Shipping home stuff from Italy

[hexdragon]

Last year in Alaska it was very easy to pack all the souvenirs in one of those USPS boxes and mail them to myself. It saved on headaches with packing them, worrying about the weight of the bags (extra charge now days :mad:). Can I do that in Italy? (Yes I know there is no US Post Office there :p) How good / expensive is the Italian Post? Or is the baggage fees less?

 

Another question: I live in Upstate NY but will be flying in/out of Toronto. If I pack the souvenirs in my luggage, when I cross the border at Niagara Falls, will I need to fill out an US customs form?

[euro cruiser]

Shipping things home from Italy is difficult and wickedly expensive. If you buy something large and/or expensive, arrange with the seller to ship it for you. Otherwise, figure out how to fit it in your luggage.

[maryann ns]

Yes, get the seller to do the shipping. Other than that pack light. I always take a large cloth drawstring bag that takes up no space, but is great as an extra bag for returning home. I usually put my treasures in it to carry on board.

 

You of course will have to go through US customs at Niagara Falls. Have receipts to show what you bought and where.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I have had things shipped home by shop owners in both Italy and Greece. Usually a shop owner will just combine all your purchases from their shop and the others. I spend probably 45 Euros in both countries to have my souveniers shipped home. Both came in a 10"x12" box respectively. It was worth it to me because the items were fragile and I thought they might get damaged. They arrived about three weeks later in great condition.

 

Considering checked bags cost $40 these days- It didn't seem like a lot of money.

[slidergirl]

My friend and I bought some ceramics in Montelupo. We bought a couple local newspapers before heading to the Poste Italiane. There, we bought 2 boxes, wrapped our things, talked to one of the agents on how to ship, filled out the paperwork and shipped the boxes.

It was pretty easy. It definitely was not cheap. But, we didn't want to truck around Italy and France 2 more weeks hauling the ceramics. If you have the space and have appropriate packing supplies for anything fragile, I would say pony up the extra luggage fee instead of shipping. Since you're crossing from Canada back to the US, definitely keep ALL your receipts with you in your carryon. You may or may not be asked to show all purchases and receipts - it depends on how the CBP officer feel at any given time...

[nparmelee]

I bought a copper risotto pan in Montepulciano, very heavy, had the shop ship it home for me, it arrived 2 days after we got home. A ceramic dish we bought we packed carefully and it fit in our luggage. For us it depends on the size, shape and weight as to how we'll try to get it home. If packing it yourself, I'd look for DHL or FedEx there to do the shipping personally. Too many stories of the Italian Post items never quite making their destination.

[texancruzer]

There is UPS in Italy. Google it " UPS in Italy " and you will even get a map with the addresses ......... I remember seeing one in Rome.

 

Or......have the store ship it.

 

or..... do what I did one trip- bought a wheeled carryon size (cheap one) and put all my purchases in it. I had only carried my large purse over and you are allowed one carryon and one personal bag/item. DH had the other carryon with cameras, medicines, and other things that don't go in the checked bag.

 

or.... take your purse in an empty carryon over and then pack it to come home

 

Much cheaper than paying for extra bag or shipping.

[ksps cruise fan]

Last year in Alaska it was very easy to pack all the souvenirs in one of those USPS boxes and mail them to myself. It saved on headaches with packing them, worrying about the weight of the bags (extra charge now days :mad:). Can I do that in Italy? (Yes I know there is no US Post Office there :p) How good / expensive is the Italian Post? Or is the baggage fees less?

 

Another question: I live in Upstate NY but will be flying in/out of Toronto. If I pack the souvenirs in my luggage, when I cross the border at Niagara Falls, will I need to fill out an US customs form?

 

For cruisers who are staying on in Italy (or any place), consider checking with your hotel to see if it has a business center that handles things like shipping. I know someone mentioned UPS offices in Italy, but I find that DHL tends to be the more common international shipping company. The one time we used the business center this way was in Hong Kong after our Asia cruise.

[hexdragon]

Okay, a little more info... I was thinking that I buy stuff in the different ports and bring it back to the ship and on the last day of the cruise (overnight in Venice) I would pack it all and ship it in one box...

 

And as far as crossing the Canada/US border, I will be driving. I assume that when my passport is scanned that it will show me leaving Europe and landing in Canada that day. So I don't think I can bluff my way through by saying I was visiting my sister :D

[ksps cruise fan]

And as far as crossing the Canada/US border, I will be driving. I assume that when my passport is scanned that it will show me leaving Europe and landing in Canada that day. So I don't think I can bluff my way through by saying I was visiting my sister :D

 

This and your earlier inquiry about coming into the US having bought souvenirs suggests you may not have done much international travel and, especially, exceeded your duty-free allowance. Some info: First of all, financially you're better off bringing the items with you. You are allowed to personally bring in $800 worth of purchases per person from most of the world and $1600 from visits to US posessions. There are complicated situations with other amounts after visiting other destinations, but those two numbers will suffice for now. There are other complications about intervals between the date of an earlier trip. Again, for the moment, let's just focus on those two duty free allowances and assume you qualify.

