The Complete Guide to Shipping from the US to Australia

Australian shoppers run into the same wall over and over: the item they want only ships within the US. Here's how cross-border forwarding actually works, and what to expect when your package heads from a US hub to your door in Sydney, Melbourne, or anywhere else.

Why so many US stores won't ship to Australia

Most US retailers aren't blocking Australia on purpose — international shipping means customs paperwork, duty calculations, and return logistics most stores never built for. Rather than solve that, they just stop the checkout at the US border.

What a US shipping address gets you

A US address lets you check out like any other American shopper. From there:

1. The order ships to your Shipbird address in Austin, TX.
2. We inspect and consolidate it at our hub.
3. It flies out via FedEx Express, discounted below list rate.

What actually affects your price

Two things move the number more than anything else: billable weight (the greater of actual weight or dimensional weight) and destination zone. Australia sits in its own FedEx zone, so a box that's cheap to send domestically can look different once it's headed across the Pacific.

Run your own box dimensions through the calculator below rather than estimating — DIM weight surprises are the single most common reason a quote comes in higher than expected.

Customs and duties

Australia applies GST and potential duties above certain thresholds, assessed on arrival — not something Shipbird charges upfront. Declared value on the shipment should match what you actually paid, since under-declaring risks a hold at customs, not a discount.