Do you get to keep products from UGC deals?

Yes — in almost every UGC deal, the product is yours to keep. Brands budget seeded product as a marketing cost, and for most consumer goods, paying return shipping on an opened serum or a half-used protein tub costs more than the item is worth. Once it's filmed, nobody wants it back.

The exceptions are high-value items. Jewelry, cameras, tech over a few hundred dollars, furniture — those are sometimes loaned rather than gifted, and the contract will say so. Before you sign, search the agreement for "return," "loan," and "property of." If none of those words appear, the product is yours.

One distinction worth keeping straight: keeping the product and getting paid are separate questions. In a gifted collab, the product is the whole compensation. In a paid deal, it rides on top of your fee — never instead of it.

Who pays for shipping — and customs on international deals?

The brand pays shipping, every time. You should never pay to receive a product you're being asked to film — a brand that suggests otherwise is showing you how the rest of the deal will go, and it's fine to pass politely.

Domestic deals end there. International ones have a wrinkle that catches almost everyone once: the package can arrive with an import bill attached — customs duties, VAT, plus a courier "brokerage fee" for the paperwork. Your free product is suddenly stuck in customs with a €28 bill attached.

The fix is one question, asked before anything ships: "Will this be shipped DDP?" DDP — delivered duty paid — means the brand covers duties and taxes upfront, so nothing is collected from you. The alternatives (DAP or DDU) bill the receiver, and the receiver is you. If a bill lands anyway, pay it if you need the product to start work, photograph the receipt, and send it to the brand for reimbursement. Reasonable brands cover it without blinking.

Cross-border deals have a few more moving parts than customs — working with US brands from another country covers payments, contracts, and the rest.

What if the product arrives late and your deadline doesn't move?

The deadline should move — and the way to make sure it does is one sentence in your agreement: "Delivery timelines run from the date I receive the product." That small clause prevents more first-deal disasters than anything else I could put on this page.

Here's the trap it closes. You sign on the 1st, the contract gives you ten days to deliver, and the product shows up on the 9th. On paper you now owe a scripted, filmed, edited video by tomorrow — and you did nothing wrong. Brands rarely design this on purpose; their template just starts the clock at signature, and nobody thought about transit time.

Ask for the sentence before you sign. No reasonable brand pushes back, because it protects them too — they'd rather move a date than receive something rushed.

Already signed, and tracking hasn't budged in four days? Don't wait quietly and hope. Email the brand the moment the delay is visible: "Tracking shows delivery on the 9th — can we move my deadline to the 16th so you still get the quality you're paying for?" Get the new date in writing, even as a one-line reply. A calm email on day three beats an apology on deadline day.

Is free product taxable income?

If a post was required in exchange, then generally yes. You were paid in product instead of cash, and tax offices treat that as income at the product's fair market value — the principle holds in most countries, even where the details differ.

The line that matters is strings attached. A surprise PR package with no agreement and no obligations is a true gift — generally not income. The same product sent under a deal that requires one TikTok is compensation, valued at what it sells for.

What that means in practice:

  • Keep a simple record of products received under deals — item, retail value, brand, date — next to your paid invoices.
  • Don't assume no tax form means no income. Reporting thresholds vary by country and change often; the income exists either way.
  • The year brand work becomes regular money, one session with an accountant who knows self-employment pays for itself.

The wider money picture — what you can deduct, how much to set aside — is covered in do UGC creators pay taxes.

Can you resell products brands send you?

Once the product is genuinely yours — gifted or part of a completed deal, no loan clause, deliverables approved — reselling it is generally your call. Plenty of creators quietly sell or donate the overflow; nobody's shelf needs eleven vitamin C serums.

Timing and tact are what keep it from costing you the relationship:

  • Wait until the campaign has wrapped. Listing a product while your video for it is still running looks terrible — and brands do search resale sites.
  • Keep the listing quiet about the deal: "new, unopened," not "from a PR package."
  • Never list anything before deliverables are approved. If the brand requests a reshoot, you want the product in hand.
  • Check for a no-resale clause. They're rare, but they show up with unreleased or press-sample items.
  • Loaned items go back. Selling those isn't an etiquette problem; it's a legal one.

If reselling still feels off, gifting and donating are always clean exits.

FAQ

What if the product arrives damaged or it's the wrong item?

Tell the brand the same day, with photos, before filming anything. A replacement usually ships fast — and your deadline should move with it, which is one more job for the received-date sentence.

Do I have to send the product back if the deal falls through?

If the brand cancels, you generally keep whatever already shipped. If you're the one who can't deliver, offer to return it unopened or cover its cost — the cheapest way to protect your name in a small industry.

Does a high product value make up for a low fee?

No. Retail value isn't money — you can't pay rent with skincare. Enjoy gifted collabs for products you'd genuinely use, and price paid work as if the product weren't part of the math.

Is all of this covered in a normal UGC contract?

Usually only partly — product logistics are where template contracts go vague, so ask for what's missing. If your first deal is coming up, what to expect from your first brand deal walks the whole process end to end.