How to Ship a Laptop Overseas

If you’re supplying international employees with IT assets, you’ll likely need to handle laptop shipping at some point. 

There are a lot of logistics involved with international laptop shipments. A lot could go wrong. Here is a step-by-step guide how to ship a laptop overseas. 

1. Familiarize Yourself with International Shipping Rules

If you’ve never shipped a laptop overseas before, you’ll quickly realize that it’s quite a bit more complicated than shipping domestically. 

One example is ensuring a shipment meets lithium battery compliance, where the laptop battery is not charged beyond 30%, properly installed in the laptop, and clearly marked. 

Because the lithium battery within a laptop could potentially result in a fire or explosion, this makes it a hazardous material.

That’s why international shipping mandates that compliance standards are met to ensure delivery. 

Some other examples of international shipping rules include understanding:

• The specific import/export rules for the destination country you’re shipping to
• Typical international shipping costs
• Customs declaration
• Customs regulations
• Customs duties
• Customs fees
• Potential restrictions on sending electronics to specific countries (China, for instance, requires a China Compulsory Certification mark for delivery)
• The documentation that must be provided, such as a customs invoice (more on this later)
• If there are limits on the maximum value of goods sent to a particular country

Note that because international shipping rules, as well as the specific restrictions of your destination country, continually change, this is something you’ll want to stay updated on when shipping laptops repeatedly. 

2. Find a Reliable Shipping Carrier

Given that a laptop is a considerable expense, especially when shipping multiple laptops at volume, you don’t want to trust just any shipping option. 

Combine that with how fragile a laptop is and how easy it is to get damaged during transit, and you can see how vital it is to choose a safe, reliable shipping provider with reasonable shipping rates. 

We suggest sticking with a major carrier that offers specialized services for electronics like laptops. These services have a protocol in place to ensure a shipping box reaches its destination unharmed by the stated delivery time and have a proven track record of success.

And, if needed, they can also handle employee laptop returns. 

In terms of specific carriers with specialized services for electronics, the three biggest are USPS (top options include USPS Priority Mail International and Priority Mail Express International), FedEx, and UPS. 

In most cases, any of these three carriers should be fine and have reasonable shipping costs. However, if you want additional options outside of these carriers for shipping laptops, some alternatives include Royal Mail, Ship Smart, and DHL Express. 

3. Prep the Laptop for Shipping Abroad

Before placing a laptop box or standalone laptop in a shipping box, there’s a checklist you’ll want to follow to ensure the laptop is properly prepared for delivery.

First, make sure that the laptop has been completely shut off (it’s not simply in sleep mode). 

Second, protect sensitive data that’s on the laptop. No matter how secure a carrier is and the precautions they take, there’s always the risk of a laptop being intercepted during transit. 

Therefore, you want to be sure that in a worst-case scenario, no one can access sensitive information on the device.

This can be done in one of three ways:

1. Use encryption to secure the hard drive, where a strong password is required to access it.
2. Lock the laptop using mobile device management software until it reaches its delivery destination.
3. Wipe the data completely and store sensitive data in the cloud.

Third, be sure to thoroughly inspect the laptop before international shipping and take note of its condition before packaging. We also suggest taking several pictures of the laptop prior to sending it so that you can prove the original condition if damage occurs during transport. 

This will come in handy if you need to file a claim later on. 

4. Use Protective Packaging Material and a Sturdy Shipping Box

At first glance, packing a laptop into a shipping box may seem pretty straightforward. And it’s true that packaging isn’t rocket science. But there is an art to it. And some regulations to know about.

Effective packaging starts with using a sturdy shipping box, with corrugated cardboard being a good option because of its strength. 

Next, wrap the laptop and accessories with anti-static bubble wrap, which helps cushion them and also protects the internal parts from being damaged due to electrical discharge. 

Note that you may also want to use air pillows or foam inserts to fill in the gaps between the laptop and the shipping box during packaging.

Be sure that there’s no place in which the laptop is directly up against the cardboard box, because this can result in the box being punctured. 

Also, try to find the sweet spot with packaging snugness, where the laptop is properly cushioned but the bubble wrap/air pillows/foam inserts aren’t pressing against it too much. 

