Before you can send a parcel, there are some things you have to take care of, such as choosing the contents and – to make sure they arrive in one piece – carefully packaging them as well. Wondering what else you need to do? These five easy steps are all it takes to get started!
1. Label your parcel
It goes without saying that your parcel should contain both the sender’s and the recipient’s address. Including your phone number on your shipping label is not a bad idea either. When sending a parcel, your motto should be “the more information the better”!
2. Picking a courier service
The second step is picking a courier service that meets your needs. And those needs may differ from shipment to shipment. For instance, you obviously want a valuable parcel – be it emotionally or financially valuable – to be handled differently from a shipment that is neither urgent nor very important (though DHL obviously takes great care of the latter type of shipments as well). You have lots of courier options to choose from, from a standard mail service to guaranteed express delivery.
3. Inquire about special shipments
There’s obviously nothing risky about sending a book to a friend, yet some goods are another matter entirely. Check the list of prohibited items: under no circumstance can DHL ship them for you. Are you shipping dangerous goods? They require a special procedure, so make sure you’re up to speed on the rules to follow. Mind that shipment within the European Union is not the same as sending a parcel outside of the EU, for instance when it comes to customs paperwork like the proforma invoice.
4. Booking a pickup
The next step? Making sure your parcel gets picked up by a courier. Arrange for a courier to collect your shipment by booking a so-called pickup, either via the DHL app or via our customer service. In addition, you visit a ServicePoint in your area, where your shipment is prepared and checked.
5. Track your parcel
After you’ve dropped your parcel off or handed it over to a courier, you want to be able to track it. Thanks to our tracking service or our Follow Your Shipment page, you can track the status of your parcel online, 24 hours a day. Keep your tracking number at hand! Are you a DHL account number holder? Then tracking is even easier: thanks to myDHL, you get automatic status notifications by text message or email.
DHL Online Shipping
Our online shipping tool helps you manage your express shipments, from printing labels to scheduling courier pickups or tracking your shipment. Now that’s easy!
