Help & Resource Center

Follow International Shipping

Printfection offers international shipping to 213 countries, APO/FPO military addresses, and US territories. The import fees are paid for by Printfection when possible; however, there are times recipients may be required to cover some of the duties or taxes.


What methods of international shipping do you offer?

Lightweight, non-urgent international orders can be shipped via Lowest Cost with final delivery by the destination country's postal service. 

Or, you can choose 'With tracking,' a more expensive option where you will receive tracking and final delivery confirmation.

Heavy or day-finite international orders are shipped with delivery in 1-3 or 2-5 business days, including white-glove customs clearance by UPS to remove all import hassles. 

How do you handle customs?

Duties and taxes are due on all packages imported into a country. Printfection uses UPS to broker international shipments as they are the largest customs broker in the world.  97% of all packages brokered by UPS are cleared the same day they are submitted.

Printfection attempts to take care of all customs' logistics, costs and paperwork for no additional charge. Most of the time, the final receiver of a Printfection package won't have to pay any import fees; however, there are a few instances where duties and taxes may need to be paid by the recipient for the package to be released. 

Some of the most common reasons a receiver would have to pay duties and taxes for their package:

  • Packages delivered through UPS Economy Innovations - UPS Economy Innovations is selected as the ship method when an international shipment is under 4lbs and has no guaranteed arrival date. These shipments do not allow for anyone but the receiver to pay duties and taxes since the local post office in the destination country is responsible for delivery.  
  • Destination Country Cannot Accept Fees from UPS - Certain countries (e.g. New Caledonia and Russia) are not set up to receive payments for duties and taxes from UPS; therefore, they require the receiver to pay the fees.
  • Destination Country Requires Receiver to Specify Broker - Some countries require the receiver of the package to specify who they want to broker their shipments. Receivers need to specify they want UPS to broker their shipment since they are already listed as the broker of record.
    • If a customs office requires a 3rd Party Broker for the shipment, the receiver is fully responsible for coordinating the 3rd Party Broker and/or the fees associated.  
  • Customs Agencies Ask for Duplicate Payment of Fees - Countries such as Brazil, Russia and South Africa may attempt to receive double the duties and taxes unless the receiver specifically explains that the import fees were already covered by the shipper.
  • Destination Country Requires Receiver to pay Special Taxes - Certain countries have special taxes that apply to shipments containing specific products and require the receiver to pay these charges. An example is the Formaldehyde Testing Fee on clothing to Vietnam.
  • Printfection is not responsible or liable for the return of shipments where the receiver did not coordinate with UPS/Customs to facilitate clearance. Printfection is not responsible/liable for shipments that miss guaranteed or on/before dates due to customs delays.

Packages delivered through Lowest Cost or Lowest Cost with Tracking methods

This method can be used when an international shipment is under 30lbs and doesn't have a guaranteed arrival date. These shipments do not allow for anyone but the receiver to pay for the duties and taxes since the local post in the destination country is responsible for delivery. Additionally, the recipient is responsible for clearing all customs holds with their local office.

Since the local post offices take control of the packages, we are not able to guarantee delivery or confirmation of delivery for these shipments.

Destination country cannot accept fees from UPS

Certain countries (i.e. Russia, Ukraine, and New Caledonia) are not set up to receive payments for duties and taxes from UPS; therefore, they require the receiver to pay the fees.

Destination country requires receiver to specify broker

Some countries require the receiver of the package to specify who they want to broker their shipments. Receivers will need to specify they want UPS to broker their shipment since they are already listed as the broker of record.  
- If a customs office requires a 3rd Party Broker for the shipment, the receiver is fully responsible for coordinating the 3rd Party Broker and/or the fees associated.  

Customs agencies ask for duplicate payment of fees

Countries such as Brazil, Russia, and South Africa may attempt to receive double the duties and taxes unless the receiver specifically explains that the import fees were already covered by the shipper.

Destination country requires receiver to pay special taxes 

Certain countries have special taxes that apply to shipments containing specific products and require the receiver to pay these charges. An example is the Formaldehyde Testing Fee on clothing to Vietnam. 

What shipping fees do you cover?

Printfection attempts to cover all of the shipping fees below; however, as mentioned above, there are a few instances where the duties and taxes may need to be paid for by the recipient.

  • Address corrections
  • Brokerage fees
  • Goods and services taxes
  • Residential delivery fees
  • Fuel surcharges
  • Duties
  • Returns
  • Value added tax

What countries do you ship to?

See our Country Shipping Details article for our complete country list as well as which countries have final destination delivery confirmation and country specific shipping warnings or notices.

Power of Attorney

If UPS or customs requests Power of Attorney (POA) information, please follow the link here for more info.  

Shipments to the EU

For more info on shipments specifically to the EU, please follow the link here.

International Shipments to a Hotel

When hosting an event at an international venue, Printfection suggests shipping to the event directly (using the trade shows specific directions for shipping/receiving) or finding a local contact/resident to ship to directly.  If you need to ship to a hotel directly, please follow the steps below:

  1. Ensure the hotel is able to accept shipments
  2. If the hotel is able to accept shipments, ask them for specific shipping directions to ensure proper clearance and delivery

The hotel staff/front desk employees will ultimately be responsible for clearing the package through customs before delivery.  When shipping directly to a hotel, Printfection is not responsible for missed delivery dates due to delays in customs clearance.

Prohibited Items

We are unable to ship the following items internationally:

  • Sunscreen
  • Lip Balm
  • Hand Sanitizer
  • Tide to Go Pens
  • Solo Stoves

 

Was this article helpful?
0 out of 1 found this helpful
Have more questions? Submit a request