Unlike a Dell OptiPlex Micro desktop, a TV box's own width fights the parcel limit before weight ever enters into it.
A TV box against USPS's own size line
USPS's country page for Canada, read on pe.usps.com 2026-08-19, sets Priority Mail International's limits at a maximum weight of 66 lb, a maximum length of 79 inches, and a maximum combined length and girth of 108 inches. A boxed 50-inch class television, packed to roughly 48 by 30 by 6 inches at 35 to 40 lb, clears the weight and length limits easily and then fails on the one measurement that actually matters for a flat panel.
| Measurement | TV box | USPS limit to Canada | Where it lands |
|---|---|---|---|
| Length | 48 in | 79 in | Clear |
| Length plus girth 48 + 2×(30+6) | 120 in | 108 in | Over by 12 in |
| Weight | 38 lb | 66 lb | Clear |
That is the opposite result from a boxed Dell OptiPlex Micro desktop on this site, which clears the same 108 inch line with room to spare because its box is compact for its weight. A television's box is wide and thin instead, and width plus twice-height is what girth actually measures — a flat panel loses on the one dimension a compact box wins on.
The paperwork that follows the box
FedEx's own customs documentation page, read on fedex.com 2026-08-18, states plainly that “the Commercial Invoice is required for all international commodity shipments” — the paper customs agencies use to control imports, set a valuation and calculate duty. Nothing about that requirement changes for a television versus any other consumer electronics box.
The panel counts as the commodity
Declare the television itself on the invoice, by model and screen size, not a generic "electronics" line — the four-question standard applies to the set, not to the box it travels in.
A used set's value is its used value
Declare the fair resale price of the television, not the price it sold for new. Consistency between the invoice, the label and any other paperwork is what FedEx's own page emphasizes.
Where the size problem leads
Because a TV box commonly exceeds a postal carrier's combined length-and-girth limit, it more often travels with a freight forwarder or a carrier's own international parcel or freight product built for oversize cartons, rather than through Priority Mail International directly.
Two bookings, one of them priced here
On lanes our checkout does not sell — everywhere past Canada, the UK, Germany and Australia — an international TV shipment usually moves in two bookings: an ordinary domestic parcel to a US address, followed by a separate international booking from there, whether that is a freight forwarder, a consolidator, or a carrier's own international account. We quoted that first leg: a Samsung 50-inch flat-screen TV in its original factory box, Berkeley Heights, NJ to a Miami, FL ZIP — a city with a heavy concentration of forwarders — captured live on 2026-08-19.
What we typed
Samsung 50 inch flat screen TV in original factory box
Packed box
48 × 30 × 6 in
122 × 76 × 15 cm
38 lb packed (17.2 kg).
Route
Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922
to Miami, FL 33101
Both ZIPs live at request time. This is the domestic leg only, not a border crossing.
| Carrier | Service | Price | Estimated transit |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPS | Ground | $83.23 | 5-6 business days |
| UPS | Ground Saver | $85.22 | 5 business days |
| FedEx | Ground Economy | $110.98 | 5-6 business days |
| UPS | 3 Day Select | $132.27 | 5-6 business days |
| FedEx | Ground | $147.43 | 5-6 business days |
USPS returned no rate at all for this box on this lane and day, even though 120 inches of length plus girth sits inside USPS Ground Advantage's domestic 130 inch ceiling. This is not an international price and does not get the television across a border by itself — it is the longest domestic lane SMKlog can quote, shown so the two-booking model has a real number attached rather than a guess.
Sources for this page
- USPS, Country Conditions for Mailing — Canada — Priority Mail International weight and size limits. Read 2026-08-19.
- USPS, USPS Ground Advantage — the 130 in domestic length-plus-girth ceiling. Read 2026-08-19.
- FedEx, Customs documents — what a Commercial Invoice has to state for a border crossing. Read 2026-08-18.
Destination-country limits and duty rules change without notice on a carrier's own site. What is printed here reflects what USPS and FedEx stated on the dates shown; check the destination country again before actually booking a border crossing.
Common questions
Can you ship a TV internationally?
Yes, through a carrier's own international products or a freight forwarder — and, headed to Canada, the UK, Germany or Australia, straight through SMKlog's checkout, which sells those four crossings online with the customs declaration done before payment. SMKlog's online international labels cover Canada, the UK, Germany and Australia; other destinations are not sold here.
Does a boxed TV fit inside USPS's international size limit?
Usually not. USPS's country page for Canada sets Priority Mail International's combined length-and-girth limit at 108 inches, read on pe.usps.com 2026-08-19. Our own TV box, 48 x 30 x 6 in, comes to 120 inches of length plus girth on its own — 12 inches over that line, unlike a compact Dell OptiPlex Micro desktop, which clears the same limit with room to spare.
What does FedEx need on the customs form for a TV?
A Commercial Invoice, which FedEx's own page calls the document required for all international commodity shipments. It records what the item is, how many there are, what it is made from, and its intended use, read on fedex.com 2026-08-18.
What can SMKlog actually price for an international TV shipment?
Bound for Canada, the UK, Germany or Australia: the whole crossing, size permitting — checkout returns live carrier rates for those four countries with the declaration completed before payment. Elsewhere we price the domestic leg: a boxed 50-inch TV, Berkeley Heights, NJ to Miami, FL, quoted $83.23 to $147.43 across carriers on 2026-08-19, with the border booking arranged separately through a carrier's international products or a forwarder.
Did USPS quote the domestic leg of the TV box?
No. The box's 120 inches of length plus girth sits inside USPS Ground Advantage's own domestic 130 inch ceiling, yet USPS returned no rate at all in the 2026-08-19 capture. A published domestic ceiling describes what a service is built to carry, not a promise every box under it gets quoted — run your own box through the calculator rather than assuming either way.
