If you are looking to ship any electrical products to Europe, or anywhere else in the world, there are some points that you should consider before sending your parcels.
If you are looking at shipping any electrical products to Europe or anywhere else, then you will have to take certain things into consideration before sending your shipment. There are many things to consider such as the legality, cost, lead time, as well as the safety of shipping the item in question. The first thing that you should do is research into where you are looking to ship to, and what you are looking to ship.
Shipping your Parcel Legally
There are many different items that are illegal to transport via couriers, or that couriers will refuse to transport unless you have an account with them. So unless you have an account with a courier company, you will need to do some research before you try to send your packages. Some items that you cannot send without a registered account with most courier companies are:
- Electronic cigarettes
- Lithium batteries
- Loose lithium ion batteries
- Small Electronic items containing Lithium ion batteries - with exceptions
- Laptop Computers - with exceptions
- All lithium metal batteries
Unless you are an account holder with a courier company, they could refuse to transport your parcel. In this day and age, it is common for couriers to not accept sealed packages as their drivers need to check the contents of the parcel before accepting it.
You can send certain things like laptops and other electrical items, which needs a battery to work, but you are only allowed one battery, and this must be of a certain type, such as Lithium-ion. If there is any doubt at all about whether you can send your particular item with a courier, you should call the couriers first or send them an email. Once you have their confirmation that it is ok to send your item, you can then look to getting things ready to send and making the necessary arrangements.
There are many different parcel delivery services to Europe, as well as the rest of the world, but they do all have very similar rules and regulations.
Packing Your Parcel for Shipping
When you have ascertained that you are going to be able to send your parcel full of electrical equipment, then you will have to make sure that you pack it correctly. As previously mentioned, most couriers will not accept a parcel if it is fully sealed and they cannot inspect the contents, but even so you can have everything prepared for them to inspect.
You should make sure that you use a box that is larger than the item that you are sending. By having a large box that you can pack your items into, it allows you to add plenty of packing material to help make sure that your parcel arrives safely and undamaged.
A packing material that is excellent in helping to protect your packed items is Styrofoam packing chips. These small pieces of Styrofoam are a cheap and cost effective way of taking care of your parcel contents. They are widely used all over the world, so they are easy to source.
When the courier has arrived and checked out the contents of the parcel, you will then be able to make sure that the box is sealed properly. Make sure that you use plenty of packing tape to seal all of the edges of the boxes as this will help the box remain rigid. Once the paperwork has been filled out, and the courier is happy, they will take your parcel away, and it is on its way to its destination. Hopefully, your parcel will arrive at its destination intact and in one piece if you packed it correctly!
