Advice on shipping/mailing to the US from HCMC
 

Please advise as to the best way (most affordable) to send items back to the States. If you can walk me through the process, that would be great. We will be staying at the Park Hyatt. If there is a place to go to that is near to the Park Hyatt, I would appreciate that help.

We used DHL to send stuff back just walked into their office and they had all the packaging we needed to pack our stuff up. All arrived in the UK in a couple of weeks. Sorry, but I can't recall the cost but it was not that expensive.
A link to the DHL HCMC address.

http://www.dhl.com.vn/publish/vn/en/...ff&ctryCode=vn

The other alternative would be to visit the central Post Office and see what services they have to offer. It is close to the Park Hyatt and is a tourist destination in its own right.

Depending

the only affordable way is to carry it yourself....otherwise be prepared!!!

i've had very good luck with both UPS and FedEx.... usually i do the 4 day air and it arrives just as scheduled....i tell the merchant not to ship it until 3 days before i leave for home.... insist on insurance and high quality packing....i'd ask the hyatt who they use...

Even though you may have to pay a fee having the hotel ship the items, I just think it's the most convenient way to save your time and effort. I'm pretty sure you can do it yourself by walking to the city post office but dubious if you can make the staff there properly understand what you really want.

I had a merchant in Hoi An ship figurines to my Oregon home - sea mail took 4 months. They arrived chipped and I blame US Customs for not repackaging properly.

Before you consider shipping items, first confirm your allowances for checked baggage on your airline back to the US (and for any intra Vietnam flights) as well as charges for excess baggage. You may find that excess baggage charges are not very much, and may work out to be the same as shipping (esp if you add in potential US Customs duties, see below). Also, many airlines allow you to pay excess baggage with frequent flier miles, so check that option as well.

Here is the website for Vietnam Post http://www.vnpt.com.vn/, click on "English" for the English version. This should provide all the info you need on postal rates. I have not used the state postal service in Vietnam and don't know anything about their reliability. I have used postal services in other Asian countries and it generally is easy, inexpensive and safe. If Vietnam is like other postal offices here in Asia, they will sell you the box, tape and everything you need to prepare the package. (Otherwise, as your hotel where you can purchase packaging materials.) I would send the package by “surface” mail (i.e. boat) as opposed to air mail to save more money, although it takes longer. I don’t think you will have any trouble getting staff to understand what you want. You can also print out the web pages in English and do some pointing.

A poster on this site says that she always carries her souvenirs home with her and mails her dirty clothes back to herself, thus clearing up room in her suitcases for her purchases. I think that is a brilliant solution! Used personal items you send back to the US are not subject to any US customs or duties. However, any gifts or souvenirs which you ship are NOT included in the US$800 per person duty free clearance you get when arriving back into the US; only items you actually carry in with you are included in that exemption, so that is another reason to bring purchases with you and ship used clothing. (Plus you won’t care how long the shipment takes, and there is little chance of clothing getting damaged in transit. )

In addition to DHL which is mentioned above, Mail Boxes etc is another option, see mbe.com to see if they have locations in Vietnam. Fedex and DHL tend to be rather expensive.

If it is a large or bulky item, you can also arrange to have the shop in which you purchase the item ship it for you. This can be expensive as well. I would suggest you pay by credit card for any purchase to be shipped by a store so you can get the credit card company involved if it is late in arriving.