EU Shipping Update

EU Shipping Update

 

What's happening

From 1 July 2026, the EU has scrapped a rule that used to make life pretty simple for small overseas brands like ours: the "de minimis" exemption. That rule meant parcels under €150 could enter the EU without attracting customs duty. Now that's gone.

In its place, the EU has introduced a flat €3 customs duty per item on parcels under €150 coming from outside the EU. This is separate from VAT, which has applied to EU orders for a while now regardless of order value.

Why we've paused EU shipping

We're not stopping EU orders because we don't want to serve our EU customers, quite the opposite. We're pausing while we get the backend sorted properly, because doing it wrong means:

  • Parcels getting held up or rejected at customs
  • Surprise fees landing on customers at the door (way more annoying than a heads-up €3)
  • Us potentially copping delays, extra admin, or return shipping costs on top

Rather than send orders out and hope for the best, we'd rather take a short pause, get registered and set up properly, then reopen EU shipping with no nasty surprises for anyone.

 

What this means for you if you're in the EU

  • EU orders are paused for now, not cancelled forever
  • If you've already got an order in progress, we'll be in touch directly about it
  • We'll post an update here and on Instagram as soon as EU shipping reopens
  • When it does reopen, pricing or checkout may look slightly different, purely because of these new customs requirements, not because we've changed anything about the products themselves

A note on why this is happening EU-wide

This isn't a Wisteria Road thing, it's an EU-wide change affecting basically every small business outside Europe that ships in, from indie Etsy sellers to big platforms. The EU brought it in to level the playing field between overseas sellers and EU-based ones, and to cut down on parcels that were being undervalued to dodge duty. So if you've noticed other small overseas shops pausing or adjusting EU shipping too, that's why.

Bottom line: we're not going anywhere, we just want EU shipping to work properly instead of leaving you with a badly-timed customs bill. Thanks for bearing with us. 💌