Shipping Rates from Vietnam to US

Shipping rates are prohibitively high. We were there in December 2003 and looked into shipping rates for some of our purchases. My somewhat fuzzy recollection is that 22 lb, or 10 kilos cost $350-$400 USD to ship to Los Angeles. ...we carried our purchases, thank you very much.

http://www.vnpt.com.vn/ is the postal service's website. It can be viewed in English. The rates look very, very cheap...under $3.00/kg for surface shipment. I'm sure there is the usual DHL, Fedex and UPS available too. Even from Japan, we don't pay anything close to what the previous poster mentioned. Low prices assume do it yourself. If you want a shop to send your purchases to your home country, of course, be prepared to pay a premium, anywhere you go.
Kim

Hi, it's been a few years since this post, and I was wondering if anyone has updated advice on shipping from Vietnam.

I was curious if anyone shipped with Vietnam post office (air - 4 weeks) and your experience. Did package arrive on time, was everything still in the package, etc..

Rough price comparison for 9 kilo package:
UPS: $190
DHL: $160
Fedex: $166
Vietnam Post: ~$50

the air shippers often have specials.....i sent 25 kilos from bangkok last year for $190.....two years before that i sent 10 kilos for about $125

both were 5 day air shipments...

the one caution about surface shipments is security.... things tend to disappear from shipments....

I found another option, it's called EMS. It's 5-10 days globally and only ~10% more than 4 week air mail.

After some reading, looks like its an international network, similar to USPS Priority express in US. Locals don't advertise it, because it's more expensive than air, but by only 10% and it's 5-10 days. So I gave it a try. 10 kilo for just over $100.

I'll update when/if package gets there.

Yes, I have shipped from Hanoi post office. I sent a painting home by sea. The painting was backed on wood so it was heavier than a regular painting. It cost me about $60Us to ship home and it arrived in good condition in the estimated time of 7 weeks or so..

It's been two years, so sorry about opening an old thread. It's hard to find good information about Vietnam but recently I have spent some time there and have some intel for you.

For shipping to the USA from Vietnam, according to the Vietnam Post Office website, airmail is approximately $15.80 for the first 500grams (roughly 1 US pound) and $6.67 for each additional 500 grams. I recently had a package shipped by a colleague and it made it here so fast I was really surprised. He shipped it airmail on a Thursday and I received it in Kansas City on a Tuesday. I have a hard time getting UPS Ground from New York that fast.

EMS is a third party carrier that will cost more than the post office but you get a tracking # and sometimes private carriers are better. When I received my last airmail shipment from Ho Chi Minh City, it had EMS stickers on it so I'm GUESSING that Vietnam Post simply contracts with EMS. So you might be better off just using post office airmail instead of EMS since EMS ends up with it anyway. I don't have hard facts on that, it's a guess.

If you are desperate and patient, you can send your packages surface but I am of the opinion that the longer they are out there, the better the chance of problems.

Good luck!