What must my advertised consumer price include?
Show the consumer’s total price upfront, including applicable VAT, unavoidable charges and calculable mandatory delivery. If delivery cannot reasonably be calculated yet, explain how to calculate it as prominently as the headline price. Prepare your sourcing cost breakdown with Cambridge China Bridge.
Start with the consumer-facing price
A product advert with a price will normally be an invitation to purchase, even without a buy button. The total price must be clear and timely, where the consumer is likely to see it. This guide concerns your retail advertising to consumers.
Keep your purchasing calculation separate. Use understanding your landed price to establish your costs before setting the retail price.
Include VAT and unavoidable charges
Include applicable VAT and charges the consumer must pay to buy or receive the goods. Listing unavoidable fees separately will not normally be enough. Review handling, processing and compulsory packaging charges against that test.
Do not confuse your import VAT calculation with the price displayed to consumers. For the importing side, see VAT on imports from China. Keep a cost worksheet showing which costs you absorb and which charges consumers must pay.
Treat delivery according to the actual choice
Include mandatory delivery in the total when you can reasonably calculate it. If customers must choose between paid delivery options, include the cheapest until they choose another. Optional delivery charges must also be disclosed upfront, but may be shown separately.
Check whether collection is a workable option for your customers before describing delivery as optional. Obtain packed dimensions and carrier terms before publishing a listing; sourcing for e-commerce explains the packaging decisions behind delivery costs.
When delivery cannot yet be calculated
If mandatory delivery genuinely depends on information not yet available, such as the customer’s location, provide enough information to calculate the total. Give that information the same prominence as the headline price. Include the charge in the total as soon as you can reasonably calculate it.
Publish usable delivery bands and their geographical boundaries beside the price. A bare statement that delivery is calculated at checkout does not give the customer a calculation method. Test whether a customer can identify the applicable charge without contacting you.
Check the whole purchasing journey
A ‘from’ price must include applicable mandatory charges and accurately describe what it covers. Where the total remains uncalculable, repeat the calculation information at each invitation to purchase. Once calculable, show the total from that point onwards.
Review your adverts, product pages and basket together. Try different delivery addresses and optional services, then compare the displayed totals. Keep screenshots and your delivery schedule so your team can trace discrepancies when carrier costs or product packaging change.
Frequently asked questions
Can I advertise consumer prices excluding VAT?
Applicable VAT belongs in the consumer’s total price. Adding it later does not meet the requirement to show the total upfront.
Can I say delivery is calculated at checkout?
That statement alone is insufficient for uncalculable mandatory delivery. Provide a usable calculation method as prominently as the headline price, then include delivery once calculable.
Must I include optional express delivery?
Disclose the optional charge upfront, but it need not be included in the total before the customer chooses it.
Can I advertise a ‘from’ price?
Yes, provided it includes applicable mandatory charges and does not mislead customers about what the price covers.