Question 1

How accurate is Zonos at calculating customs clearance fees?

Accepted Answer

Zonos' Decoder team sources clearance fees directly from carriers, delivery providers, brokers as well as from their invoices. Carriers are not always consistent and many times, they do not document these fees. Even so, we are persistent at learning these fees and calculating them accurately. If you are concerned about these fees, we recommend using the Zonos Landed Cost Guarantee.

Question 2

What if my currency does not match the currency of the fees?

Accepted Answer

The Landed Cost API and other Zonos products will take into account the current exchange rate at the time of the response. Due to fluctuations in currency calculations, the carrier's import fee charged will not match the fee calculated exactly. We suggest using the Zonos Landed Cost Guarantee to avoid differences in calculations and billing from your carrier.

Question 3

How up-to-date are your exchange rates?

Accepted Answer

We fetch an updated exchange rate every two hours. However, the currency conversion rate used at the time of customs clearance will not match a currency conversion rate used at the time of an ecommerce order. Again, the Zonos Landed Cost Guarantee can be used to avoid differences in calculations and billing from your carrier.

Question 4

How do you calculate customs clearance and import fees?

Accepted Answer

Import fees can be complicated.  They can be applied by brokers, government agencies, customs, and carriers. They can vary based on many different factors like the type of good or even the shipping service level that was used on the import. Zonos can do the heavy lifting for you when calculating import fees.  Zonos Landed Cost, International Checkout, and Quoter can all calculate import fees as part of a total landed cost calculation.

Question 5

Does Zonos Hello calculate clearance import fees?

Accepted Answer

If you are on a paid product with Zonos, e.g. Landed Cost API, Quoter, or International Checkout, Hello can be configured to calculate the most commonly used carrier and service level by country to include a clearance fee.