A question about Zonos
Summary: The discussion centers around a question regarding Zonos, although the specific details are not provided. Various participants, including hansatrade, jtg204, and others, exchange brief interactions throughout the thread. Despite multiple responses and interactions among the participants, the content of their dialogue is not detailed in the available information.
I tried to use Zonos for the first time and it didn't go well.
I added the Zonos key to my Canada Post account and purchased a shipping label.
During the process, I added a short content description and its HTS code (my items are tariff exempt).
I expected the transaction will be shown in my Zonos dashboard in the "shipments" section, so I will be able to add all necessary details (manufacturer, etc), but no shipment was found in this section. People also talk about a request to provide a photo of the item. Where and when?
I contacted the Zonos support and they told me the shipment will appear there after the item reaches the border. It doesn't make any sense to me at all.
If someone has an experience in that matter, please advise. Thank you!
PS. I now tried to use their mobile application and it seems to work much better.
But my question above is about their desktop application - I cannot imagine doing 10 or 15 orders one by one using my phone.
reallynicestamps
·3 months ago.....................
hansatrade
OP5 months agoThank you guys for all your advice! Very helpful! I now know, how it works!
Until now, I shipped all my items through ChitChats. The main problem with them is the distance to their closest branch: while CP/Zonos is just around the corner, next to my grocery and pharmacy, getting to ChitChats requires 1 hour drive in a heavy downtown traffic. The business now is slow, so with 1 or 2 items to ship it doesn't make any sense anymore.
The price comparison for a typical of my items going to the US (250g):
1. With the old (before tariff) CP/Ebay shipping label - 7.50
2. With ChitChats - 10.50
3. With CP/Zonos - 13.50
raanana
·5 months agoI found Zonos Prepay App more useful,than accopunt wit CP. I'm using my own postage and don't bue labels.
App is free if there is no tariffs on your items.You can just take a picture ,to edit a form if needed,takes less than a minute.
ricarmic
·5 months agoRe Zonos prepay, if one has a consistent HS code, mine is 99.9% of the time 9704.00.0000 I just turn to manual every time and put it in manually, which is fortunate as most of my pictures the AI couldn't figure out - ie a pack of 1,000 stamps.
femmefan1946
·5 months agoFor the record, Zonos got the contract which makes non-US exporters pay part of Trump's illegal Tariffs by donating heavily to his presidential campaign.
And a service charge for the privilege of doing so.
mrdutch1001
·5 months agoand therein lies a large reason I refuse to ship to the USA>The tariffs DO NOT benefit the USA peoples...the tariffs are a way to benefit a greedy felon to abuse the system for personal gain and I won't aid & abet a felon!
hansatrade
OP5 months agoThank you for your extensove explanation. It surely will help me to better understand the whole process.
A little correction: Snap Ship charged my credit card immediately.
jtg204
·5 months agoSnapShip charges for only the label cost, you would get a separate invoice/charge from Zonos for the duties/fee part.
jtg204
·5 months agoIt doesn't show up as a shipment in Zonos dashboard until Canada Post is preparing it to cross the border and submits data to Zonos. So you will not see anything in your Zonos dashboard shipments or invoices until then.
Those that mention photos, are using the Zonos Prepay App. It's different from the verified account automatic billing method.
With the Prepay App the fee per shipment is $3.99, but if you use the photo feature the fee is only $2.99. This fee is waived if there are no duties using this method.
With automatic billing the fee is $1.99 but is applied even when there are no duties. You might see a $1.99 invoice the day after it shows up as a shipment if SnapShip does charge this fee. I've seen conflicting reports on this being charged or not when using SnapShip + Zonos account. I use my Zonos account key with netParcel instead of SnapShip so I don't know first hand how duty free shipments are handled with Zonos. Recently I've had an invoice for only $1.99 the day after a shipment instead of having the small amount accumulate over $2 before being charged.
The Zonos AI support describes the steps:
When the charge actually happens
Zonos charges after Canada Post transmits clearance data for the shipment.
This usually occurs after the parcel leaves Canada, but before or around the time it enters U.S. customs.
The USPS “Into Customs” scan is informational only and does not trigger billing.
Key clarification
Charging is tied to data handoff from Canada Post → Zonos, not to:
Physical arrival at the U.S. border
USPS tracking events
Customs release status
Typical order
Label created in Snap Ship (no charge)
Parcel accepted by Canada Post
Canada Post sends clearance data to Zonos
Zonos calculates duty + clearance fee
Invoice created → card charged (usually within 24 hours)
USPS shows “Into Customs” (may be before or after the charge)
lotzofuniquegoodies
·5 months ago@jtg204
Seeing as you are in the know/loop on all this Zonos stuff, when you complete an order does it include any documentation stating tariffs have been paid/collected or not applicable? With the VAT situation for Intl well and good the label states VAT collected by eBay without a transaction id number how will customs truly know it has been collected and the most important part...Not try to collect it again.
