The first question an overseas buyer asks about a car on your lot is rarely about the car. It's "what will it cost to get it to me?" Most dealer and auction sites can't answer that on the page, so the buyer leaves, opens three shipping sites, and maybe comes back.
We've had a shipping calculator on dealer, auction and classified sites for years. Starting this month, the same rates are available as an API, so you can show the delivered price as part of your own pages, in your own design, without a calculator box at all.
It works both ways. A dealer in the US shows overseas buyers the price to the port nearest them. A dealer in the UK, Europe or Japan shows US buyers the price door to door: pickup at the dealer, ocean or air freight, delivery to the buyer's door, cargo damage protection and the estimated US import duty.
What it looks like on a listing
Take a Citroën DS wagon on a lot in Chicago, priced at $50,000. A buyer in England picks "United Kingdom" next to the photos. One call to our API returns the price to Southampton, the warehouse it ships through and the transit time:
| Chicago to Southampton, $50,000 car | Via New Jersey | Via California |
|---|---|---|
| Pickup | $925 | $1,950 |
| Ocean freight | $1,200 | $1,850 |
| Cargo damage protection | $1,000 | $1,000 |
| Total | $3,125 | $4,800 |
| Total days | 34 | 51 |
The API prices every US departure point, our warehouses in California, Florida and New Jersey and a partner facility in Texas, and picks the cheapest. Here that's New Jersey, by $1,675. The buyer sees $3,125 next to the car. They don't see a form, and they don't wait for an email.
For dealers and private sellers
- The buyer stays on your page. The shipping price sits next to the asking price.
- Better enquiries. People who write to you already know what the car costs delivered.
- Your pricing. We can set a fixed pickup price from your lot, add your margin, or give a discount, all on your key.
- Leads credited to you. When a buyer asks for the full quote, it lands in our system under your partner code. We handle the follow-up.
- Nothing to maintain. No rate sheets. When our rates change, your pages change.
On the pricing point, here's the same New Jersey quote with a $300 pickup from your lot and $150 added to the total:
Your buyer sees $2,650. You see both numbers. Our own quote email shows our rates, so if you've set your own, you can choose not to send it.
For auction houses
An overseas bidder who doesn't know the landed cost bids low or doesn't bid at all. Put the shipping price under the current bid on every lot page, from your location to the bidder's city, and that question is answered before the sale instead of after it.
Selling a car abroad to a US bidder works the same way, door to door with the estimated US import duty, as the next section shows.
For dealers in the UK, Europe and Japan: selling into the US
Here the quote runs door to door. Your US buyer enters a ZIP, and the API returns every leg: pickup from your showroom, ocean or air freight, delivery to the buyer's door, cargo damage protection and the estimated US import duty and fees. The duty estimate follows where the car was built and what it is. US Customs sets the final figure at entry.
An Aston Martin DB5 at a dealer in Guildford, declared at $50,000, to a buyer in New York, by ocean:
| Pickup in Guildford, to Southampton | $375 |
| Ocean freight, Southampton to New York | $2,750 |
| Delivery to the buyer's door, New York | $275 |
| Cargo damage protection | $1,000 |
| Estimated US import duty and fees | $6,900 |
| Door to door, about 45 days | $11,300 |
The same car by air comes to $25,550 door to door, in about 27 days. From Germany, a $50,000 classic from Munich to Beverly Hills is $11,490 by ocean. From Japan, Yokohama to Beverly Hills by RoRo is $11,300; container service is quoted as well.
Import quotes cover the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Japan.
For your web developer
One request with where the car is, where the buyer is and the car's value returns the full quote as JSON. Test keys price normally and never create leads, each key gets 2,000 calls a day, and there's an OpenAPI spec and an MCP server for anyone building an AI assistant on their site. The developer guide has the details and sample code.
What it costs
Nothing. The key is free, and the rates are the same ones on wcshipping.com unless you ask us to adjust them for your account. We specialize in overseas transport, so quotes run between the US and other countries.
Already using our calculator?
The old version retires on November 13. One change to your embed code keeps it working: replace calc.wcshipping.com with wcs-import.wcs-export.workers.dev and keep your partner code as it is.
How to start
Tell us your website and who manages it, and we'll send them a test key and the guide. Request a free test key, or call us on 510 236 3008.
It's your dream car. Let's bring her home.
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