Do You Want To Ship To South Africa From The US?
In this guide, you will find all the information needed for the shipping package from the USA to South Africa.
We are going to explain to you, how much does it cost and how to get the cheapest shipping from the USA to South Africa, how does it work, how to declare the goods, what are the prohibitions & restrictions and much more.
If you are interested in specific sections only (VAT, delivery time, etc.), use our navigation below.
Shipping Price And Time From The USA To South Africa
Prices for shipping from the US to South Africa are very affordable. For smaller packages, the price starts on dozens of dollars. The estimated postage and delivery time can be calculated using our postage calculator below.
How To Get The Cheapest Shipping From The USA To South Africa?
The price of the shipping depends mainly on the dimensions of the package, its weight, and the delivery method you choose. To get the cheapest shipping from the USA to South Africa, select slower delivery methods like Planet Mail Express or USPS.
In the following table, you can see the estimated prices of shipping from the USA to Pretoria, South Africa.
| Shipping Method | 0.5 kg, 25×18×10 cm | 4.5 kg, 50×25×18 cm | 20 kg, 90×60×50 cm |
|---|---|---|---|
| *FedEx: International Economy | $41.81 | $67.94 | $172.45 |
| *FedEx: International Priority | $58.1 | $69.81 | $210.6 |
| *DHL: Express Worldwide | $68.23 | $137.64 | $393.21 |
*Insurance included
We send the packages to South Africa using carriers such as DHL and FedEx. You can calculate the price of the shipping in advance with our postage calculator.
Start with our free plan or go premium to save even more by consolidating your packages into one.
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Feel free to compare our shipping prices with competitors.
The more expensive methods like DHL Worldwide Express, FedEx Priority, and FedEx Economy, are suitable for those that want to enjoy the content of the package as soon as possible. The cheaper delivery methods are excellent ‘budget’ options if you don’t need your package as quickly.
How Does The Shipping To South Africa Work?
Generally, there are 2 most used ways how to ship goods and personal items from the US to South Africa. The first is you find some carrier like FedEx, contact them, schedule the pickup and they deliver the package to your delivery address. It works, but it is ridiculously expensive.
The second way is to take advantage of a package forwarding company like Planet Express. You can benefit from several advantages when using the package forwarder. The following table shows the pros and cons of traditional shipping and package forwarding (Planet Express).
| Traditional Shipping | Planet Express | |
|---|---|---|
| Costs of the shipping | Very expensive | Much cheaper |
| Delivery time | Depending on the delivery method | Depending on the delivery method |
| Additional services | Very limited | Wide selection* |
| Delivery methods | Limited, depending on the carrier | Wide selection (more carriers) |
| Customer support | Very slow | Very responsive and helpful |
| Package consolidation | n/a | Available |
*Read more how you can benefit from our additional services below.
Shipping From The USA To South Africa With Planet Express
Whether you wanna shop from the US stores that don’t offer delivery to South Africa, or you just want to send some personal items, Planet Express is here to help you with that. The shipping process can be described in 3 simple steps.
1. Getting a Free USA Address
At Planet Express we can provide you with a free US address in Gardena, California, and also with a premium sales-tax-free address in Portland, Oregon. You can use these addresses for orders from the US stores, or even for packages containing your personal items, eventually gifts from your friends that live in the US.
2. Using Your USA Address
When you have the Planet Express address, feel free to use it for receiving the orders from the US online stores. Once we receive packages addressed to you, we link them with your account and send you the notification email. Then you can take advantage of one of our additional services. Once you decide to send the package to your home address in South Africa, proceed to step 3.
3. Choosing The Delivery Method From The USA To South Africa
Before we can send the package to you, you have to complete the customs declaration. It is an online form where you describe the contents of the package. It is closely tied up with customs and it allows customs officers when checking the imported package.
Once you finish the declaration, you can choose the delivery method that suits your needs. We offer quick delivery methods and even cheap, slower ones. Read more about the methods in the following section.
Duty & TAX
South Africa has a de minimis value on duty & TAX. This means that you have to pay duty & TAX from every package that exceeds 500 ZAR value.
