Frequently asked questions

TradeWind is a UK-based shipping platform that lets you book UPS Worldwide Economy DDP labels (and other carrier services) for parcels going to the US. You enter your sender postcode, recipient address, parcel weight and dimensions, and contents. We give you an instant quote, you pay by card, and we email you the label, commercial invoice, and customs declaration. You drop the parcel at a UPS Access Point shop. We track it from drop-off to delivery.

No. TradeWind supports guest checkout — you can quote, pay, and ship a single parcel without creating an account. We offer optional sign-up after purchase if you want to save addresses for future shipments.

For the public guest checkout, we currently focus on UK→US shipping (our cheapest and most differentiated lane). UK→Canada and other international destinations are available to TradeWind subscribers via the full SaaS app at tradewind.express/auth.

After you book, the system shows you the nearest UPS Access Point to your sender postcode. Access Points are typically corner shops, post offices, or local stores — there are over 5,000 in the UK. Drop the parcel with the printed label attached. You get a receipt as proof of dispatch.

For a typical 1-2kg parcel, TradeWind's UPS Worldwide Economy DDP service costs around £14-£20 all-in including pre-paid US import duty. Royal Mail International PDDP for the same parcel typically costs £17-£25. Use the calculator at tradewind.express/ship for an instant quote based on your specific parcel.

No monthly fee for the guest pay-as-you-go option. We add £1 per label on top of the carrier rate, and that's it. For higher-volume sellers (100+ labels per month) we offer subscription tiers with discounted rates and additional features — see /pricing.

Two main reasons: (1) we don't charge a £2 DDP admin fee on top of the duty, which Parcel2Go does. (2) We negotiate the same UPS Worldwide Economy reseller rates but pass them through with a smaller PAYG markup. For a typical 1-2kg parcel, the saving is £3-£5.

Yes. Every TradeWind quote is fully landed-cost — carrier fee, fuel surcharge, additional handling (if applicable), and pre-paid US import duty calculated from your declared value and HS code. Your American buyer pays nothing extra at the door.

DDP stands for "Delivered Duty Paid". It means the seller (you) pays the import duty at the time of shipping, and the buyer receives the parcel without any unexpected fees at the door. The opposite is DDU ("Delivered Duty Unpaid"), where the buyer is hit with the bill on delivery — which often results in refused parcels and bad reviews. Since US de minimis ended in 2025-2026, DDP is the only sensible choice for UK sellers shipping to American buyers.

On 29 August 2025, US Executive Order 14324 ended the $800 de minimis duty-free threshold for imports. A simplified flat-fee regime ran until 28 February 2026, after which all parcels from the UK to the US — Royal Mail, UPS, FedEx, anything — are subject to full ad valorem duty calculated by HS code. UK sellers using Royal Mail Tracked to the US duty-free can no longer do so.

An HS code (Harmonized System code) is a 6-10 digit number that classifies a product for customs purposes. Each code has a corresponding US import duty rate — for example, cotton t-shirts (6109.10.00) carry a 16.5% duty rate; books (4901.99.00) are free. When you fill in your parcel contents on TradeWind, we suggest the right HS code from our integrated lookup, then calculate the exact duty owed.

Import tax calculated as a percentage of the declared value of a parcel. For UK-origin goods entering the US, the baseline is typically 10% (the post-EO-14324 reciprocal tariff floor); some product categories carry higher rates. Ad valorem duty is the standard import tax model worldwide; it replaced the simplified $80-200 flat-fee regime when that ended on 28 February 2026.

A genuinely wrong HS code (you classified your product incorrectly) usually results in CBP recalculating the duty at clearance — you may owe extra or get a small refund. Knowingly wrong codes (deliberately picking a low-duty code for a high-duty product) is customs fraud and can result in seizure, fines, and criminal liability. TradeWind's HS lookup uses the official USITC tables to suggest the correct code from your contents description.

Yes — every UK→US parcel requires a commercial invoice. TradeWind generates this automatically from the order details (sender, recipient, contents, value, HS codes) and emails you the PDF along with the shipping label. Print both, attach the invoice to the parcel in a clear plastic pouch.

For the guest /ship flow: UPS Worldwide Economy DDP (svc 72), UPS Standard (svc 11), UPS Express Saver (svc 65), and Royal Mail International PDDP (svc MPR). The full SaaS platform supports more services for B2B subscribers.

UPS's economy international service with all import duty pre-paid. Drop-off only (no collection in the entry tier). Transit 4–7 working days UK to most US destinations. Tracking from drop-off to delivery. Insurance up to £100 included free. Available to small UK sellers via TradeWind without needing your own corporate UPS contract.

WWE is the cheapest. Use UPS Standard (3-5 days) if your buyer needs delivery faster than the WWE 6-9 day window. Use Express Saver (1-3 days) if it's genuinely urgent. Both are pricier; WWE wins for normal ecommerce shipping.

Use Royal Mail PDDP if (a) you have a strong existing Royal Mail / Click & Drop habit, (b) you prefer to drop at a Post Office rather than a UPS shop, or (c) you ship very small items where the £13.50 RM minimum is competitive. For most parcels, UPS WWE DDP via TradeWind is cheaper.

Not in the v1 guest flow — drop-off only. We're working with UPS to offer paid collections as an upgrade option. In the meantime, the UPS Access Point network has 5,000+ drop-off shops across the UK so most senders are within walking distance.

Every TradeWind label gets a tracking number. After dispatch, visit tradewind.express/track and enter your tracking number. We also email you status updates: drop-off scanned, in-transit, customs cleared, out for delivery, delivered.

UPS Worldwide Economy DDP carries a typical 4–7 working day estimate. Delays of a few days are not unusual, especially around peak periods (Nov-Jan). For UPS WWE, you can opt in to TradeWind's £2.29 Delivery Guarantee at quote time — full refund of carriage if the parcel doesn't deliver within 8 working days of drop-off.

Every TradeWind label includes £100 of free UPS carrier liability cover. For higher values, you can declare the full value at booking and pay the per-£100 cover charge. To make a claim, contact support@tradewind.express with your tracking number and we'll guide you through the carrier claim process.

Refused parcels return to your sender address. With DDP services there's no surprise duty bill at the door, so refusal rates are very low — but it can still happen (wrong address, recipient unavailable). UPS WWE DDP has up to 3 delivery attempts before return.

Card payments (Visa, Mastercard, Amex), Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal. All payment processing is handled by Stripe — we never see or store your card details.

If a label is voided before drop-off, we refund the carriage. If a parcel is lost in transit, we file a carrier claim and refund proceeds when paid. We don't refund duty paid to US Customs — that money is paid to the US government regardless of delivery outcome. See /refunds for full policy.

Yes — every label generates a VAT invoice emailed to you at the time of payment. Subscription customers get a consolidated monthly invoice.