International Shipping FAQ

The short answer is YES for most countries. If our checkout process provides carrier rate quote(s) for your country, then we are able to ship to your address and Dive Gear Express guarantees safe arrival of your order, for details see Shipping & Delivery. (However, we are unable to accept payment from or ship to entities with United States Treasury Financial Sanctions.)

For countries that we are unable to ship and guarantee safe arrival, we recommend hiring a third party package forwarding service. For more information see Forwarding Services for International Customers.

Dive Gear Express IS able to ship directly to most countries for which we are unable to guarantee safe arrival, upon receipt of non-refundable order payment by international wire transfer. For further information see Non-guaranteed Shipping.

Packages shipped via UPS and DHL expedited services typically take about a week, occasionally less. Delivery via USPS to any address outside the US is historically about two to four weeks, not counting any time required to clear local Customs.

Customs clearance, carrier service disruptions, and conditions at the destination can affect delivery estimates. Carrier delivery-time guarantees vary by service and destination and are subject to exclusions.

International shipping is very reliable and Dive Gear Express guarantees safe arrival of your order, except for orders placed under our non-guaranteed shipping arrangements.

Orders shipped outside the US are subject to local import fees that may be collected by the carrier before or at delivery. Please read our article titled Customs Clearance for Small Parcels for a detailed explanation of import duty and tax. Please read our SCUBA Diving Equipment Import Duties and Taxes page for detailed country by country guidelines to estimating duties and taxes.

For international shipping, we describe and classify products using the Harmonized System. We normally use HS code 9506.29, “Water-sport Equipment, Other,” for recreational diving equipment, with different codes for applicable exceptions. The classification for your order upon import is determined by your local Customs agents, also using the HS system.

For more about our approach, read How We Classify Diving Equipment for International Shipping.

There is no guarantee local Customs agents will use the same HS number, although they very rarely question the 9506.29 export code. While some countries may also have exemptions from the taxes and duties imposed for the import of gifts and personal use, those exemptions are not part of the HS coding system we are required to use for export. Some countries still have blanket exemptions for the import of small quantities of low-value consumer goods (called de minimis exemptions) although a global trend has been the end of de minimis exemptions. In most countries, you might request special exemptions from the taxes and duties based on your local laws and you can appeal their HS classification of your order if you feel it is inaccurate.

When preparing the documentation required for Customs clearance we are careful to accurately describe the nature, value, and contents of the shipment. Our long experience is that Customs agents are thorough when inspecting our shipments and providing anything other than an accurate description would likely result in a substantial delay and penalty. Keep in mind that Dive Gear Express guarantees safe arrival except for orders placed under our non-guaranteed shipping arrangements and we would not want to do anything to put that guarantee at risk.

In some cases, one or two carriers might appear as shipping options but all three of our carriers (USPS, UPS, and DHL) may not appear as a guaranteed international shipping option. This is based on our consistent loss experiences when shipping via specific carriers to a few specific countries where once the package enters customs and/or the carrier local offices it has disappeared or remained undelivered without recourse.

Frequently requested countries for which we are unable to guarantee timely safe arrival via some carriers include (but are not limited to): Brazil, Chile, Indonesia, Mexico, Portugal and Thailand. For countries that we are unable to ship and guarantee safe arrival via your preferred carrier, we recommend hiring a third party package forwarding service. For more information see Forwarding Services for International Customers.

Dive Gear Express IS able to ship directly to most countries for which we are unable to guarantee safe arrival, upon receipt of non-refundable order payment by international wire transfer. For further information see Non-guaranteed Shipping.

If you see DHL as an option for your country in our shopping cart shipping estimator, but you do not see DHL expedited shipping as an option during checkout once you enter your actual ship to address, the issue is likely the precise format of your international address. The DHL online calculator used to determine exact DHL shipping prices is somewhat restrictive about allowing local variations or omissions in the ship to address. DHL is particularly troublesome about requiring postal codes and territory names, even when they are not widely used locally but do exist. You can Contact Us, mention the full address you wish to use and we will communicate with DHL to determine exactly how they want your address formatted.

Signature requirements for international delivery depend on the carrier, service, and destination. For eligible DHL shipments, you can authorize delivery without a signature using the Signature Release option in DHL On Demand^™. Paying duties and taxes does not by itself authorize delivery without a signature. If you authorize signature release, you accept the risk of loss or theft after delivery.

A low weight or inexpensive order may be affected by what is known as the first pound, last mile distribution logistics of parcel carriers like USPS, UPS, FedEx and DHL. Due to the industry switch to dimensional weight pricing, the minimum price to ship an empty box or one that weighs a few pounds can be surprisingly similar and even more so for packages with expedited customs clearance fees or remote destination surcharges. Keep in mind that minimum fees and surcharges can be disproportionate to the value of the order, so consider carefully before ordering low value goods with expedited shipping. The shipping price can be most painful when greater than the price of the item being shipped!

When you need one or two relatively inexpensive low weight items, the best strategy is to find some other items on our website that you or a dive buddy can also use. Combine those with your order so that the cost to ship the small item you wanted becomes insignificant. Keep in mind that once you reach a minimum order value that depends on the destination, Super Saver shipping for most orders is FREE.

Dive Gear Express provides standard customs documentation for international orders, including a commercial invoice with product descriptions, declared values, and country-of-origin information. We do not provide separately certified or legalized Certificates of Origin.

These certificates are generally not needed for our low-value consumer shipments. If your customs authority or carrier specifically requires one, please contact us before placing your order.

Shipping to Mexico has historically proven to be unreliable. Because Dive Gear Express guarantees safe arrival of your order, for many years we would not ship via any carrier to addresses in Mexico even though there was significant demand. In late 2024 as a trial we lifted the restriction on shipping to Mexico for all three of the carriers we use (USPS, UPS, and DHL).

USPS proved almost immediately to be unreliable and we quickly restored the restriction on USPS. Eventually too many packages via DHL snagged in bureaucratic "red tape" and after consistently having delivery problems with DHL to Mexico we again restored the restriction on DHL in March 2025. Currently, the only remaining carrier for which we are able guarantee safe arrival is UPS. The cost of shipping to Mexico via UPS is relatively expensive and we recommend hiring a third party package forwarding service. For more information see Forwarding Services for International Customers.

We offer delivery to Canada via US Postal Service (USPS), UPS, and DHL, subject to the options available during checkout. USPS shipments are delivered by Canada Post, which charges a CAD $9.95 handling fee on dutiable or taxable mail items. UPS and DHL offer expedited services, but clearance and payment-advancement fees can be significant, especially on small orders. Delivery times and service availability can change; check the available checkout options and current carrier service alerts.

Clearance fees can be egregious on small orders, so Canadian customers may wish to consider self-clearing.

Regardless, you are responsible for Canadian Taxes applicable at the delivery address. Watch for payment requests from the carrier and monitor tracking rather than waiting for a telephone call or letter. Unpaid duties and taxes can delay delivery and may cause the package to be returned to us.

We strongly recommend monitoring your package using the tracking number we send you when we ship your order and once it clears customs then use the appropriate Canada Post, UPS My Choice, or DHL On Demand website to make payment online ahead of delivery.