The package value consists of the shipping price, value of the content from the declaration, and insurance.
The standard VAT rate is 15% in South Africa.
Important information is that the customs declaration is the responsibility of each customer. If you do not know how complete it, you can take advantage of our guide on How to fill out the customs declaration.
Prohibitions & Restrictions On Goods Imported To South Africa
There are also some restrictions on some goods. Each carrier has its own list of prohibited items. So what you cant ship from the USA to South Africa? You can read the terms of each carrier under the following links:
The most important information for you is that we can not ship the following items from the USA to South Africa:
| Alcohol | Animals | Chemicals |
| Currency | Drugs | Explosives |
| Firearms | Perishable foods | Plants |
| Seeds | Tobacco |
If you are not sure whether some restrictions apply to your goods, please visit the Customs & Excise website, review the above terms of each carrier, or contact us at [email protected].
Take Advantage Of Some Of Our Other Services
Planet Express is not just about forwarding packages. We also offer our customers additional services such as consolidation, fulfillment, or Shop For Me service.
Calculate the Postage Price in Advance
You can easily calculate the postage price in advance. Take advantage of our postage calculator. Just fill in some details and you will get an estimate of the price and delivery time.
Let Us Shop For You
Don’t you have time to shop, or does the business not accept your preferred payment method? Tell us what and where you want to buy and we will do the work for you.
Save Up To 80% With Consolidation
f you order more pieces of goods from different stores and you want to save on postage, we recommend using the consolidation service. You can save up to 80%.
Do You Have Any Other Wish?
Do you need to scan documents, remove invoices from the package, check the status of the goods, fill customs declaration, or something else? Just make a special request.
Why Choose Planet Express?
✅ We offer one of the best prices on the market.
✅ We provide excellent English speaking customer support.
✅ We have great customer reviews.
Read Reviews of our Customers
Read thousands of reviews of our satisfied customers on the following websites.
Shipping From The USA To South Africa FAQ
The price of the shipping varies depending on the delivery method you choose, the dimensions and the weight of the package. Cheaper methods costs between $10 to $30. The more expensive ones are usually above $50 for the smaller package.
Find out more about the price of shipping from the USA to South Africa.
The process of the shipping packages from the USA to South Africa can be described in 3 simple steps:
1st STEP: You sign up with Planet Express and get a free US address. Thanks to it you can receive goods from the US stores.
2nd STEP: Once Planet Express receives your package, you will get a notification email.
3rd STEP: After that, you fill in the customs declaration and you can select the delivery method to South Africa.
Show me the full tutorial.
Yes, USPS delivers to South Africa. They offer several methods including Postal Service: Fully Tracked, USPS Priority, USPS Express.
With Planet Express, you will get discounted rates on these methods so you can save a lot of money.
Getting a package from the USA to South Africa takes between 3-10 business days with fast delivery methods, about 10-20 business days with slower delivery methods, and about 20-30 business days with the slowest and cheapest delivery methods.
Calculate the price and delivery time with the postage calculator.
Yes, FedEx delivers to South Africa. People especially like FedEx Economy and FedEx Priority delivery methods.
Planet Express offers discounted rates for these methods for its customers.
Yes, DHL delivers to South Africa. The most popular method is DHL Worldwide express which takes around 4 business days to deliver.
Useful Information For Purchase And Package Forwarding From The USA To South Africa
Read our blog, where we regularly publish tips for different kinds of goods. Also, make sure you visit our following page where you can find tutorials on how to order from the most popular US stores.
We deliver to all parts of South Africa – from Cape Town to Polokwane, from Mmabatho to Bisho, Bloemfontein… We cover almost 100 % of the cities in South Africa. You can manage everything from the comfort of your home.
Fulfillment
Our fulfillment center services are used by those who want to save on storage costs. We offer the opportunity to rent storage space in the California warehouse. In addition, we will handle logistics for you, your only concern being the marketing of your business and the administration. For individual calculation, please contact us at [email protected].