Last Updated on October 24, 2022
ePacket is a popular quick delivery service that combines government mail and large online stores. This type of delivery is used by such platforms as Aliexpress, Ebay, etc. Despite the popularity of the service, not everyone is familiar with the peculiarities of its work, so in this article we will try to reveal what ‘a free ePacket delivery from China’ is and other subtleties of working with e-packaging.
ePacket is a shipping method designed specifically for Chinese sellers who sell products over the Internet. It is very popular due to its availability and speed. It provides tracking numbers so dropshippers and their customers can track the package easily.
Table of Contents
What is ePacket shipping service?
In 2011, the US Postal Service entered into an agreement with the national postal carriers of China that allows tracking packages to be shipped within 91.5cm and weighing 1.9kg. This agreement has very low rates, called ePacket, and the rates are so low that it’s cheaper to ship from China to the US than domestically.
Within China, shipping via ePacket is supported by EMS China Post. For further export, the movement of the parcel is quite fast. Once it arrives in the destination country, delivery is handled by the local government postal service. Accordingly, the buyer receives the parcel at the nearest post office.
But how can Chinese sellers who offer cheap goods can afford to pay for shipping for buyers. The fact is that ePacket rates are much lower than, for example, USPS*.
*USPS is the US Postal Service, a member of the Universal Postal Union.
How it works
EPacket shipping is not much different from standard shipping, with the exception of a few issues that have been removed from the process. For example, e-packages go from start to finish tracking. The local postal services will then deliver the items as usual and the customer will be able to use this tracking code on whatever website they normally use for their local postal service.
For example, a customer in the US would go to the USPS website and paste in their ePacket tracking code. The same code will work for the EMS website for Chinese customers.
Most e-packages are sent from larger marketplaces like eBay and AliExpress. Almost any supplier from China can send an ePacket if they want.
Finally, all shipping costs also include the return of undelivered items. This means that if the customer does not receive the item for any reason, it is sent back to the seller at no additional cost. This makes easier and more cost-effective refunds in general.
What does ePacket Delivery mean?
ePacket Delivery is the combination of state mail with online stores and EMS (Express Mail Service) of the sender’s country. Let’s consider this delivery using the example of China as the country of the sender, and the US as the destination country.
In China, the parcel is sent using EMS China, it quickly passes through the country and is sent for import, also by agreement with the mail of the country of destination, the parcel is quickly exported, and then the local state mail is engaged in delivery, in our case, the US post, and you will get the parcel at your post office.
In general, the cost of delivery is cheaper than if the parcel was sent by Mail Service of China – because the delivery time is reduced.
How much does ePacket shipping cost?
For example, If the item weighs 2kg, an e-package to China is 28% cheaper, to the USA is 31% cheaper, and to Brazil is 44% cheaper than EMS. Have a look at the table below:
All prices are for reference only. The exact price will be based on the latest offer from China Post.
Requirements for parcels
International shipping is much more difficult than domestic one. This is partly due to the fact that international packages must be of a certain weight and size. The same can be said for ePacket requirements as almost all of them are shipped internationally.
Minimum package size
All standard bags must be at least 14cm long and 11cm wide. Therefore, you may encounter some cases where your product is much smaller than the actual packaging. This is usually a good thing, as you can squeeze the filler into the packaging to fit your product exactly.
For rolled bags, the minimum length should be 11cm. Also, you should take the diameter of the bag and multiply it by two. Add this to the length of the bag. Your result should be larger than 17cm. Note that this is for collapsed packages only.
Maximum packet size
Let’s say you want to send a standard package. Look at the longest side of the package and make sure it is no longer than 60cm. The length and the height together must not exceed 90cm.
For rolled packages, the long side should never exceed 90cm. You should also double the diameter of the package, add the length to that and make sure it does not exceed 104cm.
You should also consider the weight and cost of your package. You cannot send anything other than $400 to ePackets. This will exclude many online stores that have more expensive items to ship.
Another thing to consider is that e-packages can only be sent from China or Hong Kong to an acceptable ePacket countries list.
Finally, your e-packages must not weigh more than 2 kg. The only exception is Israel, where an ePacket can weigh a maximum of 3 kg. Remember that the total weight of your package includes everything, such as the inner packaging, the item inside, any mailing labels, and the shipping box itself. You need to weigh everything as soon as it is fully packed and ready to ship.