 

In contrast, if you ship your purchases home, you lose the duty free allowance so the full price of all the items is potentially subject to duty. Your package will go through customs and you will be sent a bill, if appropriate, before the package can make its onward journey to your house.

 

You should also know that the stores on the ship are legally obligated to report purchases over the duty free limit. The customs officers that meet a ship returning to an American port already know who needs to make the early morning visit to pay duty. (Stores on land may or may not engage in similar reporting. There is a bounty paid to anyone who reports a purchase that does not get declared going through customs. This is not urban legend.)

 

So let's assume you bring your purchases with you and have to go through customs after having spent more than your allowance. This is simply no big deal. Approach the customs officials without a chip on your shoulder and they go out of their way to minimize your financial obligation. For example, different items have different duty rates. The officials can put the high-rate items under your duty free allowance and calculate your bill on the basis of the low-rate items or vice versa.

 

If you spend some time learning the rules, you can even reduce your duty obligation more. Original works of art -- the sort of sketches and paintings people are always asking about on this board -- come into the US duty free. Loose stones come into the US duty free. This is probably not so much of an issue for a trip to Europe, but from a port like Thailand loose stones are a very appealing purchase. If you buy a strand of pearls in Beijing/Shanghai/Hong Kong and leave them on the piece of rough cord the way they were presented to you, they come into the US duty free. However, if you have the jewelry store re-string them and attach a clasp, you're now bringing in a dutiable piece of jewelry.

 

Above all, don't make a big deal about Customs. The rates are not that high, the Customs officers are not monsters, and the consequences of trying to game the system are far worse than simply paying in the first place.

[Karennella]

If we get stuff sent back to Australia from the Nthn Hemisphere, the cost is really high. (mind you we can get books from Aussie authors sent from England at a third of the cost of buying them here...)

My solution, which may not please my husband, it to stick to small souveniers, such as lovely 18ct gold from Italy, diamonds from Dubai or else stuff I can wear home, like the beautiful navy leather jacket I have in mind for this year.:)

[ducklite]

If you do decide to ship from Italy, a reliable option to DHL/Fed Ex/UPS is Vatican Post. Efficient and safe, the mail is handled by the Swiss. So if you've got bulky but not particularly expensive items, that might be an option.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Asking the shop how much things will cost to ship- will encourage them to make a bargain with you. I don't know about the rest of you but i usually am fully packed with a carryon and large roller bag. This makes it difficult to add souveniers. I agree that you can try to stick to small items but when I was in Santorini I bought a beautiful art piece that I treasure that is large and weighs about 2 pounds- so I had it mailed back.

 

Don't sweat the small stuff and I wouldn't spend time trying to find packaging and a post office on my vacation. Let the shop do it- it won't be much more, if at all.

[slidergirl]

I bought a copper risotto pan in Montepulciano, very heavy, had the shop ship it home for me, it arrived 2 days after we got home. A ceramic dish we bought we packed carefully and it fit in our luggage. For us it depends on the size, shape and weight as to how we'll try to get it home. If packing it yourself, I'd look for DHL or FedEx there to do the shipping personally. Too many stories of the Italian Post items never quite making their destination.

 

I must be lucky - I've used IP several times without a hitch. The IP agents have always been helpful in making sure the proper paperwork is filled out. I work at a location where we are supposed to receive packages for guests. You'd be surprised how many FedEx packages get lost in the ether - I've become very adept at tracing!!

Lucky you - a risotto pan. I wanted to buy a nice copper pot at the E. Dehillerin store in Paris. The price to ship was going to be more than the pot. I bought several knives instead. I checked my bag on the return to I didn't have to ship the knives...

[nparmelee]

Yes, love my copper pan, planning a next trip so I can get another one.... Glad to hear you had good experiences with IP. They all can screw up, it's a matter of which one actually works for you.

[hexdragon]

This and your earlier inquiry about coming into the US having bought souvenirs suggests you may not have done much international travel and, especially, exceeded your duty-free allowance.

Well the bulk of my international travel came in the late 80s before all these baggage fees and while I was traveling on the company's dime... :D

 

On my Hawaiian trip I had to repack my main bag and shift things into my carry on to get under the 50lb limit at the ticket counter... :(

[hrhdhd]

Above all, don't make a big deal about Customs. The rates are not that high, the Customs officers are not monsters, and the consequences of trying to game the system are far worse than simply paying in the first place.

 

Agreed. I have returned from trips over the limit several times, and only once have I had to pay duty. I find that the Customs officials don't even want to bother with figuring out how much to charge me, and after telling me that I spend too much, they send me on my way.

 

If you're caught lying on your declaration form, you pay a fine AND lose your stuff. :eek: That's enough of a threat to keep me honest, even if I have to pay a bit.

[slidergirl]

I've had a few Customs officials chuckle when they read my form. I spend time on my flights home going over all my receipts and listing exactly what I bought and how much I paid by category. Yes, I list like: "clothes 49,57EU, cosmetics 200,87EU, ceramics 400,34EU", etc. I have yet to be charged any duty, even when I am over the limit.

 

Hey, I do my part to help the world economy :D

 

P.S. remember "x,yy" in Euros is the same as "x.yy" in US/CAD $...