Most customers choose "PacMe Preferred: Best Price" as their carrier option and then we will ship your package by the least expensive way.

Our shipping partners include the big three private carriers - UPS, FedEx, as well as USPS (aka The Post Office).  You will be able to choose the carrier of your choice and delivery speed when you place a consolidation order.  You can also select "best price" at any given service speed, and we will select the carrier for you once we get a final quote. You will have the option whether or not to include the USPS in the "best price" selection.

Transit times:

• 3-4 days Express
• 5-6 days Economy
• 9-12 days Super Economy

Check out our shipping calculator for real time quotes.  We get substantial discounts, particularly for packages weighing more than 15kg.

UPS
UPS offers excellent reliability and tracking for their Express 3-4 and Economy 5-6 day service.  If duties or taxes are owed, you can often pay the driver upon delivery, though this differs by country (you can pay GST to the driver in Singapore, for instance). For packages going to Asia, a day is lost before we even begin since it is already tomorrow there (that and outgoing packages only depart Portland at night).  This means the 3-4 day service is almost always delivered on the 4th day.  The 5-6 day service will often make it by day 5, so might be a much better deal.  Technically, the weekend days don't count, but we have found that Thursday shipments get to their destination on average a day earlier than expected.

FedEx
FedEx also offers excellent reliability and tracking for their Express 3-4 and Economy 5-6 day service.  The main difference between UPS and FedEx is the service level in the country of destination.  They might partner with other delivery companies for the last mile.  You might have experience, good or bad, with one carrier or the other in your country and that will sway your decision.  When we know of a difference, we will mention it.  Otherwise, most customers choose UPS vs FedEx based on price.  FedEx will usually collect customs/taxes by sending a bill, but this is not always the case (they will bill by mail for GST in Singapore).

USPS
USPS (aka The Post Office) is the only provider that offers a 9-12 day super economy service.  One advantage of the Post Office in many countries is that they clear their own shipments and the packages don't technically go through customs.  This can speed delivery.  One disadvantage is that the Post Office in some countries is completely unreliable and is best avoided.  You will likely know best for your country.  This is why we allow you to not include USPS when choosing "best price" optiion during consolidation. You usually have to pay duties/taxes in person at the Post Office when you collect your package (Paya Lebar in Singapore).

We ship to addresses worldwide except where prohibited by the US government or restricted by our shipping partners (Fedex, UPS, USPS).  From time to time, we might shut down a country if we are having a lot of problems shipping there.

The private carriers will often not ship to certain countries, but their blacklist changes often.  You can research your country on the carrier websites.  

The UPS Country List has lots of information.

The US Postal Service has the best coverage worldwide and often has an easier customs process, but again, you will know best about the handoff to your own country's postal service.

It might be a good idea to do a small consolidation as a test run before trying to ship through more expensive items.

We can get a package to you in 3-4 days (Express) or 5-6 days (Economy).  Weekends don't count, but sometimes they help.  Learn more here. 

Check out our shipping calculator for realtime quotes for the two services.

To guarantee the quickest service - same day turnaround at PacMe - here's the procedure you should follow:

1. On the My Packages page, add an Expected Package and include the carrier tracking number.
   
   
2. Create an "urgent" Consolidation (additonal fee) and add the "expected" package to the consolidation, along with any other packages you want consolidated.  Fill out the Item List for the Expected Package if you know the contents.  Or choose PacMe to fill out the Customs List.
   
   
3. Put a "response required" message to us in the Consolidation's chat box as a backup.
   
   
4. When the Expected Package arrives on our dock, our system will recognize the tracking number and also that it is part of an Urgent Consolidation.
   
   
5. It will get fast tracked through the system, same day.

Some important notes:

1. UPS is best because the depot is close by. "Express" packages need to be dropped off at the carrier depot by 4pm. "Economy" packages need to be dropped off at the carrier depot by 5pm.  International carrier planes only depart at night from the Portland airport, so you effectively lose the whole first day.
   
   
2. While most incoming packages arrive in the morning, all the carriers deliver throughout the day, even after 5pm.  So, there's a chance that your incoming package could miss the deadline.
   
   
3. The Express service to Asia almost always takes 4 days, not 3, since it is already tomorrow there.  We lose a complete day before we even begin.  And then, we lose the first day because the package only departs the airport late at night (see #1).
   
