The Postal Service™ offers many convenient and competitively priced services to ship packages at home and abroad. You can help ensure a positive holiday shipping experience for customers by informing them about the many services the Postal Service offers online — at discounted prices, and by reminding them of critical shipping dates.
Use the following guide when advising customers about the various options and services available. By offering our customers the right products that will ensure timely, safe delivery of their holiday gifts, the Postal Service can provide a quality customer service experience and take some of the stress out of the holidays.
Customers can purchase Ready Post® packaging or use the Postal Service’s free, eco-friendly, expedited packaging to send out their holiday gifts.
Customers can order free USPS® shipping supplies online at www.usps.com/supplies or by calling 800-610-8734. Express Mail® and Priority Mail® envelopes and a variety of boxes are available for both domestic and international shipping. The mailing labels and Customs forms that you need for APO/FPO destination addresses and international shipping as well as Global Express Guaranteed® (GXG®) envelopes are also available.
The Postal Service is in favor of reducing waste and reusing boxes. However, please remember that wine, beer, and liquor boxes cannot be used for mailing. Any markings on previously used boxes should be removed or crossed out, especially barcodes, postage, and addresses.
Proper packaging is essential for packages to withstand transit and handling. Using padding such as bubble wrap or other materials to reduce shifting will protect the contents, and using packaging tape instead of masking tape will seal the package securely. For added protection, a separate slip of paper should be included inside the package with the sender’s and recipient’s addresses so that, in case the label does get damaged, the package can still reach its destination.
Express Mail service provides reliable, guaranteed, expedited mail service for overnight or second-day delivery (depending on the destination) and comes with $100 of free insurance.
Exhibit 1: Sample of Express Mail Packaging
Note: Customers must send Express Mail shipments by December 22, 2008, in order for the shipments to be received in time for Christmas.
Note: The maximum liability for insurance purchased at a Post Office™ retail counter is $5,000; when purchased online or at an Automated Postal Center® (APC®), the maximum liability is $500.
The Postal Service website at www.usps.com offers convenient online options for shipping with Express Mail service. Customers can order free shipping supplies (such as the envelope shown in Exhibit 1), print shipping labels, pay for postage, add extra services, purchase up to $500 of insurance, and schedule to have their package picked up for free.
Note: Customers must write the telephone numbers of the sender and the recipient on Express Mail shipping labels.
Priority Mail service is a fast, economical, and reliable way to send documents and merchandise domestically.
Exhibit 2: Sample of Priority Mail Packaging
Note: Customers must send Priority Mail shipments by December 20, 2008, in order for the shipments to be received in time for Christmas.
Extra services available with Priority Mail service include the following:
Note: The maximum liability for insurance purchased at a Post Office retail counter is $5,000; when purchased online or at an Automated Postal Center (APC), the maximum liability is $500.
The Postal Service website at www.usps.com offers convenient online options for shipping with Priority Mail service. Customers can order free shipping supplies (such as the envelope shown in Exhibit 2), print shipping labels, pay for postage, add extra services, purchase up to $500 of insurance, and schedule to have their package picked up for free.
Remind customers that, regardless of which domestic service they choose, proper addressing techniques will help guarantee a worry-free delivery of their holiday items:
Customers have three great shipping options with the Postal Service for their expedited international packages —GXG, Express Mail International®, and Priority Mail International™ service. To help ensure that your customers have a pleasant holiday shipping experience, be sure to understand the delivery standards and forms needed for international shipping.
Global Express Guaranteed (GXG) service is the Postal Service’s premium, date-certain international service with tracking and money-back guarantee1 to more than 190 countries worldwide. Offered through an alliance with FedEx Express2, GXG may be used for shipments that contain documents, general correspondence, nondocuments, and merchandise.
Exhibit 3: Sample of GXG Packaging
Note: Customers must send GXG shipments by December 19 or 22, 2008, depending on the destination, in order for the shipments to be received in time for Christmas.
Customers can easily prepare GXG shipments online using the Postal Service website, www.usps.com, and receive a 10 percent discount on their GXG packages paid for through Click-N-Ship® service. Also at www.usps.com, customers can print shipping labels, Item 11FGG1GXG, GXG International Air Waybill, and PS Form 6182, Commercial Invoice (this form serves as a Customs form, but customers will need to fill it out manually and affix it to the package, using the plastic pouch PS Form 2976-E, Customs Declaration Envelope — CP 91). They can order all of these forms free online at www.usps.com/shipping supplies. Customers can also schedule a free Carrier Pickup™ for their holiday packages.
Note: Customers must write the telephone numbers of the sender and the recipient on GXG shipping labels.
Express Mail International service is an expedited mail service that can be used to send documents and merchandise to more than 190 countries worldwide.
