RubyTwins

My suitcases which were small carry-ons were way too heavy. Now I want to ship some stuff home before I head to Calabria to meet family. I am shipping through Mailboxes Etc. At first I was just going to ship back clothes I am not going to use to make room for some gifts to bring for them and make it easier switching trains and lighter from my flight back to Rome from Reggio Calabria. Now I would also like to throw in some cheap souvenirs I bought: stationary, some Panettone, sketchbook, a scarf--throw in everything I don't need besides valuables like my laptop etc. Is that going to be an issue with customs? I just need to travel MUCH lighter. Thank you. I head over to Mailboxes etc. on Friday.



#shipping #Mailboxes etc.

Jean

I wouldn't ship food. The shipper might even have policy against that.

J62

No, that wont be an issue with customs.

MmePerdu

I’ve shipped boxes home from all over the world & have found using the postal services reliable & the cheapest options. If price isn’t a consideration I’m sure Mailboxes is as good as any. But if an economical option is attractive you might want to compare the P.O. with Mailboxes.

RubyTwins

thank you. I was going to use the post office but have heard repeatedly the Italian post office is unreliable. I had something shipped here as a gift and the paperwork and repeat paperwork and then the repeat paperwork.... ay yi yi.

bilboburgler

The Italian PO is slow (turns days into weeks), but everything I've sent through them gets through including valuable documents, gifts etc

hetismij2

The paperwork on a gift to Italy is nothing to do with the Italian PO, and everything to do with Italian (and EU) import rules and regulations and taxes.

Southam

I wouldn"t let any cargo handler anywhere near my laptop.

Heimdall

I read that to mean you won’t be shipping your laptop. Shipping things back home that you brought with you from home shouldn’t be a problem. Assuming you are from the USA, they are very strict about plants and agricultural products.

RubyTwins

Laptop I am carrying with me. Just want to ship my warm clothes (which I needed here but not in Calabria); some gifts (not expensive); Panettone? and my books. Thank you.

MmePerdu

However you ship your things do be clear on the customs form "used clothing returning home" or something similar to make it clear they are not new items bought outside your home country for which you might be charged duty.

bvlenci

There's a reasonably high limit on the value of things you can ship back to the USA. Your used clothing and other items you brought from the US don't count. I wouldn't ship anything valuable that you brought with you from the US unless you include a receipt or other proof you didn't buy it in Europe.

Panettone is fine. Fresh produce, most meat products, and unaged cheese are not allowed.

You need to specify the value of each item on your customs list, and mark it as "for personal use", or "goods brought from USA". ( The latter shouldn’t need to have the value stated, but sometimes I mark it as "no value.

I often ship things to the US, either gifts or items my relatives have left behind by mistake. I use the post office, which is much cheaper than a private courier. I've never had anything go missing, and the arrival time is reasonable. There are faster and slower shipping rates. The package tracking is mysterious. I've had notifications sent to me at every step, and I've had shipments whose status was always "being processed" - even two weeks after it had been delivered.