DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) shipping means we — the seller — pay every import duty, tariff, and tax before your sink reaches the US border, so the price you see at checkout is the final price. No customs bill, no courier "duty collection" fee, no surprise at the door. This matters more than it used to: the United States ended its $800 duty-free de minimis exemption on August 29, 2025, so nearly every parcel entering the country is now subject to duties and formal customs entry (U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 2025). How a seller handles those duties is now one of the most practical questions you can ask before ordering furniture from abroad. Here is exactly what happens between your order and your doorstep when a hand-carved stone sink travels from our workshop in Turkey to a bathroom in the US.
What "Delivered Duty Paid" actually means
DDP is one of the eleven Incoterms® published by the International Chamber of Commerce — the standardized trade terms that define who pays for what in an international sale. Under DDP, the seller carries every cost and every risk until the goods are delivered to the buyer's address: export clearance in Turkey, air freight, transit insurance, US import duties and taxes, and final delivery. The buyer does nothing except open the door.
The alternative most shoppers meet without realizing it is DDU (Delivered Duty Unpaid, formally DAP). Under DDU, the parcel arrives at US customs with duties unpaid, and the courier bills you — often with an added brokerage fee — before releasing your delivery. That is where the "surprise customs fee" stories come from.
| DDP (what we ship) | DDU / DAP | |
|---|---|---|
| Duties & import taxes | Paid by seller before arrival | Billed to you at delivery |
| Checkout price | Final price | Partial price — fees come later |
| Customs clearance | Pre-cleared, paperwork filed by seller | Parcel can be held until you pay |
| Refusal / return risk | Low | ~10% of parcels refused or returned (FlavorCloud, 2025) |
Why this matters more since August 2025
Until 2025, most orders under $800 slipped into the US duty-free under the de minimis rule. That era is over: an Executive Order signed on July 30, 2025 suspended de minimis treatment for all countries effective August 29, 2025 (EY Global Tax Alert, 2025). Every import — including a single sink — now goes through duty assessment.
The industry data shows what happens when sellers pass that burden to buyers. A 2025 analysis by cross-border logistics provider FlavorCloud — bluntly titled "DDU is dying" — found that about 10% of duty-unpaid parcels are refused or returned because of unexpected customs charges. An Avalara survey found 75% of global consumers would rethink buying from a retailer again after being hit with surprise fees at delivery (Avalara, 2024). Merchants have noticed: 61% now display duties at checkout, up sharply from previous years (Avalara, 2024), and DHL now recommends DDP for most e-commerce shipments (DHL, 2025).
We went further than displaying duties — we absorbed them into the price. Every listing in our store, from a travertine sink to a Calacatta Viola bathtub, is priced with US duties, taxes, insurance, and DHL Express freight already included.
The exact timeline: from order to doorstep
Day 0 — Order confirmation
We confirm your dimensions, stone, and finish within one business day. If your sink is a custom size, this is when we lock the drawing — our custom marble sink guide explains what we can adjust.
Weeks 1–3 — Carving
Each sink is hand-carved from a single block: cutting, hollowing, sanding, and sealing take 2–3 weeks. We message you when carving is finished and again after quality check, with photos of your actual piece.
Crating — the same day carving ends
The sink is packed into a custom-built wooden crate with foam blocking. Stone is heavy but brittle at the edges; a 60–120 lb basin needs a crate sized to it, not a padded box.
Customs — cleared before the plane lands
This is the part you never see, and that is the point. We file the commercial invoice and HTS classification, and pay US duties and taxes through DHL before arrival. The shipment enters the US pre-cleared — there is no customs hold waiting on a payment from you.
Final week — DHL Express air freight
Door-to-door air delivery takes roughly one week with full tracking. Total time from order to installation-ready sink: about 3–4 weeks. For sizing questions while you wait for the plumber, our vessel sink guide and marble sink guide cover mounting and faucet planning.
What the numbers say about switching to DDP
Logistics providers that move sellers from DDU to DDP report measurable differences: delivery success rates improve by 5 to 15 percentage points and return volumes drop by 20–30% (GFS, 2025). The mechanism is simple — parcels stop being refused at the door, and customs stops holding shipments while waiting for buyer payments. For heavy freight like stone, that matters twice over: a refused 100 lb crate does not quietly ship back; it generates return freight that can exceed the product's value. DDP removes the single most common failure point of international furniture delivery.
What if something goes wrong in transit?
Every shipment is fully insured. If a crate arrives damaged, send us photos within 48 hours and we carve a free replacement or issue a full refund — your choice. In practice the custom crate does its job, but we would rather absorb a rare replacement than ask you to gamble on a discount. Honest caveat: DDP covers duties and taxes, not delays. Customs volumes since the de minimis change have made US clearance busier for everyone; pre-cleared DDP shipments move through faster than DDU, but "about a week" for delivery means occasionally eight or nine days, not a guarantee.
Ready to plan a piece?
If you want a sink or bathtub in a size your bathroom actually needs, send us the dimensions through our custom order page. You will get a fixed quote within 24 hours — carving, insurance, DHL Express freight, and every US duty and tax included. The number we quote is the number you pay.
Frequently asked questions
Will I pay any customs or import fees when my order arrives in the US?
No. Under DDP shipping we pre-pay all US duties, tariffs, and taxes before arrival. The checkout price is the final price — there is nothing to pay at delivery.
How long does DDP shipping from Turkey to the US take?
About 3–4 weeks total: 2–3 weeks of hand-carving, then roughly one week of insured DHL Express air freight, door to door with tracking.
Did the end of the $800 de minimis rule change my price?
Not at checkout. Since August 29, 2025 all US imports are subject to duties, but under DDP we absorb those duties into the listed price — the change affects our paperwork, not your bill.
Is DDP shipping the same as free shipping?
They overlap but differ. Free shipping means no freight charge; DDP means duties and taxes are also pre-paid. Our prices include both: freight, insurance, and all import charges.
