The things to know about shipping overseas
When shipping overseas, one might be reminded of a social media relationship status –” It’s complicated.” Partly that is true because the experience compared to sending a package locally is very much different when sending one to another country.
When shipping internationally, you just don’t think of filling up Sender’s Name, Recipient’s Name, among other simple information needed to get your cargo from point A to point B.
Here’s a list of things you need to know when shipping overseas:
Can You Ship Your Item?
This is one basic question you need to ask before forwarding a freight overseas. Shipping rules and regulations vary and specific depending on where you are sending it to. Before packaging goods, always check the restricted products list of your country and that of the destination country. If you ship a restricted product, it may just end up being held by customs or worse, you facing penalties or legal charges.
Custom Regulations, Fees, And Tariff
When you send items overseas it will go through customs. Typically, you will be completing forms: one for the country where you live and another set of papers for the country where you are sending the package.
Of course, you need to deal with custom fees, which will be based on the value of the item you are shipping out and its destination. How much this will be varies and it is best practice to always check for the fees you need to shoulder before sending anything out.
You also need to deal with taxes when shipping goods internationally. This will depend on shipment fee, warehousing fee, and other additional charges that you might incur along the way. One company may also have different tariff computation depending on the scope of their services and their locations.
Shipping Company
International shipping can be expensive so it is crucial to pick the right company to do the job for you. You need to do your own homework or you run the risk of being scammed by fly by night freight services that do not deliver on time, does not care of goods, and only cares about your payments.
Always get several quotes before choosing the best one the fits your needs and budget. You can do a visual survey so you know what kind of company and personnel will be handling your product. Also, read the fine print to check for hidden charges or clauses that put you on the losing end.
Schedule your shipment well and do not expect on the dot transit time. A little room for delays is always good practice. You also need to take into consideration if you are shipping it by land, air, or sea.
Packaging
Every country has its regulations on how you should packaged goods coming out or coming in. Always check what these rules are before packaging your goods. Make sure you label the package properly. You can also ask the shipping company if they can do these things for you just to make sure all things are done properly.
Insurance
Insurance for the items you are shipping overseas is crucial. It may cost you a bit more but it will give you peace of mind.
We are always here to help with the questions you have, and no question is too small or big for us. This is our passion, this is what we do and love to help our customers. We ship anything, anywhere.
We Can Handle All Your Shipping Requirements.
Phone: 905.875.9977 | Email: info@allegrofreight.com
