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Concierge · Estimate methodology

Where the tax and shipping
numbers come from.

Concierge shows you an estimated total before you confirm. Here is the exact source for every line — Stripe Tax for tax, a retailer-policy table for shipping, and a flat fallback when we don't yet have the retailer on file.

Tax

Computed by Stripe Tax.

Tax uses your recipient's stored shipping address, not yours — so it matches what the retailer would actually charge when the order ships to that address. We pass the full address to Stripe Tax so the jurisdiction matches local rules.

Recipient address

Tax is calculated against the recipient's city, state, postal code, and country — not yours.

Jurisdiction-aware

District sales tax, state tax, and applicable VAT or GST are all applied per Stripe Tax's rules engine.

Matches the retailer

Because the inputs are the same as what a retailer would use, the estimate lands close to actual.

Shipping

Two-tier lookup.

Retailer-policy table first; flat fallback when the retailer isn't on file yet. Either way, the reconciliation policy trues up the difference once the actual lands.

Retailer-policy table

We maintain shipping policies for the top retailers gifters buy from. See the table below for examples.

$4.99 flat fallback

For any retailer not yet in the table, we estimate $4.99 standard shipping and reconcile after the actual charge lands.

RetailerStandard shipping
AmazonFree with Prime · $5.99 otherwise
TargetFree over $35 · $5.99 below
WalmartFree over $35 · $5.99 below
Best BuyStandard free on most items
Williams SonomaFree over $99 · $9.95 below
Le Creuset$12.95 flat (heavy cast iron)
Nordstrom · Apple · Sony · BoseAlways free
REIFree over $50 (members) · $8.95
EtsyVaries per seller · $8.99 estimated
Why estimate at all

Why we estimate rather than wait.

Retailers do not show tax + shipping until checkout completes, and we do not want to pre-authorize an unbounded amount on your card. The estimate lets you see and approve the total up front. The reconciliation policy ensures you never overpay or have to chase us for a refund.

You see the total

No mystery pre-auth. The number on the page is the number we charge.

Bounded exposure

Auto-charge only inside the +20% window you consented to. Anything above that needs your approval.

Refunds are automatic

When actual is lower, you don't have to ask. The difference lands back on your card.

See also · reconciliation policy · Last updated · Sprint 44