What is ePacket delivery? How ePacket has revolutionized the concept of eCommerce shipping?
This blog post covers everything that online businesses and eCommerce platforms should know about ePacket, and how to leverage this opportunity to your benefit. Let’s have a look.
The Current Scenario…
In today’s era of digitalization and globalization, it is no surprise that enterprises are either integrating with eCommerce platforms or embracing digital transformation by taking their business online. Today, the world has become a lucrative marketplace on the web where consumers from different corners of the globe can purchase a variety of products, just at a few clicks of a button.
The concept of online shopping is increasing at a rapid pace. According to a study, the number of global digital buyers is expected to rise to over 2.14 billion – a whopping growth over 2017’s 1.66 billion. With this, the online marketplace has become fiercely competitive than ever. And one aspect that makes an online business stand ahead of its competitors is shipping.
Shipping plays an integral role in ensuring superior customer satisfaction and is also one facet of today’s eCommerce business industry that is constantly evolving and dynamic. As online retailers and eCommerce giants scale up to provide worldwide shipping, they continuously face the challenge of timely delivery and order fulfillment. How to overcome this challenge?
ePacket delivery model comes to rescue!
ePacket is a popular shipping method provided by merchants in Hong Kong and China. As a part of agreement between the United States Postal Services, eBay China and Hong Kong Post, all packages delivered from China and Hong Kong will receive USPS’s First Class Mail Service and delivery confirmation. As the name suggests, ePacket shipping service is designed for eCommerce, providing a fast and budget-friendly shipping option to online merchants sourcing products from these countries.
This way the online retailer or eCommerce platform is able to deliver better value to its consumers, with prompt shipping at an affordable price. Earlier, shipping from China and Hong Kong would take over 8 weeks. This hampered the seller’s reputation as well as customer satisfaction. However, with ePacket shipping service, shipment is delivered in less than 30 days – typically between 7 to 12 working days – and is generally free or costs only a few dollars.
Today, ePacket has become a lucrative opportunity for online retailers and dropshipping businesses such as AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, and Shopify. It helps businesses to make significant profit margins on their products, especially the ones looking to kickstart their online store or eCommerce business.
Gone are the days when online retailers had to wait for several weeks to get the items delivered from China or Hong Kong. Alternatively, they had to purchase the products at a higher price from a US-based supplier, which could eat into most of their profits. However, with ePacket, things have changed considerably and to the good of the businesses and customers as well.
Here are certain guidelines that your ePacket delivery from China or Hong Kong should abide by:
Discussed here are the key advantages of ePacket delivery:
1) It is Faster: ePacket facilitates quicker deliveries between 7-12 working days. This is way faster than standard shipping methods, which take several weeks to deliver. Prompt delivery is one of the biggest advantages that you can harness to improve customer satisfaction.
2) It is Cost-Effective: No one is ready to pay a big amount in shipping for buying a product that is relatively inexpensive. However, that’s what standard shipping systems charge, and you may ideally lose your customers. ePacket shipments are able to cut down on the delivery cost. The shipping fee is much lower than USPS domestic first-class service, but the delivery timelines are similar.
3) Hassle-Free Package Tracking: Customers have the option of door-to-door ePacket tracking that provides the detailed status of where the package is, and what is the expected date of delivery. ePacket shipments also come with Delivery Confirmation, which means that both the parties are aware that the package is delivered and the transaction is complete.
4) Free Return on Undeliverable Items: For any shipment that remains undelivered, it will be returned for free. This gives peace of mind to the merchants because they do not have to face any issue regarding refunds. This factor plays an important role in improving customer relationships and providing them a sense of security.
As stated by the United States Postal Service, there are certain requirements that the package being sent via ePacket should fulfill. ePacket shipping requirements are discussed in details here:
As mentioned earlier in the blog post, the maximum weight limit for a parcel being sent using ePacket is 2 kilograms or 4.4 lbs. This includes the weight of the product, the shipping box, filler material, or any other packaging. Additionally, the value of the order should not exceed $400. It should be shipped from China and Hong Kong exclusively to one of the eligible countries.
Israel is the only country where the package can weigh up to 3 kilograms or 6.6 lbs.
USPS has set specific package size requirements that the merchants should cater to. The minimum length of the package should be 14 cm and the minimum width is 11 cm. This includes the length and width of the packaging box as well. For rolled-up packages, the minimum length is 11 cm. Moreover, the length plus twice the diameter should not be less than 17 cm. If the package is smaller than the specified requirements, you can use a bigger box and add in more filler.
The maximum length of the package is 60 cm. The sum of the length, height and width should not be over 90 cm. For rolled-up packages, the maximum length should be 90 cm. The length plus twice the diameter should not exceed 104 cm.
Refer the below image for ePacket delivery requirements:
Source: USPS
ePacket shipping has expanded globally, offering its services in 36 countries as mentioned here within alphabetical order:
For the United Kingdom, the shipment can be delivered only to mainland UK, Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands.
For France, packages can be shipped only to mainland France having Zip Codes starting with 01 to 95. Currently, products cannot be delivered to overseas territories such as Martinique, Corsica, Guadeloupe, Reunion, St. Pierre, French Guiana, Mayotte, and Miquelon.
For the United States, packages can be delivered to all states, military addresses, and territories within the country.
There are several factors that may affect the precise time of delivery for each package. These may include national or public holidays in the respective countries, custom issues, or other logistical bottlenecks that can affect the delivery of the package to its destination. While the ePacket shipping time is subjective to the concerned country, the average time of delivery is between 7 to 30 days.
Customers and merchants have the option of end-to-end ePacket tracking at no extra cost. This facility enables them to monitor and track their package in an easy and hassle-free manner. Here is a quick guide of how you can track your ePacket delivery from China or Hong Kong:
1) For every package to be shipped from China, a unique ePacket tracking code and delivery confirmation will be available with the online retailer or dropshipping platform you transact with. The code will also be available to the respective customer so that they can know the exact location of their package.
2) You can easily track your ePacket shipments via the official website of the United States Postal Service or ePacket China Post. However, if you use platforms like AliExpress or AutoDS for AliExpress orders monitoring, you can track your package right from the “My Order” section where the tracking code is already listed against your order.
3) You can also use third-party websites like 17Track, PackageTrackr, AfterShip, and Package Mapping to track your shipment.
Whether you are a small business owner or a big-time online retailer, you can gain a competitive advantage by ensuring speedier and cost-effective delivery services via ePacket shipping. Get on the track by harnessing the potential of the ePacket delivery system in today’s cutthroat online market environment.
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