What's the best and most economic way to ship stuff back to the U.S. from France?

Perhaps sea mail parcel post thru the French post office though i think there may be a 20 kg (44 pound) limit and it still won't be cheap - she could leave her stuff in her French residence perhaps and then take it back on the plane later.

Hi italy06, I found in Italy that the least expensive way to ship personal belongings home was via the postoffice. I had it shipped via land. Took a few months, maybe three months to arrive. Everything in excellent condition btw.

When sending stuff back mark the Customs form 'American goods being returned home' or some such notice so that you won't have to pay duty - Customs has the wording to use.

Thanks, everyone - this gives her lots of options and thanks for the tip about customs - it's very helpful!

Yes PB, made a good comment. I wrote something like "used clothing and personal items" on the custom form. I paid nothing btw when the large box was delivered to me. I did tell the truth on the custom form btw..that is exactly what everything was.

There are two companies that specialise in this problem:

www.excess-baggage.com
www.transglobalexpress.co.uk

Although UK-based (because that's where the real market for intercontinental excess baggage is concentrated), they both claim to offer efficient service from anywhere to anywhere. Go to the "excess baggage" pages on the two sites.

The cheapest way is to use all of your checked baggage allowance and cabin baggage allowance. If travelling with friends be sure to use any of theirs that is free. Books and videos should go by 'M' bag. Check post office for details. Yes, PO surface parcel post is low cost. Box baggage at weight limits. Be sure packaging is watertight and breakables protected. Don't forget to enclose delivery address in all packages. Most European POs now stock mailing containers.

I would also advise her to leave behind/give away any and everything she is certain she will not use or want during the six months immediately after she returns home.

Clothes that will soon be out of date; books that she will NEVER read again; things that are cheaper to replace after return vs. shipping them at cost all the way back for disposal.

I am trying to ship things home from the UK and took a box to the post office. Apparently, they only accept packages that are less than 2kg, or 4 lbs. I had planned to ship things home surface, but 4 lbs isn't much to put in a package. I don't need things quickly, but i did buy some china, and glass that i do want to take home.

I did this after studying for 2 months in Tours. The post office has some flat rate boxes. The biggest one is €30 for all you can fit in the box - no weight restriction. I mailed back 2 boxes of books and other printed material that I had accumulated and wanted to save for use in teaching once I was back home. Only took about 2 weeks for the boxes to arrive.

These are all great suggestions - now I know it won't cost an arm and a leg to get her stuff back. All the big companies want at least $300 bucks for a 30-40 lb. suitcase - even traveling the slowest way. this'll be much better. Thanks!

A years later funny postscript to this story and a cautionary tale. My daughter left France for the US in May of 2006 and before she left, she took a large suitcase to the post office to be shipped home. It was filled with old books and clothes she wouldn't need right away. It also had our address in several locations inside the suitcase.

In NOVEMBER of 2006, her suitcase arrived home. It was wrapped in duct tape and looked like it had been run over by a car. Like the guys on Storage Wars, we cut away the tape and opened the suitcase to find books and clothes. The crazy thing was, half of them weren't hers. If suitcases could talk... Next time we'll fork over a little more money and get a tracking number!