Customs and taxes for ePacket delivery
Any customs duties or taxes must be paid by the recipient of the parcel. Since ePacket shipping regularly goes through customs, customers may be required to pay any applicable taxes and fees.
Prior to the advent of ePacket, China EMS was the primary alternative for affordable delivery of customers’ groceries. The downside to this was that it often took buyers more than a month to receive their orders. The other options were too expensive, especially when compared to the price of the product.
Please be aware that it is not possible to offer free shipping on all products. Some do not meet the size or weight requirements for e-packages. The ePacket shipping method must be delivered from either China or Hong Kong, which means that if drop shipping providers have items shipped within the US, customers cannot benefit from ePacket shipping in that case.
ePacket Shipping Time From Different Countries
International shipping disruptions during 2020 negatively impacted all delivery services, and ePacket delivery times were no exception. During the worst downturn, e-packages took an average of 20 to 40 days to deliver, but delivery times are starting to normalize as air travel increases.
As of October 2021, 46 countries support ePacket delivery:
| Countries | Shipping time, in days |
|---|---|
| Australia | up to 20 |
| Austria | 10-20 |
| Belgium | 10-15 |
| Brazil | 20-30 |
| Canada | 10-15 |
| Croatia | 10-15 |
| Denmark | 10-20 |
| Estonia | up to 20 |
| Finland | up to 20 |
| France | 10-20 |
| Germany | 10-20 |
| Gibraltar | up to 20 |
| Great Britain | 10-20 |
| Greece | 10-20 |
| Hong Kong | 3-5 |
| Indonesia | 7-15 |
| Hungary | up to 20 |
| Ireland | 10-20 |
| Israel | up to 20 |
| Italy | 10-20 |
| Japan | 10-15 |
| Kazakhstan | 7-15 |
| Latvia | 7-20 |
| Lithuania | up to 20 |
| Luxembourg | 7-20 |
| Malaysia | 7-15 |
| Malta | 10-20 |
| Mexico | up to 20 |
| Netherlands | 10-20 |
| New Zealand | 10-20 |
| Norway | 10-20 |
| Poland | 10-20 |
| Portugal | up to 20 |
| Russia | 7-15 |
| Saudi Arabia | 7-15 |
| Singapore | up to 20 |
| Spain | 10-20 |
| South Korea | 5-15 |
| Sweden | 10-20 |
| Switzerland | 10-20 |
| Thailand | 5-15 |
| Turkey | 5-15 |
| Ukraine | 7-15 |
| United Kingdom | 10-20 |
| United States | 10-20 |
| Vietnam | 5-15 |
How to Track ePacket?
Cooperating with a large number of online stores, EMS of China has developed a convenient tracking system for postal items to any country. To track an ePacket, it is enough to know the international tracking number, which consists of a combination of letters and numbers. You can find it on the page of your order on the store’s website or by asking the seller. Most often, after paying for the order, a message with a track number is sent to your email.
EMS of China allows you to simultaneously track up to 20 parcels, and the company has developed a convenient way of notifications: information about all changes in ePacket locations is sent by e-mail or SMS. This allows you to significantly save time and eliminates the need to visit the site often.
The high-quality work of the resource allows buyers to always be aware of the status of the order; situations when the packages are not tracked are extremely rare. For any questions, you can contact the company’s specialists, and the most convenient tracking package is provided by a mobile application.
All order tracking services are provided free of charge, and the application is launched with any smartphone on the Android and IOS platform. Delivery of an order from AliExpress via ePacket is much faster than standard delivery: 2-3 weeks.
Information about the parcel is provided from the moment of payment for the purchase until delivery confirmation, the history of previous orders is also saved. It allows you to track the parcel regardless of the recipient country, the information is always accurate and up-to-date.
There are several ways to track an ePacket parcel. While the shipment is still in China, China EMS can track it. Once the package is in the US, the USPS website can check the location of the parcel. It is also possible to use third-party tracking services like:
- Package Mapping
- AfterShip
- PackageTrackr
- 17TRACK
Objective benefits
- Speed
ePacket definition is ‘all ePacket shipments from China will be much faster than before’. Most other ways to get to other countries usually take several months. Generally, when using ePacket, you can expect 5 to 20 days to arrive.
