Leaving for Italy on September 10. My husband and I are just taking out backpacks but I plan on doing some shopping (venetian glass, wine, olive oil, ceramics) There is no way I will have the room or the strengh to carry everything I buy around with me. Will shops pack and ship for you? What is the recommended way to ship purchases home? Can I just take a bunch of Fedex labels and slap them on stuff COD?

Be very careful in shipping goods home.

We were told by one shop that it would cost 40-50 Euros to ship our package to the states by air.

After receiving the goods the shipper(not the store) sent a bill for 130 Euros. In addition we received a customs bill from UPS for almost $30.

Since there is an $800 per person allowance for goods brought back to the states with you....we should have had our package wrapped and taken it on the plane with us. ... even if we shipped it as "luggage".

I know I've heard people on this board say that they've used Mailboxes Etc. in Italy (you can go to their website to get all Italian locations before you leave).

However, they also mentioned it costing more than they anticipated, but it sounded like all goods arrived safely.

Hi tiff,

A lot depends upon the seller. We have had glass and other breakable items shipped home from Venice and everything arrived safely, with no customs duties.

When we shipped stuff home ourselves via UPS, we had to pay an extra $60 in customs duties and fees because we did not fill out the paperwork properly.

As you see, others have had negative experiences.

PS,

Use your charge card when having stuff shipped home. If something goes wrong, you can complain.

The shipping costs will often negate your savings. Have fun, but do not expect any bargains.

We rolled up a couple of duffle bags and put them in our suitcases and then had extra storage to bring things home. I didn't care if our dirty clothes got lost on the return flight! We also had a couple of things shipped by the store that were just too heavy for us to carry (tile/cermaics). The store dropped the 15% tax and that took care of the shipping. Other thsn that it was just too expensive to ship olive oil, wine and such home so we just packed them in our suitcases. We brought bubble wrap and tape with us. Came in very handy !

I second Sally Jo's post. We have had good luck shipping things back from the stores we purchased them from. The purchases are then tax free which usually makes up for the cost of shipping, especially if you are willing to wait a few weeks for them to come to the US by boat.

The key is to get a firm committment on shipping cost so there are no surprises.

While any goods you take home with you qualify as part of your $800 person exemption, goods valued over $100 that are shipped may trigger a customs duty.

Also, you may qualify for a VAT refund if you take the goods out of the country yourself.

Do not assume that because shipping is reasonable at one shop that the same is true for the shop next door.

My experience was in Gubbio where both the shops I talked to about shipping items home really discouraged me from doing so due to the cost. They were quoting in excess of €100 for a comprably priced piece of pottery. I loved the pottery but not that much, settled for small pieces that would fit in carry on. :'(

Good point Dick. One other thing I noticed when buying pottery in Provence is that certain stores may have reasonable shipping but only if you spend a set amount of money. In this instance it was 500 euros. Way out of my budget. I know some people who have mailed it through the regular post office, packing it themselves, but I don't know if I would do this in Italy. Anyone have any experiences shipping through the Italian postal service?

Sorry the previous post escaped before I got the reference in:



Enter "mailboxes" in the search box and select Italy, then the thread "mailing from Italy."

I just reviewed the old Mailing from Italy post and like the suggestion of sending home dirty laundry and packing the souvenirs to be brought home. I've also found that clothes are good for wrapping breakables in carryons.

Thanks for the advice so far. I reviewed the other "mailbox" posts. I wasn't planning on spending all that much money so it may not even be worth the expense or hassle. I was just hoping to purchase some good quality souveniers to use in our home. May have to use Mailboxes etc. I guess it depends on how bad I want something. We'll see. It said no alcohol though so I'll have to carry the wine? That sucks.

Bring back olive oil. We only brought back one bottle and were sorry we didn't get more.

Olive oil in the states can be very expensive.

Friends told us they bought glass items in Murano for shipment 3 years ago, and are still waiting for most of the items. They paid the credit card bill long ago expecting follow-up shipment.