How much does it cost to send a package to New Zealand?

How much does it cost to send a package to New Zealand?

While no one in 2024 is surprised by the effects of inflation on the cost of living, people nevertheless are shocked by the cost of shipping parcels, and if they are headed to New Zealand, even more so.

New Zealand’s distance from Canada is a key factor in the cost of sending a package there, but parcel size, speed of delivery, insurance, and value added services all add to the final bill. As well, goods entering New Zealand will be liable to duties and taxes. This blog explains those cost-inputs and how to mitigate them when shipping from Canada to New Zealand.

Table of Contents

• Who Transports Parcels to New Zealand?
• What Contributes to the Cost of Parcel Shipments?
• New Zealand’s Duties and Taxes on Imported Goods
• Conclusion

Who Transports Parcels to New Zealand?

Though New Zealand sits far away from Canada in the South Pacific, it is well served by Canada Post and couriers like Purolator, UPS, and FedEx. And the easiest way to select one of those is by having Secureship find the service that best suits your budget and timelines. However, Secureship’s biggest advantage as your broker is its bulk buying agreement with the named couriers, which typically saves you 50% off the regular retail price of shipping.

What Contributes to the Cost of Parcel Shipments?

Air freight services used by Canada Post and couriers are the major expense of shipments to New Zealand, and though pricey, air transport ensures deliveries in the three to eight-day range. However, if time is less important than money, there is always the option of sea transportation, which as a consequence increases transit time to at least a month and potentially up to three months.

Apart from New Zealand’s long distance from Canada, the cost of a parcel shipment sent there depends on parcel size, speed of delivery, insurance, and other value added services.

Parcel size

As expected, heavier parcels cost more to ship, but increasing the size of the container for the same weight of goods also increases the shipping rate. This is a function of billable weight, a calculation couriers make using the dimensions of the container. Without going into that, it means that 1 kg of lead shot would ship for less than 1 kg of potato chips.

Speed of delivery

Like for parcel weight, faster deliveries command a higher price. From a September 2024 estimate for an 8 kg box heading to Auckland, New Zealand from Montreal International Airport, Secureship generated the following data:

Travel time	Secureship’s Price (CAD)	Courier’s Regular Price (CAD)
5 business days	$657	$773
8 business days	$221	$672

Two things leap out from the table above: extending a parcel’s travel by even a modest amount could save a huge amount of money, and especially if Secureship is your shipping broker of choice.

Insurance

For high value shipments, many people consider taking out insurance against lost or damaged parcels. When you purchase insurance, however, it is important to pack the goods as per ISTA 3A standards, and if you do not, it could result in the insurance being voided should there be a claim for damaged goods.

Value added services

A few value added services shown below can be avoided unless circumstances of your parcel or its delivery dictate otherwise:

• Additional handling: A fee applied if the container is something other than a cardboard box, for e.g., metal, wood, or plastic
• Saturday pickup or delivery: Couriers add a levy for parcels handled on Saturdays
• Residential delivery: To skirt this charge, you could have the recipient pickup the parcel at the courier’s local office or address to his or her place of work.

New Zealand’s Duties and Taxes on Imported Goods

New Zealand and Canada are close trading partners as members of the CPTPP, and many goods entering New Zealand from Canada are either exempt or have a reduced duty rate.

Nevertheless, incoming goods to New Zealand incur GST at the rate of 15%. But if the total value of goods in the shipment is under $225 NZD (about $200 CAD – as of September 2024), no GST will be collected by customs. As expected, there are two notable exceptions to this: alcoholic beverages and tobacco products as they incur not only GST, but also duties, regardless of their value.

Conclusion

The cost of sending a package to New Zealand can be surprisingly expensive, and a large part of the reason is the distance between the two countries. However, other factors also contribute to shipping costs – parcel size, speed of delivery, insurance, and value added services like additional handling for non-cardboard containers, pickups and deliveries on Saturdays, and residential deliveries. In addition, goods shipped to New Zealand may also have duties and taxes applied to them. Nevertheless, there are ways to lessen shipping costs to New Zealand from Canada, and using Secureship is perhaps the easiest and most effective one as the savings could be more than 50% off a courier’s regular price.