- More Sales
You won’t be able to compete in terms of ePacket deliveries times compared to large marketplaces. However, many people realize that some of the goods only come from China. Many customers know that a seller offering ePacket shipping will ship and deliver this package much faster. - Delivery Tracking and Confirmation
Electronic parcels have great tracking capabilities for almost every postal service in countries where they are supported. This removes any uncertainty for your customer and allows people to receive ePacket tracking numbers updates throughout the process and see when a delivery has arrived. - Overall Inexpensive
International shipping is very expensive. If you want to ship from another country to yours, you can pay $50-100 for shipping. Nobody wants to pay for it, especially when the product is only $10. ePacket offers an affordable price, so that you and your customer are not burdened with high shipping costs. - Customs Covered by Customer
If any of your goods pass customs or require additional taxes or duties, the recipient of the shipment is responsible for payment. While this may not happen with all of your products, your company will not be required to pay any incidental fees after your products have been shipped out of China.
It is shipped by air
One of the advantages of choosing ePacket delivery services – its most beneficial shipping way, which is by air. It’s way faster and modern: not so long ago sea shipping was only done.
ePacket and AliExpress
At the moment, ePacket is one of the most convenient, fast and reliable ways to ship goods from Aliexpress. The best combination of price and quality. On average, parcels reach the buyer in about 2 weeks. And the tracking number is tracked throughout the entire route of the departure. This is very important when ordering an expensive product. Or if you like to control the path of the parcel.
How long is the AliExpress ePacket?
On Aliexpress website, we see that the standard ePacket delivery times are 14-23 days. It is just a few days slower than EMS. Moreover, the cost of this delivery is several times cheaper. And at the moment, for some sellers, this shipping method is free!
Why are the parcels going so fast? In China, the goods will go by EMS of China Post. And after crossing the border they will go by national mail.
Previously, this service delivered goods exactly on time. Unfortunately, recently there have been cases when parcels sent by ePacket go much longer than the stated period. That is, the buyer receives the goods in 30-45 days.
Sellers explain this by the fact that the best combination of price and quality has led to the excessive popularity of this delivery method and, as a result, to the load of the delivery line and ePacket can no longer cope with the huge volume of parcels. But they are working on that and try their best to deliver things as soon as they can.
How do I see an ePacket on AliExpress?
The ePacket service track number has an international format and looks like this: LMххххххххххCN. Instead of x, a set of numbers. This track number will be tracked throughout the entire route of the parcel. Usually, the track begins to be read 3-5 days after sending.
If your package is sent by ePacket, but the track does not start to be read after 10 days, then open a dispute. It is highly likely that the seller gives you the number one more time.
You can track the shipment both on the official website: http://www.ems.com.cn/english.html.
If the tracking parcel is stuck somewhere in China, it means that the seller made some mistake when sending it and you need to write to them, so that they would call and find out what was wrong with the shipment.
Summary and tips for dropshippers in 2021
One of the main reasons you might want to consider ePacket shipping is if you want to deliver products to your customers. Dropshipping has become a fairly popular form of sales when you partner with manufacturers who create, store and ship all of your products directly to your customers. Therefore, you only need to launch your online store and any other business items that you have to deal with.
What’s great about drop shipping and ePacket shipping is that some major Chinese marketplaces already offer ePacket shipping via their platforms. For example, AliExpress and DHGate have integrated e-packages into their systems.
Thus, the dropshipper will choose to send the products in an ePacket. The manufacturer or supplier then takes over and sends the tracking code to the customer so that they can check the current shipment status and delivery time.
It depends on the system you buy through, but you should expect up to $5 for free shipping. For example, AliExpress charges $3-5 for shipping ePackets. It also usually takes 16-18 days for the item to reach its final destination.
FAQ
What does ePacket shipping mean?
ePacket is a shipping method designed specifically for Chinese sellers who sell products over the Internet. It is very popular due to its availability and speed.
Is ePacket still preferable over EMS?
Yes, first of all because it’s faster.
Is ePacket a USPS?
No, it is a shipping option offered by merchants in China and Hong Kong. It originated as an agreement between the US Postal Service (USPS) and Hong Kong Post.
Is ePacket delivery safe?
Yes.
What is an ePacket extension?
There are some extensions that support ePacket, such as ePacket Identification, which helps to identify if the product is available for ePacket delivery or not. Alitools is also a good extension for AliExpress which can track your goods, show the better price, as well as check the availability for ePacket.
Does AliExpress still offer ePacket?
Sure, it’s one of AliExpress’ options of delivery.
