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Shipping internationally always raises a ton of questions for eCommerce shippers—and individuals—since every country has different restrictions, including what you can and can’t send. If you want to ship an iPad overseas, the process isn’t as easy as sticking your tablet in a box, slapping a label on it, sending it off, and crossing your fingers. Fortunately, Shipping School is here to walk you through the whole process, including which carrier to use to save yourself the most money. Let’s get into it!
Table of Contents
- The Restrictions You May Face When You Ship an iPad Overseas
- Some Countries Accept Lithium Ion Battery Shipments
- Use the Original Packaging for Your Shipment if You Still Have It
- Which Carrier Should I Use?
- Protect Your Overseas iPad Shipment with Insurance and Signature Confirmation
The Restrictions You May Face When You Ship an iPad Overseas
iPads and tablets may come with international shipping restrictions because of the lithium-ion batteries they contain. If you’re not familiar, lithium-ion batteries are what power iPads and tablets and make them rechargeable. All shipping carriers consider these sorts of batteries as a kind of hazardous material, and if you’re sending lithium-ion batteries by themselves, you can’t ship them internationally at all. However, you can ship lithium-ion batteries internationally if they are contained inside the equipment they power. Lucky for you, that means that iPads and tablets are fair game to send overseas.
Learn more about shipping lithium-ion batteries.
Some Countries Accept Lithium Ion Battery Shipments
One thing to remember is that just because you can ship an iPad overseas, doesn’t mean they’ll be allowed into the country where you’re shipping to. Some countries don’t accept shipments containing lithium-ion batteries in the first place! So, before you purchase a shipping label, you should always check to see what your destination country allows and restricts.
To check to see each country’s restriction, visit the USPS Individual Country Listings page and search for the country you plan on shipping to. You’ll see the kinds of items that you can’t ship there, along with any size and weight restrictions that you’ll need to comply with.
Use the Original Packaging for Your Shipment if You Still Have It
If you want to ship an iPad internationally, you would do well to send it inside the manufacturer’s original packaging. Since these boxes fit the iPad perfectly, you won’t find a better option for protective packaging. You can place that original packaging inside a larger cardboard box for another layer of protection, and you’re good!
If you don’t have the original packaging, that’s okay, too. You can still use a strong cardboard box that fits the iPad without too much room for it to move around inside. However, you’ll want to use plenty of packing material to shield the iPad from any damage. In this case, we’d suggest wrapping the iPad in plenty of bubble wrap, and then filling out any empty space inside of your box with foam inserts, air pillows, or styrofoam lining. The more protection you can use, the better!
Which Carrier Should I Use?
Once you’ve got your iPad all packed up, it’s time to choose the right shipping carrier. When shipping internationally, you’ve generally got a few options, but the most popular choices are USPS, UPS, FedEx, and DHL.
USPS will be the cheapest option, but the least reliable. USPS partners with public postal services in other countries, and the postal services in some countries are great. Others are not so advanced. Since this is the case, it’s not uncommon for tracking information to “go dark” sometimes when the postal service of your destination country takes over delivery.
UPS, on the other hand, is a private company that relies on its own network to deliver packages anywhere in the world. When shipping an expensive and delicate item like an iPad overseas, UPS is our go-to carrier because of its ample mix of fast delivery services with affordable rates.
FedEx is way too expensive for international shipments, generally speaking, so we typically go with UPS over them. DHL is similar; they specialize in emergency international delivery, so their prices won’t be as attractive as UPS for sending an iPad overseas.
Protect Your Overseas iPad Shipment with Insurance and Signature Confirmation
Here’s the real kicker, the main point, the “secret sauce” when it comes to shipping an iPad overseas: protect your package with shipping insurance. These products are expensive, and if they take damage or disappear during transit, you’ll be on the hook for the whole cost. However, buying shipping insurance will cover you for the full amount in case anything happens to the package.
That said, triple-check to make sure your insurance company doesn’t have any fine-print rules for insuring iPads. For instance, many shipping insurance companies won’t cover tablets unless you also purchase international Signature Confirmation on top of the insurance.
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