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 – […]