Mistakes to Avoid When Sending Parcels from Canada to Europe

Despite the presence of experienced companies, mistakes in shipping from Canada to Europe still happen. If you order this service once or twice a year, you can make mistakes you never thought possible.

Our article will highlight the most common mistakes. It's also not without reason that we've focused on Poland. This destination is among our clients' key and most sought-after. Today, you'll learn how to avoid common errors caused by shippers.

Careful Preparation to Avoid Mistakes in Shipping from Canada to Europe 

Well, what could be so complicated, you might say? Pack it, label it, and hand it over. However, let's delve into the reality of logistics. A box shipped from, say, Toronto or Vancouver travels a long way. Sometimes it involves several countries, and therefore several customs points. Here, you'll encounter different documentation requirements. The more stages, the greater the chance of making an error.

The price of carelessness will not please you. After all, customs delays entail additional expenses. Therefore, the cost of most common shipping mistakes includes fines, return costs, and reshipping expenses. Proper preparation is important because it saves money, time, and stress.

Mistake 1: You sent Prohibited or Restricted Items in International Parcels

This is one of the top reasons for delays or even confiscations. Prohibited items in parcels can look like this:

• Alcohol and tobacco products: sometimes require a special license or are prohibited altogether.
• Lithium-ion batteries.
• Live plants and seeds without a certificate.
• Medicines without accompanying documentation.
• Weapons, their parts, and imitations.
• Perishable goods.

This list still allows you to influence whether goods are delivered. However, there are also restricted goods. No additional documents, permits, or packaging will help here. For example, these include certain cosmetics, animal-based foods, and expensive jewelry.

Important: regulations and lists of prohibited goods vary from country to country. Therefore, it's best to check the information on the customs website of your specific country — France, Germany, Poland, etc.

Secondly, sometimes a parcel contains gifts that are not added to the total value and are not declared. Gifts are also subject to inspection.

Mistake 2: Wrong Packaging and Poor Protection

Wrong parcel packaging falls into the second major category of errors. When packing fragile and other items, remember that they travel a long way. From Montreal, Ottawa, and other locations, they fly. Then they're loaded onto a truck. Often, boxes are moved to intermediate warehouses. Boxes are subject to significant stress, including pressure, temperature fluctuations, and vibration.

We'll highlight several common packaging pitfalls:

• Using old boxes.
• Insufficient padding.
• Not enough protection for glass or fragile items.
• Weak single-strip tape.
• The box where items are moved is too large.

Essentials such as clothing or household items don't require additional protection. However, items that break, bend, or lose their shape require special packaging. Wrap them in several layers and tape the box seams several times. Then log into Meest and make an order.

Mistake 3: Incorrect Documents for Shipping to Poland and Other Countries

The customs declaration is a weak point in international shipping.

Some common mistakes people make when they send parcels to Europe:

• Incorrectly completed or partial customs declaration.
• Understated value of the package contents.
• Omitted fields in the declaration.
• Discrepancies between the description and the box contents.
• Incorrect shipping address.

The last point is a real pain not only for logistics companies but also for customs. If a delivery fails due to an incorrect address, a whole chain of events is triggered. This includes a return to the warehouse, then notification, repeated contact with the sender, and unwanted additional costs. Delivery time can easily be doubled.

Therefore, as a shipping company, we request that the following information be provided and double-checked when delivering to Poland and other countries:

• Recipient's full name to avoid mistakes in shipping from Canada to Europe.
• Exact address, postcode, and city.
• Description of the contents in English or the local language.
• The actual market value of the goods or items inside.
• HS code for commercial shipments.

EU customs is incredibly consistent and strict about correct processing. Parcels can be held up at the border for long periods if there are even the slightest inaccuracies.

Services to Avoid Shipping Mistakes to Europe from Meest

How to eliminate shipping mistakes depends, of course, on your chosen delivery partner. Meest Canada is your international service with years of experience delivering packages from Canada worldwide. We ship to Poland, Germany, France, Ukraine, and more. You can drop off your package in Toronto, Hamilton, Calgary, Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal, or at our partner offices.

Meest has developed an entire infrastructure of services for simple and painless delivery:

• Consultation on prohibited goods.
• Customs clearance assistance.
• Clear packaging requirements on the website.
• Online tracking in your account.
• Affordable shipping costs.

Europe, and especially Poland, are the most popular destinations.

Conclusions

Today we looked at common mistakes to avoid when sending packages from Canada to Europe. Now you have a basic understanding of the entire process. Remember, there's a reliable international courier with a well-established infrastructure nearby. Go for it to avoid the cost of shipping mistakes. They can be high. So, the main recipe for how to avoid shipping mistakes to Europe starts with a reliable carrier.

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