How international packages travel from seller to door — customs clearance, import duties, shipping times by country, and step-by-step guides for SHEIN and Chinese carriers.
A package crossing a border passes through more hands than most people realise. It leaves the seller, moves through the origin country's postal or logistics system, transfers to an international carrier, clears customs at the destination, and then enters the domestic delivery network. At any of those stages tracking can go quiet for days — not because the package is lost, but because the systems between countries do not always communicate.
The guides in this category cover what actually happens at each stage. The customs clearance guide explains why 95% of consumer packages clear US customs automatically in 1–3 days and what puts a shipment in the 5% that gets held. The import duties guide covers what replaced the $800 de minimis threshold, and why purchases from AliExpress, Temu and eBay are now assessed at the border regardless of value. The shipping times guide gives realistic country-by-country transit windows, not the optimistic estimates shown at checkout.
If you are tracking a package from China, start with the guide on why shipping from China takes so long. It maps the full seven-step journey, and the usual explanation for a tracking number that has not moved in a week is that the parcel is waiting at an air cargo facility for a flight rather than that it is lost. The SHEIN guide is worth reading alongside it: SHEIN ships both from a US warehouse in three to seven days and directly from China in ten to twenty, and which one your order came from changes what a quiet tracking page actually means.
The checkout estimate is almost always the optimistic end of the range. This guide gives you realistic numbers — country by country.
Read article95% of consumer packages clear US Customs automatically in 1-3 days. Here's what puts a package in the other 1% and what to do.
Read articleMost customs holds clear on their own within 3-7 days. Calling on day 2 accomplishes nothing. Here's the right timeline for each action.
Read articleThe $800 duty-free allowance is gone. What you now owe depends on what the item is and where it was made, not on how little it cost.
Read articleYour AliExpress package is not lost — it's probably waiting at an air cargo facility for a flight. Here's the complete 7-step journey.
Read articleSHEIN ships from a US warehouse (3-7 days) and directly from China (10-20 days). Know which one your order is coming from before you buy.
Read articleMost international packages clear US customs in 1–3 business days. Around 95% of consumer packages clear automatically without human review. Packages that get held typically involve undeclared goods, incorrect valuations, or items on restricted lists. During peak periods like November and December, clearance can extend to 5–7 days even for straightforward shipments.
Yes for commercial shipments, but no for small personal items. The U.S. eliminated the $800 duty-free exemption, meaning all commercial imports are now taxed regardless of value. However, personal gifts up to $100 and traveler souvenirs up to $200 remain duty-free.
Gaps of 3–7 days are normal for international shipments. The most common gaps happen during air transport (packages are not scanned in flight), at the handoff between the origin postal system and the US carrier, and during customs review. A package from China can go 5–10 days without a scan and still arrive on schedule. Investigate only when total elapsed time exceeds the estimated delivery window by more than 7 days.
If the package has been held fewer than 10 business days, wait. Most holds resolve automatically. If you receive a formal notice requesting documentation, respond within the specified window — usually 5–30 days. If 15 or more business days have passed with no movement and no notice, contact the seller first; they may need to submit corrected documentation to customs.
AliExpress provides a tracking number once the seller ships. Enter it on the AliExpress order page or paste it into ParcelsZen, which automatically identifies the carrier. Numbers starting with LP or ending in CN typically indicate Yanwen, Cainiao, or China Post. Tracking often shows no updates for 7–14 days after the first scan — this is normal air transit time, not a sign the package is lost.
Related guides from across the blog.
