Deutsche Post Warenpost (now DHL Kleinpaket): ship small goods cheaply

Warenpost from Deutsche Post and DHL lets high-volume senders ship small-format items quickly and in a climate-friendly way, with documented delivery and tracking. It can be a real competitive advantage: you send small goods as fast as a letter, with many of the service benefits you'd normally only get with parcels. Here's how your online business can benefit.

Update: Warenpost becomes "DHL Kleinpaket"

Warenpost has been rebranded as DHL Kleinpaket. With the change, the maximum allowed height increased from 5 cm to 8 cm, so you can send items measuring up to 25 x 35.3 x 8 cm easily and cheaply. A newly included liability of up to €20 in goods value per shipment adds more coverage, and shipments typically reach your customers about two business days after drop-off, keeping the service affordable while meeting customer expectations.

Why use Warenpost (DHL Kleinpaket)?

Your time as an online retailer is precious, so here are the key benefits at a glance:

• A low-cost option for shipping small goods

• Fast delivery, usually within one to two business days

• Direct addressing to one of thousands of parcel lockers

• High transparency through tracking

• Reliable shipping with securely documented delivery

• Convenient shipping and label printing via Sendcloud

• Handy services such as shipment pre-notification, preferred location, and neighbor delivery

• Return costs avoided through parcel-outlet routing

• Climate-friendly shipping available with GoGreen

Who can use Warenpost?

Anyone registered as a DHL business customer can set up a contract to use Warenpost. Sendcloud users can connect an existing DHL business contract in the Sendcloud panel, after which Warenpost is available as a shipping option and you can print the right labels in just a few clicks. That makes it much easier to ship your products and track shipments, and it contributes to the success of your store. If you ship lower volumes, it can pay off to use Sendcloud's pre-negotiated shipping rates, available in your account and activated in a few clicks.

How long does Warenpost take to reach my customer?

With Warenpost, online shoppers usually receive their order one to two business days after drop-off, as fast as a letter but with the benefits of a parcel. Drop-off is possible every working day, Monday to Saturday, so you and your customer enjoy advantages similar to parcel shipping.

What does shipping with Warenpost cost?

The price for your shipments is calculated individually and depends on your annual shipping volume. It's based on your contract with DHL, or you can use Sendcloud's pre-negotiated prices. Overall, Warenpost is considerably cheaper than parcel shipping and pays off if you mainly send smaller goods. Surcharges apply only for add-on services, some of which have standardized prices while others are based on your DHL contract.

Another advantage that goes down well with end customers: Warenpost can be combined with the DHL receiving services "preferred location" and "neighbor", which raises your delivery success rate and boosts satisfaction. Want to actively support climate protection? That's easy too: for just €0.01 GoGreen surcharge per shipment, you can send your Warenpost carbon-neutrally. A good shipping strategy combines flexible options for your customers with options that fit your budget, so it's best to combine Warenpost with other carriers in a multi-carrier strategy.

What size limits apply to Warenpost?

Warenpost is a good compromise if you want to ship goods quickly and cheaply. For your shipment to be processed and delivered successfully, a few format requirements apply. Warenpost is also climate-friendly, since it needs small outer packaging and little filling material, saving greenhouse emissions in the production and disposal of packaging, and it's delivered by letter carriers on bicycles or e-bikes. The format and weight requirements are:

Are your goods too big or heavy for Warenpost? No problem: with Sendcloud you can flexibly use the shipping methods of many other carriers. Your entire shipping runs centrally through a single platform, where you print the right labels in one click.

What does the shipping label look like?

The Warenpost shipping label comes in two versions. The larger version matches the design and dimensions of other familiar DHL shipping labels, while the smaller label has a few size-related adjustments.

Standard label ("Common Label")

The Common Label measures 10 x 20 cm. It contains all the typical information and fields you already know from other DHL labels, including the routing code so the shipment's journey can be documented. The standard label includes:

• Carrier and service details

• Sender name and address (optionally phone and email)

• Recipient name and address (optionally phone and email)

• Billing, reference, and tracking numbers

• Weight

• Information on booked add-on services (such as GoGreen)

• Routing code and ident code, each as a barcode

Label for smaller shipments

Alongside the standard label, there's a 7 x 10 cm label for smaller shipments. Its information is noticeably reduced but more than enough for fast, reliable processing. The smaller label includes:

• Carrier and service details

• Recipient name and address

• Information on booked add-on services (such as GoGreen)

• Billing number

• Routing code and ident code, each as a barcode

Whichever label you need for your Warenpost, with Sendcloud you print the right one in a single click.

Can I use Warenpost for international shipping?

Warenpost itself isn't intended for international shipments. For that, DHL offers Warenpost International, which lets you send smaller items up to 1,000 g abroad just as affordably.

Warenpost FAQ

Sendcloud: always the right choice for shipping

Want to find out more about how Sendcloud works with DHL, or start shipping with DHL? Visit our DHL carrier page.