How to send parcels with lithium batteries?

Not so long ago, the Internet was filled with news that the US Postal Service decided to ban the sending of devices containing lithium batteries by air on May 16, 2012, thereby accepting the recommendations of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the Universal Postal Union (UPU) and closing the channel huge flow of electronics from the USA to the CIS countries.

The first was reported by Shipito's CEO at the service forum, attaching an unpublished official statement from the USPS at the time.
The Internet users were arguing whether this ban would work or not, but the official USPS statement put everything in its place, backing up the news with an update of the document about the shipment of lithium batteries on the official website.

Mail Forwarders waited. In the early days, no one made a statement that the transfer of iPads and iPhones would be stopped, everyone was waiting for direct instructions from their transport partners, but first Shipito, and then the Banderolka with a number of forwarders in smaller size, reported that sending items containing lithium batteries, they stop "pending clarification of circumstances."
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Is it time to panic? No, a bit early.

Did all forwarders fall prostrate before the strange decision of the USPS, which, by the way, is connected with the crash of UPS planes in particular (while UPS sends batteries, as if nothing had happened) and resigned to the fact that the goods listed below will no longer be shipped through them?


Fortunately, not all of us, there are several noteworthy forwarders that I want to tell you about, which can send your favorite electronic gadgets even after the May ban of the USPS.

I had a positive experience with both forwarders, so I can recommend them safely.

1) Shopfans.ru
The service, based in Pennsylvania, uses BWW (Brokers WorldWide) services as one of the parcel delivery options (besides the usual USPS Priority / Express).

In this regard, you can send via shopfans (using BWW-Priority as the delivery method) a package with gadgets containing lithium batteries, but the number of such devices in the package should be no more than two.

Well, it will be enough for many to be able to deliver a single device, given that shopfans have a very simple tariff schedule, which allows them to send single items at a profit.
In addition, the cost of sending a service BWW-Priority costs less than the tariff USPS Priority, which also plays into your favor.

So if you need to deliver 1-2 electronic devices, then you can safely use this forwarder.

2) Polar Express
A well-known for-narrower forwarder from New Jersey, which gained popularity with low shipping rates and an “interesting” customs in Kaliningrad.

“Polar explorers”, as they were christened online, also officially confirmed the possibility of delivering “lithium” parcels, although such parcels will cost $ 3 more, which, you see, is very humane, given that large forwarders refused to send such parcels at all.

In the bottom line there are at least two large forwarders ready to accept your gadgets for shipment, so it’s too early to panic and you can safely continue to order your favorite electronics.

And in 2013, the USPS plans to revise the policy on the shipment of lithium parcels, and perhaps everything will return to its place.

PS if anyone else knows the services that have not refused to ship lithium batteries at the moment, please share them in a comment.

PS2 If you have any questions on the above services, I will try to answer them as much as possible. I feel it will not be easy, being on a business trip in the Far East ...