Selling to the Netherlands and Europe with Shopify Markets

Who it is for

US and non-EU stores selling to Europe

Time needed

A day to set up, plus translation

What you need

Shopify Payments and product HS codes

Dutch shoppers have firm expectations of a store based abroad. They want prices in €, a checkout with iDEAL, text they can read and no surprise bill from the courier at the door. Shopify can handle all four from your existing US store. The work is in the settings and in two tax rules that change what your customer pays on delivery.

This guide is written for a store based outside the EU, usually the US, that wants to sell to the Netherlands first and the rest of Europe after. Settings and rules were checked against Shopify's Help Center and official EU and Dutch government pages on 7 November 2026. It is general information, not tax or legal advice, so confirm your own situation with an adviser before you register for anything.

What changes when you sell to the Netherlands

The Dutch reduced rate of 9% covers things like food, medicines and books, according to the Dutch government's business portal. Most other goods carry 21%.

Step 1: Create the market

Markets has its own item in the main Shopify admin menu. A market is a group of one or more countries that share settings. New markets start with your store's defaults, and you then change what should differ: currency, catalogs, theme, domain and languages, and duties and tax settings, including tax-inclusive pricing.

1. Open Markets from the left-hand menu of your admin.
2. Create a new market and give it a name only you will see, such as "Netherlands".
3. Add the countries. Add the Netherlands alone, or the Netherlands plus Belgium and other EU countries, depending on the decision below.
4. Activate the market. A country must be in an active market before customers there can be shipped to.

If you're weighing a separate store for Europe instead, my comparison of Shopify Markets vs multiple stores sets out when each makes sense. For most US brands starting in Europe, one store with Markets is simpler and cheaper.

Step 2: Currency and pricing

Set the market's currency so prices show in €. Shopify shows converted prices for free, but how customers are charged depends on your payment provider. With Shopify Payments, customers pay in € with cards, Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal Express. With other providers, prices display in € but the charge is made in your store currency, and the customer's bank may add its own fees.

Two pricing details matter for the EU specifically:

• Tax-inclusive prices. EU shoppers expect the price on the product page to include VAT. Turn on tax-inclusive pricing for the market, so €49 means €49 at checkout.
• Sale prices. In the EEA, a price reduction must show the lowest price charged in the previous 30 days. If your primary market is outside the EEA, Shopify hides compare-at prices from EEA visitors by default. You can turn them back on in the admin, but only do so if your "was" prices meet that 30-day rule.

Shopify Payments charges a currency conversion fee on these sales, and Shopify's own help page uses 1.5% in its example. Set your € prices with that in mind rather than relying on the live exchange rate.

Step 3: Dutch language and a /nl subfolder

Install Shopify's free Translate & Adapt app. It can translate the store with Shopify's translations for up to 2 languages (8 in some countries), and you edit the results side by side. Once you publish a language, checkout and email notifications appear in the customer's language too.

Then give the market its own URL. Shopify recommends subfolders for a first international setup, because they use your main domain and its existing search ranking:

1. Open Markets and click the Netherlands market.
2. Open Languages and domains in the market settings.
3. Click Manage domains, then select Use subfolders.
4. Enter a suffix in the Domain suffix box, such as nl.
5. Select Dutch under Languages and click Save.

Shopify adds hreflang tags automatically for each subfolder, so search engines show Dutch visitors the Dutch pages. A .nl domain is also possible, but it builds search authority from zero, so Shopify suggests it only when you have a specific reason.

Step 4: iDEAL and payments at checkout

iDEAL | Wero is the bank payment most Dutch shoppers reach for, and a checkout without it looks foreign. With Shopify Payments, local payment methods appear on the payments card in the market's settings when an eligible country is in the market: add the Netherlands and iDEAL | Wero shows up there, ready to activate. Add Belgium and Bancontact appears too.

Availability depends on your Shopify Payments account and the market's currency, so check the payments card after you set up € pricing. If iDEAL doesn't appear, ask Shopify Support before launching. Klarna is also available through Shopify Payments for shoppers in a range of European countries.

