Selling on Whatnot between Canada and the US: who pays the border charges

Short answer: when you sell on Whatnot to a buyer in the other country, the buyer usually pays the duty, tax and carrier fees when the parcel arrives, not at checkout. Whatnot says buyers cannot see the exact amount before they buy. Below is who pays what on each route, with real numbers, and how to tell your buyers before they bid.

How Whatnot ships between Canada and the US

This is how Whatnot's own help centre describes it in November 2026:

• A US seller to a buyer in Canada. The parcel goes by USPS, so it arrives by mail. Canada Post collects the tax, any duty and its handling fee before it delivers.
• A Canadian seller to a buyer in the US. The parcel goes by UPS. UPS contacts the buyer to collect the US duty and tariffs, and its own fees, before it delivers.
• A buyer who refuses to pay. Whatnot does not refund the order, and the parcel goes back to the seller.

Whatnot shows the shipping price and the sales tax at checkout. On these two routes the border charges are not included, so the buyer hears about them from the carrier, often days after the show.

What a buyer in Canada pays on an order from a US seller

The buyer pays sales tax on the value, duty if the product owes any, and Canada Post's handling fee for collecting them. Two examples, for a buyer in Ontario, from the official rules in force on November 1, 2026:

• A hoodie made in China, sold for US$60. About C$37.88 at the door: C$15.08 in duty (18%), C$12.85 in HST (13%) and the C$9.95 Canada Post handling fee.
• Trading cards made in the US, sold for US$45. About C$18.12 at the door: C$8.17 in HST and the C$9.95 handling fee. Trading cards owe no duty, but the tax and the fee still apply.

The tax depends on the province, so the same parcel costs a buyer in Alberta less than one in Nova Scotia. Do I pay duty on a parcel from the US to Canada? explains the limits, and mail or courier into Canada explains why the route matters.

What a buyer in the US pays on an order from a Canadian seller

Every parcel into the US goes through customs now, whatever its value. What the buyer pays depends on where the item was made, not on where you ship it from. Two examples, from the same rules:

• Trading cards printed in China, sold for C$60. About US$8.06 at the border: US$5.37 for the US tariff on goods made in China (12.5%) and the US$2.69 US customs processing fee, plus whatever UPS charges to clear the parcel.
• Trading cards made in Canada, sold for C$60, with a CUSMA claim. A CUSMA claim is a statement on the shipping paperwork that the item qualifies as made in North America, which can remove the duty. No US duty or processing fee. UPS may still charge the buyer its own fee for clearing customs.

So where each item was made, called its country of origin, matters. Whatnot asks Canadian sellers to add it to each item before printing a UPS label to the US. Country of origin explained and CUSMA in plain language cover how to find it, and what changed for parcels from Canada to the US covers the rest.

Tell buyers before they bid

A buyer who knows about the charge before bidding rarely refuses the parcel. A few things that help:

• Say it in the show. Add one line to your show description and say it when you start: buyers in the other country may pay tax, duty and a carrier fee when the parcel arrives.
• Know where your items were made. It decides the duty on both routes, and US customs asks for it.
• Check the number before the show. Put your best sellers through the free checker for each route, so you can answer when a buyer asks in the chat.
• Ship one parcel per buyer. Whatnot puts a buyer's wins from one show in one shipment. One parcel pays one handling fee or processing fee, instead of one for each item.

Check every Whatnot order with Othermile

Othermile connects to Whatnot with a key you make in your Whatnot account. Each order that is ready to ship is checked within minutes, and you see what your buyer will pay at the door before the parcel goes out, so you can warn the buyer or cover the charge yourself. Whatnot cannot hold an order, so an order that breaks your limits waits in Othermile for your OK. See Othermile for Whatnot for how to connect it.

This guide explains public rules in plain language for general information. It is not customs, tax or legal advice; the exact tariff code, your paperwork and the carrier decide the final amount.