An easy packaging test is to give the box a slight shake to check for sliding or wobbling. As long as there’s no movement, the packaging should be secure and ready for delivery. 

Also note that the packaging must contain the UN3481 Lithium-ion battery sticker for legal reasons.

5. Handle the Necessary Documentation

When shipping laptops, you first need to include the customs invoice, which should contain several pieces of information about the parcel.  

One of the most important is the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS Code), which lets foreign customs know what’s being shipped during delivery and the relevant taxes and duties that are involved. 

Therefore, having an HTS Code on your customs invoice is critical for making it through customs clearance and ensuring a timely delivery. 

To simplify, the HTS Code for a laptop is 8471.30.0100. 

Besides that, you’ll also want to include a thorough description of the laptop on your packaging, including the brand, model, computing power, and memory. 

You’ll want to include the number of laptops that are inside the shipping box, each laptop’s serial number, the unit value of each laptop, the total item value, and the currency being used. 

Also, you’ll want to state the country of origin and the reason why you’re exporting the laptop to the destination country (e.g., work use or repair).

Be sure to include your contact info on the shipping label. And if possible, include your Tax ID or EIN, as well as the receiver’s Value Added Tax (VAT) Number. 

While these aren’t always required, we suggest using them to avoid customs delays and make customs clearance go smoother. 

If you’re shipping to the EU, you’ll need an Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number as well to ensure delivery. 

Finally, be sure to include at least three signed copies of the commercial invoice. One should be inside the package and two should be attached externally in a clear document pouch for customs officials to access during transit. 

Many carriers also require a digital upload of the invoice through their online system. For example, DHL Paperless Trade or FedEx Electronic Trade Documents. This ensures the shipment can pass through customs efficiently without unnecessary delays.

6. Consider Buying Shipping Insurance for Peace of Mind

Although not required, we strongly suggest purchasing shipping insurance for a laptop shipment. Even with the most reliable carrier, there’s always the potential for unforeseen issues arising, and you never want to leave a critical shipment to chance. 

With many laptops costing over $1,000, buying shipping insurance will give you peace of mind that you’re covered, even in a worst-case scenario like the shipment being lost, stolen, or damaged. 

Most major carriers like USPS, UPS, and FedEx offer insurance coverage for most shipments and will include it in the overall shipping cost. UPS and FedEx, for example, can provide up to $50,000 of declared value coverage for most shipments. 

So be sure to look into what a carrier offers before choosing a shipping service, and select the optimal coverage that meets your needs without overspending on shipping costs. 

7. Track the Laptop Shipment

There are often a lot of twists and turns as a laptop shipment traverses the globe and makes its way to its intended destination. So you don’t want to be left in the dark, guessing what its current location is and how much further it has to go. 

Rather, you want to stay in the loop with real-time status updates so you know if the shipment is on schedule or if there’s been a snag. Either way, you’ll be up-to-date with notifications for maximum peace of mind throughout the process. 

Note that all major carriers offer tracking for a laptop shipment, with some having premium options for even greater transparency. 

DHL Express, for instance, is a shipping method that provides frequent updates as a shipment makes its way through customs and even has on-demand delivery options. 

And if you partner with an IT asset management professional like allwhere, we handle end-to-end logistics with our shipping partners and your employees to ensure each laptop reaches the right destination at the right time. 

Our platform features a single dashboard that lets you monitor the status of each device throughout shipment, so you always know where it is. 

Ship Laptops Internationally with allwhere

If you need international laptop shipping but aren’t comfortable or don’t have the time to do it yourself, allwhere can help! 

With allwhere, we handle the entire international shipping process end-to-end, including vendor selection, contract management, logistics, communication, packaging, customs documentation, import duty paperwork, compliance, and more. 

And when it comes time for employee laptop retrieval, we can take care of that as well. 

We specialize in global procurement and retrieval and can ship laptops back to you from nearly anywhere in the world. 

Unlike many competitors who only partner with one vendor, we have a wide network of vendors, which allows us to quickly find the exact laptop you need for hassle-free fulfillment. 

If you want a truly hand-off experience, with full visibility of each laptop shipment, we’re here to help. Learn more about the benefits of partnering with allwhere.