Getting Shipping Costs Right When Buying Perfume
Published on 11.10.2026
The item price is not the full picture
You are comparing two listings for the same perfume, one at 62 euros and one at 68 euros, and your instinct is to pick the cheaper one. Then at checkout you notice the 62 euro listing adds 7.90 euros for shipping, while the 68 euro listing ships free. Perfume shipping costs are one of the biggest reasons the final price can end up different from what the item price first suggested, and that is exactly why it pays to look at the total, not just the sticker price.
The price that actually matters is the item price plus shipping. If you are ordering from a shop outside the EU, an estimated import tax often gets added on top of that, more on that below. Only once you add all of it together do you know what you are really going to pay.
A worked example: same perfume, different final prices
Say Shop A lists the bottle at 62 euros and charges 7.90 euros for shipping. That puts the final price at 69.90 euros. Shop B charges 68 euros for the same bottle but ships for free. The final price at Shop B is 68 euros. Even though Shop A had the lower item price, Shop B ends up 1.90 euros cheaper overall.
That gap looks small at first glance, but it can add up if you order regularly or buy several items at once. Note that 62, 68 and 7.90 euros here are made up numbers chosen to illustrate the math, not real prices from any actual retailer.
Tiered shipping fees and free shipping thresholds
Many online shops use a tiered model: below a certain order value you pay a flat shipping fee, and above a minimum order value shipping becomes free. This is a common, general pattern across online retail, not something specific to one shop. It typically looks something like this:
- Below a certain order value: a flat shipping fee, often somewhere in the range of a few euros.
- Above a minimum order value: free shipping.
What that means in practice: sometimes it is worth adding a second, smaller item to your order to clear the free shipping threshold, rather than placing two separate orders that each carry their own shipping fee. Whether that actually works out cheaper is worth a quick calculation before you check out.
When an import tax gets added
If you are ordering from within the EU from a shop based outside the EU, an import tax can apply on top of the item price and shipping. Since July 2021, EU import VAT is charged on goods from non-EU countries starting from the very first euro of value, the previous 22 euro exemption no longer exists. The rate generally matches the standard VAT rate of your own country, for example around 19 percent in Germany or around 20 percent in Austria. On top of import VAT, customs duty can also apply. Since July 1, 2026, shipments up to 150 euros in value are no longer duty free, a flat customs duty of 3 euros per item applies to them instead. Above 150 euros, the rate still depends on the value of the goods and the country of origin and cannot be stated in general terms, since it varies case by case.
Here is a worked example: assume a bottle from a non-EU shop costs 55 euros plus 9 euros shipping, for a subtotal of 64 euros. If an estimated import tax of 19 percent applies on top of that, roughly 12.16 euros gets added, bringing the estimated price to about 76 euros. Since this order stays under 150 euros, the flat 3 euro customs duty in place since July 1, 2026 would bring the estimated final price to about 79 euros. Again, every figure here is an assumed example, the actual tax rate depends on your own country.
The UK counts as a non-EU country since Brexit
One point that trips a lot of buyers up: the UK has not been part of the EU or the EU single market since Brexit took effect in 2021. If you are ordering from within the EU from a shop based in the UK, the same import rules generally apply as for any other non-EU country, meaning possible import tax and possible customs duty on top of the item price and shipping.
Why a low item price can end up costing more
The examples above point to the core issue: a low item price combined with high shipping, or with an added import tax, can end up costing more overall than a higher item price with free shipping and no import tax, simply because the second one ships from within the EU. The item price alone tells you very little until you know what gets added on top.
That is why it is worth running the numbers for every listing: item price plus shipping, and for non-EU shops, the estimated import tax and possible customs duty as well. A price comparison site such as perfumeprices.info shows you this final price including shipping directly, so you do not have to work it out yourself each time.
Perfume shipping has its own quirks
Perfume contains alcohol and is therefore often classified as a hazardous good for shipping purposes, specifically as a flammable liquid. Because of that, some shops do not ship perfume to every country, or specific shipping methods apply instead of standard delivery. This can also affect the shipping cost itself, since a special shipping method is often more expensive than a regular parcel.
A worked example with more than one item in an order
Say you want to order two bottles from a shop that uses tiered shipping fees. The first bottle costs 45 euros, the second 30 euros, for a combined value of 75 euros. If that shop's free shipping threshold sits at, say, 70 euros, this order ships free, and the final price is 75 euros. Had you placed two separate orders instead, each one might have triggered its own flat shipping fee, say 5.90 euros each, adding 11.80 euros in total. In this example, placing one combined order is clearly the better move. Every figure here is a made up example, actual thresholds and shipping fees vary from shop to shop.
Why it is worth checking more than one retailer
Because the item price, the shipping cost, and for non-EU shops the estimated import tax all vary by retailer, the same perfume can end up with noticeably different final prices at two different sellers, even when the item price alone looks almost identical. Comparing only the first item price you see makes it easy to miss exactly this kind of gap.
A price comparison site that shows the final price including shipping and estimated import tax for your own country side by side takes that calculation off your hands, since you do not have to work out what actually gets added at each individual shop yourself.