   
4. Speaking of Asia, even if you wake up bright and early to submit your consolidation, you probably already missed our 4-5pm carrier depot deadline. We need to get your order and any Expected Packages by 3pm our time so we have time to pack it and drive it down to the depot.  In the winter, Portland is under PST, which is  UTC -8:00.  In the summer, PDT, we are UTC -7:00.

The shipping day doesn't count in the transit days because all packages depart Oregon on a late night flight, regardless when the carrier collects the package.

The carriers don't technically work on the weekends so they don't count those days in the "5-6 day" service (or any other).  But they often actually fly the planes 24/7 and throughout the weekend.

They use these extra weekend days to load-balance their routes.  You might see your package sitting in a US carrier hub for a few days, say Thursday and Friday, and then it flies over the weekend.  Conversely, it might fly during the week and then sit in an international hub over the weekend.

It might appear that the 5-6 day service took up to 7-8 days if you shipped it over a weekend.  They actually call it a 5-6 "business" day service.

You can have an unlimited number of boxes in an outgoing shipment, but each box must be smaller than these limits:

• Weight < 67kg (149lbs)
• Length + Girth < 419cm (165 inches)*
• Length < 270cm (106 inches)

*Length + Girth = (L + 2W  + 2H), where L is the longest side and then take the circumference of the rest of the box

UPS Size Restrictions

We can pack and ship large items, such as furniture and gym equipment, but we have a few guidelines that we like to follow so that the process goes smoothly.  Send us a message in your "My Account" chat box once you have the actual weight and measurements of either the actual boxes or the item itself, then we can get you an exact quote.  It's also helpful to send us links if the items are online.  

Is it worth it?  It's all about dimensional weight.  The actual weight of furniture almost never matters.  Most furniture triggers dim weight by about 2-4x the actual weight.  The trick is whether or not we can pack the empty space with other stuff, because you are paying for that space anyway (think of an empty suitcase or see this logic).  Of course, if the furniture is flat-packed (think Ikea), then it usually doesn't trigger dim weight.

Of all the research and quotes we do for customers, the ones who actually go through with it are buying lots of rugs (up to 8 feet wide, 2.4m), the ocasional BBQ Grill, and dense items such as table tops and nightstands.  We even sent a gym weight set to Singapore once - with shipping, it was still cheaper than buying it there.  Those dense items are often worth it.

What's usually not worth it?  Mattresses, bunk beds (unless simple, dense wood), couches, patio/assembled furniture. 

Here is an example of how we will calculate the shipping cost. For large items it is usually about $3.00/lb to Singapore and Hong Kong, slightly more to Europe.  This is admittedly not a great rate since it is not our core business.

Let's say a big comfy chair is 35x35x30 inches.  It weighs 60-100lbs, but that doesn't really matter.

• Add 3 inches all around for the crate, so 38x38x33 inches
• divided by 166 (this is the dim weight factor used by the carriers; it's 166 for air freight and 139 for smaller boxes)
• = 287lbs dim weight
• x $3/lb
• = $861
• shipping cost + $200 for the crate = $1061

 It seems like every piece of furniture we ship costs more than $1k.

Here are some other notes:

• We ship mostly by air freight, not ocean.  More things get lost at sea unless you ship a full container.  The cost for less-than-container loads usually isn't that much different anyway.  We do, however, having a decent ocean shipping service to Singapore.  The cost isn't that much different than air, but they will take bulkier items.
  
  
• We usually build a crate for all furniture that is not easily lifted by one person. That costs about $200-300.  Most incoming, or even reinforced, cardboard boxes are not strong enough for export. The shipment will likely go through 3-4 hubs before reaching its destination.  A crate guarantees it gets moved only by a forklift.  Crating also allows us to fill up the empty space without worrying about breaking a box.
  
  
• If we cannot use UPS or FedEx "air freight," then it gets more complicated because we would need to arrange customs clearance and local delivery. We can do this in Singapore, but we don't have reliable contacts in other countries.

We can ship lithium ion batteries - usually 2 per package.  The restrictions are at the carrier level, but based on country regulations as well.

As a guide, however, FedEx and UPS will allow:

• 2 batteries per package
• 100 watt-hours per battery
• 20 watt-hours per cell

A typical 9-cell battery for a big Dell XPS laptop is 97Whr so makes it under the limit.

• FedEx Battery Restrictions
• UPS Battery Restrictions

Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries must be shipped "loose."  We will need to remove them from the electrical appliance or gadget.  This might require us to open retail packaging.

Iphone-size battery chargers are usually ok as-is.  We can include 3-4 of them in a shipment as long as we label the shipment.