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US Customs Tag - not trackable if you get it directly from the post office

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US Customs Tag - not trackable if you get it directly from the post office

starry_solo

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I noticed that the US Customs Tag (to international destinations) is no longer trackable if you pay for postage directly at the post office.

The ones that you get on USPS.com and through PayPal.com/shipnow are still tracking, but not the one that's directly from the post office.
 
Just a bump up. If you have a printer, I suggest using USPS.com or stamps.com if you're shipping a box to an international location (from the US). The numbers provided still seem somewhat trackable.

If you're shipping a padded envelope from the US to an international destination, you may be able to use the "letter envelope" option on PayPal.com/shipnow

This is great for those international Secret Santa 2014 deliveries!
 
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I have noticed that France does not scan them at all. Most of the time the UK does. I think the Netherlands does also but I am not positive on that one.

Stamps.com also does the "letter envelope" option. It runs about half of the price, but is supposed to be 3/4" of an inch thick or less.
 


OMG, France is a headache to ship to. Sometimes they scan, sometimes they don't. I also noticed that parts of the UK don't scan either. If it's England, YAY! If it's Wales, Ireland, or Scotland, it's a crapshoot
 
jadeites-lady said:
OMG, France is a headache to ship to. Sometimes they scan, sometimes they don't. I also noticed that parts of the UK don't scan either. If it's England, YAY! If it's Wales, Ireland, or Scotland, it's a crapshoot
Click to expand...

Truth be told even here in the States it can be a crap shoot. All depends on if the postal worker wants to do their job correctly or not. :lol:
 
docfish2u said:
Truth be told even here in the States it can be a crap shoot. All depends on if the postal worker wants to do their job correctly or not. :lol:
Click to expand...

LOL. I actually color the delivery confirmation/tracking with green and the signature confirmation pink, like how they are in the post office. I hope that prompts them to scan the packages
 
<i>If you're shipping a padded envelope from the US to an international destination, you may be able to use the "letter envelope" option on PayPal.com/shipnow</i>

I use Paypal.com/shipnow (or the multi-order shipping link if I have more than one or need a scan form to give my postman) for shipments within the US, and it's always trackable; I've never needed to use the "letter envelope" option. Or was that suggestion just to save postage?
 

The "letter envelope" option is specifically for non-US (international) destinations. For international destinations, you get the choice of "letter" or "letter envelope." For US destinations, you get a choice of package or large package.

The "letter envelope" option saves on postage costs for international destinations. You pay a large envelope rate, rather than a package rate (but this will only work with padded envelopes, not boxes) for international destinations.

I've started using PayPal.com/shipnow for US packages as well because that's the only way I can choose the funding source and use my credit card. Otherwise, it automatically takes out of bank account.
 
Docfish took the words out of my mouth FREAKIN USPS stinks. My girl is a ***** first of all and gives me an attitude as soon as i walk in cause doing the shipping label takes time and she hates it. I wont say more on her BUT yes i noticed today for the first time i dont have any tracking with the 3 packages i sent which pisses me cause my cost didnt go down. So now i will use paypal or some other source just to spite the post office and send them feedback.

thanks for all the tips. I didnt think tracking worked very well internationally -for starters and honestly domestic they are at about only a 75% success rate also.
 

The customs tag USED to work for tracking (online) when postage was purchased directly from the post office. You can probably still go to the post office and have them look up the tracking in their internal computers. Sis had to do that when the post office mistakenly delivered a package TO ME which we had paid postage for to go overseas. The electronic tracking stopped tracking once it showed delivered (to me) so when I called 1-800-ASK-USPS, she told me that their internal records showed it had been delivered overseas and to go to the post office to get a print out.

Our post office near us is full of mean people so she takes my packages to be shipped out of the one that's near work. There, they will scan the packages into their system and give us a "prepaid mail acceptance" receipt that shows they accepted the packages. Of course, things sometime go wrong as the main hub there is the one that delivered my overseas package to me But, for the most part, it's good

BUT, if you want the US customs tag to work online, buy postage online (and it's cheaper too!) Plus, you don't have to stand in line that long at the post office because the postal clerk won't have to manually type in the address in their computers.
 
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Yes, and I had to go do that, lol. Wait in line (fortunately not a very long line) and then the nice postal clerk (Chris) looked in their internal computers and printed it up for me
 
You don't have to _pay_ online for the tracking to work, you just have to fill out the customs forms online. You can do that on USPS without paying anything, print the forms and take them to the post office and pay for the postage there, and it will still be trackable.

It's only if you take a hand-written form to the post office that it doesn't always track anymore. I guess the manual entry system the postal employees use isn't linked to the tracking service they use now. (Whatever 'E-Delcon' is, they started using them/it last year and that is what requires the form to be filled out online.)

I have noticed though if you try to track a hand-written customs form, it will still confirm the country you shipped it to (I used one just today to Spain, and when I try to track the number, it says 'USPS tracking is unavailable for this product to Spain'. So it still shows you shipped it and to what country at least...) The post office can still track it manually if need be... (Although, another package I also shipped to Australia is allowing me to track... So it may also have to do with whether or not it uses the 'big' form. My Australia package was a larger package with the CP-72 form. The Spain one that won't track was the tiny green CN-22 form... I don't think those ever tracked anywhere but Canada.)
 

Good to know! In case anyone is wondering, here is the link for the online USPS customs form:

https://cns.usps.com/cfo/ShippingInformationAction_input
 
I wish I had seen this about three hours ago. I just went to the post office to mail something out internationally, and they said that the only tracking option was $14 more, and wouldn't be guaranteed to work. :/
 
I don't think any form of international tracking is guaranteed to work everywhere... It works great from the customs forms to certain countries, others require special shipping (like Express or something), and I think there are still some countries that you can't track no matter what you do... There always seems to be a lot of finger crossing when you send things overseas.
 

So true! I just mailed something to France with the free electronic tracking so crossing fingers it works!
 
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