Send a Parcel to France at 77% off List Price
Gain access to substantially discounted shipping rates for global destinations, including France
Basic parcel cover included, enhanced parcel cover is available
Book heavy weight parcels to France that weigh up to 90kgs with selected carriers
All your commercial invoices needed to ship to France are prepared automatically
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Send a Parcel Delivery to France
You may think sending a parcel to France is intimidating, but it’s not at all, yes you require a declaration of the contents, plus there will be duties and taxes at the destination, but that’s about it! The rest of the process is like sending a shipment to a customer locally. The cost is a touch more expensive than sending locally. With France being so close to the UK geographically, this reduces the cost dramatically. ParceHaus couriers deliver anywhere in France, but there are some additional charges for sending to some extended areas like ski resorts in the alps.
We’ve listed below France’s major couriers to help when posting, whilst our national postage service Royal Mail don’t deliver themselves, they do sub contract to La Poste which is the French postal service. Whilst this is a great service for consumer products, it really doesn’t cut the mustard for businesses, especially companies that are offering custom services like engineering components or high value goods like medical equipment. Ordersort offers the ability to compare all these premium couriers to get the best prices from the UK’s leading courier services. These couriers include: UPS, DHL, FedEx, DPD, DHL Parcel and Evri
Please note we reserve these prices for e-commerce sellers and businesses only, sorry!
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National Holidays: Some of the major national holidays in France include Bastille Day (La Fête Nationale) on July 14th, All Saints’ Day (La Toussaint) on November 1st, Christmas Day (Noël) on December 25th, and New Year’s Day (Le Jour de l’An) on January 1st.
Population: The estimated population of France is around 67 million.
Leading Couriers: Some of the leading courier companies operating in France include La Poste (the French postal service), Chronopost, and DHL.
Time Difference from the U.K: France operates on Central European Time (CET) during the standard time, which is 1 hour ahead of the United Kingdom. During daylight saving time, France switches to Central European Summer Time (CEST), which is also 1 hour ahead of the U.K.
Currency: The currency used in France is the Euro (EUR).
SHIPPING GUIDES TO FRANCE
Sending to France
Ooh la la!!! You’ve got a parcel to send to France! Bravo on expanding your customer base, long may your success continue…. ok enough with the french-isms, let’s get to business!
We don’t want to bore you with the basics of parcel packing at this stage, but believe it or not there is an art to it that will help reduce your losses and prevent damages, this all starts in the packing room. To help, further down the page we walk you through the basics of getting that parcel out the door on time, fully fortified with the correct documentation.
Once your goods are in the box don’t seal it just yet, we’ve got some tips and tricks that will help prevent loss, but first let’s make sure your goods are allowed to be shipped to France.
France's prohibited item list
There are three courier classifications for shipping goods that are essential for you to be aware of:
Prohibited Items
Nonetheless, there are items permitted for shipment through the courier network; however, the carrier will not provide protection against damages, even when enhanced cover is chosen during booking. Compensation from the carrier will exclusively apply in the event of parcel loss. Included items are antiques, fishing rods, and surfboards. To access the comprehensive list, please click the button labeled "Prohibited Items List" below.
Items Protected for Loss Only
Nevertheless, there are items permissible for shipment through the courier network, yet the carrier will not offer protection against damages, even with enhanced cover selected during booking. Compensation from the carrier will solely apply in case of parcel loss only. Items include antiques, fishing rods, and surfboards. To access the comprehensive list, click the button labeled "Prohibited Items List" below.
No Protection Items
Finally, items with no protection; this signifies that while the carrier will transport the goods, they will not provide compensation in case of loss or damage. Included items are precious metals and gemstones, watches, ceramics, artwork, among others.
Due to varying regulations, most countries maintain distinct lists of goods. However, given that France is an EU member, it adheres to the same goods restrictions as other EU nations. For a comprehensive list of carriers' restricted goods, please refer to the provided link that will direct you to the carrier's dedicated page.
Are Commercial Invoices needed for France?
Yes, France requires commercial invoices for shipments from the UK. Our system allows both paper commercial invoices and Paperless/Paperless Trade (PLT), which is a term used for a digital commercial invoice. However, it's worth noting that not all countries have yet embraced Paperless. Our system will notify you when to use paper commercial invoices where Paperless is not available for that specific country.
On the commercial invoice you will need to specify who will pay the associated fees. These fees can either be covered by your customer (DDU) or by you (DDP), these are called incoterms.
Ordersort understands, helps, and guides you through these options and ensures you have a seamless experience for both you and your customers
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Delivered Duty Unpaid
The majority of shippers use this incoterm, which signifies that the recipient of the goods will bear the responsibility for paying the duties and related fees.
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Delivered Duty Paid
This option is better for high margin goods that are able to swallow the duties and fees associated with the clearance of the goods through customs, as duties and any fees will be charged to the sender, rather than the receiver.
Commercial Invoice Template for France
Need help completing the your Commercial Invoice? View guide
Using a downloadable commercial invoice template while dispatching a parcel to France can be a useful resource...
... but, the Ordersort system eradicates the necessity for this extra, sometimes lengthy step! Upon booking a shipment through Ordersort, all required documentation, including labels and accurate commercial invoices, are automatically generated on your behalf. This not only saves time but also means accurate shipments, every time!