Note: Customers must send Express Mail International shipments by December 12, 17, or 18, 2008, depending on the destination, in order for the shipments to be received in time for Christmas. For more information on international shipping dates, see http://www.usps.com/holiday/shippingcalendar.htm.
Note: Coins, jewelry, watches, and other valuables are prohibited in Express Mail International shipments. Always check country-specific prohibitions, restrictions, and observations in the IMM Individual Country Listing pages.
Customers can quickly and easily prepare Express Mail International shipments online using the Postal Service website, www.usps.com, and receive an 8 percent discount on their Express Mail International packages paid for through Click-N-Ship service. Also at www.usps.com, customers can order free shipping supplies (such as the envelope shown in Exhibit 2 — Express Mail International mailings use the same packaging as domestic Express Mail service), print shipping labels and the appropriate Customs forms all in one document; purchase up to $500 in additional insurance (to purchase more insurance — up to $5,000 — customers must make the transaction at a Post Office retail counter); and schedule a free Carrier Pickup for their holiday packages.
Note: Customers must write the telephone numbers of the sender and the recipient on Express Mail International shipping labels.
POS ONE and IMM Individual Country Listings show which Customs forms are required, but here’s a rule of thumb:
Used for quick, affordable global shipping, Priority Mail International service is a reliable, cost-effective way to send documents and merchandise to international destinations.
Note: Customers must send Priority Mail International shipments by December 4 or 11, 2008, depending on the destination, in order for the shipments to be received in time for Christmas. For more information, see http://www.usps.com/holiday/shippingcalendar.htm.
Customers can prepare Priority Mail International combined labels and Customs forms on the Postal Service website, www.usps.com, or through authorized PC Postage® vendors and receive a 5 percent discount. Also at www.usps.com, customers can order free shipping supplies (such as the envelope shown in Exhibit 1 — Priority Mail International service uses the same packaging as domestic Priority Mail service); print shipping labels and the appropriate Customs forms all in one document; purchase up to $500 in additional insurance (to purchase more insurance — up to $5,000 — customers must make the transaction at a Post Office retail counter); and schedule a free Carrier Pickup for their holiday packages.
Priority Mail International service offers several different options:
Flat-Rate Envelopes
Priority Mail International Flat-Rate Envelopes are just $9.95 for Canada and Mexico and $11.95 to all other countries. There is a 4-pound weight limit on Priority Mail International Flat-Rate Envelopes.
Insurance is not available with the Priority Mail International Flat-Rate Envelope. Also, tracking services are not available unless the customer purchases Registered Mail service, which provides added security.
Every Priority Mail International Flat-Rate Envelope requires PS Form 2976, Customs Declaration CN 22 — Sender’s Declaration (green label), affixed to the outside of the envelope. In addition, if the item weighs 16 ounces or more or is valued at $400 or higher, the customer must also prepare PS Form 2976-A, Customs Declaration and Dispatch Note — CP 72, and enclose the form set inside the package; in this case, the customer affixes only the upper portion of PS Form 2976 (cut on the dotted line) to the envelope and discards the lower portion. (For more information, see IMM 123.61.)
Flat-Rate Boxes and Variable-Weight Packages
Priority Mail International can use the same Priority Mail Flat-Rate Boxes for international shipments as for domestic shipments:
Priority Mail International Flat-Rate Boxes and variable-weight packages require PS Form 2976-A, Customs Declaration and Dispatch Note — CP 72. When using this form:
- The customer must fully describe the package contents and list the appropriate value declared in U.S. dollars in block 5, “Value (U.S. $)” (located in the middle-right portion of the form).
- If the customer purchases additional insurance for Priority Mail International service, write a bold “V” followed by the dollar amount of the insurance in the “Insured Amount” block (in the upper-right corner of the form), and write the amount of the insurance fee in the “Insured Fees (U.S. $)” block (under the “Insured Amount” block).
Remind customers that, regardless of the international service they choose, proper addressing techniques will help guarantee a worry-free delivery of their holiday items:
Note: To Canada, there must be two spaces between the province abbreviation and the postal code, as shown between “ON” and “KIA 0B1” in the sample below:
Customers should check the Individual Country Listings in the IMM to ensure that package contents are not restricted or prohibited in the destination country before sealing international packages.
To assure packages get through Customs and are delivered on time, check with the customer to make sure that:
Pay attention to the restrictions of each shipping product as well. For example, Express Mail International service does not allow shipments containing coins, jewelry, watches, and other valuable items.
Customs duties and taxes are assessed in accordance with the laws of the destination country and are based on the declared value of the shipment.
If duties or taxes are assessed, most countries will collect a Customs fee from the recipient in addition to the duties and taxes.
Shipments bearing incomplete Custom declarations may be returned to the sender.
— International Products,
Global Business, 12-4-08
