diff --git a/opentelemetry-datadog/Cargo.toml b/opentelemetry-datadog/Cargo.toml
index fb210c3095..0761d06836 100644
--- a/opentelemetry-datadog/Cargo.toml
+++ b/opentelemetry-datadog/Cargo.toml
@@ -38,5 +38,7 @@ lazy_static = "1.4"
 
 [dev-dependencies]
 base64 = "0.13"
+bytes = "1"
+futures-util = "0.3"
 isahc = "0.9"
 opentelemetry = { path = "../opentelemetry", features = ["trace", "testing"] }
diff --git a/opentelemetry-datadog/src/exporter/mod.rs b/opentelemetry-datadog/src/exporter/mod.rs
index 05101126ce..6bd4c8fbb7 100644
--- a/opentelemetry-datadog/src/exporter/mod.rs
+++ b/opentelemetry-datadog/src/exporter/mod.rs
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ use opentelemetry::sdk::export::trace;
 use opentelemetry::sdk::export::trace::SpanData;
 use opentelemetry::trace::TraceError;
 use opentelemetry::{global, sdk, trace::TracerProvider};
-use opentelemetry_http::HttpClient;
+use opentelemetry_http::{HttpClient, ResponseExt};
 
 /// Default Datadog collector endpoint
 const DEFAULT_AGENT_ENDPOINT: &str = "http://127.0.0.1:8126";
@@ -201,7 +201,8 @@ impl trace::SpanExporter for DatadogExporter {
             .header(DATADOG_TRACE_COUNT_HEADER, trace_count)
             .body(data)
             .map_err::<Error, _>(Into::into)?;
-        self.client.send(req).await
+        let _ = self.client.send(req).await?.error_for_status()?;
+        Ok(())
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/opentelemetry-datadog/src/lib.rs b/opentelemetry-datadog/src/lib.rs
index 815f09d90b..b97db7806e 100644
--- a/opentelemetry-datadog/src/lib.rs
+++ b/opentelemetry-datadog/src/lib.rs
@@ -81,10 +81,14 @@
 //! use opentelemetry::{KeyValue, trace::Tracer};
 //! use opentelemetry::sdk::{trace::{self, IdGenerator, Sampler}, Resource};
 //! use opentelemetry::sdk::export::trace::ExportResult;
-//! use opentelemetry_datadog::{new_pipeline, ApiVersion, Error};
 //! use opentelemetry::global::shutdown_tracer_provider;
-//! use opentelemetry_http::HttpClient;
+//! use opentelemetry_datadog::{new_pipeline, ApiVersion, Error};
+//! use opentelemetry_http::{HttpClient, HttpError};
 //! use async_trait::async_trait;
+//! use bytes::Bytes;
+//! use futures_util::io::AsyncReadExt as _;
+//! use http::{Request, Response};
+//! use std::convert::TryInto as _;
 //!
 //! // `reqwest` and `surf` are supported through features, if you prefer an
 //! // alternate http client you can add support by implementing `HttpClient` as
@@ -92,17 +96,20 @@
 //! #[derive(Debug)]
 //! struct IsahcClient(isahc::HttpClient);
 //!
+//! async fn body_to_bytes(mut body: isahc::Body) -> Result<Bytes, HttpError> {
+//!     let mut bytes = Vec::with_capacity(body.len().unwrap_or(0).try_into()?);
+//!     let _ = body.read_to_end(&mut bytes).await?;
+//!     Ok(bytes.into())
+//! }
+//!
 //! #[async_trait]
 //! impl HttpClient for IsahcClient {
-//!   async fn send(&self, request: http::Request<Vec<u8>>) -> ExportResult {
-//!     let result = self.0.send_async(request).await.map_err(|err| Error::Other(err.to_string()))?;
-//!
-//!     if result.status().is_success() {
-//!       Ok(())
-//!     } else {
-//!       Err(Error::Other(result.status().to_string()).into())
+//!     async fn send(&self, request: Request<Vec<u8>>) -> Result<Response<Bytes>, HttpError> {
+//!         let response = self.0.send_async(request).await?;
+//!         Ok(Response::builder()
+//!             .status(response.status())
+//!             .body(body_to_bytes(response.into_body()).await?)?)
 //!     }
-//!   }
 //! }
 //!
 //! fn main() -> Result<(), opentelemetry::trace::TraceError> {
diff --git a/opentelemetry-http/Cargo.toml b/opentelemetry-http/Cargo.toml
index 8802b4e607..f79d6a1a9b 100644
--- a/opentelemetry-http/Cargo.toml
+++ b/opentelemetry-http/Cargo.toml
@@ -10,10 +10,11 @@ license = "Apache-2.0"
 edition = "2018"
 
