kathyg
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posted on January 6, 2001 06:40:24 PM
I mail a lot of items in 6" x 9" envelopes with cardboard reinforcers, and occasionally one goes international. There seems to be a lot of confusion at my local P.O. concerning the point it which it becomes necessary to use a customs form.
There should be a definitive and straightforward answer to this - or so I thought. So I cruised the USPS.com site, and perhaps it is there but I got lost in the mumbo jumbo and couldn't find it.
I think a lot of the clerks at my PO, because they know me on a first-name basis now, just hand me stuff to fill out without much thought. Seems like their POS system should tell them if a customs form is required, but I am getting a runaround. Does anyone know the REAL answer ???
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imabrit
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posted on January 6, 2001 06:47:59 PM
Everytime I ship an item international other than a letter we fill out a customs form.
We do that about 10 times a week.Plus there are 2 customs forms,over a certain size you have to use another one.Its larger than the small green one you use.Plus you use the larger one if you are going to insure as well.
Adrian
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kathyg
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posted on January 6, 2001 06:54:12 PM
So perhaps the question is - what qualifies as a letter? These are 6 x 9, 2-3 oz. envelopes.
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borgt
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posted on January 6, 2001 07:00:02 PM
I was told by my clerk that it's required for anything that isn't obviously just a "standard letter." I primarily use padded envelopes, so I always use the customs form.
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barrelracer
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posted on January 6, 2001 07:02:47 PM
Up until today, anything I shipped in the small global priority envelope did not need a custom form if it was under 16 ounces. It says this right on the envelope. The clerk's screen would ask for the custom form scan, but they were able to bypass that.
With the new international rates taking effect, I think things might be changing!
~Not barrelracer on ebay, don't pick on them!~
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barrelracer
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posted on January 6, 2001 07:05:54 PM
I think to answer your question kathyg, if you are sending merchandise in a non-global priority envelope you will need a custom form.
I fill out the green ones for most packages, I think it goes by weight, but I am not sure. A small packet air got the green form, a regular air mail parcel was the large white one.
~Not barrelracer on ebay, don't pick on them!~
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Kevin_T
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posted on January 6, 2001 07:07:33 PM
G'day Kathy,
If it is printed matter, just mark the envelope "Printed Matter Only" (whatever the size - this is acceptable) .... anything else, no matter how small or inconsequential (other than a letter) should have a customs form to travel internationally. If you are selling printed stuff, you will find this saves heaps of time. I believe that this is acceptable to and from all countries, although I am doing it from Australia. In 3 years I have never had any problem with items marked "Printed Matter Only" to any part of the world.
Hope this helps.
Kind regards, Kevin
[email protected]
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blueapple
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posted on January 6, 2001 07:15:33 PM
This must vary from PO to PO! I've been told that sending under 8 oz no matter what size does not need a customs form. I've sent many packages this way without a problem but maybe I should start doing it for every one just to make sure! I'm in Indiana and it seems that the PO regulations change from day to day here just like the weather!
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sharkbaby
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posted on January 6, 2001 07:39:07 PM
kathyg:
your 6x9" envelopes would qualify as "small packet" unless they contain correspondence. You would use the small green customs form which also applies to parcels that are NOT OVER 4lb. The small packet rate is much lower than the air parcel post rate and is advantageous to use for the small, non correspondence items.
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barrelracer
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posted on January 6, 2001 07:41:33 PM
And unfortunately, as of tomorrow, there will be no more small packet rates.
The rate changes drastically change the international shipping.
I started a thread on that tonight.
I only hope the PO has it all on their web site for us!
~Not barrelracer on ebay, don't pick on them!~
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avaloncourt
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posted on January 6, 2001 09:31:37 PM
One of the clerks at my local PO accidentally sent a 6x9 bubble mailer as a letter piece. It got there very fast and with no problems. So, we tried it on a few more. No problems. Now, all my 6x9 bubble mailers to Canada go as letters. I haven't filled out a customs form in months.
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bkmunroe
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posted on January 6, 2001 10:29:59 PM
Here's a link to customs form info.
http://ircalc.usps.gov/custforms.htm
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kathyg
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posted on January 7, 2001 01:09:41 AM
bkmunroe: Thank you very much for this link! I will print it out and take it to the post office with me.
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