What is the USPS ePacket Service?

The USPS ePacket is an economical and fast shipping option offered by third-party logistics providers (3PL’s) in China and Hong Kong. Originating as the result of an agreement between USPS and Hong Kong Post, it allows online merchants to provide a quick and affordable shipping option for lightweight packages traveling to a select number of countries. As such, it’s a popular service amongst dropshipping merchants whose products originate in China and Hong Kong.

What are the Benefits?

In a nutshell, the biggest benefit to ePacket is affordable rates and quick delivery for products outbound from China and Hong Kong. These low shipping rates help make products relatively inexpensive for dropshippers to source, and ePacket delivery drastically cuts down the shipping time for these orders to reach final customers. On top of marketing, of course, sourcing inexpensive products and quick delivery timeframes are the two keys to success in dropshipping business models.

Like its name suggests, USPS and Hong Kong Post specifically designed ePacket for eCommerce. Soon after it launched, it wasn’t uncommon to see Hong Kong and Chinese merchants on websites like eBay offering ePacket as a shipping option. However, USPS ePacket service became so successful that USPS began expanding the service to include dozens of other countries.

The USPS ePacket Requirements

Unfortunately, taking advantage of the USPS ePacket service isn’t as seamless as walking into your local Post Office and asking for it. If you want to be able to use this service, your package needs to meet certain size and weight requirements. We’ve listed those below:

• Maximum length of any single dimension: 24 inches
• Maximum Length + Height + Width: 36″
• Weight threshold: 4.4 pounds (lbs) or 2 kg

Where Can I Send the ePacket?

In addition to the size and weight requirements, the package also must be shipped from either China or Hong Kong to one of the eligible ePacket countries. That list of countries is as follows:

• Australia
• Austria
• Belgium
• Brazil
• Canada
• Croatia
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Gibraltar
• Great Britain
• Greece
• Hong Kong
• Hungary
• Japan
• Latvia Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malaysia
• Malta
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Russia
• Singapore
• South Korea
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland

ePacket is Ideal for Dropshippers, Not Businesses Sourcing Their Own Products

While USPS ePacket service may be ideal for dropshippers, it doesn’t necessarily apply to US-based eCommerce businesses keeping and shipping their own inventory. If you don’t need to source items quickly and cheaply from overseas destinations like China and Hong Kong, you likely won’t need this service at all. The good news is, when it comes to fulfilling your overseas orders, there are other ways to ship to your international customers cheaply and quickly…and you don’t even have to leave your home to do it!

Learn more about the how to get the cheapest international shipping rates.