 [dependencies]
-async-trait = "0.1.42"
-http = "0.2.2"
+async-trait = "0.1"
+bytes = "1"
+futures-util = { version = "0.3", default-features = false, features = ["io"] }
+http = "0.2"
 isahc = { version = "0.9", default-features = false, optional = true }
 opentelemetry = { version = "0.13", path = "../opentelemetry", features = ["trace"] }
 reqwest = { version = "0.11", default-features = false, features = ["blocking"], optional = true }
 surf = { version = "2.0", default-features = false, optional = true }
-thiserror = "1"
diff --git a/opentelemetry-http/src/lib.rs b/opentelemetry-http/src/lib.rs
index a0d131f9c9..a81585d045 100644
--- a/opentelemetry-http/src/lib.rs
+++ b/opentelemetry-http/src/lib.rs
@@ -1,9 +1,12 @@
 use std::fmt::Debug;
 
 use async_trait::async_trait;
-use http::Request;
-use opentelemetry::propagation::{Extractor, Injector};
-use opentelemetry::trace::TraceError;
+use bytes::Bytes;
+use http::{Request, Response};
+use opentelemetry::{
+    propagation::{Extractor, Injector},
+    trace::TraceError,
+};
 
 pub struct HeaderInjector<'a>(pub &'a mut http::HeaderMap);
 
@@ -35,145 +38,113 @@ impl<'a> Extractor for HeaderExtractor<'a> {
     }
 }
 
+pub type HttpError = Box<dyn std::error::Error + Send + Sync + 'static>;
+
 /// A minimal interface necessary for export spans over HTTP.
 ///
-/// Users sometime choose http clients that relay on certain runtime. This trait
-/// allows users to bring their choice of http clients.
+/// Users sometime choose HTTP clients that relay on a certain async runtime. This trait allows
+/// users to bring their choice of HTTP client.
 #[async_trait]
 pub trait HttpClient: Debug + Send + Sync {
-    /// Send a batch of spans to collectors
-    async fn send(&self, request: Request<Vec<u8>>) -> Result<(), TraceError>;
+    /// Send the specified HTTP request
+    ///
+    /// Returns the HTTP response including the status code and body.
+    ///
+    /// Returns an error if it can't connect to the server or the request could not be completed,
+    /// e.g. because of a timeout, infinite redirects, or a loss of connection.
+    async fn send(&self, request: Request<Vec<u8>>) -> Result<Response<Bytes>, HttpError>;
 }
 
 #[cfg(feature = "reqwest")]
 mod reqwest {
-    use super::{async_trait, HttpClient, Request, TraceError};
-    use opentelemetry::sdk::export::ExportError;
+    use super::{async_trait, Bytes, HttpClient, HttpError, Request, Response};
     use std::convert::TryInto;
-    use thiserror::Error;
 
     #[async_trait]
     impl HttpClient for reqwest::Client {
-        async fn send(&self, request: Request<Vec<u8>>) -> Result<(), TraceError> {
-            let request = request.try_into().map_err(ReqwestError::from)?;
-            let _ = self
-                .execute(request)
-                .await
-                .and_then(|rsp| rsp.error_for_status())
-                .map_err(ReqwestError::from)?;
-            Ok(())
+        async fn send(&self, request: Request<Vec<u8>>) -> Result<Response<Bytes>, HttpError> {
+            let request = request.try_into()?;
+            let response = self.execute(request).await?;
+            Ok(Response::builder()
+                .status(response.status())
+                .body(response.bytes().await?)?)
         }
     }
 
