Shipment to Puerto Rico ( the country not USA territory)

[ValeryAccessory]

Hello,

I have a customer who wants to order from my other jewelry store. Her address is listed as Puerto Rico (PR), a territory of the USA, verified by USPS. However, when creating a label, I must select a state, and PR does not appear as an option. Additionally, the shipping cost to PR is quite high: the standard rate is around $20, and FedEx charges 29 Euros.

I cannot route the shipment through the USA because the label creation system does not recognize PR as a valid state. I have to send to the country Puerto Rico. As a workaround, I added Puerto Rico as a country in my shipment profile and instructed the customer to select this option by adding the address as a country, not a territory in the USA. She completed two orders, but each time, the address remained the same. Even though she claimed that she added the address as a separate country, the address was shown as a USA address. I had to cancel both orders.

There are two possible solutions:

1. How can she order it for PR as a country, not as a US territory? Maybe the zip code creates a problem. Could you please provide any suggestions on how to resolve this issue?

2. I can temporarily increase the express shipment cost for the USA to around $32.54, but when I complete the transaction and add the tracking code, the package address will be listed as another country, while on the ETSY panel, the address will be in the USA. Would this create a problem?

Best regards

[UppNorthEh]

This is weird.  eBay has just declared that Puerto Rico is now part of its international shipping program.  no longer shipping with USPS.  and now etsy too?

I just looked at your shop and you are in Turkey.  maybe there is a bigger issue going on

[ValeryAccessory]

What kind of an issue is it? Political? Related to the banking system? Sanctions? If you have any news, please share.

[FallenAngelBrass]

@ValeryAccessory 

PR is a US territory (not a state and not a country) and there is no political issue - certainly no sanctions.  This is an administrative problem, not a political problem.  

[ValeryAccessory]

Dear @FallenAngelBrass 

In the shipment profile, Puerto Rico is listed as a country.

It seems that the shipping routes and integration for Puerto Rico are not fully defined or mature, which might explain the significant price differences for standard and expedited shipments. As a result, I am unable to ship items ordered from Puerto Rico, USA. The cost is prohibitive, and I cannot simply enter a Puerto Rican address as a US address since PR is not included in the USA address list.

Etsy should recognize Puerto Rico as a predefined country in the shipment profile and not allow buyers to select it as a territory when the shop location is outside of the US and the shop has the country option added in the profile.

[PrimFun]

@ValeryAccessory   The reason Puerto Rico is separate is that is how some postal systems treat Puerto Rico.

However it is a US territory and it considered part of the US.

Do you have a zip code for the order?  That is important for the US.  Is your program set up to accept zip codes for US territories?   If not you may need to leave off the zip code and just use Puerto Rico, United States.

Within the US, USPS does deliver to Puerto Rico and is treated no differently than the 50 states.  Same with Guam and a few other US territories.

THere is no political issue.  No banking issue as they are all US politics and banking.  

It may be your postal provider that has the issue 

@UppNorthEh   If you get a Puerto Rico order in the US it needs a zip code and is treated as domestic mail.  Other countries for some reason do treat Puerto Rico as separate. That's why it is listed separately in shipping profiles internationally but US shipping profiles do not need to list it separately.

[ValeryAccessory]

Dear @PrimFun ,

That is the issue here. I have defined Puerto Rico (PR) as a separate country after the buyer and I encountered this problem and ultimately had to cancel the order. I understand the issue with the first order, as PR was not listed as a standalone country option in my shipping profile.

I have since added PR as a separate country, but the buyer ordered twice more and still could not select PR as a distinct country. I have checked my profile to ensure it is defined for the products, and it is.

The problem lies with Etsy. For international shipments, it should immediately recognize PR as a separate country especially it is added in shipping profile.  

[UppNorthEh]

@PrimFun  - yay got notification you are talking to me.  I have only ever had a couple of orders to PR but I ship with the USPS.  I also thought it might have something to do with postal services.  just a coincidence that eBay announced that PR would now be international shipping.

