5 Things To Consider When Sending Your Gift Parcels Overseas

Can you imagine the face of the person you love, receiving a gift parcel from you, thousands and thousands of miles away. Priceless, no? Believe it or not, not everyone knows the right postal protocol of sending a parcel overseas.

There are many small things that people overlook when sending a care package to their loved ones that end up leading to large amounts of customs and excise cost, postal rates, and tax charges.

No one wants to pay a large sum of money to send a seasonal gift hamper, or a birthday present to a country in Europe or Asia from the US. Is it that simple to send a gift from one end of the world to another? Yes, it is.

Here are five things to consider when sending your gift parcels overseas to avoid any unnecessary obstacles.

1.Confirmation of the items that can be posted

Every country has their own rules and regulations, and so do their postal services.  Before you send a gift parcel to a country overseas, make sure you get a list of what items you can and cannot ship to via a postal or courier service. Some items may seem to be okay to send to other countries, but it is always wise to get a hold of a list and check those items. This way, you can see if the things you want to send are appropriate, and what type of packaging is allowed as well.

Postal services in every country have their websites, which contain a list of items that are allowed or prohibited.  If possible, check those websites or visit your local parcel service and ask them what is valid.

2.Check for extra charges

As mentioned before, every country has their own set of rules for their postage. There might be specific packages or items that may have different fees. For example, some countries have a proforma invoice that needs to be filled out and attached to the outside of your parcel. This paper asks for the number of items that are present in the package, and possibly the value of the box. A customs official then checks the document, if the weight and cost exceed a certain amount, then a custom’s charge or tax has to be made.

Every package has a different cost and charge. The process of evaluating the rate per parcel is different, as well as the taxation and customs & excise costs. Be sure to check before sending your package how much it will cost you, and if any extra charges are added in by surprise.

3.Use strong packaging

If you are sending a gift parcel across the world, you need to make sure you use new and durable packing materials. Try not to leave empty spaces inside the package. If there are many items, make sure they are individually wrapped, using materials such as bubble-wrap, Styrofoam, or even shredded pieces of paper. Extra cushioning will allow your items to be protected and prevent any damage internally.

Apart from using durable containment for your parcel, make sure that you also tape the corners and seams of the package as well. There is special box sealing tapes that are readily available and allow the containers of parcels to be sealed efficiently.

4.Label your parcel carefully

Before sending your parcel overseas, you have to attach the address of the receiver and the return address as well. Make sure that the labeling is done correctly, is easy to read and understand, positioned in the center and tape should not be covering any part of the label. As a precautionary measure, it is recommended that the postage details are placed inside the package along with the list of contents, just in case the box is damaged from the outside.

If there are delicate items in the parcel, then you need to mark and tag a sticker on the parcel accordingly. ‘Fragile’ for the delicate items, and ‘Heavy’ for the weighty ones.

5.Look for the best service

Not all courier or postal services are reliable, fast, and very pricey. While trying to figure out the all the costs and extra charges that you may have to pay while preparing your gift parcel, do your research on which delivery service will work best for you. Ask your local postal service on how long it will take to transport your package, and tally the time with the overall cost of their service. However, it is not just the local postal service that has their timeliness at stake here, and time efficiency also depends on the postal service of the country you are sending it.  Unless, you are entirely sure of how competent the other end of the system is, to use this facility may pose a risk.

Fortunately, there are other courier services that have many years of experience. Their package rates may not seem cheap initially, however, if you compare the convenience and effectiveness of their customer service, it seems quite reasonable. Couriers such as DHL and UPS are known all over the world and deliver to mostly all countries.