dated4 countries, liveDDU stated plainly
Four countries, one checkout
Canada, the UK, Germany and Australia — priced live and checked against Etsy's own current rules.
Turning on international shipping in a shop
International shipping isn't a shop-wide switch. It lives inside each shipping profile: Shop Manager, then Settings, then Shipping settings, then the Shipping profiles tab, where a seller adds a rate for specific countries or falls back to a flat rate for Everywhere Else. A shop can run several profiles at once, and a US or Canadian seller shipping with USPS, Global Postal Shipping or Canada Post can hand the whole calculation to Etsy's calculated shipping instead of setting a flat number — that tool has its own page, linked below, so this one won't repeat it.
Buying the label is a separate step from setting the rate, and a US-based shop can buy international labels directly through Etsy the same way it buys domestic ones. Etsy prefills the customs form from the listing — item description, weight and quantity, and for a single-item order under 50 characters, the customs description itself — and pulls the declared value from the order total before shipping and tax. None of that happens automatically once the label comes from somewhere else: a description, a value, and for anything entering the EU, a tariff number all have to be entered by hand. The EU asks for a 6-digit code, the US for a 10-digit one. SMKlog's own checkout collects a description, a declared value, a country of origin and a tariff number for the same reason — Etsy's own customs form asks for the identical fields.
Where a label actually reaches, and what it costs
Etsy's own label tool isn't limited to a short country list — for a US-origin shipment it runs on USPS, UPS, FedEx and DHL Express, the carriers Etsy itself names as the common choice from the US, so its practical reach is close to wherever those carriers deliver. SMKlog's own checkout is narrower and specific rather than broad: as of 2026-08-31 it prices and sells labels for exactly four countries from a US shop. Every other destination still routes to a person through freight review instead of a live rate. Every price below came back from that checkout on 2026-08-31 for a small boxed item — about 0.9 kg, 20 × 15 × 10 cm, close to what a wrapped mug or two ships in — sent from Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922.
| Destination | Cheapest | Worth the extra for speed |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | UPS Worldwide Economy DDU $25.61 · 8 business days | UPS Standard $25.83 · 2 business days |
| United Kingdom | UPS Worldwide Economy DDU $30.13 · 8 business days | FedEx International Connect Plus $38.41 · 4 business days |
| Germany | FedEx International Connect Plus $39.41 · 8 business days | FedEx International Economy $41.29 · 4 business days |
| Australia | UPS Worldwide Economy DDU $40.05 · 8 business days | DHL Express Worldwide $59.09 · 3 business days |
Canada's two cheapest options are 22 cents apart and six business days apart — the kind of gap worth showing a buyer before checkout, not after. Germany is the one lane with no UPS option on this account at all; its live rates come back FedEx and DHL Express only, which is also why its cheapest row is a FedEx service rather than the UPS one that wins on the other three lanes.
VAT, GST and Etsy's IOSS number
Etsy, not SMKlog, is the one collecting VAT or GST on a qualifying order, and it happens upstream — when the buyer checks out on Etsy, before a seller ever opens a shipping tool to buy the label. What that means for a specific shipment depends entirely on the destination.
| Destination | Etsy collects | Above the threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | Nothing, at any value — Etsy does not collect GST or HST on orders shipped to Canada from outside the country. | Not applicable |
| United Kingdom | VAT, on items worth 135 GBP or less (shipping isn't counted toward that). | Assessed at the border; the buyer pays it there. |
| Germany (EU) | VAT, on a package worth 150 EUR or less including gift wrap; plus, as of July 1 2026, a 3 EUR per-item customs duty on those same orders. | Both VAT and duty assessed at the border instead. |
| Australia | 10% GST, on a package worth 1,000 AUD or less. | Assessed at import instead. |
For the rows where Etsy is the one collecting, Etsy generates a reference number — visible on the Orders page and in the order confirmation email — that has to reach the destination's customs authority electronically or the buyer can be billed the tax a second time at the door. That transmission happens automatically only on a label bought through Etsy itself. Buying the label anywhere else, SMKlog included, makes it the seller's own step: pull the number from Etsy's Orders page, don't write it on the outside of the package, and pass it to whichever tool or carrier is printing the label. SMKlog's own customs form doesn't carry a field for it today, so on the Germany lane specifically, that number has to travel with the shipment some other way — wherever the carrier's own paperwork asks for a VAT or IOSS reference — rather than assumed to happen on its own.
Two Canadian provinces are their own exception to "Etsy collects nothing for Canada": Etsy collects 6% PST on packages arriving in Saskatchewan and 7% RST on packages arriving in Manitoba, in both cases only when the seller is outside Canada. And Australia adds a paperwork detail that depends on which carrier actually carries the box: Etsy's own guidance says a seller shipping through a commercial carrier — UPS, which is what SMKlog quotes on that lane — may need to add Etsy's Australian Reference Number and the GST amount collected to the carrier's own paperwork, something Etsy says generally isn't required when a national postal service handles the parcel instead. SMKlog's customs step doesn't carry a field for the ARN either, so treat it the same way as the IOSS number above: get it from Etsy, get it to the carrier.
GPSR, if a listing can reach the EU or Northern Ireland
GPSR is a listing question, not a shipping-tool question. It governs which buyers can see a physical listing at all, independent of which carrier eventually ships the box.
