Need Advice- Shipping stuff home

[WineDown17]

Just read a great thread on "favorite puschases".. which made me wonder.. how the heck do you get all this stuff home!?!?

 

Would love to hear from folks who have successfully- and unsuccessfulky! shipped items home.. especially wine, and other larger items.

 

Thanks!

[texancruzer]

Saw UPS stores in lots of places. Didnt use them.

 

We found we could purchase wines at a comparable cost right here in the US for what we could buy it and ship it home for...so we skipped the wine.

Did buy some lemoncello and ouzo and wrapped it in clothes in checked bag.

 

What we did buy were some other items we had to get home....

 

On the Amalfi coast we purchased a gorgeous set of hand painted tiles (a set of 9 - 3 tiles X 3 tiles) which the store wanted 80 euros to ship.....

We also purchased some other items - nothing huge.....but definately wouldnt fit in my suitcase.

 

So, while in Florence I purchased a small (carryon size) hard body suitcase. Since I had only used a large purse for my carryon on the way over this was my 2nd item. I packed everything NOT liquid or gel in there and carried it home. It actually had wheels - which was a good thing since it was heavy !! They also did not weigh it before boarding.

 

I have also been known to pack a suitcase in a suitcase and then use the smaller one to get stuff home :D YES I AM A SHOPPER !

 

With the new weight restrictions make sure they are the lightweight lanier nylon ones.

[tally10]

Just read a great thread on "favorite puschases".. which made me wonder.. how the heck do you get all this stuff home!?!?

 

Would love to hear from folks who have successfully- and unsuccessfulky! shipped items home.. especially wine, and other larger items.

 

Thanks!

 

The only time we have shipped something home was a box of dirty clothes from London as we were over the weight limit in 2004. We are wiser now. But, we do bring bubble wrap, large zip lock bags, and a large canvas (packed) carryon when we travel. When we buy wine or other glass items (or fragile items), we bubble wrap them, put them in a ziplock, and insert them in hubby's dirty sport socks for cushioning. They, of course, go in the checked bag again cushioned by dirty clothes. The clean clothes go in the canvas carryon, and sometimes we check that as well. We have never lost anything due to breakage, except a refrigerator magnet that I had forgotten about. Hubby really knows how to pack, but frets about the weight restriction!

[Nora4sure]

Hello,

This is just my opinion but... i worried so much about buying things on our recent med trip and not being able to fit them in the suitcase or being over the limit if they did fit that i passed up some great purchases. I, in the end, was over the limit and did the "open the suitcase to redistribute the weight" thing on more than one occasion AND i was on a first class ticket(not that that really matters but its easy to get to 70 lbs with a large suitcase).

 

While in Santorini there were so many wonderful things I saw, that while in a ship sponsored store called "Di Porto" we found great local wine, olive oil, lotions and soaps, that i shipped it all home. It was $$$$ but after spending CRAZY money on this trip, what was another 100 dollars to ship a piece of vacation home with me.

It was worth it and id do it again. I would just be sure that i did it at a UPS store or a ship sponsored store so that in the event there are issues with your items, the cruiseline will back you up.

 

It was also nice to get a package about 2 weeks after you arrived back home. I shipped 4 bottles of wine, 4 large decorative bottles of olive oil and various bottle of lotions, olives and soaps. How fun to get it at home and I didnt have to carry it home with me.

 

Just my two cents.

Nora

[bluesea777]

A tip from me:

 

If you have several suitcases between you, pack the heavier items into the smaller suitcases.

[WineDown17]

Thanks Nora and everyone...

 

I will definitely plan to ship some things home.. with 2 kids I will have way to much to deal with already!

 

Glad to know there are UPS stores and shops that ship (say that 3 times fast!)

 

Now if only my trip werent so far away....

 

:)

[Steph27]

Be advised the due to fuel costs there is a shipping surcharge added to the total cost to ship items with UPS, DHL and FedEx. I have used all three in different countries. However, with oil prices spiking the shipping prices have also increased significantly. In St. Petersburg, Russia the cost to ship was the same price or more than the dishes I was buying. In Florence and Venice in 2003 the prices were very reasonable with UPS. Used DHL last year from Valencia Spain and the price for a medium size box was $320. Just this past May we were in Eastern Europe. Shipped a large FedEx box home and the cost was $336.

 

I only travel with a carryon so the cost of shipping stuff home is a convenience and a necessity. However, with prices as high as they are next time I am considering buying a small bag and checking it for the trip home. It would be much cheaper and I can also buy more!

[Keith1010]

I just wanted to add that the cost to ship items home from Europe will be extremely expensive. I know folks who spent close to $300.00 to ship home a medium size box. Costs can vary by country as sometimes the country adds a tax onto the shipment based on the value of the goods.

 

Keith