New online customs form for exporting OUT of the the U.S.

IndianaRog · New online customs form for exporting OUT of the the U.S.

Well, yesterday I had my first successful experience with using the US Postal Service online customs form, required now for packages over 4 pounds (you can still use the small handwritten one for pkgs under 4 pounds.

With postal brochure in hand...here is about how it went:

1) went to USPS website and found the Click & Ship option

2) entered in the required customs info which is same as on the hard copy forms, only had to set up a "profile" with online name and password (wrote it down for next time)

3) got to the weight question and had to pause...took box upstairs to the bathroom scale and weighed me, then me and box and got a net box wt.

4) chose the form of shipping I wanted to use and how I wanted to pay for it (Credit cards only) and saved $2 supposedly for doing it online vs. at the post office counter

5) entered what I thought was the last of the needed info and hit the "print" button...it told me I missed a few check boxes, so I went back and found the error of my ways

6) hit the print button again and was advised I needed to upgrade my copy of Adobe Reader...clicked on the hypertext to allow me to do so, then when it finished loading it said "must restart to complete installation"...I dutifully did

AND THEN LOST EVERYTHING I HAD ENTERED PRIOR TO THAT POINT

7) started over again, though it did go faster with my now intimate familiarity with the system...got back to the print step in about 7-8 minutes more

hit the print button again and it spit out two sheets of paper with a cut line in between... equals 4 identical forms, with an unknown number supposed to get inserted in a special plastic, clear window sticky thing that goes on the box...of course I did not have one, but they do at the post office. It appeared they charged my credit card correctly.

9) went to post office and postman inserted 3 of the 4 paper copies into a stick on clear window thing and said "thank you"...nothing further to do but pick up a few spare clear window sticky things for the next time

10) all in all...from first sitting at the keyboard to having printed forms in hand...took me 50 minutes.
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Learning points for those of you who will be exporting items outside the US.
1) Under 4 pounds...just use the little form at post office and you are done...no online requirement

2) Over 4 pounds...
- weigh your fully packed box
- update your copy of Adobe Reader BEFORE filling in anything on the online form
- have your credit card handy
- figure 20-30 minutes to get it right the first time (with these tips)
- next time (if it's not 3 months later and all has been forgotten)...I or any of you should be able to do the deed in 10 minutes or less
- pick up some small customs forms at the Post Office to do at home for under 4 pound pkgs. and pick up some of the clear window sticky things that the customs forms you print must go in when attached to the box (can't use tape).

Bottom line, if you do it once in a blue moon, it's going to be a pain and take a fair amount of time. If you do it regularly, it will take a bit more time than the handwritten form, but not too terribly long.

But, the best thing of all...the brochure says our border security will be improved with this new system. THAT makes it all worth while to me!!!

Rog

Les

Thanks for letting us know Roger, I just hope this new system doesn't put people off from sending parcels overseas.

Nick

johnreid

I sent one recently and it still wants the phone number of the receiving party.

International Priority still requires the bigger form.
Make sure that your scale is accurate as if you miss it by an ounce on the low side the parcel will not proceed due to insufficient postage.

I sent a small First Class package that requires the smakk form and had to do it online as well, the PO no longer stocks the small form either,

I wonder how people who have no computer can send packages to friends and family overseas now

IndianaRog

Post office WILL fill out the online form for you under duress...they did one for me already but it tied up the line waiting on the counter and the lady told me they are NOT supposed to do them for people. This will probably be tightened up in time.

John, small customs forms were readily available at my PO and THEY offered info that it would suffice for under 4 pounds (maybe when those forms run out nationwide it will leave no option)

Form "said" you needed phone number of the recipient outside the US, but I skipped that and it didn't cause a problem.

Fearing my bathroom scale might be off and not wanting to get rejected at the PO...I added several ounces to what the scale read just to be safe.
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In a word there is no question this system is going to put off some folks from shipping OUS...it's a pain unless you did it regularly and remember how to navigate it. The biggest "gotcha" however is to get to the finish line only to find your Adobe Reader is not the most current, load it and have to reboot...loosing everything entered to that point. Hence...that is job one, update Adobe Reader BEFORE entering anything in the online form.

Rog

tmuir

Can you hear that?

It sounds like doors in the US export market shutting to small one off shipping. ...

Guess the US postal service doesn't want the small export market in the US to recover.

I fail to see how making you fill out a form at home will improve border security.

For a start you are sending it outside the country, not bringing things in.

I'll stop now before I start ranting.............

johnreid

I think it only reduces the amount of things that employees will mess with, thus enabling them to sack more workers.

IndianaRog

I think it might be as basic as converting to an online system where information can be assimilated easily and maybe studied...for what purpose I don't have clue.

Face it, the old system of multiple carbon forms in barely legible handwriting probably never got read and just pile up in a govt. warehouse...a complete waste of time and paper.

Online data entry is virtually a way to register exporters and who they export to.

There must be a conspiracy in there somewhere!!!

Rog

Bugsy

If a Jensen 25, carefully wrapped in Indiana, weighs more than 4 pounds,
then a certain member who goes by several different aliases, Ohnrei, Josephine etc etc. will find out very shortly just how easy the new system is.
That was a long sentence.

johnreid

IT weighs more than 4 pounds but will go Priority anyhow so the big form is needed, according to the USPS Web Site. I have a computer and Internet access so I am prepared.

mogogear

Graham-Jilly

I recon it wont be long before our postal system goes the same way. as in everything we follow what is done os

Bugsy

Griffin

I wonder how the likes of the Jensen factory will go on with this new system for shipping overseas, as they don't have a computer at the factory

.