     #[async_trait]
     impl HttpClient for reqwest::blocking::Client {
-        async fn send(&self, request: Request<Vec<u8>>) -> Result<(), TraceError> {
-            let _ = request
-                .try_into()
-                .and_then(|req| self.execute(req))
-                .and_then(|rsp| rsp.error_for_status())
-                .map_err(ReqwestError::from)?;
-            Ok(())
-        }
-    }
-
-    #[derive(Debug, Error)]
-    #[error(transparent)]
-    struct ReqwestError(#[from] reqwest::Error);
-
-    impl ExportError for ReqwestError {
-        fn exporter_name(&self) -> &'static str {
-            "reqwest"
+        async fn send(&self, request: Request<Vec<u8>>) -> Result<Response<Bytes>, HttpError> {
+            let request = request.try_into()?;
+            let response = self.execute(request)?;
+            Ok(Response::builder()
+                .status(response.status())
+                .body(response.bytes()?)?)
         }
     }
 }
 
 #[cfg(feature = "surf")]
 mod surf {
-    use super::{async_trait, HttpClient, Request, TraceError};
-    use opentelemetry::sdk::export::ExportError;
-    use std::fmt::{Display, Formatter};
+    use super::{async_trait, Bytes, HttpClient, HttpError, Request, Response};
 
     #[async_trait]
     impl HttpClient for surf::Client {
-        async fn send(&self, request: Request<Vec<u8>>) -> Result<(), TraceError> {
+        async fn send(&self, request: Request<Vec<u8>>) -> Result<Response<Bytes>, HttpError> {
             let (parts, body) = request.into_parts();
-            let uri = parts
-                .uri
-                .to_string()
-                .parse()
-                .map_err(|_err: surf::http::url::ParseError| TraceError::from("error parse url"))?;
-
-            let req = surf::Request::builder(surf::http::Method::Post, uri)
-                .content_type("application/json")
-                .body(body);
-            let result = self.send(req).await.map_err::<SurfError, _>(Into::into)?;
-
-            if result.status().is_success() {
-                Ok(())
-            } else {
-                Err(SurfError(surf::Error::from_str(
-                    result.status(),
-                    result.status().canonical_reason(),
-                ))
-                .into())
+            let method = parts.method.as_str().parse()?;
+            let uri = parts.uri.to_string().parse()?;
+
+            let mut request_builder = surf::Request::builder(method, uri).body(body);
+            let mut prev_name = None;
+            for (new_name, value) in parts.headers.into_iter() {
+                let name = new_name.or(prev_name).expect("the first time new_name should be set and from then on we always have a prev_name");
+                request_builder = request_builder.header(name.as_str(), value.to_str()?);
+                prev_name = Some(name);
             }
-        }
-    }
-
-    #[derive(Debug)]
-    struct SurfError(surf::Error);
-
-    impl ExportError for SurfError {
-        fn exporter_name(&self) -> &'static str {
-            "surf"
-        }
-    }
 
-    impl From<surf::Error> for SurfError {
-        fn from(err: surf::Error) -> Self {
-            SurfError(err)
-        }
-    }
-
-    impl std::error::Error for SurfError {}
-
-    impl Display for SurfError {
-        fn fmt(&self, f: &mut Formatter<'_>) -> std::fmt::Result {
-            write!(f, "{}", self.0.to_string())
+            let mut response = self.send(request_builder).await?;
+            Ok(Response::builder()
+                .status(response.status() as u16)
+                .body(response.body_bytes().await?.into())?)
         }
     }
 }
 
 #[cfg(feature = "isahc")]
 mod isahc {
-    use super::{async_trait, HttpClient, Request, TraceError};
-    use opentelemetry::sdk::export::ExportError;
-    use thiserror::Error;
+    use super::{async_trait, Bytes, HttpClient, HttpError, Request, Response};
+    use futures_util::io::AsyncReadExt as _;
+    use std::convert::TryInto as _;
 
     #[async_trait]
     impl HttpClient for isahc::HttpClient {
-        async fn send(&self, request: Request<Vec<u8>>) -> Result<(), TraceError> {
-            let res = self.send_async(request).await.map_err(IsahcError::from)?;
-
-            if !res.status().is_success() {
-                return Err(TraceError::from(format!(
-                    "Expected success response, got {:?}",
-                    res.status()
-                )));
-            }
-
-            Ok(())
+        async fn send(&self, request: Request<Vec<u8>>) -> Result<Response<Bytes>, HttpError> {
+            let response = self.send_async(request).await?;
+            Ok(Response::builder()
+                .status(response.status())
+                .body(body_to_bytes(response.into_body()).await?)?)
         }
     }
 
