Dutiful → Use Cases → E-commerce
Recommended: Dutiful APIPre-checkout compliance checks that prevent failed cross-border shipments
Before a customer completes an international order, check whether the items can ship to that destination and what documentation is needed. Reduce customs holds, returns, and the support tickets that follow.
The cross-border problem
The challenge
Your customers order internationally. Customs is where things break.
Cross-border e-commerce is growing at 18% CAGR. But every country has different rules about what can be imported, what documents are needed, and what's prohibited. When shipments are held at customs, your customers blame you-not the customs authority.
01
Failed shipments erode trust
A customer orders a product, pays for shipping, waits two weeks-and then gets a customs hold notification. Returns, refunds, support tickets. Each one costs £30-£75 and a customer you may never see again.
02
No pre-checkout compliance layer
Shipping APIs help you create labels and track parcels. Duty calculators tell you how much tax will be charged. Nobody tells you upfront: 'This item cannot be shipped to this country' or 'This route requires additional documentation.'
03
You can't manually check every route
With dozens of destination countries and thousands of products, manual compliance checking doesn't scale. You need an API that answers the question programmatically, at checkout speed.
How Dutiful helps
One API call before checkout. Full compliance picture.
Integrate Dutiful into your checkout flow. Before an order is confirmed, check whether the items can ship to the destination, what documents are needed, and whether any restrictions apply. Prevent failures before they happen.
Simple integration
REST API, JSON:API format, bearer token auth. Free Sandbox for testing. Build the integration in a day, not a quarter.
Block before it fails
Surface prohibited items at checkout. Show customers why an item can't ship to their destination-before they pay, not after it's stuck at customs.
Document requirements upfront
Tell customers what documentation they'll need. Set expectations before shipping, reducing 'where's my order?' support tickets.
Prohibited - Japan
Restricted
The difference
How your workflow changes
Same scenario. Completely different outcome.
Before Dutiful
- Customer in Japan orders a wireless device from your UK store
- Order ships-no compliance check at checkout
- Shipment held at Japanese customs-missing TELEC certification
- Customer contacts support, wants a refund
- You pay for return shipping + refund + support time
- Customer doesn't come back
With Dutiful
- Customer in Japan adds the same device to cart
- Your checkout calls Dutiful API-restriction flagged
- Customer sees: 'This item requires TELEC certification for Japan'
- Customer is informed before paying-no surprise
- No failed shipment, no refund, no support ticket
- Trust preserved. Customer orders something else.
The maths
£750-£1,875
Monthly cost of customs failures (500 orders, 5%)
£699/mo
Dutiful API Growth tier
50%+ reduction
In customs holds from month one
Even a 50% reduction in customs-related failures saves £375-£938/month - paying for the Growth tier from day one. At scale, the savings multiply.
Other use cases
Dutiful works across the logistics chain
Stop losing customers to customs failures. Check before you ship.
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