If you need an affordable international shipping solution for lightweight packages, particularly when low cost matters more than speed, USPS First Class Package International Service is a great choice. For e-commerce merchants who connect with consumers around the globe, shipping with USPS First Class Package International Service allows packages weighing up to 4 pounds, and ships to 190+ different countries.

What is USPS First Class Package International Service?

Simply put, this is the cheapest USPS shipping service for lightweight international packages containing items that are $400 or less in value. As for dimensions, packages shipped through this service can be a maximum combined length, height, and width of 36 inches (or 42 inches for rolls or tubes).

Discounted pricing in Shippo for USPS First Class Package International Service starts at $13.54.

Delivery time for USPS First Class Package International Service is typically 1-4 weeks, depending on the destination. Electronic USPS Delivery Confirmation International (E-USPS DELCON INTL®) is included when you ship online to major countries like Australia, France, Germany, United Kingdom, and Hong Kong.

Note that certain restrictions and prohibitions may apply depending upon the country you’re shipping to (see individual country requirements here).

You should also be aware that USPS doesn’t handle end-to-end delivery with its First Class Package International Service. Instead, it passes off packages to the local postal service of the country you’re shipping to (this is why delivery can take as long as 4 weeks, especially in more remote or less developed countries). If your shipment is urgent, you’ll want to explore other USPS international options such as USPS Priority Mail International, or Priority Mail Express International.

Benefits of Choosing USPS First Class Package International Shipping

While USPS isn’t necessarily the first carrier that comes to mind for e-commerce businesses sending international shipments, they’re extremely reliable and offer some of the best prices around. USPS First Class Package International Service is the cheapest of these options, costing significantly less than other solutions.

By comparison:

• USPS Priority Mail Express International starts at $38.57
• USPS Priority Mail International starts at $27.10

In some cases, USPS First Class Package International Service can end up costing around 30-50 percent less than other options, so it makes sense why this service level is often the clear winner for budget-conscious e-commerce merchants.

Besides its lower costs, this service also comes with:

• Free tracking
• A return receipt
• A Certificate of Mailing for unregistered mail

Who is USPS First Class Package International Best Suited For?

Given that it takes 1-4 weeks for a package to arrive through USPS First Class Package International service, it’s admittedly one of the slower international shipping options.

By comparison:

• USPS Priority Mail Express International takes 3-5 days
• USPS Priority Mail International takes 6-10 days

For this reason, it’s probably not your best bet if your package needs to arrive at its destination in a hurry. USPS First Class Package International also won’t suffice if you need to send packages that weigh more than 4 pounds, have a larger combined length, height, and width of 36 inches (42 inches for rolls/tubes), or have a value greater than $400.

However, it is worth taking a look if you and your customers don’t mind longer shipping times. If this is the case for your business, you can save a lot of money while also enjoying the peace of mind that comes with shipping through a reliable carrier like USPS.

Save on International Shipping with Shippo

If you’re looking for the best deals on domestic and international shipping costs, Shippo can help you find them. We partner with more than 50 global carriers — including USPS — and help our customers deliver over 100 million shipments each year.

Not only can you use our platform to create shipping labels discounted up to 90% off, you’ll also get to enjoy these benefits:

• Validate addresses from around the world to avoid failed international deliveries
• Schedule USPS pickups at your home, office, or warehouse
• Create customized tracking pages to monitor the status of your deliveries from beginning to end
• Send customers branded notification email updates
• Provide customers with up-to-date ETAs
• Seamlessly manage returns to create a stronger customer experience

And on top of all that, Shippo’s in-depth reporting gives you a bird’s eye view of your international shipping so you can reduce spend, increase efficiency, and intelligently grow and scale your business over time.

It’s easy to see why more than 100K brands trust Shippo. Sign up for your free account and see how we can improve international shipping for your e-commerce business, too.