What is ePacket ?
Probably you heard the word ePacket lately… especially that it is getting famous more in the shipping world. This is a major subject to talk about.
ePacket is a program signed between USPS – US Post Service enabling shipments from the shipment’s origin country ( China & Hong Kong as a start ) to receive USPS Express service at no additional cost; that includes :
– Express delivery ( by Air or expedited land transport )
– Tracking code for the parcel ( from minute 1 to the end destination ) .
– Ability to return to sender freely.
How ePacket program works ?
Shipments, from China & Hong King as starting points, were shipped to the USA by sea and then by land transport – in the US lands – without ability to track the shipment or know its status.
This would take 1-2 months for a parcel to be delivered, if being delivered originally !! And to use the air shipping , that would be a high cost option – especially for small shipments. So came the ePacket program.
In April 2011 – USPS & China Post co-operated to solve this issue; in China’s mainland; China EMS would handle the shipment sending to USA – by air for less than 40 Lbs shipments . In USA, USPS handles the shipment through its own ( or hires a local courier ) , and delivers the parcel to its final location – quick & express delivery.
This agreement meant to increase traffic and shipments , and reduce timings, for the US customers . And China managed it very well and expanded it too.
This is a great video to review about ePacket program , and then proceed for more details..
ePacket shipments – Cost Of Shipments
Normally, a shipment from China to a US-address, would cost – in Express shipping method – would reach 50 USD .
But after ePacket agreement, the shipping cost of 1 lb package from China to any address in the US is around $5.00 , that because of high volumes and easier regulations on Chinese-based shipments, and yes some shipments are a loss on USPS ( USPS handled 29 Million USD as losses from ePacket )
ePacket shipments – Sizes & Weights
China EMS ( the official post service ) ships any shipment to anywhere, but ePacket has certain regulations in its shipments and locations ( source and destination countries ) . They are :
- Weight : Package’s weight should be no more than 2 kgs (4.4 lbs)
- Value : Package’s value should be no more than 400 USD .
- Size restrictions: Length cannot less than 14 CM, width cannot less than 11 CM. Roll diameter. Length cannot less 17 CM.
- Destination is from the contracted countries only. And source country is China .
