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-   -   HELP!!! Shipping from France (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/help-shipping-from-france-621088/)

unforgettablegab Jun 5th, 2006 12:24 PM

HELP!!! Shipping from France
 
So my baggage is about 20 kgs over my free weight limit. I'm leaving from Paris to the UK tomorrow for 2 months before returning to the US and I need to get that extra 20 kilos either to the UK or to the US. I will be flying air france (which conveniently doesn't seem to list neither prices or phone number) on their web site. Should I ship my crap to the US? Where can I do that cheaply from Paris?

laclaire Jun 5th, 2006 12:38 PM

Find out how much they charge to carry an extra bag on board, and how much it costs per kilo over. Shipping 20 kgs of stuff is going to be really expensive, so I think that it might be worth it to just carry it.

That said, I think my bags even after an entire year abroad weighed a total of 40 kgs. What are you taking that is so heavy?

ira Jun 5th, 2006 12:56 PM

Why do you wish to ship 20 kg of crap anywhere?

Christina Jun 5th, 2006 01:15 PM

Air France lists lots of phone numbers on their website, in the Informations and Services section for one place.They have a lot of agencies in Paris, but here is a main one near the Opera

75002 - Opéra
Agence Air France
Agence Opéra
49, Avenue de l´Opéra
75002 Paris
Métro Opéra
Téléphone : : Réservation 0 820 820 820
Fax : : (33) (0) 1 58 18 63 93
Ouverture Lundi Mardi Mercredi Jeudi Vendredi : 09:30 - 19:00 -
Samedi : 09:45 - 18:00 -

Here's the one at CDG
Aéroport Charles de Gaulle
Agence Air France
Aéroport Charles de Gaulle
Terminal 1
Niveau Départ - Porte 14
Téléphone : : Réservation 0 820 820 820
Fax : : (33) (0) 1 48 64 07 67
Ouverture
Lundi Mardi Mercredi Jeudi Vendredi Samedi Dimanche : 06:30 - 22:00 -


I'm sure they are in the phonebook, also. Maybe they can tell you what it will cost.

unforgettablegab Jun 5th, 2006 02:29 PM

Thanks for the number! (I'm a moron and somehow managed to miss it.) It costs 6 euros a kilo to take it flying. Because I'm flying to england to intern, I only get to take 20 kilos free. In total I only have 40-45 kilos. Essentially it will cost me around 150 euros to take it with me. Does anyone know a cheaper method of taking this stuff?

hopscotch Jun 5th, 2006 02:42 PM


<Does anyone know a cheaper method of taking this stuff?>
That depends. What is your stuff? Books and printed material enjoy a cheap rate at Le Poste, and post offices around Europe.

unforgettablegab Jun 5th, 2006 02:49 PM

Yes there are some books in the mess. Its almost completely clothes and books. Do you happen to know the shipping rate on books or where I could find it? Could I just run down to the post office tomorrow morning and ship them from there? Thanks!

unforgettablegab Jun 5th, 2006 02:56 PM

Would the book rate apply to any paper such as note books (hand written) and term papers? (I would LOVE to throw them out, but my profs in the US insiste that I bring them home!)

kybourbon Jun 5th, 2006 04:05 PM

If Air France has rates like their codeshare partner Delta, you should be allowed 2 50lb. checked bags and one carryon (40lbs) and one personal item.

kybourbon Jun 5th, 2006 04:07 PM

The fee is usually around $25 extra for a bag overweight 50lbs. - 70 lbs. and after that the fees get really steep.

kybourbon Jun 5th, 2006 04:19 PM

Just looked at Air France website and you allowed the 2 50lb checked bags and the fee is 25E or $25 for 50-70lbs. The carryon allowance is only 26lbs, not 0 like Delta's. I suggest you redistribute the weight until both bags are within the $25 overweight range. I don't think $50 is too much to pay to get your items home.

hopscotch Jun 5th, 2006 06:49 PM

The rate for printed matter, imprimé, will be posted on the wall of the post office. You can also buy a shipping box there but you may need to bring your own tape and scissors. Don't seal the box until the postal clerk sees that you have only packed books in the carton.

kdcwood Jun 5th, 2006 07:16 PM

I shipped quite a few boxes back to the USA from Europe last year using the postal systems, many from France. A couple of our boxes simply didn't make it (two from Italy), and a couple came apart in the mail. We even had two boxes with stuff in them that didn't belong to us.

If you ship boxes through La Poste, be sure your boxes are very sturdy and very very well taped. Don't make any one box too heavy-- better to have smaller, lighter boxes. You can also buy special envelopes to mail papers and lightweight books/pamphlets etc. The yellow shipping boxes you can buy at some of the post offices are not as sturdy as they look.

In hindsight, I probably would have thrown or given away most of the clothes we shipped back. Think about whether or not something is really that important to you, especially in light of the cost of getting it back.

Kathy


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