The Post Office is not the only company through which you can send a package to the USA. Courier companies such as FedEx, DHL, TNT, or DPD, or internet intermediaries are often cheaper. We’ve compared ways to send a parcel to the USA at the lowest cost.
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Table of Contents
What Can and Cannot Be Sent in a Package to the USA 2024
Some items cannot officially be sent to the USA, although they occasionally reach the recipient. If customs discover a package with prohibited contents, it will be destroyed. The USA customs limit for postal items is $200, and for items marked as a gift, the limit is $100. If this value is exceeded, a duty will be charged, the amount of which depends on the contents of the consignment. On average, this is 5.63%.
🍷 Alcohol
Sending alcoholic beverages, including beer and wine, to the USA by mail is strictly prohibited. If the alcohol content exceeds 0.5% and the sender is not properly licensed, it is a serious federal crime.
🚬 Cigarettes, Cigars and Other Tobacco Products
It is illegal to send cigarettes and chewing tobacco to the USA, though you can send cigars in limited quantities.
💊 Drugs
For personal use, you can send medicines whose active ingredient is not banned in the USA. For prescription drugs, I advise including a doctor’s note in English.
🥩 Food
It is forbidden to send sausages, meat, dairy products, cottage cheese, and perishable foods. However, you can send Christmas candy, confectionery, flour, bread or other baked goods to the USA by mail.
🔥 Sprays
Deodorants, antiperspirants, hairsprays, spray paints, and all other aerosols cannot be sent to the USA by mail.
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How to Send a Package to the USA Without Using a National Post Office
Mail to the USA can be sent via courier and parcel services. They are often less expensive than the national post office. DHL, DPD, FedEx, Geis, GLS, PPL, TNT, and UPS, among others, operate in the European market.
For parcel delivery companies, a customer with one package is too small a deal; it’s more profitable to use the services of an intermediary. The intermediary contracts the transport of a large number of packages, for which they receive a discount that they can pass on to the customer.
In practice, it’s simple. The customer fills out a form on the internet with the package details and selects the place where the courier will pick it up. The postage is paid by card, for example, and the parcel is shipped to the USA via FedEx, TNT, GLS, or another shipping company.
💬 Do you have experience with any of these companies? You can post reviews or their pros and cons in the discussion.
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FAQ About How to Send a Package to the USA
How Do I Write the Correct Address for the USA?
The address is written similarly to domestic mail. The recipient’s name is listed on the first line, followed by the street, city, ZIP code, and the appropriate state, with USA below. For an example, see how to write a USA address.
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