The Incoterm on your quote decides who arranges the freight, who pays the duties, and — the part that surprises people — who owns the goods if something goes wrong in transit. Four terms cover almost every quote you will receive as an importer.
The four terms you will be offered
| Term | Means | You pay | Risk sits with you from |
|---|---|---|---|
| EXW | Ex Works | Everything after the factory gate | The factory door |
| FOB | Free On Board | Ocean freight, duties, inland delivery | Once loaded at origin port |
| CIF | Cost, Insurance & Freight | Duties and inland delivery | Origin port |
| DDP | Delivered Duty Paid | Nothing extra — price is final | Your door, after delivery |
Notice the pattern: as you move down the list, the seller takes on more, and the price you see becomes closer to the price you actually pay.
Why DDP is usually right for a first order
With EXW or FOB, you need a freight forwarder, a customs broker, a duty classification for every product in the shipment, and a plan for what happens if the container is held. That is a real skill set, and getting it wrong costs more than the freight itself.
- One number, agreed upfront — no invoice arriving three weeks after delivery
- Duties and clearance handled by the shipper, who does it every week
- Door delivery, or direct to an Amazon FBA warehouse with labels and carton marks applied
- No forwarder relationship needed to place a first order
What to confirm before you accept a DDP quote
- Is the destination address included, or only to the nearest port?
- Are duties and taxes included for your specific product and destination country?
- For Amazon: are FNSKU labels and carton markings applied, or do you do that yourself?
- What happens if customs requests additional documentation — who handles it?
- Is the delivery window committed, or estimated?
Vlikestar ships DDP door-to-door to 20+ countries across North America, Europe, Australia and Singapore — including direct to FBA warehouses with FNSKU labelling and carton marks. Your quote states a landed cost, so the number you approve is the number you pay.