An Post shipping to the US

forzacalcio

So the background here is I ship about 40 items per week (On average) outside of Ireland. Mainly to the UK, mainland Europe and the US. Last year prices increased by almost 40% which was costly enough and now the US (Not An Post fault fully aware) have brought in the US Stop act which means every package entering the US needs to go through this new tracking system. What used to take 15 minutes in a post office now takes well over an hour and holding up queues in An Post.

It is possible to do this myself package by package and enter in each item line by line and pay for each item €7 at a time online at AnPost.com but this takes double the time as the system introduced online by An Post just is not user friendly whatsoever.

Surely there has to be an easier way to do this? Has anyone else had similar experiences exporting items via An Post to the US? Right now I go to different AnPost offices to rotate this issue rather than holding up queues in the same place every week (twice per week)

I have emailed and called AnPost but they couldn't be less helpful. Any input appreciated.

Cloghbrack

We have exactly the same problem. We send around 1000-1200 packets a year to the US. The Post Office is taking around 3 minutes per packet, and it takes me about the same if I process it online. So that's around 55 hours a year wasted on the new system. What's worse is that they only provide labels on line that have to printed on an A4 sheet of paper, then cut out and sellotaped on the packet. Other postal providers use the standard 6x4 template which we can print on adhesive labels quickly and cheaply.
It is not An Post's fault that they have to jump through all of these extra hoops for the USA, but they need to come up with a proper system for the small business. In their typical manner the system that they have introduced was poorly communicated, poorly designed and not fit for purpose.

tacofries

Sorry for the hijack but do you find An Post reliable when shipping to the US- if so, which service to you use? I have had so many lost parcels with them that I am thinking about just shipping a container to a distribution center over there instead.

To actually add to the thread, if you are hitting those volumes it could be worth using a third party logistics center. You can ask them to use An Post as the courier and they will look after all of the labeling, storage, paperwork for a pretty small cost- about €1.25-1.50/order depending on volume. PM me for recommendations.

baby fish

Is this online form actaully working? I keep getting an "error, try again later"

I'm trying to fill in the form here: Anpost website ->Post and parcels -> Click& Post -> Buy a postage label -> I fill in a few pages and then it ends in the error, have tried to this 4 times today...… and then spent at least 30 minutes in post office today sending 1 packet

Got it working: Works when the an post selected weight (in my case up to 250g) remains unchanged, even though the item I'm shipping only weighs 180 g, left it at 250g and it works.

paddylonglegs

Eep, I’m a bit worried reading this. Iv been sending packages to the US for the last few months but haven’t been filling anything extra out only the usual green customs form that’s Iv always done. I also have pre paid tracking labels too.

It’s basically as Iv always been doing it the last couple of years. Can someone post a link about these new regulations? I can’t find anything with google.

forzacalcio

paddylonglegs wrote: »

Eep, I’m a bit worried reading this. Iv been sending packages to the US for the last few months but haven’t been filling anything extra out only the usual green customs form that’s Iv always done. I also have pre paid tracking labels too.

It’s basically as Iv always been doing it the last couple of years. Can someone post a link about these new regulations? I can’t find anything with google.

You need to talk to your local postoffice, if they havent notified you of this then you need to change. I have been refused by two post offices now but thankfully my local who I cant always get to has been amazing. You do need to fill out a printed package label from AnPost.com or get the post office to do it. Ive since shut down my US based sales as I simply cant keep up with it. The green label only works for ROW outside of the states. Also the tracking code they give you now does not track the item so beware.

Ive contacted An POst on numerous occasions to try and get the website more user friendly. They keep blaming the states for it. Drop me a DM if you need any help with this. Ill give you as much info as you need.

manor

Red Sky Europe is a new fulfillment center based in Kilkenny .