Ship TO Europe or WITHIN Europe??
 

I am studying abroad this fall. I am traveling for 20 days before going to my university. I had decided to ship a box of clothes and my laptop from the US to Germany, but am wondering if it would be better to ship it once I get to my layover in Dublin. I only have 8 hours there, with getting to and from the airport, doing lunch, and doing some sight seeing, would there be enough time to ship from Dublin to Germany? Would it be too much of a hassle? And would it be significantly cheaper?

I would not ship your laptop; carry it with you if you can manage it.

The shipping rates from the US vary. When I looked into this two summers ago I found the best rate was the post office for a 20 lb package. If you go over 20 lbs then the price jumps significantly but check this out again on the USPS site.

Yeah, I have to ship my laptop becuse I don't want to have to drag it with me when I go to Italy and Greece. I will back everything up and I have insurance, so if something happens (God forbid) I will just have to deal with it.

I still don't know if I should ship my clothes to Germany from the US or from Dublin....

You really need to hear from someone in Ireland about the feasibility and package restrictions of shipping from Dublin but that will probably have to wait until tomorrow morning as it's quite late there.

Anyone from Ireland have any input on shipping to Germany?

ttt

Can't the poster just check the parcel rates on the Irish Post Office website and compare them to those offered by DHL?

Though presumably s/he has already.

If you come home from Europe witha ll the clothes you are shipping over there I'll be very surprised.

flanneruk - she probably doesn't know how to do this as she is a student and I'm sure has not sent packages before. Also there may be some package presentation restrictions that are not mentioned on the web site. I find this question more worthwhile than the thousands of questions from older adults who have absolutely no idea what to wear.

<b>ab10</b> - I checked the Irish post office site as flanneruk suggested.

It's ghastly expensive to ship a package from Ireland to Germany - 55Euro for 12 lbs. The USPS (United States Post Office) is your best bet for 20 lb packages. Send multiple packages if you need to rather than a heavier package. Before you pack your things verify that the rates haven't changed lately and that the 20 lb package is the best rate (go to the usps site to do this).

A bit more advice - get the exact address the package is going to and mark on it "hold for arrival" in both English and German in case the package gets to the destination before you do. If you are living with a family put c/o (care of) but use the German equivalent the family's name plus your own name.

Make sure there will be someone at the location to receive the package. If you are staying in a dorm the school may be closed until just before it opens for the term. I would try to notify whomever you are staying with that you will be sending a package.

adrienne- thank you so much for your advice. The good thing about the address I must send it to: it is the study abroad office on the campus, and they will be expecting it. So thats good. However, I will take your advice and put "hold for arrival" in both languages, just in case. This way I don't have to worry about finding my packages or a post office once in Dublin.

Thanks so much!

You're welcome! Have a great semester in Germany!