Can I Use USPS Outside the United States?

eCommerce enables entrepreneurs to run online businesses from anywhere in the world, as long as they have access to the Internet. With this level of access, a lot of international entrepreneurs wonder if they can buy USPS labels and take advantage of huge USPS discounts to ship their packages. The good news is that you can buy labels with USPS outside of the United States…but you need to meet a couple of requirements.

Table of Contents

• You Need a Physical United States Origin Address to Buy USPS Labels Online
• Do You Have Someone to Ship Your Packages for You?
• What About UPS, FedEx, and Other Carriers?

You Need a Physical United States Origin Address to Buy USPS Labels Online

If you live outside of the United States, the only way you can use USPS is if you have a valid US-based origin address where you’re shipping from. USPS only provides postage for shipments originating from the United States. Therefore, you need to have a “Ship From address” located within the United States or in a U.S. Territory in order to buy USPS labels. If you have this, you can ship with USPS both within the United States and to anywhere else in the world.

Do You Have Someone to Ship Your Packages for You?

One thing to keep in mind when buying US-based postage is that you’ll need an “inside man”—someone to physically get the packages in the hands of USPS. After all, buying USPS labels is no good if you can’t get the packages to USPS in the first place! Therefore, most international entrepreneurs who use USPS outside of the United States work with someone based in the country. This can be a friend or family member who warehouses shipments for them. However, it is most commonly a third-party logistics partner who handles all your inventory/ fulfillment and makes sure your packages get scanned into the USPS network.

Learn more about partnering with fulfillment and warehousing centers.

What About UPS, FedEx, and Other Carriers?

USPS is a government-affiliated postal service for the United States of America. Therefore, it is a public service to the American people, but not to people in other countries. However, other carriers such as UPS, FedEx, and others are a different story. These carriers are not public postal services, but for-profit shipping companies. As a result, many of them have an international presence, not just within the United States. With a robust global network, they offer shipping services to people all over the world in most major countries.