If U.S. Customs decides to pay you a visit, will you be prepared? If you’re not complying with applicable laws and regulations, you could be facing some hefty monetary fines, seized shipments and maybe even jail time. No one wants to be in that situation, and now more than ever it’s imperative that importers and […]

Freight quote. Check! Duty rate. Check! Commercial Documents. Check! As importers tick items off their shipment checklist, one of the most important tasks is purchasing a Customs bond – and setting it up right. Customs bonds are required for all importers and are necessary for you to act as the importer of record for your […]

When 20’ and 40’ full containers make up 90% of all goods shipped around the world, a common question arises with newer shippers: “What if I don’t have enough freight to fill a full container?” In this case, LCL (Less-than-Container-Load) may be right for you. Don’t judge a shipper by their carton count LCL offers […]

Importing set breakdowns to the United States comes with its own set of customs requirements; Shapiro is set on making this easy for you! See what we did there? Customs requires importers to not only declare the set within their Customs entry, but also each component of the set. Shapiro needs to know the weights […]

If you’ve been living under a rock since 2005 or aren’t fluent in compliance geek, you’re likely not aware of the International Standards of Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM 15) Regulation of wood packaging material in international trade, which we wanted to bring to your attention as U.S. Customs has plans to start issuing lofty violations against […]

Essential Online Presence Amazon is the largest internet-based retailer in the world. They have retail websites for 15 different countries and the ability to ship worldwide. With that kind of exposure, it only makes sense for retailers to have their products listed on the website. Brick and mortar appeals to local consumers and independent websites […]

As summer winds down and winter approaches, so too begins the eCommerce Holiday Shipping Season!  If you were a seller during last year’s holiday season, you likely remember the rush to get your goods out from your suppliers amid, space tightening, peak season surcharges, general rate increases, trucking timelines, customs exams, and the all-important final […]

Until the end of 2016, incentivized reviews were the bread and butter of Amazon review marketing, enabling sellers to offer products to reviewers to quickly boost reviews and sales.   In June of 2016, Review Meta published a study showing that incentivized reviews on Amazon were heavily biased in favor of the seller. This was […]

To our fellow food importers, Many of you may have heard that FDA is imposing yet another program in 2017 called Foreign Supplier Verification (FSVP) Program. Don’t stress. Shapiro is here to make sure you are compliantly prepared.  We’re guessing you have some questions, so we’ve compiled an FSVP FAQ guide to help: What is FSVP? […]

Customs now has a solid new platform of visibility called Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). They also have established commodity specialists and developed commodity Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEE). These entities have much more access to information—and are extraordinarily informed about commodities—much, much more informed than they have ever been. This is especially true because […]

Author: Christian Hudspeth – World First  It’s hard to find an e-commerce market with more promise than Japan. For starters, the country boasts some of the most online shopping-savvy consumers on the planet. A whopping 80% of Japan’s population (or 100 million) shop online according to comScore, besting US online shopper rates of around 70%. Japan’s e-commerce […]

Whether you’re a crowd-funding startup, or a first time seller on one of Amazon’s multi-national programs, it is easy to see that ecommerce is changing the way we purchase – and fast. Rapidly expanding markets with “limitless” opportunities; who wouldn’t want to take the plunge?  But beware the dangers that lurk beneath the surface – […]

JOC’s Annual Review and Outlook outlines the major challenges, opportunities and trends in the global transportation and logistics industry via reports from the editorial staff and insight from the industry’s top players. Major segments highlighted include maritime, trucking, rail and intermodal, air cargo, government and logistics. Contributors have years of experience and range from CEOs […]

It’s the ole’ Trojan horse scenario. Just when you think Customs is being helpful sending out Informed Compliance Letters to your business with information to “assist” your company with ensuring compliance, they will state in the document that since this information has been provided to your company, violations that may occur in the future could […]

Technology is wonderful.  No one will deny that.  It allows us to shift black-and-white tedious work to a program, so we can focus on what is truly complicated and worthy of our delightful human brain. Let’s talk about freight calculators for a moment.  We move cargo from point A to point B (like human airfare […]

When I walk into a really sophisticated warehouse, the look on my face is probably akin to that of a kid in a candy store.  Seeing a high-functioning fulfillment center with box-building machines, automated sorters, and any number of other robotic components is enough to make me salivate.  That’s not to say that I don’t […]

On Saturday, August 6th the maritime industry suffered a great loss as infamous Baltimore Port advocate, Helen Delich Bentley, passed. She was renowned for her work in growing the maritime industry as a whole and will be sorely missed. After earning her Journalism degree from the University of Missouri, Helen was hired by the Baltimore […]

As the title of this blog proclaims, I am a baby boomer – but certainly not a curmudgeon.  I’m old enough to remember first-hand when America was still a shining beacon of progress and prosperity. Back when the interstate system was still new and growing; heck, I even remember when I-95 wasn’t even completed yet […]

As the holidays creep closer, shoppers are gearing up to spend hard earned paychecks on their favorite aunts, grandparents, and more importantly… marketplaces.  If you were a seller during last year’s holiday season, you probably remember the trauma of last-minute capacity tightening, peak season surcharges and general rate increases, trucking timelines, customs exams, and the […]

If you are (or plan to be) an Amazon seller importing physical goods from overseas, we hope you took some time watch our Secrets of Importing Your Amazon Product WEBINAR hosted by Shapiro’s very own FBA Manager, Nicola Phillips Malaney. In case you didn’t get your fill of logistics goodness during the webinar, we’re back to […]