by Manu L

Created on: January 19, 2009

A few years ago, it would often be cheaper to ship gifts from Europe to the United States by using a homemade box instead of the ones sold in post offices. However, this has changed. Now, the boxes provided by local post offices (in France, for example) are usually good value for money and are sold according to the size and the weight of the item.

If you are sending several items to the same person, it can be more cost-effective to send two packages instead of one, especially if you pack them in padded envelopes. Padded envelopes can be considered lightweight post and therefore be much cheaper to send than a package.

The weight is measured in the metric system. If your package weighs 1 kg (2.2 pounds), you can pay anywhere between 20 dollars to 120 dollars. It all depends on how fast you want the package to arrive to its destination. The fastest and most expensive method is Federal Express, where you pay a little less than 200 dollars for the package to arrive in one day. If you are willing to wait 2 to 4 days, it will cost you in the 100 dollar range to send the package with companies such as Federal Express or UPS. If the package takes between 4 to 8 days to get to its destination, it will cost you between 35 to 45 dollars to send. Between 5 and 10 days, it will cost approximately 25 dollars. If you can wait 20 to 25 days, then it can cost you between 15 to 20 dollars.

Prices depend on the countries in Europe. You must always ask how long it will take for the package to arrive. If the answer is one week, you know you are going to pay much more than if the delay is two weeks to a month. If you don't speak the language of the county, and the clerk doesn't understand English, do request a paper document with the different prices listed. There can be a lot of options for sending packages, so it's important to take time to know what service you want and need.

If you want to ship books or other items bought on the internet from Europe to the United states, the shipping prices offered by online shops like Amazon are usually good value for money, since they benefit from group shipping, thus reducing costs. By doing that, you can also avoid the hassle of going to the post office.

If you have friends who are returning to the United States by plane and you have a gift to send to someone in the USA, you can always ask the traveller if he/she can carry your gift to its destination or, at least, across the sea. You will then only need to pay local fees to send the package from one American town to another. If you choose this alternative, do not wrap the gift and clearly show it to the traveller who will pack it in his/her bag. It is important that the traveller know about everything that goes into his/her suitcase in order to answer accurately to the questions of customs officers.

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