UPS Invoice for Sending Gifts Internationally
December 20, 2024

One snowy morning in December, I wanted to send a gift to someone in Europe. With Canada Post being being on strike for over a month, we were forced to use alternate couriers to get stuff shipped internationally. I settled on UPS as Fedex was just a bit out of my price range at the time. So on that snowy lunchtime, I drove over to a print shop to pick up a poster with artwork for my friend, and then after work I dashed to a nearby UPS Store to get it shipped out.

So the contents of the envelopes is a piece of artwork, and some personal handwritten letters that have no commercial value.

The first thing I immediately learned is that this fiasco would have been easily avoided only if I actually just written "Documents" on the form. Instead, I put "Art Poster" and honestly put the price I paid to get it printed (Under $20). So that required the commercial form which I did not know how it looked in the first place.

After ponying up a lot of cash for the "fastest shipping possible" it was sent off on a Friday afternoon. Little did I know it would set off the worst weekend ever.

The first thing I noticed that something was wrong is that the tracking information did not move all weekend. Worse still, UPS has no Customer Service on weekends, and calling the UPS Store just affirmed that the package was no longer there and was picked up so I was only directed to call UPS Support.

On Monday, the day the package was supposed to arrive, it still has not yet left Canada for Europe. Calling the UPS Support line gave me a brief explanation that maybe the truck missed the store or we missed the pickup and the package was still in the UPS Store. After work, I went to the UPS Store and they didn't have the package there and it was picked up. The clerk was confused as well why the package hasn't moved, so they dialed a number and contacted UPS Operations or something like that. They gave the explanation that the package is "moving" but was stuck in a "missed scan" so it would update later.

That night when I got home, the tracking finally moved, but it's still in Canada and is being held as "it did not have enough documentation" to clear customs and that I am supposed to put a Commercial Invoice. I tried three times but I kept getting rejected, but eventually I found this format to be effective and it ultimately cleared international borders:

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After the document was uploaded, UPS did not bug me again for another form. It was still in Canada for the rest of Monday. It wasn't until the next day it actually left Canada on Tuesday. After that, it arrived to Kentucky on Wednesday Midnight and left there 6 hours later. The package then arrived that evening in Germany which I was ecstatic about. However, it did bug me that it requires additional payment to clear customs despite being marked as gift and is under $30 in value. UGH. I then paid another $20 for it to clear customs, and the date was then nudged back to Wednesday. After Wednesday came, it was delayed to Thursday. It arrived though on Thursday to the joy of my friends. So despite it all, I'm actually pretty happy.

So, what did I learn from this experience? International shipping sucks and it's pricey, but if you get the paperwork lined up the system works it out for you. Hopefully you find the form useful. And thank you for reading.

-Doppel D.