Shipping Shipping internationally from the US

I declare it as a doll.

When you buy postage online, you will fill in the customs info then.

You may need to get these if the postage prints out into multiple forms: https://store.usps.com/store/product/large-customs-declaration-form-pouch-P_FORM_2976_E

 

I would ask the person I'm shipping to if there's a particular wording they'd like on the declaration form (for instance "resin art doll") based on their experiences with their local customs office.

I often use Pirateship for purchasing my USPS labels, and their interface includes the customs form which can be printed out with the label, so everything is ready to go at the same time. (I'm less familiar with the USPS website as I otherwise just do this in person at postoffice's counter, but I imagine it's similar. )

 

I’m an international person who often receives packages from the US, and I have a few thoughts—note: I’m from Canada, so I can only speak for the experience of receiving items from the US, and I can’t speak for people on other continents, like European buyers.

If you fully insure/fully declare, I will be paying customs. I’m paranoid, so I ask people to fully declare and fully insure in case something happens, but plenty of people in countries with higher customs taxes may ask you to declare lower values to avoid taxes. This is technically illegal in some places, and means that you cannot fully insure, so you’ll need to decide if you want to take that risk, or if you’re more willing to lose a sale than take that risk.

USPS/Canadapost is the slowest way to get anything to me, but it’s also got the cheapest customs fees. UPS charges extortionate customs processing fees, but is loads faster. For something small and relatively inexpensive I tend to prefer the slow USPS option. For something very high value, or impossible to replace, I tend to prefer UPS. DHL is also just generally really expensive so I don’t use it often.

Declaring as “doll” versus “figurine” versus “art sculpture” doesn’t make a huge difference at the Canadian border—if it’s marked as coming from the US (or American origin), it is only subject to GST and in provinces that have it, PST. That may change soon, but for now, if it’s declared as being made in Canada, the US or Mexico, there is no duty fee on it, just the sales tax based on the declared value.

 

I've found a huge benefit to doing customs forms in advance online. When you do them through the USPS site, it'll give you a bar code that the postal worker can scan, and they'll be able to print your pre-filled customs form so you don't have to worry about printer access for it. Note: You probably can't pre-fill for Canada. Canada is the one country they sort of expect pre-filled customs forms to not work for, at least at my PO.
That said: International is so expensive, especially for dolls in their original boxes and especially if you live in a higher zone number, that I really recommend Pirate Ship. It'll make shipping overseas far more affordable.

 

In addition to everyone else I’d honestly suggest making sure to hand it to a person who can immediately scan the package and not drop off in a kiosk spot or whatever. For insurance reasons, usps needs to show they actually scanned it into their system, and sometimes scans can be missed.

 

This for sure. I've been seeing more and more people panicking because their packages don't get scanned until it's practically at the destination. When you track them it looks like the seller made a label but still has the package- even though USPS has it and it's moving. Avoid the stress and take it to a post office to have them scan it. They can even give you a receipt to show that it was scanned!

I also recommend that you think carefully about declaring a low value on the customs form. Many buyers will ask you to do this so they can pay less taxes when the package arrives. If you do this, the package can only be insured for that lower amount. USPS already doesn't have a great reputation for reimbursing insurance when a package is damaged. So if that package is damaged in transit, USPS will probably not reimburse you, and even if they do it will be for the low value. And, if you accepted payment using a method with buyer/seller protection like Paypal, your buyer can file a claim for the damage and Paypal will probably side with them. In my opinion, these risks are not worth it so I will not lower the declaration value, even though it means some people will not buy from me.

I've shipped internationally using Shipstation, which is connected to Paypal so I can print the label directly from my Paypal account. I don't love it, but it's cheaper than the post office. I've heard good things about Pirateship. This won't be an option for large packages, but when you ship small ones overseas the cheapest Shipstation option sends the package to a warehouse, where they relabel it and send it overseas. So when you print your label it has a US address on it and there's no customs form. That worried me at first but the packages were all delivered without problems.

 

I shipped a doll body to one of my friends in Europe recently and my package was returned to me from US customs for a “non-compliant customs form”. I brought it to the post office and the only thing we could think of for why it was returned to me was maybe the description was too vague (I put “doll parts” originally and we resent it with a more detailed description of “doll body - 2 arms, 2 legs” or something like that). It did go through a second time. I usually print my labels and forms at home via pirate ship to save money and have never had an issue before but I don’t send packages overseas super often. I’m not sure if I just got a disgruntled customs person or if they just didn’t like the description on my form but I’d say if you have any issues take it back to the post office and try again or just send it directly from there and get them to help you with the form.

Normally I ask the recipient how they want the item declared (value, description) though I prefer to add insurance if the included free insurance isn’t enough (for priority international $200 insurance is included) . If you ship via Pirate Ship they offer third party insurance though I’ve never had to submit a claim yet so I don’t know how involved the process is. Usually additional insurance isn’t that expensive.

 

Others have addressed most of the issues, but one of the more recent changes I've noticed with shipping this year is that more and more countries now require a harmonized tariff code in addition to a description of the items on the declaration. I use the HTS site to look up the items I'm sending and find the code that is the most appropriate (leaning into doll/figure items that are NOT considered toys, as some countries have rigorous testing and requirements on "children's toys"), while confirming the code and the description with the buyer. Harmonized Tariff Schedule

As u/zekarmisama, if printing out postage at home and using USPS, you will need the plastic envelope window label bag for some countries. Some people have used ziplock bags, but for some countries, there will be multiple pieces of paperwork that will need to be sent together without it being glued or taped to the box.. (For example, I just only had 1 label and form for Canada, which I could tape to the box, but for Finland, there were 3, and I had to use a bag)

If shipping with a third-party, I would confirm with buyers the method of shipping. Private couriers such as FedEx, DHL, and UPS charge brokerage fees to clear parcels through customs on top of VAT and other duty, so fees can get very high on parcels shipped by those couriers. In my years of shipping, most buyers prefer delivery by their national postal service where you'd ship via USPS; it's also usually the most economical method, even if expensive.

I also insure everything I ship, so I personally will not underdeclare value. Some buyers will ask you to underdeclare as to paying less VAT, duty, and other fees, but one thing to take into consideration is the loss. If the parcel is missing, this doesn't stop buyers from filing a claim with PayPal or their CC company. Although PayPal offers seller protection, they've been notorious to rule in favor of the buyer for "item not as described." I'm generally very low risk, so I protect myself by insuring everything I sell. Some people may agree to underdeclare as to gain a sale, but it's really all about how much risk you can accept as a seller.

Good luck selling internationally!

 

I’d like to add too that you can get the customs baggies (and a lot of other shipping stuff) from USPS’s website for free. They’re a lot easier to use than a ziplock (I’ve had to tape a ziplock to a box a couple times and it wasn’t great).

 

Yes, @zekarmisama linked it in their original post to the USPS store, but I was mentioning ziplocks solely as an alternative if one didn't have the USPS/FedEx/whoever's label bag on hand.

 

Oh my goodness, that sounds so stressful, having to open up your doll at the PO and then pay the full declared value on top of that? With police present? What did they think it was?

DHL and fedex are both couriers, but they’re separate! Dhl is usually faster than FedEx for me, and their customs process is faster.