Who pays the import duty on a K-beauty order from abroad

Since the end of US duty-free entry for low-value parcels, how a retailer handles import duty decides what a US shopper actually pays.

Of the 10 retailers shipping from Korea or Hong Kong for which we hold a sourced duty policy, 3 include duty in the listed price (BuyBeautyKorea, Koreabe and Stylevana), 4 add it at checkout (AMORE MALL, DodoSkin, MUSINSA and StyleKorean), 2 say it may be collected by the carrier on delivery (Delivered and YesStyle), and 1 does not specify (Hemeko).

That means two cross-border listings at the same price can cost a shopper different amounts once the parcel arrives.

The K-Beauty Price Index compares listed prices. The shipping and duty terms dataset shows where the listed price is not the final price.

Sources

• Retailers' published shipping and duty policies, captured daily since August 27, 2026