Bringing Extra Baggage vs. Shipping Things Back Home

I went a little crazy shopping for pottery in Lisbon when I learned that I could ship it home Federal Express. When it came time to pay, the clerk told me that the shipping bill would be 100 Euros--ouch!! At that point my husband told me that he'd carry it. It fit into 1 shopping bag. We were checking our main bags, so this was one of his carry-ons.

definatley the foldable duffel will help - put your clothes in on the way home and pack the souvenirs you want to protects in your carry on. Shipping works great but is expensive - 35-50$ from Germany and Scandinavia - but its not a bad idea if you dont want to carry it around an extra week or two.

I ran into this problem last fall when I spent 4 weeks in Europe. I took the RS collapsible bag with me and it was very handy. I started in London and had my brother ship my items to Prague (my last stop before home). Shipping from London to the US is outrageously expensive! My tagine ended up shattered, but it was made of clay...everything else was perfectly fine. Then when I was in Germany I bought many items in Rothenburg at the Freis' (sp? - recommended place in RS book) and shipped quite a bit of souveniers including Nutcrackers back home. If you buy a lot of stuff at one store and have them ship it back you will save the VAT tax and there is hardly any difference in price. Then before I from Prague I reorganized everything in my backpack and collapsible bag. I wrapped my items in my clothing and everything made it just fine.

Shipping to Canada will be very expensive. Take an extra bag if you can manage it. Pack one inside the other until you need both.

Most likely will cost you a lot of money. Try to find the rates online and see how much would be.
But if you are going backpacking, it will be a hassle to carry extra pounds on your back, especially if you are going to have your backpack long time on your back. Each oz will count.
I would buy as little as possible.

Thanks for the feedback!
I kinda feel like my best bet would be to bring the extra bag...even though it's a pain, paying to ship everything back could be worse, I guess.

I vote for what your sister did. I have seen plenty of cheap totes and luggage pieces for sale at street markets. You could also look for a folding tote or duffle to take along. We always take a folding duffle for just in case, but still look for small and very portable items for souvenirs. Lugging a suitcase will turn your trip into something other than a backpacking trip. Whatever you decide, have fun!

Are all the airlines now charging you for a second piece of checked luggage?

We recently shipped a very large box from southern France back to the US. It was about the size of a pretty small suitcase. The cost, all in (box, postage etc) was about 60 USD for three-day delivery.

I don't know if that counts as outrageously expensive, but it was a heck of a lot easier than packing around another suitcase. Since we travel one-bag we could have checked it for nothing, but travelling with that much stuff is out of the question for us.

I like the idea of a folding duffle-bag. I'm going to look for one :)

I have used two strategies. For short trips, I underpack one of my bags and leave the extra space for souvenirs -in the case of my frequent trips to Belgium, that usually includes Moeder Babelutte chocolate and beer glasses. For longer trips in which I need all the space my bags will allow, I have mailed things back home. Don't quote me on this, but I recall the French postal system being one of the more inexpensive in western Europe.

I regularly ship home from all over Europe. But it's not my souveniers (except for books). I send home my dirty clothes, shoes, etc. and avoid any customs charges on new items. Send them slow delivery and don't worry if they don't show up for 2-3 weeks. That way you protect the new stuff and lighten your load. Check shipping protocalls with the local post office. They may have specific rules regarding how a package is wrapped and sealed.

That said, I also always travel with a lightweight nylon bag that has a shoulder strap and zipper pulls that can be securred with a zip strip to foil thieves. I generally keep clothes and shoes in that bag to again protect my newest treasures in my suitcase.

What shipping methods/services are people using to ship things back? I've been looking at shipping rates from the UK to Seattle area and the least expensive I've found for a package smaller than the one Chris describes is just shy of apx $200!