United States of America (USA)

Delivery times for shipments to the USA vary. Shipments to the east coast or to zones with large airports usually take 6-10 days, while shipments to rural areas or to the west coast can take 9-15 days. Since local shipments are usually delivered with USPS, the delivery time depends on the respective zone.
Express shipments usually take 2 days, but they are also much expensive.

In the USA, Monday through Friday are considered working days. However, public holidays — regionally or nationwide — can cause delays. Particularly moving holidays such as Ascension Day or Corpus Christi fall on different Thursdays every year.

Here is an overview of the holidays: https://www.timeanddate.de/feiertage/usa/

With the Pakajo portal, you can find the best shipping price in seconds — worldwide, transparently and tailored to your package. Simply enter the destination, weight and shipping method and compare all available rates directly. This allows you to ship faster, cheaper and more efficiently.

Tracking via the Pakajo site

As a Pakajo partner, you can easily track your shipments via the dashboard. Under “Shipment overview,” you can see a graph of your last 14 days — you can adjust the time period flexibly. Clicking on the graphic takes you to the detailed view. Alternatively, simply enter the shipment number directly into the shipment tracking. There you will receive all status information — including a link to the respective shipping service provider for live tracking of your shipment.

Tracking via AFTERSHIP

You can also track your Pakajo shipments on aftership. You can find Pakajo as a shipping service in the Aftership portal. The Aftership app also offers very good shipment tracking, which informs you of any current shipping status. With aftership, you can enter your pakajo tracking numbers and track your shipments as follows: UPG-123456/UPG123456 or 123456. Of course, you can also track your shipments using the final shipment numbers of the respective shipping providers, such as Deutsche Post, DHL, DPD, Post NL, bpost and many others.

NOTE: Pakajo sends recipients a delivery email that the shipment has been delivered or is ready for collection at the parcel shop!

Customs content declaration

For international shipping outside the EU, a customs declaration is of great importance. This statement informs customs officials of the content and value of your package. The information in the customs content declaration is used to calculate the country-specific import sales taxes and duties, which must then be paid by the recipient.

In order to make customs processing smooth, it is important to fill out the corresponding CN 23 customs declaration for parcel shipping outside the EU. Attach the document clearly visible to the outside of your package in a shipping bag. However, when sending by post, the CN 22 customs declaration must be used. In any case, the customs declaration for shipping to the USA should be on the address page of your shipment.

Please note that the customs declaration for shipping to the USA must be completed in English. This ensures smooth processing by the US customs authorities. Make sure that all information is correct and complete to avoid delays or problems with delivery.
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COMMERCIAL INVOICE
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In addition, when shipping via parcel services such as UPS or DHL, you also need a commercial invoice in English. It informs customs officials about your goods, the entire shipping process and you as the sender. Please attach the commercial invoice to the outside of your package in a shipping bag. The commercial invoice must be affixed to the package in 3 copies.

TIP: Also include a commercial invoice in the package to be on the safe side.

Before shipping to the USA, inform your customers that there are costs for customs processing and import sales tax. These costs are collected by the recipient. Note that the amount of costs always depends on the details of the customs declaration and can therefore vary significantly.
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Depending on the value of your package shipment to the USA, you need either the CN 22 form or the CN 23 form for the customs content declaration. The limit here is around 350€ or more precisely 300 SDR (special drawing rights, comparative figure for the four most important international currencies).

Every customs declaration requires an HS code number. This usually consists of 6 or 8 numbers. Pakajo has stored the customs database in the system for you in 10 languages. If you enter the first few characters in the description field, you will receive suggestions about content names for your CN22/23. The customs tariff number is then automatically entered in the HS code field.

Pakajo TIP:
In customs German, a record is not called a vinyl record, but a groove sound carrier. The HS Code is 85221000 for pickups & groove sound carriers. You must enter “Grooved Sound Carrier” in our customs database to get the result. In any case, write out your name until you get the optimal result. For example, if you only write “rills”, results for “apricots” will be shown.

Important: The respective laws and customs regulations of the recipient country must be observed, especially with regard to products and topics relating to eroticism, pornography, sexuality and/or religion or religious criticism.

Responsibility for this lies exclusively with the sender. Only the generally applicable German customs regulations are presented in this document. Please be sure to follow these restrictions to avoid issues when shipping to the USA. A careful review of the content and compliance with applicable regulations will help ensure that your package arrives without any problems. If you are unsure whether you can ship your goods to the USA, it is advisable to get comprehensive information from the American customs authority.

For more information, see:
https://www.zoll.de/DE/Unternehmen/Warenverkehr/Warenverkehr-innerhalb-der-EU/warenverkehr-innerhalb-der-eu_node.html

In addition to German customs, the embassies or consular offices of the USA can provide information on questions regarding customs and other import and export regulations. Other sources of information include foreign trade offices and the respective chambers of industry and commerce.

Disclaimer:
Despite intensive research, this list of customs regulations and entry requirements is not complete and is not always up to date. In case of doubt, only customs can provide binding information. This information is not legal advice. Any liability claims against the author of this overview article are excluded.