If the destination address of your package belongs to a Foreign country then your Package is known as International Package. In other words, if you are posting a Package from your country to some other country, then your Package falls under the category of International Package and can be sent as per the rules and standards of International Postage.
Mailing an international Package has different requirements in terms of Postage needed, costs, and shipping services.
There are many shipping services in the USA which handle the postage of International Package, but the best of these services is USPS i.e ‘United States Postage Services.
In this article, we will explain in detail, how you can mail an International Package through USPS.
How to Mail an International Package using USPS?
USPS provides the most affordable and simplest means for the postage of International Package. You may have to send a Package from the USA to any other country for many reasons. Some of these may include, sending a Package to your relatives or friends residing in some other country, Sending a Package Internationally for the need of your business, and more.
In any of the above situations, if you are looking to mail a Package Internationally there no other service is better than USPS for the postage of an International Package.
You are required to follow the below-mentioned process which involves seven steps for the postage of International Stamps.
- Check if you can send your International Package
- Select an Appropriate International Shipping Service
- Get a Box Ready for your Package
- Address your International Package
- Evaluate the Postage Required and Paste on the Envelope/Postcard
- Create Customs Forms & Labels
- Mail your International Package
Check if you can send your International Package
There are some different guidelines issued by USPS for the postage of International Packages. An international Package can be posted by strictly following this set of guidelines. There are also some country-specific guidelines which also must be taken care of while sending an International Package.
When you are about to send an International Package, then you must clearly read and understand if your Package fulfills all these guidelines and rules.
Once your Package fulfills the criteria of USPS and International guidelines then it is eligible for International delivery.
The rules and guidelines of International Postage can be checked through the USPS official website. You can also check these guidelines for all Foreign countries by clicking here.
Select an Appropriate International Shipping Service
There are many shipping carriers in the USA, but compared to all others, the services of USPS are the best in terms of convenience, charges, and security. USPS provides various options for the shipping of International Package and these shipping options by USPS are available in around 200 countries.
At the present time of writing, USPS provides six below-mentioned shipping Services for the delivery of International packages.
- Global Express Guaranteed
- Airmail M-Bags
- First-Class Package International Service
- First-Class Mail International
- Priority Mail Express International
- Priority Mail International
All of the above-mentioned Shipping services are providing top-notch International Shipping for many years and they are the best in the business when we talk about other service providers.
These Shipping services by USPS provide very quick shipping and your International Mail can be delivered within 1 to 3 business days.
Get a Box Ready for your Package
You need a box of appropriate size for the delivery of your International Package. You must select a box that will easily fit your Package.
Finding a suitable size box is necessary because if it is not able to fit your package, then there are strong chances of physical damage to your Package. Therefore choose a proper size box that is not smaller than your package and not too large.
You should select a strong box for your package which has ample space in it to avoid the breakage of your Package.
Address the International Package
Addressing a package means writing the name, and address of the sender, and the receiver on your Package. Addressing a package is necessary for its successful delivery to the other party located in Foreign Country.
The steps of addressing an International Package are mostly the same as addressing an International letter. We are elaborating these steps for addressing International Package below:
- Write down the address on the parallel side of the longest side of your Package.
- Write the name and surname of the Recipient
- Mention the complete address of the Recipient including House Number, Street number, etc.
- Enter the ZIP code of the Recipient’s City.
- Write the name of the Recipient’s Country.
- Mention the return address also near the bottom of the package box.
- Use capital letters for addressing a Package.
- Use Dark Pen or Marker for the address.
Evaluate the Postage Required and Paste on the Envelope/Postcard
Evaluating the Postage means calculating how many Stamps you require for sending your package and what will be the cost of shipping.
A package be it domestic or international, can not be delivered without Stamps. If you want to know how many Stamps your package needs for international Postage is decided by its weight and size.
The best way to evaluate the Postage needed for an International Package is through the Official Postage Calculator function of USPS. You can visit the International Postage Calculator service of USPS by clicking here.
When you click on the above link you will see various fields which you need to fill for calculating your Stamps requirement of your International Package.
Below we are listing prices for some of the popular International Package services offered by USPS.
- First-Class Package International Service – $14.85
- Priority Mail International – $29.60
- Priority Mail Express International – $47.95
- Global Express Guaranteed – $67.80
Create Customs Forms & Labels
For the successful shipping of your International Packages, it is a must to fill out customs forms. You need to fill out the customs forms to declare the items you are sending in your Package and how much is the value of the package.
It is there also necessary to fill out this customer declaration form when you send an International Package through USPS.
Click-N-Ship service of USPS lets you print your package and along with it a custom form will also be printed. You can print this Customer Form on your own without going anywhere.
Mail Your International Package
When you have fulfilled all the above steps and requirements, you are ready to mail your Package Internationally. When you are ready to mail your International package, just make sure the following things.
- Verify the Address before sending the package.
- Check whether you are using the correct postage
- Check whether the Customs forms are filled correctly.
After you have done the above, directly head to your nearest USPS Post office and give your Package at the postage counter for delivery.