Pricing & costs · For K-beauty brands
Know your real US landed cost before you set a price.
It's not just the unit price. By the time your product clears US customs and reaches a shelf, duty, freight, 3PL, and marketplace fees have stacked on top. The K·Beauty Plug's landed-cost calculator adds it all up, tells you whether your price still leaves margin, and — unlike a generic export calculator — checks it against the live US market price band for your category. Plus an HS-code starting point to classify your products.
No pay-to-rank. Estimates to plan with — confirm duty and classification with your broker before you file.
Why "unit price" lies
The price on your invoice isn't the price on the shelf.
A product that looks profitable at the factory can lose money by the time it's live in the US. Freight and insurance, US import duty, customs handling, 3PL receiving and pick-pack, and the cut a marketplace takes (often 15%) all stack onto your cost of goods — and then a US retailer expects a wholesale margin on top of that. Price without modeling the whole stack and you either quietly lose money or land above what the market will pay. Korean brands feel this hardest, because the Korea→US freight, duty, and fee picture is unfamiliar and easy to under-count.
What the calculator does
Full landed-cost stack
Enter your unit cost and units. We layer on freight, US duty, customs and 3PL handling, and marketplace fees to show your true cost per unit landed in the US — not a back-of-napkin guess.
Margin check, not just a total
It doesn't just total your costs. It tells you the margin left at your target price — DTC and wholesale — so you know if the price actually works before you commit.
Priced against the live US market
The part a generic export calculator can't do: we compare your price to the real US price band for your category, pulled from our cross-retailer data. So you learn whether your price leaves margin AND fits the market.
HS-code starting point for K-beauty
Classification trips everyone up. We give you the likely US HS/HTS heading for your category — skincare, lip, hair, cleanser, devices — as a starting point to confirm with your broker.
Built for Korea → US specifically
Defaults are set for the Korea-to-US lane and K-beauty categories, not a generic global template — so your first estimate is close, not random.
HS codes, to get you started.
US Customs classifies most K-beauty by what it is. These are common starting points — always confirm the full 10-digit code and duty with your customs broker.
- Skincare (serums, creams, essences, toners, masks)3304.99
- Lip products (balm, tint, lipstick)3304.10
- Hair care (shampoo, treatments, oils)3305
- Cleansers3304.99 or 3401.30 (depends on form)
- Beauty devices (tools, gadgets)classified outside Chapter 33 — ask your broker
Starting points, not a customs ruling. Classification and duty depend on formulation, form, and use.
How it works
- 1
Enter your unit cost, units, and target price.
- 2
See your full landed cost and the margin left — DTC and wholesale.
- 3
Check it against the live US price band and adjust before you commit.
Estimates to plan with — not a customs filing.
The calculator uses current Korea-to-US freight, duty, and fee assumptions as of 2026 to get you a fast, close estimate. It's built to help you price with your eyes open — not to replace your freight forwarder, customs broker, or accountant. Rates change; confirm duty and classification before you file. And as always, no fee ever changes a number here.
Common questions
What is landed cost?
Landed cost is the total cost to get your product from the factory to being sold in the US — unit cost plus freight, insurance, US import duty, customs and 3PL handling, and marketplace or channel fees. It's the number you actually need to price against, not the factory price.
How much is US import duty on Korean cosmetics?
It depends on the product's HS classification, its form, and current US trade measures, which change. Rather than quote a rate that may be out of date, the calculator applies a current working assumption for the Korea-to-US lane and flags it as an estimate to confirm with your broker.
What HS code do I use for K-beauty products?
Most skincare falls under HS heading 3304, hair care under 3305, and some cleansers under 3401 — but the full 10-digit code depends on formulation and form. We give you the likely starting point per category; your customs broker confirms the exact code.
How is this different from a generic export cost calculator?
A generic calculator totals your costs. Ours also checks your price against the live US market price band for your category, using our cross-retailer data — so you learn whether your price both leaves margin and fits the market.
Is it accurate enough to price on?
It's a strong first estimate built for the Korea-to-US lane and K-beauty categories, meant for planning. Confirm freight quotes, duty, and classification with your providers before you lock a price.
How much does it cost?
Checking your numbers is free to start, as part of the Brand Hub. It's one of a suite of free tools for emerging K-beauty brands in our Ieum program — discovery, verification, and the toolkit are free, and we never take payment to rank.