We understand that selling and exporting products internationally can be challenging, with requirements and guidelines varying for each country. As a brand on Faire, you are the exporter of record. Ensuring your products can be exported, sold and imported for B2B purposes in other countries falls under your responsibility.
We want to help you feel confident selling and shipping to international retailers. Below, we have provided guidance on the most common questions we receive from our brands. To see what countries you can sell to on Faire, visit Where is Faire available?
In this guide, you will find steps to follow and detailed information for shipping to different countries and regions.
How to determine if your products can be sold in other countries
As the exporter of record, any brand selling on Faire is responsible for complying with all laws, rules, and regulations in all countries/regions they choose to sell their products to on the platform. This includes but is not limited to: product safety, labelling requirements, testing, warnings, copyright, import/export regulations, and other consumer protection law requirements.
To determine if your products can be sold in other countries, we recommend:
- Consulting legal counsel and/or a customs broker to determine your readiness to export products to a given country.
- Visiting governmental websites for each country you sell your products to on Faire. As a reminder, your sales territories can be adjusted in your shop settings, to learn more visit Can I control the locations where my shop is live?
- Looking into potential restrictions enforced by the country you want to sell to, based on the country of manufacturing of your products. (Certain countries have additional documentation requirements for import, depending on the country of manufacture of goods)
- To learn more about shipping to a specific country or region, consult the different resources in Country and region specific information.
- Visiting carrier websites that have helpful and up-to-date Import/Export Country or Territory Regulations guidelines.
Country and region specific information
Customs requirements vary from country to country, based on import country’s regulations. These nuances can be challenging to navigate. The Faire team is happy to provide resources containing non-exhaustive tips and advice for your international sales.
You can find country and region specific resources below:
- Selling and importing your products into the US
- Selling and importing your products into Canada
- Selling and importing your products into Australia
Documentation for international shipments
| Document type | Faire provided | Brand provided |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial invoice | ✔️ | |
| Packing slip | ✔️ | |
| Product specific documentation if applicable | ✔️ | |
| Documentation specific to your company (if required) | ✔️ | |
| Documentation specific to your manufacturing practices or information (if applicable) | ✔️ | |
| Any export documentation required by the country you ship from and to, for the products you sell | ✔️ | |
| Proof of Origin documentation if required for your products | ✔️ |
Faire does not provide documentation specific to your products, your company, manufacturing practices or information. This type of documentation has to be provided by yourself as the exporter of record.
For every international order, Faire generates a commercial invoice, populated with the product information in your account.
Depending on the products, additional fields might be required on the commercial invoice; or longer tariff codes (visit Updating your product information for international sales) in this case, we recommend you create your own commercial invoice.
Updating your product information for international sales
Ensuring the details in your product information are as accurate as possible will ensure the information on the commercial invoice is correct, and help prevent customs issues.
Tariff codes
- Harmonized system (HS) codes (or tariffs) are an international customs classification system used by most trading nations throughout the world. Tariff codes will be required on any cross-border commercial invoices. These are universal codes, you can use any tariff code finder.
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We have listed a few international tariff code finders below:
- tariff code finder if you ship from the US
- tariff code finder if you ship from the EU
- tariff code finder if you ship from the UK
The Faire generated commercial invoice only supports 6-digit tariff codes, if the products you are shipping require longer tariff codes, we recommend you create your own commercial invoice to ensure import duties are applied correctly for your retailer.
Country of origin of your products
- You will need to set Made in country on a product level if you list products made in different countries to be able to fulfill international orders. This will ensure the right country of origin is surfaced for each product on the commercial invoice, and will prevent customs complications. To learn how to edit this in your product page, visit How do I add or edit products?
Packaging and labeling requirements
When selling internationally, you are required to ensure your products packaging and labeling comply with the destination country requirements. These requirements may vary per import country, region, and/or product category.
To learn more about country and region specific information, please reference the resources in Country and region specific information
Tightly regulated product categories
We have listed the most commonly regulated and restricted categories. That said, these categories vary depending on which country you are selling to.
- Controlled goods: Products that require licenses for export or import, or additional documentation from the exporter.
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Dangerous goods (DG): Substances that when transported are a risk to health, safety, property or the environment. Certain dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known as hazardous materials.
- To check if your products are categorized as dangerous goods, we recommend referring to the shipping carrier classification.
- If your products are classified as dangerous goods, use Ship on your own. Please contact our Support team for assistance.
- Food and food products: Food product means any substance, other than a substance used primarily for the purpose of imparting flavor, intended to be consumed by humans or animals.
- Animal products : An animal product is any material derived from the body of an animal, products containing animal substances)
- Cosmetics and skin products : any substance or mixture intended to be placed in contact with the external parts of the human body.
- Metal, Gemstones, and jewelry products
This list is non-exhaustive and purely indicative.
To read about regulated categories for shipping to a specific region or country, please visit the resources mentioned in Country and region specific information
What if customs agencies or carriers require additional information to clear my shipments?
If you ship products internationally, and additional information or documentation is required by the country of import for your products, you might be contacted by a customs agent, carrier, or your retailer to provide the necessary information to help clear customs.
Here are a few things to keep in mind :
- You are the exporter. Ensuring your products can be exported, sold and imported for B2B purposes in other countries falls under your responsibility.
