8 Important Things to Keep In Mind When Shipping Overseas in 2024

Whenever shipping overseas, it’s important to keep in mind a few things that make the process that much easier.

Shipping overseas isn’t something that you do just that. It involves a lot of paperwork, custom regulations, and costs that should be accounted for before shipping.

But seeing as this is highly important, we thought to give you a rundown of the 8 most important things when shipping overseas.

So, without further ado, let’s start.

Keep In Mind the Custom Regulations

Whenever shipping overseas, it should go without saying that every country has its own customs regulations. Regardless of how you ship the items or products, they must pass through customs before they can be granted entry.

But the process of getting approval is a highly complex one. For example, there is where you’ll do most of the paperwork. And don’t think for a second that this job is easy. From dozens of forms to waiting for approval, customs and regulations are essential so the items can gain entry to the country.

Mind the Fees

If all the paperwork wasn’t enough, then what about paying the fees? Every country has its own customs department where they charge a fee for every item. The amount that you’ll pay depends on each individual item. For example, the department has a flat rate for every item by looking at its value. If the item is more expensive, then the fees will be much higher.

Fortunately for you, there is an easy way to know the amount to pay. Namely, all you need to do is simply call your customs department or go on their website and enquire about a specific item that you want to ship overseas.

They will give you an estimate as to how much the customs fee will be.

Mind the Shipping Tariff

You will have to ship the item overseas and that’s down to a shipping company. But a lot of people think that the customs fee and shipping tariff are the same things.

Unfortunately, that isn’t really true. A shipping tariff is a fee that the shipping company charges you so they can transport your item overseas.

There is a silver lining in all this as different shipping companies will give you different rates. So, what you can do is simply talk to various companies and decide on the one that gives you the lowest shipping tariff.

Understand the Paperwork

We talked about paperwork but it’s important to understand that there are different kinds of documents you will need to obtain so your item can be loaded out of the plane, ship, or any other means of transportation.

Because of this, we strongly advise understanding what documents you will need to obtain before the process.

As this is something that a lot of people are unfamiliar with, you can visit FreightPaul to understand the various shipping documents that you need.

Mind the Time of Transit

This is very important as the issues surrounding the time of transit when internationally shipping can be a real headache.

Some countries in the world do not have a fast means of shipping. Some do not even have overnight delivery which means you should plan carefully.

This is always a problem with the international delivery of items, goods, or products. Since there are lots of factors that play an important role in the time of transit, you should expect plenty of delays with your items.

Factors such as bad weather can completely put off the delivery process and set it back for days. But that’s not all of your problems.

Bureaucracy problems are the last obstacle to overcome when needing to deliver items internationally.

For example, certain countries in the world have a stricter custom clearance that could take a lot of time before they actually give your items the green light to enter.

All of these present a problem on its own, so you should always plan beforehand to make the deadline drop.

Mind the Weight of the Package

The packaging is an important aspect of international delivery. You will not be allowed to ship the product if suitable packaging isn’t accounted for.

But that’s not really the problem here. When we talked about the various fees, we didn’t mention a very important one – the weight fees. Namely, the delivery fees are closely tied to the weight of the product.

If the product isn’t weighted accurately, then the shipping company might impose stricter fees. This is why you should always have an accurate means of weighing the item before sending it overseas. While certain companies have a clear list of specific dimensions for every packaging, failing to abide by this list can be quite expensive.

Mind the Type of Transport

Let’s be real about it. There are only three ways to send an item overseas. You can do it air, by sea, or a freight. Every means of transport varies in costs and delivery time.

Sea transport will take the longest but it is the most affordable option out there. This makes it perfect if time isn’t really a problem or an obstacle.

Shipping by air or freight is the most expensive but the delivery time is significantly faster. This makes it a perfect option if time is an obstacle.

You should also understand that certain items aren’t meant to be transported in one or another way. Fragile items, for example, can get easily damaged if transported through the sea.

Insurance

And we come to the last and probably the most important thing to mind which is insurance.

No matter the means of transport, do know that items can get damaged through the process. No one can guarantee that your items will not suffer any damage, thus you should always insure them.

This makes sure that you get your money back if the product sustains damage through transit. It is especially important in the case of fragile items to have them insured. Since they are easily breakable, insurance makes sure that you get your money back.