What EU fulfillment costs – and how our pricing works
EU fulfillment costs come in three layers. Landing your stock – freight, customs clearance, import duty and import VAT – falls due once per bulk shipment. Running fulfillment – receiving, storage, pick & pack, packaging, parcel shipping and returns – follows your volume month by month. Tax and compliance – VAT filings and your EU responsible person – run alongside. Here is every line, who charges it and how we price our part.
EU fulfillment cost breakdown, from factory to doorstep
Most of these lines exist whichever 3PL you choose – what differs is who charges them and how. The lines marked Primepack are our warehouse services.
| Cost line | What it covers | Who charges it | How it's charged |
|---|---|---|---|
| Getting your stock into the EU– once per bulk shipment | |||
| Ocean or air freight to Gothenburg | Moving your goods from the factory or your home warehouse to our warehouse in Gothenburg, near the Port of Gothenburg – Sweden's largest port, which handles more than half of Sweden's container traffic. Weeks by sea, faster by air. | Who charges itYour freight forwarder | How it's chargedPer inbound shipment |
| Customs clearance | Lodging the import declaration for the bulk shipment. A business based outside the EU generally can't be the declarant itself, so it typically works with an EU-established customs agent. We coordinate the clearance of your bulk shipment with our customs partners, who can lodge the import declaration on your behalf as your customs agent. How EU fulfillment works | Who charges itYour customs agent | How it's chargedTypically per bulk shipment |
| Import duty | Set by each product's commodity code and its origin – where it was made, not where it was shipped from. Some goods carry zero duty, and a trade agreement can lower the rate for goods that meet its origin rules and have the right proof of origin. Some products and origins also carry extra duties, such as anti-dumping duties. A percentage duty is calculated on the customs value: generally the value of the goods plus shipping and insurance up to the EU border. Look up the current rate in TARIC or Access2Markets. EORI numbers & customs basics | Who charges itSwedish Customs | How it's chargedWhen the shipment is cleared |
| Import VAT | Charged on the import, separately from duty. If you are the importer and are VAT-registered in Sweden when the goods are cleared, you normally report it in your Swedish VAT return and deduct it in the same return, to the extent you have a right to deduct. A business that is not registered pays it to Swedish Customs instead. Agree who acts as importer with your customs agent and tax advisor before the first shipment. EU VAT for non-EU sellers | Who charges itSwedish Tax Agency via your VAT return – or Swedish Customs if you are not registered | How it's chargedWhen the shipment is cleared |
| Running fulfillment– follows your volume | |||
| Receiving | Unloading your delivery, quality-checking the goods and registering them by barcode in our warehouse management system (Ongoing WMS) before they are put away. | Who charges itPrimepack | How it's chargedBy the hour |
| Storage | Pallet locations for full pallets and bulky goods, shelf locations for small items and pick stock. Stock that sits for months keeps occupying its locations. | Who charges itPrimepack | How it's chargedPer pallet or shelf location, per month |
| Pick & pack | Picking each order and packing it for the carrier. DTC orders are picked and packed the same day; B2B orders go out by carton or pallet. | Who charges itPrimepack | How it's chargedPer DTC order; B2B by the hour |
| Packaging & inserts | Boxes, mailers and filler – your own branded packaging or standard material – plus any inserts, bundles or kits that go into the parcel. | Who charges itYour packaging supplier, or your 3PL if it supplies the material | How it's chargedPer unit of material, or included in the order rate – check which |
| Parcel shipping | Postage from the warehouse to your customer's door. There is no customs inside the EU: parcels typically take 1–2 business days to the Nordic EU countries (Sweden, Denmark, Finland), 2–3 to Germany and Benelux and 3–5 to the rest of the EU. Great Britain, Norway and Switzerland can be served from the same stock; those shipments go through customs. | Who charges itThe carrier – often booked through your 3PL | How it's chargedPer parcel, by size, weight, destination and service level |
| Returns | Receiving the return, inspecting each item and putting approved items back into sellable stock. EU consumers who buy online generally have 14 days to withdraw from a purchase without giving a reason, so budget for returns from the first month. | Who charges itPrimepack for the handling; the carrier for return postage | How it's chargedPer DTC return; B2B returns by the hour |
| Stock counts | Counting the stock on its locations and checking it against the system – for example ahead of your financial year-end. | Who charges itPrimepack | How it's chargedBy the hour |
| Tax & compliance– outside the warehouse | |||
| VAT & OSS filing | Swedish VAT returns for your sales in Sweden and, if you use the EU's One Stop Shop, OSS returns for sales to consumers in other EU countries – which, as a rule, carry the VAT of each customer's country from the first sale. Businesses from the US, Canada, Australia or the UK should plan for a VAT agent approved by the Swedish Tax Agency and confirm it with a tax advisor. We guide you through the setup and can put you in touch with accounting partners. How EU VAT works for you | Who charges itYour accountant and your VAT agent | How it's chargedRecurring, each filing period |
| EU responsible person | Under the EU General Product Safety Regulation, a consumer product can only be placed on the EU market if an EU-established operator is responsible for it. For a brand based outside the EU, that can be an EU importer or an authorized representative appointed by written mandate – named, with a postal and an electronic address, on the product, its packaging, the parcel or an accompanying document, and in your online listings. | Who charges itThe EU importer or authorized representative you appoint | How it's chargedIn place before your goods ship to the EU |
Why per-parcel import costs are not on this list
Shipping orders one by one from outside the EU now carries costs of its own. Since 1 July 2026, low-value parcels sent directly to EU consumers from outside the EU pay a temporary flat customs duty per item type. An EU handling fee on such parcels is due to start, and from July 2028 sellers that don't use IOSS will, as a rule, be liable for the import VAT themselves.