- The retailer is the importer and is responsible for complying with all import rules and regulations when importing goods into their country.
- The customs agent and/or carrier may reach out to you via phone, or via Faire support on an email thread if you are using Ship with Faire.
- Faire cannot provide information or certificates for your products to be exported and imported smoothly.
- Orders can typically be stalled at a border for a limited time, (this tends to vary between 3 and 5 days)
If you are unresponsive, or fail to provide the required information/documentation/certification, the customs agency may decide to abandon, destroy, or return the shipment to sender. This decision is outside of Faire’s control, and is informed by local regulations, depending on the product types and the ability of a carrier to proceed to Return to Sender.
To prevent these situations from arising, we recommend you follow the guidelines outlined in How to determine if your products can be sold in other countries, and adjust your selling territories in your shop settings accordingly to your readiness to export.
Shipping methods
When fulfilling an international order, depending on your location and shipping method(s) available, you will have access to:
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Ship with Faire
- Ship with Faire is currently available to brands in select countries, to learn more visit Ship with Faire
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Ship on Your Own
- Ship on your Own is not available to all brands
Here are additional resources you can consult to answer shipping related questions:
- Ship with Faire Insurance
- How do I create a commercial invoice?
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How are shipping cost estimates calculated?
*At this time, brands located in Japan will only have access to Ship on Your Own to ship their international orders
Managing shipping options and costs
International shipments can be costly. Here are some important key factors and information to consider when shipping your products internationally:
- Faire does not support pallet shipping through Ship with Faire
- If your products are heavy and/or bulky, selling internationally will automatically result in higher shipping costs. We recommend lowering your order minimum for intercontinental orders. This will help balance the product value / shipping cost ratio.
- We have noticed brands selling heavy and bulky products that have a low to medium price point focus their targeting on more local markets, as the shipping costs associated with selling this type of product internationally does not always allow for margin.
- When using Ship with Faire, Faire will be the account holder in relation to the carrier, but you are still the exporter of record. The guidelines and responsibilities detailed in this article still apply.
How do import duties work?
The party responsible for paying duties is determined by the incoterms set on the commercial invoice.
- Ship with Faire: Incoterms are already listed on the generated commercial invoice to ensure the retailer is responsible for duties.
- Ship on your own: You will set the incoterms on the commercial invoice. We recommend researching incoterms to set them correctly to ensure the retailer is responsible for duties. You can learn more about incoterms by visiting Know your incoterms.
What should retailers expect with import duties?
If a retailer reaches out to you with questions about import duties, here’s what you need to know about their experience:
- Faire may provide an estimated cost of import duties, taxes and select fees at checkout, but the actual amount will be invoiced by the carrier upon import.
- Retailers are responsible for paying import duties as billed by the customs authority.
- All products imported from abroad may be subject to import duties, taxes and fees
- Duties are calculated based on the product type and origin, using tariff codes provided by brands.
The estimate Faire provides at checkout is an approximation, and does not include additional charges such as storage fees or costs related to restricted goods. If a retailer contacts you about unexpected duties, additional charges, or higher customs charges than estimated, please direct them to check their carrier invoice or inquire with their country's customs authority for further clarification.
Are there other fees applied to my international order?
Yes, international orders may be subject to other fees separate from duties when they cross the border. Some common examples of additional fees include the following, note this is not an exhaustive list:
- A disbursement fee: Sometimes called an advancement fee is a charge from the shipping carrier for paying import duties to customs on your behalf before delivering your shipment.
- Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF): A fee for handling formal customs entries.
- PSS (Peak Season Surcharge): Carriers implement PSS during the shipping peak season (between July and October) to cover the increase in operational costs.
- Storage fee: Carriers may charge this fee for having to hold your shipment at a location, be it a deconsolidation warehouse, trucking yard, or otherwise will incur storage fees.
Faire only provides an estimate for the duties, brokerage fees and taxes, and other fees may apply to your order. For the most accurate information about import fees, retailers should contact the carrier directly.
Can I combine International orders?
At this time we are unable to combine international orders. That said, you can use the "edit order" function on the order fulfillment page and add the items from the other order. Once you’ve done that, you can cancel the second order and ship the orders out as one. For more details on editing orders, visit Can I edit a retailer’s order?
Selling and Exporting from Japan
If you are a brand located in Japan, we recommend using one of the following carriers when shipping your orders internationally through Faire:
- Yamato Transport: Japan’s largest parcel carrier. They partner with UPS for US final delivery. This is usually suitable for standard wholesale parcels and is most often cost-effective.
- Japan Post: Uses the international postal network. It is commonly used for smaller or lighter parcels. Their delivery times and tracking may vary by service level.
- DHL, FedEx, UPS: Global express carriers with strong tracking and structured customs handling. Often used for higher-value or time-sensitive orders.
At this time, you will only have access to the Ship on Your Own option when shipping internationally through Faire. For more information on shipping options on Faire, please see Shipping methods.
For more information on how to sell and import your products into specific countries or regions, please see Country and region-specific information. Each country-specific article should include the following information for each country or region where applicable:
- Documentation requirements
- Product regulations
- VAT, Duties, and other applicable fees