From past experience using UPS/CP when I paid duties owing I ALWAYS got a receipt. Just curious in case I ever take the plunge and use zonos for shipping when everything else won't work.
jtg204
·5 months agoWith the Prepay App, the Declaration ID is supposed to be the 'proof' for U.S. Customs that duties have been prepaid to avoid double collection. It's linked to the tracking number when you order a label online or take it to the post office. With automatic billing method, you hope the HT/Country/Description works out to being close to what you expected when it gets processed.
The Zonos AI support's explaination on what should happen if something is underpaid:
Here’s how it works in each case if the prepaid amount is not enough:
Zonos Prepay app: The app is designed to calculate and collect the correct U.S. duties before you ship. If, for any reason, the prepaid amount is less than what U.S. Customs actually assesses, the recipient may be required to pay the difference upon delivery. The Declaration ID you receive is proof of prepayment, but it only covers the amount paid at the time of shipping.
Verified account (using Canada Post integration): If you are billed automatically through your verified account and the duties assessed by U.S. Customs are higher than what was initially calculated, you may see an adjustment or additional charge on your account to cover the difference. This ensures that all duties are properly paid and helps avoid issues for the recipient.
Summary:
With the Prepay app, the recipient may need to pay any shortfall.
With a verified account, you may be billed for any difference.
With verified account method (automatic billing), here's an example of the details I see on Zonos account for one with duties, and one without:
($2.00 is really $1.99, Zonos has some quirks with displaying amounts)
peach_gurl
·3 months agoIf I use the prepay app to get a decleration ID (for a tariff exempt item, so I don't have to pay the clearance fee) but I already have a verified zonos account linked to my Canada Post Account will the verified account automatically generate and ID before I get to enter the one from the prepay app and i may be charged the clearance fee anyway through automatic billing?
jtg204
·3 months agoWhen you create a shipment and have a Zonos verified account key linked in your Canada Post account you will have an option during the SnapShip steps for the method to use. Select manually pay duties instead and the Zonos declaration section will show up to enter a declaration ID instead.
peach_gurl
·3 months agoThank you for this, so I am doing a shipment now and selected automatic billing and put in all the customs info and after that it just takes me to the screen to buy and pay for the label it doesn't show me how much my duties and fees will be or any confirmation that there is a declaration ID generated. Is this normal? Im terrified that i am sending this out there blind with no proof of tariff payment. On the prepay app i always had the immediate proof and it was fine.
jtg204
·3 months agoWith verified account (Automatic billing with SnapShip), the $1.99 fee is always applied by Zonos even when there is no tariffs/duties collected. Zonos processing appears to be delayed recently, taking 9 days last month for one of mine to show up as a shipment/invoice and not how I previously described the process in this topic earlier.
If it's tariff free (made in US?) you should use the PrePay app method still with SnapShip. You won't have the extra $1.99 fee that comes with Automatic billing applied later.
SnapShip does not show any duties estimates (netParcel shows an estimate but it's not a quote). Make sure you've entered COO correctly if it's made in USA. I enter my descriptions in the Item Quoter available in verified Zonos account's dashboard to check what Zonos might classify the item as from only the customs description (their video). If it classifies it differently from the description I would change my description or HS code:
https://dashboard.zonos.com/products/classify/create
ypdc_dennis
·5 months agoI can confirm that Zonos does charge $1.99 even if there is no tariff when doing the label online through Snapship -- but it looks like Zonos had the same problem as eBay with Canada Post -- delays in getting confirmation that a label was charged. My shipment last year was never charged by Zonos. The one this week was charged the day I dropped it off at the post office.
Your credit card should have something like ZONOS (CROSS-BORDER) when charged.
My tech is behind the times, my phone is voice/text only, so no app for me.
pop-art
·2 months agoThanks for all the info. I use netpsarcel as well but can't figure out how to link it to a zonos key. I have the key - but have no idea where on my Netparcel page to add it.... thanks!
jtg204
·2 months agoTo enter your Zonos key on netParcel, you just proceed through the steps of getting a label.
Import an order, and after you select Canada Post Tracked Packet USA as the service the next step will be to enter Zonos information. Choose 'My Zonos Account' instead of netParcel account and the first time you complete this step you will want to check the box at the top to save the key/details for next time: