Tips on sending package to China?

[Anonymous]

My teen has a sort of pen pal in China (they met online and use some Chinese app to chat). They decided to send each other a box of small gifts. The Chinese friend’s box arrived without problems. Ours, a box of trinkets and snacks that cost $95 to send with USPS, came back returned to sender with a note saying the customs form was incomplete. (It said the box had toys, snacks and a scarf.)

We are now reading online that the form must list every item, where it was made, the value. And apparently we must say it’s a gift and include a copy of her friend’s passport. Any food can’t expire in less than 6 months.

I’m worried about getting these instructions right. (I’m also hoping we don’t have to pay another $95!)

Any advice from someone who has successfully sent a box of gifts to China?

[Anonymous]

I have not sent anything to China but years ago when I wanted to send a package to Ukraine I found a private company service that specialized in delivery to Ukraine. Sort of like a US to Ukraine UPS. It was much cheaper than USPS or FedEx because it used sea shipment, etc. They also helped me do the customs forms correctly.

[Anonymous]

Talk to one of your Chinese friends and ask them how they ship.

[Anonymous]

I would not have my kid communicate with a "penpal" they met on an app from China. Good lord.

[Anonymous]

Use dhl

[Anonymous]

Don't send food. Other stuff is fine. Try DHL but do the label stuff online, then drop at DHL drop-off (there's one at Tysons Mall, another at Wheaton mall), at it's a lot cheaper that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't send food. Other stuff is fine. Try DHL but do the label stuff online, then drop at DHL drop-off (there's one at Tysons Mall, another at Wheaton mall), at it's a lot cheaper that way.

+1

DHL is generally cheapest. There has to be someone at the other end to sign for the package. Never send food items of any kind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't send food. Other stuff is fine. Try DHL but do the label stuff online, then drop at DHL drop-off (there's one at Tysons Mall, another at Wheaton mall), at it's a lot cheaper that way.

+1

DHL is generally cheapest. There has to be someone at the other end to sign for the package. Never send food items of any kind.

Also: you will have to itemize each thing in the package, for customs. If anything is incorrect, they will ship it back to you, and may charge you a fee. Be aware.

[Anonymous]

[twitter]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't send food. Other stuff is fine. Try DHL but do the label stuff online, then drop at DHL drop-off (there's one at Tysons Mall, another at Wheaton mall), at it's a lot cheaper that way.

+1

DHL is generally cheapest. There has to be someone at the other end to sign for the package. Never send food items of any kind.

Also: you will have to itemize each thing in the package, for customs. If anything is incorrect, they will ship it back to you, and may charge you a fee. Be aware.

The itemizing part is the most important, along with always designating each item as gift and putting a value that isn’t random but that also doesn’t exceed customs limits. This is basic for any customs form for anywhere- even at my terrible post office, they won’t let you send an international package if you don’t itemize with values. There are good sample labels online that would have been helpful to guide me when I first had to start shipping stuff abroad.

This is a helpful overview- for China I would definitely use DHL for the reasons they lift. For other countries in Asia, using USPS is easy but can be slow.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, PP above and forgot to include link:

https://www.advantasourcing.com/blog/sending-samples-to-china

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't send food. Other stuff is fine. Try DHL but do the label stuff online, then drop at DHL drop-off (there's one at Tysons Mall, another at Wheaton mall), at it's a lot cheaper that way.

+1

DHL is generally cheapest. There has to be someone at the other end to sign for the package. Never send food items of any kind.

Also: you will have to itemize each thing in the package, for customs. If anything is incorrect, they will ship it back to you, and may charge you a fee. Be aware.

Umm that was in the OP

[Anonymous]

Op here, thanks all! DHL it is.

[Anonymous]

Just send it USPS. I’m sure the post office will help

[Anonymous]

Reviving this thread because I have sat down to itemize the gifts in my package, and realized I can't seem to find the needed information.

First item is a Sanrio Hello Kitty holiday plus.
DHL form wants a Schedule B code for this item, and a Manufacturers ID.

I think I found the code (for a stufffed animal) but the form keeps saying I have the wrong number of digits (even though they are right).
And I cannot seem to find a manufacturer's ID for Sanrio.

Help!

[Anonymous]

Omg, I’m sorry, OP. What a pain!