SHIPPING.md

# ABOUT SHIPPING.MD

SHIPPING.md is a working idea: a plain markdown file that tells an AI agent how you ship parcels. Which boxes you stock, how much padding goes around an item, how billable weight is worked out, how an address must be written, what customs needs to know, and which labels wait for a person. The agent works from your own scale and tape measure readings, picks the smallest box that fits, reads rates in your own carrier account and prepares the label. Most shipping mistakes are small and costly: a box one size too big, a missing unit number, a blank customs line.

## WHAT IT COULD COVER

• - boxes: the sizes you stock, inside dimensions, and padding on every side
• - weight: the packed weight from your scale, never a catalog guess
• - dimensional weight: length times width times height, over the divisor in your carrier account
• - billable weight: the greater of actual and dimensional, after the carrier's rounding
• - addresses: fields, country codes, PO boxes, and what to do when one looks wrong
• - customs: description, HS code, value, origin and the trade term on every border crossing
• - restricted goods: batteries, liquids, aerosols, perfume, and what you never ship
• - approvals: labels over a price, anything international, anything insured

## HOW IT COULD WORK

• - a scale and a tape measure at the packing table; a person types or scans the readings
• - the agent checks the address format first, and asks rather than guessing a missing field
• - it ranks your boxes by billable weight, so a smaller box wins when dimensional weight governs
• - it reads rates in your own carrier account or shipping software, at the time of purchase
• - it prepares the label and the customs form; a person says yes before money is spent

## STANDARDS IT WILL MEET

• - ISO 3166-1 alpha-2: two-letter country codes such as US, GB and DE
• - HS codes: the Harmonized System kept by the World Customs Organization; the first six digits are shared worldwide and countries add more
• - CN22 and CN23: the Universal Postal Union's customs declaration forms for postal items
• - Incoterms: the International Chamber of Commerce's trade terms; DAP leaves import duties to the buyer, DDP puts them on the seller
• - UN 3480 and UN 3481: the dangerous goods numbers for lithium ion batteries shipped alone, and packed with or inside equipment
• - USPS Publication 52: the US Postal Service's rules for hazardous, restricted and perishable mail
• - ZPL: a label language for thermal printers, often used to send 4 by 6 inch shipping labels
• - de minimis: the value below which a country waives duty or paperwork; it differs by country and has changed recently, including in the United States

## WHO IT COULD HELP

• - online sellers: stop paying to ship air when a smaller box would do
• - makers shipping fragile work: padding, box and insurance rules written once
• - small exporters: a complete customs line and the right trade term on every parcel
• - office managers: send equipment back to the right address with the right service
• - secondhand sellers: avoid shipping a battery a carrier refuses

Carriers bill the space a parcel takes, not just its weight. A light item in a big box can cost more than a heavy one in a small box, and an agent that measures before it buys can catch that before the label is paid for.

## A SKETCH

```md
---
shipping: draft
---
# SHIPPING.md
- boxes: S 8x6x4 in, M 12x9x6 in, L 18x12x10 in
- pick: the smallest box with 1 in of padding on every side
- dim_divisor: from our carrier account, never assumed
- billable: the greater of actual and dimensional weight
- address: ISO country code; ask when a unit may be missing
- customs: HS code, value and origin on every border crossing
- under_20: labels under 20.00 USD wait for the day's one yes
- from_20: 20.00 USD or more, or international, needs its own yes
- never: lithium batteries, liquids or perfume
- log: box, weights, rate, and where and when it was read
```

## DISCLAIMER

SHIPPING.md does not ship anything, buy labels, quote rates or file customs forms, and it is not a carrier, a customs broker or a dangerous goods adviser. Each carrier's rules, scales and surcharges decide what a parcel costs and whether it may travel, and customs authorities decide duties. The file states your rules; your carrier accounts, your scale and the law decide what really happens. The boxes, prices and limits in the sketch are made up and are not safe values for any goods. Shipping hazardous goods can require training and the carrier's approval; check before you send them.

SHIPPING.md is an informational page. It is provided as is, without warranty of any kind, and may be incomplete, inaccurate or out of date. Nothing here is financial, investment, legal, tax, insurance, medical, engineering, safety or other professional advice, or an offer or solicitation of any kind. The sketch is an illustration, not a standard or a recommendation. Names of third-party products or companies, if any, are used only to describe them; no affiliation or endorsement is implied. Use at your own risk. This page sets no cookies and runs no scripts or analytics; like any website, its host keeps standard request logs.