Global Advantage Program
Explanation of Stamps.com Global Advantage Program (GAP), which applies to international shipments using First Class or Priority services.
The Global Advantage Program (GAP) is an international shipping program through Stamps.com that provides an economical way to ship merchandise internationally.
users have access to two types of GAP services:
Global Advantage Program
Single Label SmartSaver
When printing single USPS international labels for First Class or Priority services with your Stamps.com account, automatically prints a GAP label.
GAP benefits include:
Up to 65% in savings over the retail USPS Package shipping cost
No need to print Customs Declaration forms
No need to change your workflow in
How it Works
Similar to many international consolidators, you first send your packages via USPS to a domestic sorting facility. There, your international shipments are relabeled for their destination, receive their appropriate customs forms, and are then sent on to their final destination.
This means the label you print will be a domestic label addressed to the Postal Processing facility instead of the final destination.
If you have a Stamps.com account, you are automatically enrolled in the Global Advantage Program.
Review the Global Advantage Program section of our Stamps.com article to learn how to create and use GAP labels.
For businesses that ship 5 or more international shipments a week, the Global Advantage Program offers additional savings!
With the SmartSaver service, you consolidate all your individual international parcels into a single, large container. You then send the large container to the sorting facility where the individual shipments will be sorted and sent on to their final destination.
By printing a GAP SmartSaver label with a scan code, the tracking for all included shipments will update when the large package gets scanned.
Benefits
At least a 10% discount on USPS international rates.
See the Global Advantage Program section in our Stamps.com article for instructions on how to print labels for a consolidated shipment.
Notes about the Global Advantage Program
The international tracking number on the GAP label will track the package to the sorting facility and may track the package to the destination country as well, depending on the country.
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If you receive an error in the Rate field in or when you attempt to create a label:
You may have a Stamps.com account with a negotiated service agreement. If this is the case, your Stamps.com (or Endicia) account may not be eligible for the Global Advantage Program. Please contact your Stamps.com or Endicia representative for further information.
For more information about the Global Advantage Program, please review the Stamps.com Global Advantage Program FAQ.
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If you do not wish to participate in the Global Advantage Program...
Accounts created on August 6th, 2019 or later: Contact Stamps.com support to request they disable the Global Advantage Program on your account.
Accounts created prior to August 6th, 2019: Select Package or Thick Envelope from the package type drop-down menu when shipping via USPS First Class Mail International, or set the customs declaration Package Contents to Documents.
Do not choose Documents for content type if the content does not conform to the USPS criteria for documents. If the contents of the package do not meet the USPS criteria for documents, the USPS Automatic Package Verification (APV) will post-charge your account the difference between the Large Envelope/Flat rate and the Package rate (which can be $7 or more).
Still Need Help?
Please feel free to reach out to one of our awesome Technical Support Representatives in St. Louis. We are happy to help.
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