I will be in Vienna and want to get some Porcelain cookware as gifts. It would be much easier to ship rather than carry them home. Is shipping from Austria to the U.S. reasonable in cost?
Posted by
Magyarország / Rep of Texas
17908 posts
Some of the shops will ship for you.
Posted by
Washington DC
27107 posts
The shipping cost would not be what I would consider "reasonable", but your definition may differ. Cookware is heavy. You can get an idea of the expense by checking the DHL, UPS and FedEx websites. The Austrian Post Office (if it handles large items) might well be somewhat less expensive, but I'd expect it to still be pricey.
Posted by
Chicago
2669 posts
In Sept., my sister and I shipped a 20-pound box from Innsbruck to the US for only 40 Euros via the Austrian post office. We both thought that was super cheap. We bought the giant box and tape from the post office. Ask for a customs form to fill out ahead of time. It took 2 weeks to receive the box.
Posted by
OP
397 posts
Thank you Mr. E and Carrie. Those are two good answers. I am thinking of purchasing three tea kettles and I would think they are not more than 20 pounds in weight.
Posted by
California USA
3951 posts
If you have the ability to check your suitcase on the way home you can take a collapsible bag to hand carry the teakettles or other bulky items you purchase on the plane if the store doesn’t ship for customers. I’ve been known to remove things like Alfi carafes, flatten their boxes and wrap the carafes, etc in clothing to protect them and hand carry it on the plane, guaranteeing an on time delivery. I have also had stores ship with good results although it can take a few weeks.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23267 posts
If the vendor ships, the VAT will be deducted. Depending on the value of the item, the VAT saving will often off-set some of the cost of shipping. On our last Italy trip we shipped home a large piece of art work -- about 400 euro -- and the VAT savings paid for the shipping via Italian post. The real odd thing was after the item was delivered by a US Postal employee, she kind of hinted that may be we should open and inspect for damage. We did -- no damage. The real reason she wanted it opened was revealed a few minutes later. She was an Italian immigrant and the return address on the package was from her hometown. She was super curious about what was in the package. The shipping time was about two weeks. We barely beat it home.