Every year, millions are spent on international transit as more people from around the globe look to send packages and other parcels over seas and to nations around the world. The climbing prices of international shipping has made is particularly difficult for those looking to ship from US to India. However, the good news is those looking to send packages from the United States to India can actually get much lower rates than they may have imagined by taking advantage of services known as parcel forwarding.
At a basic level, parcel forwarding is a system that was design to help foreign shoppers, businesses and frequent travelers to easily get items they purchase in the United States sent right to their door. The parcel forwarding company will step in and act as an intermediary for receiving your packages and mail items and forwarding them on to your final international destination. There is no denying that this service can help many people save. However, there some things that anyone considering parcel forwarding should know about before using these services.
You Need Proof of Identity to Get Started
When you sign up for professional parcel forwarding services, you are given a United States address to have your packages sent to. You do not need to buy property in the United States but you will need to provide valid identification to get started. There are also some companies that require you to complete a 1583 form as well before they will give you your new US address.
Warehouse Locations May Come With Special Taxes
When you use parcel forwarding you can often skip out on a lot of the fees associated with international shipping. However, before you decide on a parcel forwarding company you will want to pay careful attention to the state that the company is located in. There are actually certain states that have certain shipping taxes that are unique to their state and if you ship to a warehouse or to your own US address within this state, you can end up having to pay for this tax every time. This is why it is smart to look for parcel forwarding companies that will give you addresses in big cities like New York.
Ways to Save Even More
Since parcel forwarding companies specialize in shipping, they are often able to help people save a great deal of money on their shipping costs. However, there are ways that consumers can save even more, particularly with services such as package consolidation. If you have purchased items from multiple stores, you can actually ask the package forwarding service to put everything in one box once it arrives, and simply pay for that single box to be shipped. This can cut the costs to down even more.
