How do I know where I can ship internationally to? I’m from the UK, using Royal Mail, and I make stickers, notepads, and greeting cards, and I don’t know whether I have to manually research each country to know whether I can ship there. I know that I can’t ship to the EU without paying for an EU rep, but that’s about it. I’d just like to know whether my product is restricted anywhere, or if there’s countries that don’t accept international shipping.
@Laurenpenpal this is a great question.
Good news first: stickers, notepads, and greeting cards are pretty much the safest products to ship internationally. The items that usually run into restrictions are things like batteries, electronics, food/beverages, and anything hazardous.
For international shipping (including outside the EU): Royal Mail is actually your best friend here. They have an excellent International Country Guide where you can look up any destination and see what’s allowed, any restrictions, and current service availability. It’s updated regularly, so it accounts for any temporary suspensions too.
One heads up on Royal Mail + Shopify: If you’re buying shipping labels through Shopify’s built-in shipping feature, Royal Mail only works for UK domestic orders right now. For international orders, you’d need to buy labels directly from Royal Mail or use a third-party shipping app that supports Royal Mail international services.
Re: EU You’re right about the EU rep situation (GPSR compliance). For other markets like the US, Canada, Australia, etc. - you shouldn’t need any special representation for paper goods.
My final tip: Start small. I used to be a merchant shipping internationally and it can get complex, quickly. I’d start with just a few countries close to you. Get a couple of successful cross border orders under your belt, and then expand.
Good luck!