IndianaRog

johnreid

OK, some of my questions have been answered as I sit here with 5 copies of the Customs form in my hand.
First, I had to put an actual phone number down for me, and when I just skipped the other parties phone number, it came back with a error message so I just put NA for the recipients phone number and ir went through. One does not have to pay online but you do need to know the postage amount, I had added a few ounces to be safe on the weight so I will see if the Post office doesnt charge me a penny or two less when I post it.
Another odd thing is that they want to know what the contents weigh, I put the same weight as the whole package and it came back as an error, so I just guessed and put a little lower weight in and it went fine. I guess that from here on out I will need to weigh each item before packing it.
I also went to Ebay and bought an inexpensive Postal Scale, I paid $19.46 for the scale including shipping and it weighs up to 50 Pounds ( 22.6 kilograms ) so I am going to be ready and able to provide freight and forwarding for my forum friends in foreign Lands

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350275481928

IndianaRog

One more annoying "feature" of this new system...you can only fill out and complete the online form ON THE DAY IT ACTUALLY SHIPS.

For example, I can't fill the form out tonite for something I plan to ship Monday...I can only do it Monday.

I guess my 83 year old mother from Exeter, England is going to face a new hurdle this year for Christmas, mailing gifts to the relatives back home, as she is computer illiterate.

If you have ever heard the expression: "A camel is a horse designed by a committee"...it seems to apply here....what a pain in the ass!

Rog

johnreid

I never entered a date on mine, I think that is only if you pay the postage online. I probably should have paid online, but did not this time. I do have to date and sign all of the copies.

Wallace

IndianaRog

Yes, I did pay for mine online, so maybe that's why it says only good for that day (why??? who knows??) ...small advantage of a couple of dollars savings for online with credit card vs. at the postal counter.

I will be interested to know how you like that postal scale you won on eBay earlier tonite...I do enough eBay and other system sales as does my wife that maybe such a scale would be worth it.

johnreid

I have enjoyed helping my forum friends out with the Ebay forwarding, and the rewards far exceed the hassle as I have good friends,
For a little more you can get scales with a USB attachment that hooks up to your PC, however I have bought too many things in the past that are no longer any useful due to operating system changes etc.
I assume the Postage bit is that if you pay online and the rates go up tomorrow they want the extra money.

redryder

That scale sure looked like a bargain !!!

I have found that when I sell something on ebay out of the country or if I direct sell (such as Jensen Steam Engines) and send a paypal invoice, I can go right too PayPal Shipping tab, click it and it fills in 80 percent of it for me. Then just click pay and it lets me print the completed customs forms. (And yes my Adobe was already upgraded). This won't slow many down. The way I do this it is much easier than filling out the entire form by hand.

I will add that our local post office employees (all 2 of them) are not liking these changes much. They received no training or instruction and feel a bit up against the wall. They still accept the old hand written forms if you have them and they have to stand there redoing everything you provided into their work station. They even have to do this with priority mail international that was already done on a computer at someones home. For express mail international, they were not prompted to fill in anything. They told me I didn't hand them enough forms (3 copies) and I had to explain the 4th copy was for me and was and would remain at my home.

It is supposed to increase security but I'm not sure how. I would think they would be more concerned about what gets shipped into our country than what goes out. This program will not likely stop anyone from shipping sensitive or classified items via the US Post office.

Gil

Les

johnreid

Gil, they usually stamp the copy you keep, thus proving it is in the system

johnreid

I just posted Bugsys Jensen this morning and asked a few questions, I was at the areas Hub Post Office so they provide more services than the others in the area.

You need to bring the copy of the form that you keep as they stamp it with a ribber stamp and if there was an incident where you wanted to try and claim on the $65 insurance built into Priority International, you would need the stamped form as one could forge an unstamped one.

As far as having to post the same day you buy Postage online goes, when they first started accepting payment online, people would buy the postage and then wait indefinite periods of time before posting, For some reason a delay in posting the parcel causes problems with the computer tracking and sorting that the Post Office uses. From what I understand there were a few cases where this became a HUGE problem regarding people claiming that Priority Mail was taking weeks etc plus insurance claims for lost mail. Thus they now require that you post it the same day you buy postage online.

At that Post Office they still had both the small and large forms left in stock, but once they are gone, they will no longer have them available.

If Grandma doesnt have a computer, they are advising that she either contact a neighbor who does, or she can go the the Library as most Libraries have Internet access and will print, for a fee.

I thought that the guy who was waiting in line behind me was going to get upset as I took so long asking questions, but as I finished he thanked me for asking as he want to know the same information too,

redryder

I had thought that the mere fact that I did it on line allows for proof that is already in their system. When they scanned my printed barcode they knew instantly that postage was paid, insurance was paid and all the other details. I am quite sure that if I went back without the stamp, they would be able to scan my barcode again and know exactly how much insurance I purchased and for which package. No one can forge what they already have in their system.

It's good you got the guy behind you wanting the same info. Just wait until the holidays' shipping rushes. There will be gridlock at these post offices when most packages require a lot of extra work by the p.o.ed p.o. employees. Then the line that is only 10 people long takes 30-40 minutes. I'm not saying this will happen but if it's at all like when I went there a couple days back, it will be a bit brutal.

Gil

New online customs form for exporting OUT of the the U.S.

CEDGE...if you read this, might need to equip Dorita w/ PC !