Field Notes · · 1 min

Ordering tattoo supplies from the US to Canada and Europe: duties, VAT, lead times

What a studio in Canada or Europe pays and waits for when it restocks from the United States: the shipping services, the duties and import VAT on delivery, the cut-off, and the one material that stays home.

We ship from the United States to studios in the US, Canada and sixteen European countries. Buying from abroad is simple once the three things that surprise people are written down: what you pay at checkout, what you pay on delivery, and how long it takes. This note is the plain version; the binding text is Lead time and shipping.

At checkout

Prices show in your currency: US dollars, Canadian dollars or euros, chosen in the footer or set from your delivery address. Shipping is added at checkout at the rates below. Nothing else is charged there.

Region Standard Free standard from Express Transit, business days
United States $8 $70 $15 2 to 5, or 1 to 2
Canada $25 $250 $45 4 to 8, or 2 to 3
Europe $45 $400 $75 6 to 12, or 3 to 5

A restock confirmed before 2:00 pm Eastern on a business day is dispatched the same day. Transit times are the carrier's estimates, not promises.

On delivery

Restocks to Canada and Europe ship Delivered at Place. Import duties, import VAT or GST and HST, and the carrier's brokerage fee are assessed by your country, collected by the carrier and paid by the studio on delivery. They are not in our prices and we do not charge local VAT at checkout. The amount depends on your country's rates for the goods; the carrier will tell you before delivery. Studios that are VAT-registered can usually reclaim the import VAT through their normal return; ask your accountant, not us.

The one that stays home

The wireless battery contains a lithium cell and ships within the United States only, until we hold the paperwork to move it across a border. Every other material ships to all three regions.

Returns from abroad

The windows are the same everywhere: sealed boxes within 14 days, defects within 7. Return shipping and any duties on the way back follow the Returns and recalls policy; a defect is on us, a change of mind is on the studio.

Short answers to the rest are on Questions.