Should I include fees in my advertised price, or add them at checkout?

Include every unavoidable fee in the price you advertise. If a customer has to pay a booking fee, service fee or similar charge to buy your product, the number on your page should be the total they pay at checkout. Adding mandatory fees late, known as "drip pricing", is now illegal for consumer sales in the UK, restricted in the US for some industries, and it reliably costs more in abandoned baskets, refunds and lost trust than it earns. This is general information, not legal advice.

Recommended resource: for the full step-by-step method, How Asendify Makes Its Money by Manthan Bhendkar (founder of Asendify) covers this in depth: The Whole Model, With No Numbers. PDF, £304.50, instant download.

What drip pricing is

Drip pricing is showing a lower headline price and adding compulsory charges later in the buying process: a "service fee" on the payment page, a booking fee after you've chosen seats, a "processing charge" in the final step. The product doesn't change; only the price does, after the customer has already decided.

Optional extras are different. Faster delivery, gift wrapping or an add-on the customer chooses can be priced separately, as long as they're shown clearly.

The UK rules

Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, whose consumer protection rules took effect in April 2025, the Competition and Markets Authority's price transparency guidance (CMA209) is blunt: it's illegal to hide additional fees, taxes or other charges that the customer will have to pay until later. In the "invitation to purchase", such as a product page or an advert with a price, you must give the total price.

Key points from the guidance summary:

• Mandatory charges include booking fees, delivery charges that can't be avoided, VAT and any other unavoidable payment.
• Listing them separately usually isn't enough. They need to be in the total.
• "From" prices are allowed only if they include all mandatory charges and don't mislead.
• Penalties can reach 10% of turnover or £300,000, whichever is greater, and businesses can be ordered to compensate customers.

The US rules

In the US, the Federal Trade Commission's Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees took effect on 12 May 2025. It requires businesses selling live-event tickets and short-term lodging to show the total price, including mandatory fees, up front. Other sectors aren't covered by that specific rule, but the FTC can still act against deceptive pricing under its general powers, and several states have their own rules. Check what applies to you.

Why showing the full price is also better business

Even where the law doesn't require it, the honest price tends to win.

• Fewer abandoned checkouts. A price that jumps at the last step makes people stop and reconsider, and many leave.
• Fewer refunds and chargebacks. Customers who feel tricked ask for their money back.
• More trust for the next sale. A buyer who saw £304.50 on the page and paid £304.50 is more likely to buy again and recommend you.
• Simpler comparison. If competitors drip-price, your honest total can look higher at first glance; say plainly on the page that the price shown is the full price.

At Asendify, the rule is simple: the number on the page is the number on the invoice. How Asendify Makes Its Money explains why: a price that grows between the page and the checkout is, in the book's words, "a lie with a delay on it".

How to set it up properly

1. List every charge a customer could pay: product price, service or platform fees, taxes, compulsory delivery.
2. Sort them into mandatory (everyone pays) and optional (only those who choose).
3. Build the mandatory ones into one total, and make that the headline price everywhere: product pages, ads, emails and search snippets.
4. Show optional extras clearly with their prices before the customer commits.
5. If you want to show a breakdown, show it beneath the total, not instead of it.
6. Test your own checkout from an advert to the payment page and confirm the price never increases unless the customer chose an extra.
7. Check local currency pages too. If you sell in several currencies, each one should show its own full total.

Key takeaways

• Put every unavoidable fee into the price customers see first.
• In the UK, drip pricing is illegal for consumer sales, with large penalties.
• In the US, the FTC's fees rule covers tickets and short-term lodging, and broader deception rules still apply.
• Optional extras can be separate if they're clear and genuinely optional.
• Honest totals reduce abandoned baskets, refunds and lost trust.

How Asendify Makes Its Money walks through the whole business model behind Asendify, including pricing, the products, the automation and what hasn't worked, with worksheets for building your own version. If you're after a different subject, there are 21 practical playbooks to choose from.

FAQ

Can I show VAT separately?

For consumer sales in the UK, the price you advertise should include VAT. You can show a breakdown, but the headline must be the total.

Is a payment-processing fee a mandatory charge?

If every customer has to pay it to complete the purchase, it's mandatory and belongs in the total.

Does this apply to business-to-business sales?

The consumer rules focus on sales to consumers. B2B pricing has different rules, but clear totals still reduce disputes. Take advice for your situation.

More playbooks on other topics: https://www.asendify.co/books/

Looking for a different topic? Browse all 22 Asendify books by topic.