“A responsible economic operator in the EU (an EU manufacturer, importer, authorised representative or a fulfilment service provider) shall be entrusted with tasks relating to the safety of each product covered by the regulation.” European Commission, Access2Markets, GPSR overview, read 2026-09-01
Etsy's own summary of who that covers: sellers reaching buyers in EU member states, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Northern Ireland, regardless of where the seller is located, once that seller counts as a trader rather than a private individual. On Etsy specifically, that turns into two account-level steps — add an Economic Operator to the shop, or name a manufacturer directly on each listing, and fill in the listing's Product safety info field. A shop that would rather not deal with either can opt physical listings, and separately digital ones, out of GPSR countries entirely from Shop Manager, Settings, Options; buyers in those countries then can't purchase from the shop at all, rather than the listing sitting there non-compliant.
Of SMKlog's four countries, this affects exactly one: Germany. The UK lane quoted on this page ships to Great Britain, and GPSR's own scope stops at Northern Ireland — the rest of the UK isn't in it. A shop selling into Germany needs the steps above regardless of which carrier ships the box; a shop selling only to the UK lane quoted here doesn't, on GPSR grounds alone.
What DDU means for an order shipped through SMKlog
Where Etsy isn't the one collecting tax up front — every order over the thresholds above, and every Canada order regardless of value — the duty and tax get collected the way most parcel shipping works by default: at the door, from the buyer, when the carrier hands over the box.
“Some postal carriers and commercial carriers use a shipping model known as Delivered Duty Unpaid (DDU). With DDU shipping, buyers are responsible for paying any applicable tariffs, duties, taxes, and carrier handling fees when their order arrives in the destination country.” Etsy Help, Information for Managing International Shipments, read 2026-09-01
SMKlog's checkout runs DDU on all four of the countries it sells labels for. That's a real trade-off, not a footnote. The price shown at checkout is the shipping charge and nothing else — no attempt to estimate a landed cost that folds the destination's duty into what the buyer already paid on Etsy. What that buys is a customs declaration finished before the label is bought rather than a separate errand, and a checkout total that means exactly what it says. What it costs is that the buyer sees a second charge later, from the carrier, that Etsy's own checkout never mentioned. Saying so in advance — a line in the listing, a note after the sale — is the difference between a delivered order and a bad review over a charge nobody expected.
GPSR gates the listing
It decides who can buy, not who ships. Opting out of GPSR countries is a shop setting, not a shipping choice.
DDU decides what happens after
Anything Etsy didn't collect gets collected at delivery, from the buyer, on SMKlog's four lanes and on most international shipping generally.
Where these statements come from
- Etsy Help, What is the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR)? — who GPSR covers and the account/listing steps. Read 2026-09-01.
- Etsy Help, Custom Fees and Physical VAT Collection — the VAT/GST thresholds and IOSS/ARN mechanics for Canada, the UK, the EU and Australia. Read 2026-09-01.
- Etsy Help, Information for Managing International Shipments — the DDU/DDP distinction, customs prefill and tariff-number rules. Read 2026-09-01.
- Etsy Help, How to Ship Your Items on Etsy — the shipping-profile setup path. Read 2026-09-01.
- European Commission, Access2Markets, EU's General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) — the regulation's effective date and the economic-operator requirement. Read 2026-09-01.
- SMKlog's own checkout — live quotes for a 0.9 kg box, 20 x 15 x 10 cm, from Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922, to Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia. Captured 2026-08-31.
help.etsy.com and consilium.europa.eu returned an automated-browser challenge rather than a page when checked directly on 2026-09-01, so the Etsy facts above were read through Etsy's own help-center data feed instead of the rendered page, and the GPSR regulatory citation comes from the European Commission's Access2Markets service rather than the EU Council. Etsy changes seller policy without much notice; treat the figures above as what was live on the date shown, not a permanent rule.
Etsy international questions
Does Etsy ship internationally?
Yes. A US shop turns it on inside shipping profiles by setting a rate for specific countries or for Everywhere Else, and the label itself can come from Etsy or from a third-party tool. SMKlog is one such tool, and as of 2026-08-31 it reaches exactly four countries from a US shop: Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia.
Does Etsy collect VAT on international orders automatically?
For the UK and the EU, yes, up to a value threshold — 135 GBP for the UK, 150 EUR for the EU — above which VAT and any duty are assessed at the border instead and the buyer pays there. For Canada, Etsy collects nothing at any value; a Canadian buyer pays GST or HST on delivery every time. Checked on Etsy's own page, 2026-09-01.
What is Etsy's IOSS number for, and does SMKlog send it?
It lets EU customs match a parcel to the VAT Etsy already collected from the buyer, so the buyer isn't billed twice. Etsy transmits it automatically only on a label bought through Etsy itself. Buying the label elsewhere, SMKlog included, makes passing that number to the carrier the seller's own step — SMKlog's customs form doesn't carry an IOSS field today.
Do I need to do anything for GPSR if I sell to the EU or Northern Ireland?
If a shop's physical listings aren't excluded from EEA states or Northern Ireland, yes: add an Economic Operator to the account or name a manufacturer on the listing, and fill in the listing's product safety info. Of SMKlog's four countries this affects only Germany — the UK lane here quotes to Great Britain, which is outside GPSR's scope.
Who pays customs duty when a US Etsy seller ships through SMKlog?
The buyer, on delivery. SMKlog's checkout runs Delivered Duty Unpaid on all four countries it sells — the model Etsy itself describes for any carrier that isn't set up to collect duty in advance — so telling the buyer a charge may be coming is worth doing before the box ships, not after a complaint arrives.
Does shipping to Australia through SMKlog need anything extra for GST paperwork?
Possibly. Etsy's own guidance is that a seller shipping through a commercial carrier — UPS, which is what SMKlog quotes on that lane — may need to add Etsy's Australian Reference Number and the GST collected to the carrier's paperwork, something Etsy says usually isn't required when a national postal service carries the parcel instead.