Chances are if you’re thinking about sending a parcel overseas for the first time, you may be a little concerned about your package arriving safely and on time. If you’ve seen any of the clips online showing couriers from fairly well-known carriers throwing boxes over fences, into bushes and (sometimes) in the general direction of a front door, you’re bound to worry that your package could meet a similar fate.
There are a few things you can bear in mind that should ease any fears you might have though.
The Trick? Require a Signature
One feature of the video clips discussed above is that, in all of them, the delivering driver clearly makes no attempt to get a signature for the parcel – one imagines if they had the clips themselves would each end with the courier being chased by an angry mob. The beauty of requiring a signature for a package is simply that the courier must put the package into the hands of someone, ideally the receiver, in order to complete the delivery; opportunities to launch it from the safety of a moving delivery van are limited. In the vast majority of countries couriers are required by law to get a signature for any package delivered – the notable exceptions being the United States and Australia.
So, your parcel should be safe unless you’re sending it to America or Down Under?
Yes and, without wishing to complicate things, no. Many international courier services will provide a ‘Signature Required’ option with all of their services, regardless of whether or not such a signature is a legal requirement in the country the package is destined for. In many cases this option will, in fact, be free and come as a standard feature of any delivery service.
Sending a package overseas doesn’t need to be a chore or a worry. A good courier service wants you to send as much and as often as possible. Picking a courier that will consistently get your parcel to its destination is not as difficult, or time consuming, as you might think.
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