International Shipping & Customs Forms Submitted Online, international First Class International shipping help

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Now that more post offices are catching up with the new requirement for international packages to have the customs form submitted electronically, there are lots of unhappy folks standing in line at the post office while the clerks enter the data manually...

Good news: You can print your international labels from your computer and submit the data online yourself so the clerk doesn't have to--and you don't have to stand there and wait.

Some folks use endicia or stamps-com to pay for postage and print their labels & customs forms--great if you can afford it/have enough business to warrant paying for the subscription, but many don't.


For Priority and faster services:

You can print your labels through Paypal or USPS.com's "Click n Ship" and the subscription-based web sites--they will be three pages long and you'll need the plastic envelopes USPS provides for free (get them from the PO or the USPS web site store) or any attachment to the side of your package that can be easily opened by customs in the destination country.


For First Class International:

If you have a PC, you can use the free downloadable "Click n Ship for Business" program--formerly the Shipping Assistant--or the online "USPS Web Tools" system. ("Click n Ship for Business" is different than USPS.com's "Click n Ship", I don't know why they changed the name recently, it makes if very confusing.)

If you have a Mac, you can use the online "USPS Web Tools" system.

Both the "Click n Ship for Business" program & the "USPS Web Tools" system submit the data electronically, but you'll need to use postage stamps to cover the postage so if the package is over 13 oz, you'll still need to hand it off to a postal employee to mail it (as is true for both international & domestic packages over 13 oz with only postage stamps).


More help with the free program & links to to the USPS web site here:

Clarification of New International Mail Rules
http://www.gotogreatpanes.com/blog/2012/05/22/clarification-new-international-mail-rules


More help with domestic & international shipping labels, insurance & more here:

Shipping Basics
http://www.gotogreatpanes.com/blog/shipping

[Former_Member]

Helpful overview! Thanks :) SOOOO glad I live in a rural area with a small town. No waiting in line and a carrier comes to the house every day :)

[GoTo]

Glad to share!

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[Former_Member]

Hello,

I'm hoping someone can help me with some major USPS issues I've been having. :(

I made a sale to an Australian customer yesterday, so I went online to fill out the customs form on USPS.com. It let me fill the form out, but every time I clicked print, it would send it to what looks like Endicia (which I do not have) & not actually print the form. It did the same thing every time I clicked reprint.

I thought it might have something to do with my cache/cookies, etc., so I tried printing from a different computer. Same thing happened (or didn't happen).

I finally found a PDF version on the USPS website, filled it out & took it into the PO I usually go to. I explained the issue I was having to the clerk, and she said that everyone has issues with it and she doesn't know the solution. She then proceeded to explain that she would not accept my hard copy customs form & charged me a $4 fee to enter it from her computer!

I had to eat the additional $4, as there was no way I could have anticipated this charge. Going forward though, I would really like to know how to get the stupid form to print from my PC! Please tell me I'm not the only person having this issue. :(

Any guidance would be GREATLY appreciated!

[Former_Member]

If you pay for your shipping through Etsy it prints out the customs form already filled out for you!

[PiecesofMeCardsnMore]

I print all my shipping labels through Etsy shipping, including international. They handle the customs forms and the postage gets added to your monthly Etsy bill. (you can even leave the package out for your mail carrier to pick up)

[RainnRoseArt]

Thank you for the info!

[CarolBradley]

Becky -

The easiest process for international labels is to print them through Etsy.

Before Etsy offered this, I used the USPS's Click-n-Ship for Business. It works, but it's very clunky. It would install an upgrade at least once a month. The upgrade would take 5 to 10 minutes to install.