sjh2

I will be in Italy in September and want to travel light. I also want to bring home gifts for the family so wondered if it makes sense to pack goodies into boxes and post them home? Has anyone done this? Did everything arrive? All thoughts gratefully received.

rex

I have virtually never seen this make sense - - gave in once when traveling with my inlaws; and paid more on shipping than on the items. Expect anywhere from $20 to $50 a pound.

For small items, why bother? For large items - - not affordable.

Best wishes,

Rex

Surfergirl

We just did this. In Positano, I bought a bunch of ceramic pieces; having them ship it was incredibly expensive, but I didn't have the time to get it to the post office and ship it myself, so I bit the bullet on that one. They arrived today by Fed Ex in a box that after they bubble wrapped the pieces, they sprayed foam into the box which was a pain in the neck to get out, but you could have dropped an elephant on the box and nothing would have broken.

In Sorrento, we had a ton of souvenirs, dirty clothes, guide books we didn't need, etc., and we posted those the long (cheaper) route (not by air). They provide boxes (3 euro) and bubble wrap (free), and the shipping for a big box cost about 35 euro. It was well worth it because it was a great weight (literally) off our shoulders on luggage, and gave us more room to buy more stuff at the end of our trip (Paris). While it takes 4 to 6 weeks to arrive, I just tell everyone their gifts will arrive "eventually".

CarolA

I shipped stuff home from London on June 1. As of July 12 the stuff had NOT arrived. (I am beginning to think it is lost forever!) I am out of the country on business and it may be at my local post office by now, but....

I have done this in the past with no issues, but now I would hesitate to do it again.

GSteed

Good Idea. Most European Post Offices sell corrugated paper mailing containers. Hypermarkets sell packing materials. Alternate, load incoming baggage with zip lock bags of plastic peanuts. Alternate, pad with crushed newspaper, paper towels or toilet tissue. Add interior mailing label. Print out mailing labels before leaving.
Use 'surface mail' if time is not important. Books can be mailed using 'M' mail. Very inexpensive. Don't hesitate to make many small shipments. Gifts can be mailed directly to recipient. May be duty free to certain limit. UPS is also widely available as well as other such shippers. Inquire.

Louiseee

I shipped various packages home from my recent trip. Books, etc. I shipped the cheapest way and don't expect them to arrive for some time (shipped first week of July). But for more fragile and expensive purchases I, too, bit the bullet and paid for Mail Boxes to package them and ship UPS. It was very expensive but I'm not sorry; my items were here in a few days after I got home and were safely received. By the time I was ready to depart for home I had already accumulated so much extra baggage that I would not have wanted to try to safely carry these things with me. (It doesn't help that they were very oddly shaped packages which would have made storing in airline overhead bins nearly impossible.) But be forewarned it can be very expensive.

AAFrequentFlyer

I don't know where <b>rex</b> gets his posting done, but he is getting ripped-off. $20-50 per pound??? Get real.


Forget about UPS, FedEx, etc. Just go to the local post office.

US Post Office will charge you $37.25 for AirMail 10lbs. package. That works out to $3.75 a pound. I imagine that the Italian PO will do about the same. Estimated arrival time? 4-10 days.
Economy parcel would be $23.75 but expect delivery of around 4-6 weeks.

sjh2

Thanks for this. I'll budget accordingly and now I have a feel for how much to put aside. Awesome help thank you.

jabez

We always leave with just carryons. We take at least one canvas duffle folded up in luggage for or purchases and check our bags when returning. This year we had to buy another bag in Rome (good deal) to handle all the shoes my wife bought (9 pair,plus 3 I bought).

sjh2

jabez - as a fellow showe fanatic, where are the best shoe shops in Rome please?

ira

Hi SJ,

There are US Customs requirements for shipping stuff home. From my notes:

Once per day, you can mail yourself $200 worth of goods duty-free; mark the package &quot;For Personal Use.&quot; You
can also mail to other people up to $100 worth of goods per person, per day; label each package &quot;Unsolicited Gift.&quot; Any package must state on the exterior a description of the contents and their values.

jabez

Best shoe shops?
My wife might answer &quot;everywhere!&quot;
We actually bought some in Greve at great prices. I bought at one store off the square where I purchased the softest leather shoes for about E80 each.A great deal and nice shoes.My wife found a discount shoe store (quite large) with great prices and selections a little further down.
In Rome we stopped (I would say literally)at every possible shoe store in the city. Many times we would be on a bus and I'd spot a shoe store. All I had to say was &quot;shoe alert!&quot; and &quot;ding&quot; she was stopping the bus.
There are sometimes awesome sales going on for shoes and bags. If you see a line of people waiting to go into a shop, get in it.There are great deals on the other side of the door.

suze

I send my own dirty clothes home or if the weather changes or you travel to two differing climates within the same trip, so have no need to keep certain items. I've purchased a sturdy box offered at the post office &amp; packed it right there and mailed. My shopping is usually small, so I then pack teh souveniers into my suitcase (non-breakable) or my carry-on (fragile) and bring things home myself.