How to ship a $0 (zero) order with Swap Global

This article explains how Swap Global ships cross-border orders that include a $0 line item — such as a free sample, gift-with-purchase, or fully discounted product — without the shipment being rejected by the carrier, and with a statement that tells customs the item is promotional.

📌 This feature applies only to Swap Global (cross-border) orders shipped with Swap's shipping integration, and is in beta. You turn it on yourself in Store settings.

Prerequisites

Before you can ship $0 orders through Swap Global:

1. Ship with Swap's shipping integration. The feature only applies to Swap Global orders shipped with Swap's shipping integration.
2. Set a cost price in Shopify for any product that might ship at $0. Swap Global uses this cost price as the declared value on the commercial invoice. If a product has no cost price set, Swap Global still ships the order, but substitutes a fallback value, currently $5 USD or the equivalent in the order currency, instead of the product's real cost.
3. Turn on zero gift orders in Store settings. The feature is off by default. The next section explains how.
   

How to turn on zero gift orders

1. In the Swap dashboard, select Store settings at the bottom left.
2. On the General tab, find Zero gift orders.
3. Turn on the toggle.
4. Accept the terms and conditions. The feature only switches on once you've accepted them.

Once the feature is on, select View terms to read the terms again, or Download record to download a copy.

You can turn zero gift orders off at any time from the same card. Turning it off applies to new shipments only; orders already shipped aren't affected.

When Swap makes a material change to the terms, such as how the declared value is calculated, you need to accept the new version within 10 business days. If you don't, Swap turns the feature off until you accept.

If Swap turned the feature on for your store before it was available in Store settings, it's already on and you don't need to do anything. Turning it off and on again records your agreement to the current terms.

What counts as a $0 order

A $0 order is any cross-border order where a line item is declared at $0.00: a free sample, a gift-with-purchase, an influencer or PR kit, a fully discounted item, or a zero-priced catalogue insert.

Two problems follow from a $0.00 declared value:

• Carriers reject it. Cross-border carriers can reject a commercial invoice when a line is declared at $0.00, so the booking fails.
• Customs can charge duty on it. Without context, customs can assess duty or VAT on an item the customer never paid for.

Swap Global addresses both by replacing the $0.00 value with a realistic declared value and adding a note that tells customs the item is promotional.

How it works

Once zero gift orders is on, Swap Global handles $0 lines automatically at label time — no extra steps at checkout or fulfilment. For each line item declared at $0.00:

1. Declared value. Swap Global substitutes the product's cost price from Shopify in place of $0.00. If no cost price is set, it applies a fallback value, currently $5 USD or the equivalent in the order currency, instead.
2. Customs description. Swap Global keeps the product's real description and appends a promotional note, so customs can see why a value has been added to an item the customer wasn't charged for.
3. Commercial invoice and shipment data. The commercial invoice and the shipment data sent to the carrier both show the substituted value and the description with its promotional statement.

This is designed to tell customs the item is promotional rather than a sale. Customs clearance and duty or tax treatment are not guaranteed.

Example: a free 1.5 mL sample shipped as a gift-with-purchase.

Things to know

• Only use it for genuinely promotional items. By accepting the terms, you confirm that every item shipped this way is a free sample, gift-with-purchase, promotional item, or catalogue insert, and not an item being sold. Swap can ask for evidence, such as campaign details, and can suspend the feature for your store or for specific products.
• This feature is in beta. Coverage and behaviour may still change as more brands and order types are validated.
• Customs clearance and duty or tax treatment are not guaranteed. The promotional statement tells customs the line is promotional, but customs authorities make the final decision. Contact your Swap account team if a promotional line is charged unexpectedly.
• Swap Global orders shipped with Swap's shipping integration only. The feature has no effect on orders placed through any other Swap product, or on Global orders fulfilled through another shipping route.
• It doesn't work with bypass shipping rates. Orders that rely on bypass rates (no shipping line set in Shopify) aren't covered by this feature.
• Only the $0 line is affected. In a mixed order, paid items keep their real declared price — the substitution and customs note only apply to the $0 line.
• A cost price gives the most accurate declaration. Without one, Swap Global applies the fallback value so the order still ships, but the declared value is a placeholder rather than the product's real cost. Customs is more likely to query, delay, or charge duty or tax on a line declared at the fallback value.