Step 5: VAT, IOSS and customs duty

This is the part that decides whether your Dutch customer pays extra at the door. The rules for a seller shipping from outside the EU work like this:

The €3 duty started on 1 July 2026 and is charged per tariff classification, not per item: the European Commission's example is that five T-shirts attract one €3 duty, while three T-shirts and a watch attract €6. The seller or importer declares and pays it. The Commission's FAQ describes the rules as applying until 1 July 2028.

IOSS (Import One-Stop Shop) is optional, but Shopify notes you need it if you want to charge VAT at checkout. Without it, your customer pays VAT to the carrier on delivery, and carriers can add their own charge. An unexpected bill at the door is a common reason for refused parcels. Once registered:

1. Open tax settings. Go to Settings > Taxes and duties.
2. Choose the EU. Under Regional settings, select European Union.
3. Add your IOSS registration so Shopify charges VAT on qualifying orders. You can't use OSS and IOSS at the same time.

To show duties at checkout as well, go to Settings > Taxes and duties, click Set up in Duties and import taxes, confirm your carrier supports Delivered Duty Paid labels, choose the countries, add missing HS codes and countries of origin, and click Agree and activate. Shopify charges a fee on each order where duties are calculated: its page listed a temporary 0.5% for all merchants, with standard rates of 0.85% on Shopify Payments and 1.5% on other providers.

Shopify also offers Managed Markets, powered by Global-e, which acts as merchant of record and handles tax remittance, duties and local payment methods for you. It is available to merchants based in the continental US, plus certain Canadian and UK stores. Its fees weren't on the help page I checked, so compare the quote with doing it yourself.

Step 6: Returns, product safety and cookies

• Right of withdrawal. EU shoppers can cancel an online purchase within 14 days of delivery without giving a reason. They pay return postage unless you offer to, or didn't tell them about the cost before purchase. Personalized and made-to-order goods are excluded. Update your return policy in Settings > Policies to match.
• Product safety (GPSR). Since December 2024, listings for products sold in the EU must show the manufacturer's name and contact details, an EU Responsible Person if the manufacturer is outside the EU, and safety information in the local language. Shopify suggests the Disclosures product metafield for warnings. It doesn't offer Responsible Person services itself.
• Cookie banner. In Settings > Customer privacy, Shopify's automated settings show the banner to EEA visitors once you have an active market there.

Common mistakes

1. Shipping without IOSS, so customers face VAT and a handling fee at the door.
2. Prices that exclude VAT, which look cheaper on the product page and then jump at checkout.
3. "Was" prices that break the 30-day rule after turning compare-at prices back on.
4. Publishing unchecked machine Dutch on product and policy pages.
5. Missing HS codes, so duty estimates are wrong.
6. A US-only return policy that ignores the 14-day withdrawal right.

Netherlands and EU checklist

• Market created and active, with the Netherlands (and any other EU countries) added.
• Currency set to €, tax-inclusive pricing on.
• Dutch published with Translate & Adapt and checked by a reader.
• /nl subfolder set in Languages and domains.
• iDEAL | Wero active on the market's payments card.
• IOSS added in Settings > Taxes and duties > European Union.
• HS codes and countries of origin on every product.
• Return policy covers the 14-day right of withdrawal.
• GPSR details on product pages, cookie banner on for the EEA.
• Test orders placed to a Dutch address, in €, with iDEAL.

Next steps

Set the market up, then test it like a launch, using my guide to testing your store before going live. Start with the Netherlands, watch the first month of orders and returns, and add more EU countries once the process works.

If you want a sense of the budget first, my guide to international Shopify store costs covers it. I also work with Dutch and European brands as a Shopify developer for the Netherlands. Send me your store and I'll review your EU setup for free.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Managing international domains, Shopify Help Center
2. EU tax reference, Shopify Help Center
3. Collecting international duties and import taxes at checkout, Shopify Help Center
4. Ensuring fairness and safety: €3 customs duty on low-value parcels, European Commission
5. VAT rates, Business.gov.nl
6. Returns and refunds, Your Europe

Related services and work

Written by Ashraf Siddik

I'm a Shopify developer and CRO specialist. I have built and improved Shopify stores since 2018, completed more than 1,000 projects, and hold a 4.96 average rating across 719 client reviews.

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