Commercial Invoice Template .xlsx
Transit Times to France?
Fortunately, when sending to France, transit times can be as short as one day with UPS Express. However, the majority of deliveries to France are conducted by road, leading to extended transit times ranging from 3 to 6 days. The significant advantage of utilising road transport is the cost-effectiveness. The transit time has been affected by the UK's departure from the EU, resulting in an increase.
Transit times may lengthen if you find yourself at a considerable distance from the courier's depot, which is referred to as an extended area. Couriers initiate their day at the farthest point within the delivery circuit, gradually navigating through all the pickups throughout the day while concurrently making parcel deliveries. The advantage of time-sensitive services lies in their extended cut-off time for same-day collection. These services are typically given precedence due to their heightened priority. While not all shipments require this priority service, when such a need arises, Ordersort can compare the optimal prices to your intended destination, ensuring that you avoid being restricted to a single carrier and its associated costs.
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Suggested Couriers to France
Among the recommended options for shipping to France, UPS stands out due to their prompt delivery time. They provide a one-day express service to France, offering both speed and cost-effectiveness when purchased via Ordersort. Another viable choice is DHL, which is a European based company. Price wise DPD sits in the middle of UPS and DHL, however their time in transit is 5-6 days which is similar to Royal mail!
When deciding between carriers, you have multiple choices such as UPS, DHL, FedEx, DPD, DHL Parcel and Evri. Each of these options offers unique benefits but those carriers with a smaller market share of the parcels going to France from the UK, have to make cost savings somewhere to be price competitive. The majority of the time, it’s time in transit. Carriers like Royal Mail and Evri consolidate shipments to pass to another carrier or in DHL Parcel and DPD’s case, they use their returning trailers that are going back to France to move your parcels. This obviously takes time, hence the slower transit times. It’s important to note that carriers may apply extended area surcharges, particularly in highly remote regions, but don’t worry as long as you use a postcode to quote, Ordersort will be able to give you an accurate shipping price.
Eager to apply for a Ordersort account? The application is cost-free and has no commitments.
Booking a Parcel to France?
When booking a parcel to France there are three methods to book:
Option 1 - Book Shipments One by One
This option could be categorised as the classic shipping tool, simply start by adding an address and then work through all the fields until you get a printed label. This tool has the most customisable features, it’s the core of all the other tools on the Ordersort platform. For complicated shipments this will be the go to option. The Ordersort system will walk users through everything needed to complete the booking and prepare both labels and commercial documents needed for shipping. It will even book collections.
Option 2 - Use our Bulk Shipment Tool
This option lets you gather all your orders onto a single page. Through the magic of Zapier, you can seamlessly connect to over 4000 platforms, consolidating orders from different websites like eBay and Amazon. Then, you're the boss – process these orders all at once or handle each one individually, whatever suits your style.
Option 3 - Custom Built Apps & API
Over the past decade, we've been hard at work crafting custom applications that seamlessly process your orders. We offer our customers global shipping rate integration for the most popular website shopping carts, including Shopify and Woocommerce.
This wizardry is powered by our robust shipment API, which you gain automatic access to in your settings for free.
When your customer chooses their preferred courier service during checkout, our platform works its behind-the-scenes magic to create shipments ready for printing. There's a range of settings at your disposal to control the pace of this process.
No matter what your shipping needs are, we’ll be able to help get you connected.
Getting your Parcel to France Collected
Arranging a collection for your parcel's journey to France is simple and efficient, often handled by our system. When you book your shipment, you'll be prompted to select a collection date, whether it's for the present day or a future date.
What's more, you aren't limited to your business address for collections. This service is ideal for those situations when you need to pick up a shipment from a different warehouse or retrieve a returned item.
For heavier parcels that require some extra muscle, just reach out to our customer service team. They can help you schedule a heavyweight collection, which typically takes 24 hours due to the specialised high-capacity vehicle used for such pickups.
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Tracking your Parcel to France
When it comes to tracking your parcel headed to France, we've got all the bases covered with some fantastic extras.
You'll have access to comprehensive tracking data, signature copies, multi-parcel tracking, and continuous monitoring. For valuable items, we offer independent tracking and trackers. Our mobile app lets you stay in the loop, and you can easily provide courier tracking numbers to your customers for seamless parcel tracking. Plus, rest easy knowing that all past shipments and their tracking details are securely stored. And if that's not enough, we even offer a Tracking API for added convenience.
Help and Support for your parcel to France?
Last but definitely not least, let's talk about our fantastic team! In the logistics realm, it's a well-known fact that carrier success rates hover between 98.9% and 99.2%. This means that around 1 in 100 parcels might run into issues like being lost, stolen, or damaged. But fear not, we're here to lend a helping hand and make those stats a little less daunting.
For new businesses, dealing with such situations can be frustrating and time-consuming. But with us, things are streamlined. With a simple click, you can raise a ticket containing all the shipment details, which our team will handle from there. We'll take care of the claims process, reaching out to carrier customer support for tracers and updates, and even pursuing credits if needed.
And that's not all – you'll have your very own dedicated account manager watching over your account. This way, you can stay focused on your core activities, knowing that someone's got your back.
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