I need to take a lot of household items and files to my friend in Italy. I could take them as extra luggage and pay $50/box, or mail them. There is no immediate need for any of this stuff (I know mail to/from Italy is slow). Have you had this situation recently? What did you decide to do?
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
If you do this on United or Delta, it's now a $100 for the second checked bag on international flights.
Posted by
Gettysburg, PA
1589 posts
If you can do it on your flight for $50.00, go for it. Mailing will take about 4 weeks via regular mail and Fed Ex will cost a lot more then the fifty.
Posted by
California
494 posts
any packages sent to Italy can be held captive by the dogana and duty levied.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
It's not just that mail to Italy is slow, it's that not everything sent to Italy ever gets there. As said, sending it by a reliable service such as FedEx will cost a LOT. Between the risk of it getting lost on its way to Italy and the risk of it being held up (or stopped completely) by customs, I'd take it myself, and just pay the excess baggage charges. Would your friend pay the cost, or split it (since, as said, the fees are going up on many airlines)?
Posted by
OP
Siena, Tuscany, Italy
26 posts
Thanks for all the help. It's become a moot point because I will be using my two-checked-bag maximum for my stuff. I am going with USPS because it seems to be cheaper than UPS. I don't think FedEx goes to Italy but I may be wrong. I have had luck getting things to Italy before but last summer my friend sent me a care package of chianti and olive oil and all that good stuff never got to me. We were taking a risk, I guess, mailing liquids, but geez!
Posted by
Birmingham, Alabama, USA
290 posts
Fedex, DHL, and UPS all serve Italy. I would go with them over the US Postal Service any day...