Genuine stock that is imported in bulk and cleared before it is sold is imported under the normal rules instead: duty at the product's normal rate and import VAT fall due once, when the bulk shipment is cleared, and the flat parcel duty does not apply. Your EU orders are not imports – so IOSS does not apply to them. One condition: goods already sold to individual customers before they are imported don't count as stock. IOSS explained
How our 3PL pricing works
We price the warehouse part of the list with four building blocks, so your invoice follows what you actually store, ship and get back.
Storage
Per pallet or shelf location, per month
You pay for the locations your stock occupies – pallet locations for full pallets and bulky goods, shelf locations for small items. When your stock grows or shrinks, so does this line.
DTC orders
Per order
Picking and packing is charged per e-commerce order. Orders arrive from your store automatically – Shopify through a ready-made integration, other platforms and marketplaces via API.
DTC returns
Per return
One rate per return: we receive it, inspect every item and put approved items back into sellable stock.
Hourly work
By the hour
B2B orders by carton or pallet, receiving of inbound deliveries and stock counts vary from job to job, so they are charged by the hour.
Freight, duty, import VAT and accounting are not warehouse services, so they sit outside these rates – budget for them separately. There is no hard minimum volume, and we will be honest about whether we are the right fit for yours. Ask for a quote
What drives your fulfillment price
Three inputs shape every quote. The more precise your numbers, the more precise the quote.
SKUs & storage footprint
How many products you carry, how many units of each and how bulky they are decide how many pallet and shelf locations you occupy. The size and rhythm of your inbound shipments matter too: stock that waits months to sell keeps taking up space.
Orders & items per order
Your monthly order volume sets the size of the pick & pack line. What goes into a typical order – how many items, and any inserts, bundles or gift sets – shapes the handling behind each parcel.
Destinations & service level
Where your customers are and how fast you promise delivery decide the parcel shipping line. Parcels inside the EU travel without customs; shipments to Great Britain, Norway and Switzerland go through customs.
Still deciding where your EU stock should sit? Compare Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany in where to fulfill in Europe.
Questions to ask when you compare 3PL quotes
Quotes from different 3PLs are rarely built the same way. These six questions make them comparable – ask them of every provider, us included.
What exactly does the per-order rate include?
Some quotes fold packaging material, inserts and shipping labels into the order rate; others bill them as separate lines. Compare the same items across every quote, not just the headline rate.
How is storage measured and billed?
Per pallet location, per shelf location, per cubic meter or per unit – different bases make quotes hard to compare. Ask each provider to price the same stock profile: your SKUs, units and carton sizes.
How is receiving charged – and what if cartons don't match the packing list?
The first inbound shipment is where differences show up: mixed cartons, missing barcodes, quantities that don't match. Ask how that extra work is handled and billed.
What does a return cost from start to finish?
The handling rate is only part of it. Ask how inspection and restocking work, what happens to items that can't be resold and how return postage is charged.
Which one-off and recurring fees apply?
Setup, integration, account management, monthly minimums – get every fixed and one-off fee in writing, so you see the full cost of your first year and not only the variable rates.
Who clears customs on the bulk shipment – and who bills for it?
A business based outside the EU generally can't be the declarant itself, so it typically works with an EU-established customs agent who lodges the import declaration. Ask whether the 3PL coordinates this and how the agent's fee, the duty and the import VAT reach you.
How to get an itemized fulfillment quote
From first contact to a quote you can compare – three steps.
Tell us
What you sell, how many SKUs you carry, where your customers are and roughly how many orders you ship each month.
We model your flow
We map your inbound shipments, storage footprint and order profile and propose the setup that fits.
Clear, itemized quote
Storage, orders, returns and hourly work on their own lines, based on your numbers – so you can compare it line by line.
Where to fulfill in Europe
Sweden, the Netherlands or Germany? How to choose a location for your European stock.
Read moreHow EU fulfillment works
The whole route in four steps – from your factory to a customer's door in Europe, and who does what.
Read moreEU VAT for non-EU sellers
Swedish VAT registration, the One-Stop Shop and import VAT – what changes once your stock sits inside the EU.
Read moreGet a quote built on your numbers
Tell us about your products, volumes and target markets. You'll get a clear, itemized quote – no obligation.