International Cross-Border
OVERVIEW
Loop now supports the ability to generate cross-border labels through generating customs forms for customers shipping to a return address in a different country.
In this article:
Cross-Border Setup
In order to support cross border labels, the requisite customs information needs to be filled out in Shopify and the return policy needs to be updated.
First, in Shopify—
- All all of your products
- HS Code
- Country of origin
- Product weights
- If this information is not present, the label will fail to create
- To add this information to the product in Shopify, follow this steps:
- Go to Products
- Click on the product and go to the variant being returned
- Scroll down to the Customs Information
- Fill out the fields
- Save
Note: If you have any non-physical products available in your store (i.e., package protection), those products either need to have the HS code and country of origin fields applied or the requires_shipping field in Shopify needs be set to "False".
In the Loop admin—
- Go to Settings > Return Policy
- Create new policy or edit an existing policy
- Set return from countries or regions
- Select destinations
If the destinations are in a different country than the returning from countries, then the following message will appear
- Ensure that EasyPost labels are enabled
- Configure return outcomes and return instructions
- Save
Finally, please make sure you provide the support team or your account manager with the following customs information to enter from the back end of the system include in the label creation:
- “Customs Signer”
- “Customers Signer Email”
- “Customs Signer Phone”
Customer Experience
Once the customs information for all products are entered and the international policy is configured properly, then international labels will begin to generate in the portal. The customer experience is essentially the same as a domestic return with a label and the customer need not take any additional steps. If everything is in order, the labels will have customs forms on them that may look something like this:
Supported Countries and Carriers
The highest volume of supported cross-border label generation through EasyPost is with the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK. We are not limited to these country combinations, so if you are looking to support cross-border label generation for a country combination that you do not see in the chart below, please reach out to your Merchant Success Manager or support@loopreturns.com so we can confirm whether or not that border is supported and which carriers have successfully been tested to support that border.
For the chart below: the top row indicates returns coming from a country and the far left column indicates the country the return is being shipped to.
| To \\ From | from US | from Canada | from Australia | from UK |
| to United States | Domestic | Canada Post, FedEx, DHL Express, UPS, Passport Global | FedEx, UPS, Passport Global, Australia Post | DHL Express, Royal Mail, FedEx, Passport Global |
| to Canada | USPS, FedEx | Canada Post | Not currently available | Not currently available |
| to Australia | FedEx, DHL Express, DHL Global Mail, USPS | Canada Post | Domestic | DHL Express, UPS, FedEx |
| to UK | UPS, DHL Express,USPS | DHL Express, FedEx,UPS | DHL eCommerce,FedEx, UPS | DHL Express, Royal Mail, FedEx, UPS |
Note: Australia Post is not available for returns coming from Australia going elsewhere due to requiring an Australia business address to get an Australia Post API key.
If you would like to know how to manage your carriers, please head over to the EasyPost Shipping Labels article.
FAQ
What Loop plan is this functionality available on? Cross-border shipping is available on all Loop plans. Setting up a second return policy specific to a cross border scenario will still require a Pro, Plus, or Advanced plan.
What countries will Loop support upon launch? Loop currently supports the US and Canada border. Merchants shipping returns from the US back to Canada can use USPS and FedEx. Merchants shipping returns from Canada back to the US can currently use FedEx.
What about duties and fees? Duties and fees are paid by the merchant or customer (depending on your setup in Shopify) at the time of original purchase. Loop flags return packages as returned goods. Most countries waive duties for returned items that have not increased in value.
What happens if there is insufficient information within Shopify to generate a customs form? If customs information is not entered in Shopify, then the label will fail.
Why don't I see customs information on my FedEx label? FedEx uses ETD (Electronic Trade Documents) for customs information, so this will not appear on the printed label.
Are there any limits or constraints on cross-border returns? Packages entering the US must be worth less than $2500. Shipments over this value require an added layer of customs information and are not supported at this time. If the value of the return package is above this threshold, the label will fail.
Do I need multiple return policies to enable cross-border? No. You are able to set up returns from multiple countries on the same policy. Merchants at the Essential or Basic level will not be able to create a return policy specific to each country, they will need to be combined on the same policy.
Can labels be generated for APO/FPO/DPO addresses? Yes, via USPS labels can be generated for APO/FPO addresses. All information needed for a cross-border return is required (per above). Military Bases also need to be added to the "Returning From" section of your return policy.
Please reach out to support@loopreturns.com with any additional questions.