-    #[derive(Debug, Error)]
-    #[error(transparent)]
-    struct IsahcError(#[from] isahc::Error);
+    async fn body_to_bytes(mut body: isahc::Body) -> Result<Bytes, HttpError> {
+        let mut bytes = Vec::with_capacity(body.len().unwrap_or(0).try_into()?);
+        let _ = body.read_to_end(&mut bytes).await?;
+        Ok(bytes.into())
+    }
+}
+
+/// Methods to make working with responses from the [`HttpClient`] trait easier.
+pub trait ResponseExt: Sized {
+    /// Turn a response into an error if the HTTP status does not indicate success (200 - 299).
+    fn error_for_status(self) -> Result<Self, TraceError>;
+}
 
-    impl ExportError for IsahcError {
-        fn exporter_name(&self) -> &'static str {
-            "isahc"
+impl<T> ResponseExt for Response<T> {
+    fn error_for_status(self) -> Result<Self, TraceError> {
+        if self.status().is_success() {
+            Ok(self)
+        } else {
+            Err(format!("request failed with status {}", self.status()).into())
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/opentelemetry-jaeger/Cargo.toml b/opentelemetry-jaeger/Cargo.toml
index 45d51c192e..43af240808 100644
--- a/opentelemetry-jaeger/Cargo.toml
+++ b/opentelemetry-jaeger/Cargo.toml
@@ -41,8 +41,9 @@ headers = { version = "0.3.2", optional = true }
 surf = { version = "2.0", optional = true }
 
 [dev-dependencies]
-opentelemetry = { version = "0.13", default-features = false, features = ["trace", "testing"], path = "../opentelemetry" }
+bytes = "1"
 futures = "0.3"
+opentelemetry = { version = "0.13", default-features = false, features = ["trace", "testing"], path = "../opentelemetry" }
 
 [dependencies.web-sys]
 version = "0.3.4"
diff --git a/opentelemetry-jaeger/src/exporter/collector.rs b/opentelemetry-jaeger/src/exporter/collector.rs
index fd8ae350d0..4459e88378 100644
--- a/opentelemetry-jaeger/src/exporter/collector.rs
+++ b/opentelemetry-jaeger/src/exporter/collector.rs
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 //! # HTTP Jaeger Collector Client
 use http::Uri;
 #[cfg(feature = "collector_client")]
-use opentelemetry_http::HttpClient;
+use opentelemetry_http::{HttpClient, ResponseExt as _};
 use std::sync::atomic::AtomicUsize;
 
 /// `CollectorAsyncClientHttp` implements an async version of the
@@ -68,7 +68,8 @@ mod collector_client {
                 .expect("request should always be valid");
 
             // Send request to collector
-            self.client.send(req).await
+            let _ = self.client.send(req).await?.error_for_status()?;
+            Ok(())
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/opentelemetry-jaeger/src/exporter/mod.rs b/opentelemetry-jaeger/src/exporter/mod.rs
index 15395ca88b..2b7a58a865 100644
--- a/opentelemetry-jaeger/src/exporter/mod.rs
+++ b/opentelemetry-jaeger/src/exporter/mod.rs
@@ -672,10 +672,9 @@ mod collector_client_tests {
 
     mod test_http_client {
         use async_trait::async_trait;
-        use http::Request;
-        use opentelemetry::sdk::export::trace::ExportResult;
-        use opentelemetry::trace::TraceError;
-        use opentelemetry_http::HttpClient;
+        use bytes::Bytes;
+        use http::{Request, Response};
+        use opentelemetry_http::{HttpClient, HttpError};
         use std::fmt::Debug;
 
         pub(crate) struct TestHttpClient;
@@ -688,8 +687,8 @@ mod collector_client_tests {
 
         #[async_trait]
         impl HttpClient for TestHttpClient {
-            async fn send(&self, _request: Request<Vec<u8>>) -> ExportResult {
-                Err(TraceError::from("wrong uri set in http client"))
+            async fn send(&self, _request: Request<Vec<u8>>) -> Result<Response<Bytes>, HttpError> {
+                Err("wrong uri set in http client".into())
             }
         }
     }
@@ -707,7 +706,7 @@ mod collector_client_tests {
         });
         assert_eq!(
             format!("{:?}", res.err().unwrap()),
-            "Other(Custom(\"wrong uri set in http client\"))"
+            "Other(\"wrong uri set in http client\")"
         );
 
