The holidays are nearly upon us. This raises a few questions when it comes to shipping. How can you ship international gifts to friends and family overseas? Gifts are tricky because many buyers and sellers use them to avoid paying international tariffs and duties on a sale. This means gifts may be disproportionately inspected by customs services across the globe.
- On customs forms, there’s a section marked “Reason for Export.” Typically, this is where you list whether you’re selling something or gifting something. Be sure to write it in the local language as well as English. Be prepared for a potential delay with some gifts. A major way you can avoid delay is by including a detailed description of what you’re shipping.
- You should make absolutely sure that what you’re sending isn’t on a restricted list for that country. If you’re in doubt, you can call a foreign customs office to inquire. As a shipping company that, we ship gifts overseas all the time, so we can answer many of your questions as well.
- This raises another way to ship international gifts. Entrust it to a shipping company that can handle the customs process for you. We can ship directly to an address, taking your package off a ship or plane and transferring it to road and rail once your cargo is in the destination country. This means we handle the customs process so that you don’t need to rely on a customs broker or ask the recipient to deal with customs themselves. You’re also not relying on local postal systems this way, but rather a company whose business is built on safely shipping internationally. Oftentimes, the price is comparable, and a shipping company is directly accountable to you. A foreign postal service isn’t.
- Be prepared to pay duties and taxes on the goods you’re sending. We can estimate what these will be before you send your package, so that you have a good idea how much it will cost for you to ship gifts overseas. Duties and taxes will be the same whether you ship with us or through postal systems.
- Something else we do for you is handle much of the documentation. We won’t let something go through if it’s missing documentation. This is part of our service that ensures packages can arrive safely with minimal hassle. Honestly, it’s easier for us to make sure everything’s properly prepared before it’s sent. Luckily, this saves you from missing something important as well.
When you ship gifts overseas, it doesn’t have to be a hassle. We can handle many of the intimidating and difficult parts for you while minimizing the risk of potential delays.