Shipping From the US to Foreign Countries
Are you a US-based brand looking to launch into international markets?
Though there’s plenty of opportunity to take your brand global, the complexity of international shipping tends to hold fast-growing US-based brands from serving customers outside the country.
Every country has its own set of rules and regulations, which makes it hard to calculate cross-border shipping costs and transit times.
ShipBob is a premium 3PL that provides global fulfillment solutions to help simplify international selling and enable growth. Fill out the form to request a quote or read on for additional global shipping information.
I’ve also been fortunate to ship orders to customers from around the world. The process of shipping internationally to optimize costs has been easy.ShipBob handles everything for me. Best of all, the price that ShipBob charges to ship internationally is less than it costs for me to print a USPS label myself.
Anastasia Allison,
founder of Kula Cloth
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How to ship from the US to foreign countries
Shipping from the US to foreign countries requires a more comprehensive shipping strategy than solely shipping across the country.
When shipping international orders, you will need to be prepared to deal with customs and import duties, a tax placed on imports by customs authorities in the destination country of the shipment. These duties vary by country and are dictated by the value of the goods being imported.
All global orders need to be cleared through customs of the country they are entering, resulting in time-consuming paperwork that includes shipment details, such as tariff codes, dollar value, and product descriptions.
As the shipper, you are responsible for communicating these additional fees to your customers. If a customer is not aware upfront of the additional duties they will have to pay to receive their package, they may never claim it and you are liable for packages that get held up at customs.
To improve the customer experience and simplify the process, many times online brands will choose DDP shipping (delivery duty paid). By doing so, the shipper takes responsibility for all risk and fees of shipping goods until they reach their destination.
When shipping overseas, reliable tracking and shipping insurance is essential. Major US carriers that ship internationally are known for having reliable order tracking and support since each company maintains possession of the shipment throughout the entire delivery process.
Since cross-border shipping adds another layer of complexity, ShipBob thrives to help fast-growing brands develop an international selling strategy that drives more revenue, saves time, and optimizes costs.
“As our customer base grows, so does our global reach. Having orders shipping internationally, ShipBob’s affordable rates solved our need for international fulfillment capabilities.”
Carl Protsch, Co-Founder of FLEO
To help you get started, here is an overview of the different international shipping carrier options, links to shipping calculators and rates, and additional information for shipping from the US to global destinations.
International shipping carriers and services
To ship internationally, you will need to calculate shipping costs based on package measurements, shipment type, weight, international destination, etc. From there, you can choose a carrier and shipping service accordingly.
Four of the most prominent international shipping carriers that ship from the US are USPS, UPS, FedEx, and DHL.
USPS ships to over 190 countries and the three private carriers (UPS, FedEx, and DHL) ship to more than 220 countries and territories.
Each carrier offers their own set of international shipping services and what service you choose depends on:
- The type of product you sell (e.g., USPS offers a specific service for documents and printed materials).
- Weight (e.g., some carrier services use dimensional weight).
- Where you’re shipping to (e.g., FedEx offers a specific services for shipping from the US to Canada).
Here’s a breakdown of the various shipping services offered by each carrier, plus links to shipping calculators.
| Carrier | Shipping Services Offered | Shipping Calculator |
| USPS |
| Calculate Rates |
| UPS |
| Calculate Rates |
| FedEx |
| Calculate Rates |
| DHL |
| Calculate Rates |
Note: These are general options for consumers shipping orders. To know what ShipBob offers when shipping from US to other countries, please request a quote here.
Shipping from the US to Europe & the UK
When shipping to various European countries from the US, make sure you do thorough research on import laws, taxes, and import duties (which vary by country) to determine where you can legally sell your products and how much it will cost you to do so.
ShipBob can help you navigate the complexities of expanding to Europe every step of the way by helping you understand VAT, customs, duties, and transportation options for your business. We also offer fulfillment center locations in the EU and UK.
Click on the guides below for specific shipping information by country.
“International shipping is very important to us — not only in terms of costs but also the customer experience. When I found out ShipBob was expanding into both Canada and Europe, I knew we wanted to expand our physical footprint with them.
This offers us the ability to reduce taxes and tariffs that come with international shipping. Now, these orders see a large reduction in shipping costs.”
Nikolai Paloni, Co-founder of Ombraz Sunglasses
Shipping from the US to Asia
To ensure that shipments clear customs and reach Asia from US, make sure you provide detailed paperwork including detailed descriptions on what’s being shipped.
Note that come goods might even require additional paperwork or cannot be shipped at all. You might also require proper permits and licenses to ship to certain Asian countries.
Click on the guides below for specific shipping information by country.
Shipping from the US to South & Central America
Shipping from the US to South America is slightly different than shipping to Central America.
For one thing, Mexico falls under the NAFTA agreement, allowing for free trade across US, Canada, and Mexico. Product restrictions also vary between South and Central America.
Click on the guides below for specific shipping information by country.
| Country | Guide |
| Mexico | Shipping to Mexica from the US |
| Brazil | Shipping to Brazil from the US |
| Jamaica | Shipping to Jamaica from the US |
Shipping from the US to Africa
Due to several factors such as a distrust in online shipping and a low bank card penetration, ecommerce in Africa is a slower market. But, that’s not to say it isn’t possible to meet customers in the African market.
Africa is the second largest continent, is made up of 54 countries, and is home to 1.1 billion people, 50% of whom are under the age of 25. This means it’s likely that the number of packages shipped to, from and within in Africa will continue to increase.
However, shipping to Africa might come with a higher costs than other international markets. Be sure to weigh all your options before choosing a shipping carrier and method.
Click on the guides below for specific shipping information by country.
Sell more across the globe with ShipBob
ShipBob is an international 3PL that helps fast-growing brands launch into international markets with ease.
When you ship international orders from the US, you end up paying more in landed costs, which can significantly add up and cut into profit margins.
When you outsource fulfillment to ShipBob, you can take advantage of bulk shipping discounts for both domestic and international shipments. For more information on ShipBob’s international shipping rates, click here.
ShipBob also helps to reduce the burden of cross-border shipping by offering merchants the option to ship a bulk of inventory to an international fulfillment center location, allowing you to ship international orders closer to their destination.
[View all current ShipBob locations]
Since ShipBob’s entire fulfillment network is powered by a centralized, proprietary technology, so you can split inventory across the globe and track real-time inventory levels, storage and fulfillment costs, average transit days, and more all from a single dashboard.
“We want to continue to spread our brand internationally and are glad that more of our customer base can get better shipping rates and delivery times. We’re still a small operation, but with ShipBob we can be a more global company.”
Wes Brown, Head of Operations at Black Claw LLC
To get started, fill out the form below to request custom pricing.
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