[AgreeableAgony]

Try using pirateship or shippo for the label instead?  I havnt had any issues shipping their with USPS. Ground Advantage is slow AF. But priority is still quick. 

Flat Rate envelopes or boxes are great for that. 

[MaynardMillinery]

The Op is on Turkey, therefore, she can’t use any of those services. She’s shipping into the US/PR, not from mainland US to PR.

[AgreeableAgony]

@maynardmillinery

oops! thanks for catching that. I missed it.  I saw the routing through the USA and assumed. 

[NanaLetha]

@ValeryAccessory  US is the country not Puerto Rico.

[ValeryAccessory]

You are right. However...

When I create a label, I enter the address. In this case, it is verified by USPS, and according to USPS addressing standards, Puerto Rico (PR) is formatted as a state, even though it is actually a territory.

In my system, Puerto Rico (PR) is not recognized as a valid state entry, which prevents me from entering the address. This is the issue I face. As a workaround, I have to select Puerto Rico as a country when using FedEx, as they treat it as a country rather than a territory for international shipments. DHL e-commerce operates similarly.

Sometimes, there is an additional charge with FedEx for shipments to remote locations due to customs or other factors. In the continental USA, this charge is typically $4-5. However, for Puerto Rico, this charge increases significantly to around $32. This discrepancy is not just an additional charge—it is more than four times higher than the standart rate or over two times higher than the expedited ( FedEx ) cost.

What is the solution then? By the way, I can select Puerto Rico as a country from the shipment profile. So, that's one workaround.

[PrimFun]

@NanaLetha   For us in the US it is a 'state' as it has a zip code and is treated domestically for mail but for some countries it is treated separately not as part of the US.  Sure there is a reason for that but I'm too tired for any more history lessons today from anyone who may know the reason.

[funkydreamsmosaics]

From what I'm reading online, when shipping to Puerto Rico from outside the USA, FedEx treats it as a separate country.

There was a time when people in PR could choose whether their shipping address was for PR the territory or PR the country (for the purposes of shipping).  I have no idea if this still exists.  Unfortunately, I'm not sure how to suggest you determine if that is an option.

[MaynardMillinery]

Whilst, within the US, PR is considered a state and USPS includes it within its borders.

For countries outside the US, it is classed as a separate entity. And, as with many small islands, shipping companies charge higher premiums to ship there as they have to fuel extra means of transporting mail there.

Technically it’s not actually a state, as residents aren’t allowed to vote in the US presidential elections etc (although Biden is its president - they don’t get a say) It is a Commonwealth, and unincorporated territory of the United States. 

[GlassyFields]

Is the issue the surprise expense? or that you can't create a shipping label for the address.

I suspect that the cost to ship to PR is what it is. I doubt any manipulation of treating  PR as a country, state or territory will change the cost.

I suggest you either cancel the order or ship with the more expensive than expected shipping cost.

And it is officially a US territory. How carriers treat it for the purpose of shipping does not change it's legal status in th world.

[ValeryAccessory]

It is both. I cannot enter the address because I cannot select PR, which is not in the state list of the USA, and I cannot create a shipping label for that.

The shipment cost is very high, as I mentioned, but the main issue is that the address will appear as PR, USA for the order. Let's say that the order address i PR, USA. I can increase the USA expedited shipment cost for just this transaction, but I will actually be sending the item to another country. This raises a question about the tracking code: what will happen with that ( there will be a conflict) ? Will it show as delivered because, in the ETSY system, the address is in the USA, but the tracking code will be for a delivery to another country? Will that be shown as delivered? That is the question.

[GlassyFields]

Maybe this is a case where you go to your local post office and work with them to label the package and pay for the postage.  The shortcoming seems to be Etsy's system.

[BagmakerSupply]

Even for US sellers is not cut and dried. USPS considers Puerto Rico to be domestic shipping, but some private carriers (like FedEx or UPS) consider Puerto Rico to be international. It has been that way for years.