         Ok(())
diff --git a/opentelemetry-zipkin/Cargo.toml b/opentelemetry-zipkin/Cargo.toml
index 0ead66676f..1dbc71165f 100644
--- a/opentelemetry-zipkin/Cargo.toml
+++ b/opentelemetry-zipkin/Cargo.toml
@@ -40,5 +40,7 @@ surf = { version = "2.0", optional = true }
 thiserror = { version = "1.0"}
 
 [dev-dependencies]
+bytes = "1"
+futures-util = "0.3"
 isahc = "=0.9.6"
 opentelemetry = { version = "0.13", default-features = false, features = ["trace", "testing"], path = "../opentelemetry" }
diff --git a/opentelemetry-zipkin/src/exporter/uploader.rs b/opentelemetry-zipkin/src/exporter/uploader.rs
index efce27c4b5..cd790e47b0 100644
--- a/opentelemetry-zipkin/src/exporter/uploader.rs
+++ b/opentelemetry-zipkin/src/exporter/uploader.rs
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ use crate::exporter::model::span::Span;
 use crate::exporter::Error;
 use http::{header::CONTENT_TYPE, Method, Request, Uri};
 use opentelemetry::sdk::export::trace::ExportResult;
-use opentelemetry_http::HttpClient;
+use opentelemetry_http::{HttpClient, ResponseExt};
 use std::fmt::Debug;
 
 #[derive(Debug)]
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ impl JsonV2Client {
             .header(CONTENT_TYPE, "application/json")
             .body(serde_json::to_vec(&spans).unwrap_or_default())
             .map_err::<Error, _>(Into::into)?;
-        self.client.send(req).await
+        let _ = self.client.send(req).await?.error_for_status()?;
+        Ok(())
     }
 }
diff --git a/opentelemetry-zipkin/src/lib.rs b/opentelemetry-zipkin/src/lib.rs
index 8b7ca36795..8587ca0c10 100644
--- a/opentelemetry-zipkin/src/lib.rs
+++ b/opentelemetry-zipkin/src/lib.rs
@@ -91,8 +91,12 @@
 //! use opentelemetry::sdk::{trace::{self, IdGenerator, Sampler}, Resource};
 //! use opentelemetry::sdk::export::trace::ExportResult;
 //! use opentelemetry::global;
-//! use opentelemetry_http::HttpClient;
+//! use opentelemetry_http::{HttpClient, HttpError};
 //! use async_trait::async_trait;
+//! use bytes::Bytes;
+//! use futures_util::io::AsyncReadExt as _;
+//! use http::{Request, Response};
+//! use std::convert::TryInto as _;
 //! use std::error::Error;
 //!
 //! // `reqwest` and `surf` are supported through features, if you prefer an
@@ -101,17 +105,20 @@
 //! #[derive(Debug)]
 //! struct IsahcClient(isahc::HttpClient);
 //!
+//! async fn body_to_bytes(mut body: isahc::Body) -> Result<Bytes, HttpError> {
+//!     let mut bytes = Vec::with_capacity(body.len().unwrap_or(0).try_into()?);
+//!     let _ = body.read_to_end(&mut bytes).await?;
+//!     Ok(bytes.into())
+//! }
+//!
 //! #[async_trait]
 //! impl HttpClient for IsahcClient {
-//!   async fn send(&self, request: http::Request<Vec<u8>>) -> ExportResult {
-//!     let result = self.0.send_async(request).await.map_err(|err| opentelemetry_zipkin::Error::Other(err.to_string()))?;
-//!
-//!     if result.status().is_success() {
-//!       Ok(())
-//!     } else {
-//!       Err(opentelemetry_zipkin::Error::Other(result.status().to_string()).into())
+//!     async fn send(&self, request: Request<Vec<u8>>) -> Result<Response<Bytes>, HttpError> {
+//!         let response = self.0.send_async(request).await?;
+//!         Ok(Response::builder()
+//!             .status(response.status())
+//!             .body(body_to_bytes(response.into_body()).await?)?)
 //!     }
-//!   }
 //! }
 //!
 //! fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn Error + Send + Sync + 'static>> {