Question about Customs Forms from USA to EU

[relicsofarda]

I have a question about shipping an item from the USA to Europe. I live in the US and a buyer in Norway bought an item I had for sale. The price was $1700, so it is too expensive to be sent to to an eBay Shipping Hub in the US and for them to take care of all the paperwork, customs forms, etc...

I purchased shipping via USPS International Priorioty Mail through the eBay website, and the printable label does have some sections labeled "CP72 - Customs Declaration", however, I also saw this page in the eBay Help Section:

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/posting-items/setting-postage-options/international-postage?id=418...

Which says:

If you choose to send your item with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), there are two forms that may apply:

• Green Tag 2976
• White Form 2976-A

I wasn't sure if this meant I needed to fill out one of these forms only if I purchased my shipping from the USPS directly (i.e. NOT purchasing it through the eBay website), or if I still needed to fill out the form in addition to what it says on the label having purchased it through the eBay website.

I tried asking an agent via the Live Chat feature on the eBay website, but they didn't seem particularly sure either way.

Has anyone on here shipped an expensive package from the US to Europe recently? And, if so, what method did you use and what forms did you have to fill out?

Other pertinent information: The item is a statue and the package is 27" x 21" x 17".

Thanks in advance, any help is much appreciated!

[martin2001]

First, I mail a lot of packages to EU but never of such a size and value. I don't use ebay for shipping labels. Based on what I read on these pages, your order is ideal to use ebay international shipping service. You are just responsible to mail it to their shipping center, once received all your headaches should be over. I don't know how much you would "lose" using this service vs. mailing directly via USPS, but peace of mind is worth a lot of money.

If you do decide to go via USPS, you should use the USPS site to figure out which forms are necessary (based on the further explanation that ebay provides it should be 2976-A.)

I would also recommend checking other shipping label providers like pirateship ( a free service) . If for nothing else, just to compare the prices and services. If your package is below 4 lbs you may get a better price with their simple international rate (you need to email them or use live chat to activate this particular service for you).

It is worth reading export documentation requirements for Norway, from their own customs site. For example, ebay states that you need to provide a 6-digit harmonization code.  Norway requires an 8 digit code, but EU generally a 10-digit code (if you use 10 digits, you will be safe). If your code does not have the proper number of digits, it may be rejected and returned for failure to be processed electronically (as it happened to me several times with packages to Ireland, where I used  6-digits, instead of 10. Now they go thru the customs without a problem).

[pjcdn2005]

I haven't ever shipped anything that expensive but according to that link, you shouldn't need either of those forms as you are not shipping those methods. Actually, that info is odd as Parcel Select is not an international service afaik.

Keep in mind that ebay requires a signature be collected when a transaction is $750+.  If you don't have a signature and the buyer files an item not received claim, you would lose.  I suspect that USPS Priority International may not have that option.  Your best option might be to ship with a courier such as UPS.  But unless you ship with a courier express service, the customer will be charged brokerage fees.

[relicsofarda]

Thanks for the reply, I really appreciate the info!

[relicsofarda]

Thanks for the reply, I really appreciate the info. Unfortunately the ebay international shipping service is not an option, according to the "Purchase Label" page on eBay there is a maximum value of $750 for items to be eligible for shipping to one of their hubs and using that service, so it's literally not available as an option.

The package weighs about 20lbs, so I think USPS will be the cheapest option.

Thanks again for your reply!