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Shipping label: what information it carries and why it matters

The shipping label is the tag that identifies each parcel with the recipient's details, the tracking number and the information that transport and customs need.

A cross-border label carries more data than a domestic one: the buyer's name and address, their ID number (mandatory in several Latin American countries), declared contents, value and weight, and a barcode every operator along the route can read.

Most delivery errors start on the label: an incomplete address, a wrongly entered ID number, or a declared value that does not match the invoice.

Shipping with MailAmericas

How Shipping label works in our operation

MailAmericas generates the label from the marketplace order or the integration, in the format each country and customs office requires. The seller prints it and attaches it; MailAmericas prepares the rest of the documentation.

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Frequently asked question

Do I need the buyer's ID number on the label?

In several destinations, yes: Brazil (CPF), Chile (RUT), Argentina (CUIT or DNI), Peru (DNI), among others. Without it, customs can hold the parcel.

Related terms

More from Origin

Cross-borderCross-border is online selling where the seller and the buyer are in different countries, so the parcel crosses at least one border and one customs office before reaching its destination.CBT sellerA CBT (cross-border trade) seller is a merchant who lists on a marketplace in one country and ships from another, usually from China, the United States or Europe into Latin America.MarketplaceA marketplace is an e-commerce platform where many sellers list products and the platform concentrates the traffic, the payment and, often, the shipping rules.ConsolidationConsolidation is grouping many parcels from different sellers into a single international load, transporting them together and splitting them up only in the destination country.Origin hubThe origin hub is the warehouse, in the seller's country, where the logistics operator receives the parcels, checks them and consolidates them before international transport.ManifestThe manifest is the document listing every parcel in an international load, with its contents, value, weight and recipient, presented to customs at departure and at arrival.

See all 9 terms in Origin →

Selling to Latin America?

We explain how a cross-border shipment with MailAmericas works for your origin and your destinations.

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