How much does it cost to send a package to England?

How much does it cost to send a package to England?

There is no simple answer to this question as there are many variables that contribute to the cost of shipping a parcel overseas. For instance: How heavy is the box? How soon must it arrive in England? Will the contents incur duties and taxes? As well, shipping often involves less obvious yet sometimes significant expenses – handling and storage fees, insurance, and oversize charges.

This article explains the major and lesser known costs to shipping parcels internationally; provides some examples of parcel fees to England; and presents some other fees that may surprise you, and suggest ways of avoiding them.

Table of Contents

• Overseas Shipping Options
• Examples of Shipping Costs to England
• Lesser Known Shipping Costs
• Conclusion

Overseas Shipping Options

Parcel shipments to England can go by one of two options: surface (sea freight) or air transport. Using Canada Post sea freight service may take your parcel 4 weeks at a minimum to arrive in England, and perhaps upwards of 3 months. Surface transport offers cost savings; however, by paying more for air freight, the parcel’s transit time would be in the range of 2 - 8 business days. Your choice often comes down to balancing budget constraints with necessity.

The Canadian shipping broker, Secureship, can help you find the best shipping method and price for your personal or business purposes.

Some carriers affiliated with Secureship, along with their delivery services, are shown below:

• FedEx – International First (1.5 business days)
• FedEx – International Priority (1.5 business days)
• UPS – Express (1.5 business days)
• UPS – Express Saver (2 business days)
• Purolator – Express (6 business days)
• Canada Post Xpresspost (9 business days)

Examples of Shipping Costs to England

If you needed to ship a 500-gram documents-only envelope to London, England, it could cost you anywhere from $99 - $258 CAD depending on the arrival time and the courier you select. However, by using Secureship’s easy-to-use online tool, we can help you ship from Canada to England for as little as $59 CAD – about a 40% saving.

And if instead of an envelope, it’s a modest-sized box of 5-kilograms, the prices would be at least 1.5 times the cost, yet again Secureship could save you around 50% from those prices.

Lesser Known Shipping Costs

Shipping parcels internationally may also trigger other lesser known costs. While generally minor in size and avoidable, some can be large and obligatory.

Handling fees

Your shipment will incur an additional handling fee if the container is made from wood, steel, or plastic. This fee is avoidable by using a traditional cardboard box for the shipment.

Insurance

Insurance is a choice – you may select to purchase some to cover the potential loss or damage to your shipment or decide to go without it. If you decide to take out insurance, be advised that the contents need to be packaged to conform to ISTA 3A standards. This essentially means, all items need to be wrapped separately and kept a minimum of 5 centimetres from each other and 5 centimetres from each wall of the box.

Oversize charges

Should your parcel be exceptionally large or heavy, which UPS (see page 139) states is longer than 2.74 metres or heavier than 68 kilograms, it will be considered oversized. In that case, a surcharge of $1,100 CAD will apply to the shipment, and that could balloon to $1,550 during peak shipping periods (e.g., Christmastime).

Conclusion

Shipping from Canada to England can be a costly expense to you or your business, but sending parcels by surface transport (sea freight) is one way to mitigate those costs. And then there is using Secureship’s services, which can save you up to 50% of a courier’s retail price. As well, Secureship will shepherd you through the steps of international shipping – reducing your time and hassles. Shipping may also involve expenses beyond the direct travel charges. Handling fees for plastic, wood, or steel containers; insurance, which is an option, but nevertheless demands following packaging requirements; and substantial fees if the container is deemed oversized.