International Shipping: USPS size restrictions

[lamarjones]

Does anyone know how to find out what the size restrictions are for Global Express, Express, and Priority service for different countries? I swear they change from country to country and nothing seems consistent. Or does this seem like standard USPS nonsense?

[alapantera]

have you called your local post office? They might be able to help you.

[hbarcat]

http://www.usps.com/

[lamarjones]

the local post offices don't know how to tell what they are for each country unless we actually run it into the computer, the website don't show it either as far as I know. Even when I type in dimensions, sometimes it will say a rate and then I take it and it exceeds dimensions for that country. It's not something anyone would run into unless shipping a fair bit itnernationally. Wondering if anyone does.

[rustynuts]

We ship quite a bit internationally, and the size limitations vary not only by country but also quite often by mail class. A package X x Y x Z may be too large to ship to, for instance, Indonesia via PMI (Priority Mail International) but may be sent via GXG (Global Express Guaranteed). A lot of this has to do with destination countries' laws, and also with the carrier used. GXG packages are transported by FedEx and are separated from "regular" mail early in the process.

You'll often find rates quoted online that are invalid for a destination/mail class. If in doubt, the only guaranteed way to get a shipping cost is to take it in to the post office. I shipped an SVT-CL to Australia last year (80 pounds) and had to make several trips to the PO and disassemble much of the head before I could get it within weigh and/or size limits.

[allexcosta]

It depends on country. Make the box as small as possible and bring it to USPS. If they refuse it, take the neck off. If it's a neck-thru, take it off of the case and use a small gig bag. If nothing helps, pay 5x times the price and use UPS.

[lamarjones]

I just made my first shipment of a neck and body seperately, luckily it was a bolt on. Thus my curiosity on this. Thans to those guys who are confirming I have to go in to the post office to get a quote. It's a pain, but 130 vs 270 is a huge difference on cost.

[hbarcat]

It's my understanding that DHL shipping has gotten out of the domestic market and they are strictly international shipping. They are trying to make themselves the go-to company for international shipping and are bending over backwards to provide specialized services such as international tracking, easy to understand size and weight criteria and competitive pricing.

http://www.dhl.com/splash.html

[lamarjones]

Originally Posted by hbarcat

It's my understanding that DHL shipping has gotten out of the domestic market and they are strictly international shipping. They are trying to make themselves the go-to company for international shipping and are bending over backwards to provide specialized services such as international tracking, easy to understand size and weight criteria and competitive pricing.

http://www.dhl.com/splash.html

thanks man! I know where there is a spot in the area, so I will give check it out.

[rustynuts]

The problem with DHL (and FedEx and UPS, etc.) will be the customs and brokerage fees. Make sure you take those into account.

Edit: Just did a price/shipping time comparison for four carriers with the package being a bolt on neck bass, neck removed and packaged together with the body.

DHL
Worldwide Priority Express (Dutiable) * $218.14, but with quite a few greyed out exception notes, among them one that makes no sense:

International rate quotes assume that a customer is outside the United States pays for a shipment that originates outside the Unites States with a destination inside the United States.

Why they would assume such a thing when I requested an origin in Kentucky, USA and a destination in Byron Bay, NSW Australia is beyond me. DHL also quotes two day delivery on said package, which is ludicrous, especially since NSW is 14 hours ahead of us here. But they do add the caveat, again greyed out at the bottom of the page:

Transit times for international shipments are estimates based on the destination country and are only to be used as a general guide for international transit times. Actual transit times may vary.

It's misleading BS like this that makes me not want to deal with a company like DHL.

FedEx
FedEx International Priority® $251.53, with a much more believable 5 day shipping time. They do have a note (not greyed out or hidden) about the origin and destination locations being a bit remote:

The origin or destination city entered is outside of the FedEx primary pickup/delivery area. The transit time provided may include additional time required to pickup or deliver your shipment from/to this area.

A second FedEx option is FedEx International Economy® at $240.81 with estimated delivery time of 7 days, also with the same exception notes.

UPS
UPS Worldwide Saver $220.46 with a five day delivery time estimate
UPS Worldwide Expedited $214.05 with a seven day delivery time estimate.

UPS notes that the price includes a fuel surcharge. Neither FedEx nor DHL mention the fuel surcharge though both do have them so I'd check on that. They also include this:

Rates are estimates only based on Prepaid service.

Please Note: Shipping rates quoted are estimates based on the information you have supplied. Shipping rates quoted do not include duties, taxes or other non-routine customs brokerage charges. Other shipping charges, surcharges or accessorial charges also may apply. Your final shipping charge may differ based on your shipper characteristics and the characteristics of, and services requested for, packages actually tendered to UPS. Rates quoted here are based on UPS published rates. Please see the UPS Rate and Service Guide or the applicable service and rate guide in your jurisdiction for details. Rates and service may vary at retail locations.

Duty types are provided as a convenience only and should not be relied upon by shippers or any other person.

The US Postal Service
Priority Mail® International $97.40, estimated delivery time 6-10 days. My experience shows that it's usually closer to two weeks.
Express Mail® International $111.50 for five days.
Global Express Guaranteed® (GXG) $196.00 for three days, though the SVT I sent to Australia via GXG took ten days. Due to the remote location, the USPS will not guarantee a delivery date, thus no refund should they not meet that "guaranteed" delivery schedule. GXG has it's own PDF service guide with about 20 pages of general information and a total of 1187 pages of country specific information:

http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/pubs/pub141.pdf

Most of the time you can print the postage online for your package and it will be fine, but there are times when the actual window cost is substantially more.

Right now would probably be a good time to divulge that I work for UPS in Air Operations management, and that the company I own and run on the side has accounts with all of the above carriers. Even though I work for UPS, I ship international shipments via the USPS (the postal service) 99.5% of the time. There are fewer issues with customs fees for the recipient, and overall fewer surprises due to the fact that the USPS has reciprocal agreements with the majority of international postal services which speed up the process of customs, etc. and doesn't require a third party brokerage service. Once you pay at the window, even though it may be a hassle sometimes, you will not be billed for additional services later, or billed for customs fees/duties or taxes that the recipient refuses to pay.

[hbarcat]

Great info, rustynuts Thanks for taking the time to research that.



I've only used USPS to ship international and while I thought it was expensive, I've never had a single problem with the delivery.

A few months ago I even shipped an oversize package to Islamabad, Pakistan and I could track it the whole way up to the point the recipient signed for it.