Starting May 16, 2012 the USPS is prohibiting the shipping of lithium batteries when mailed interna­tionally or to and from an APO, FPO, or DPO location. The ban covers any devices that use a lithium or lithium ion battery; rechargeable or not. This means that companies cannot ship mobile phones, tablets (including iPads) , laptop computers, other items with these types of batteries using the United States Postal Service to locations outside the United States. Even if the batteries [...]

Not only are shipments to Brazil having delays or losses, but shipments to Israel are catching up to them. We are seeing many delays and claims of non receipt for packages shipped to Israel. Remember, First Class mail has limited tracking and sometimes having tracking makes a difference between a lost package and a delayed package.

As of the past few months, we have seen an alarming amount of lost packages being sent to Brazil via the United States Postal Service (USPS). Of the parcels being shipped most of the intended recipients are  cooperating with the claims process immediately upon request. Whether this is a customs issue, a carrier issue, or something else we cannot say for sure. If you MUST ship to Brazil we recommend sending your shipments via a service like [...]

It is widely understood the most cost effective way to ship overseas from the USA is via the United States Postal Service’s First Class International (FCI) mail service. There is nothing comparable when it comes to cost and allows many commerce shippers the ability to open the borders for International commerce. The main drawback of FCI, besides its relatively slow delivery times, is the lack of true package tracking. It is true that FCI does not have [...]

Shipping Internationally via the United States Postal Service is often the most economical way to fulfill orders if you are based in the United States. Their First Class Mail and Priority Mail services are great options with reasonable pricing. The main problem with these services are their lack of tracking once the packages reach the postal service of each destination country. Once they are out of the USPS’s hands, it is up to the foreign postal systems [...]

We have been seeing some disturbing trends for overseas shipments and we thought we would let you know to keep you on the lookout. We will use shipments sent to Germany as an example. We are not picking on Germany, but we have seen an increased amount of lost shipments sent there. After analyzing the losses and speaking with some of our insured’s, the conclusion is that German customs is holding packages for an increasing long time. It [...]

We wanted to follow-up with our article “If You Are An International Shipper Know The Restrictions” with another reminder to make sure you understand the International shipping restrictions of the shipping carriers. Specifically; the United States Postal Service. We found the following video and it reminded us of something we see too often. When shipping Internationally, please make sure that the items that you are shipping are not prohibited. Make sure to bookmark this link: International Mail [...]

The United States Postal Service has released the following bulletin regarding shipments to Japan: Due to the massive earthquake that occurred in Japan March 12 that has affected mail delivery in the northern areas of the country — including the cities of Sapporo and Sendai — the Japan Postal Service Co., Ltd. is declaring a force majeure. All inbound and outbound mail flows addressed in the following area have been affected. The offices of exchange [...]

As of March 1, 2011, the United States Postal Service has temporarily suspended International shipping services to Libya. More details can be found here:  http://bit.ly/iiFrgu

First Class Mail & Media Mail to get more expensive. Commercial Base Prices are introduced to add an incentive to online postage printing.