@cushioncovers wrote:
On another site I sell on there is some discussion about doing this and how some parcels are not being delivered (possibly due to this requirement)
That is where I first heard about this issue - the first package I ever sent to Germany took a couple of months to be delivered, and then I read on the forums over there someone saying that an invoice will speed the customs clearance process significantly and my subsequent packages don't seem to have issues.
In saying that, I do occasionally still send there without an invoice on the outside of the package (large letters, so an invoice on the outside can potentially make them a parcel), but I make sure the description on the customs form is not generic (eg I will usually put craft supplies, or something similar, but I'm more explicit for Germany), and I also fill out the form completely, tariff numbers etc.
The invoice can definitely be a requirement for some services. A few months back, I sent an express parcel to France, but a couple of weeks later the buyer contacted me to say they hadn't received it. After some digging around, I found out that express packages aren't handled by La Poste (their version of AP), like standard mail, but Chronopost, which is a courier, and they wouldn't (or couldn't) get the package through customs without an invoice being supplied (the buyer had also supplied a PO box address, which caused additional issues because Chronopost wouldn't deliver to them). It was quite frustrating because the label was generated online and contained every single last bit of information that would be on a separate invoice, and there was a copy of that designated for customs, but I had to email Aus Post both a change of address and the invoice so they could forward it to Chronopost, get the package through customs and on its way to the buyer. They probably would have ultimately had it faster if I'd sent it standard post. 😞 So after that, I have been including them on parcels as a precaution.
