Best way to send an instrument from the US to Europe

[Paul Hostetter]

The title asks the question. I haven't done this in ten years, and I'm wondering what's new. A few folks say the USPO is now the best way, others say it's slow (even though it's Priority Mail) and that things get badly routed.

The instrument in question is a Greek bouzouki which wants to go to Ireland, of all places! Its box dimensions are 15 x 15 x 44".

I'd love to hear from people with current experience. What about DHL, FedEx, and UPS?

[Max Girouard]

I would send it USPS express mail, but check with the USPS online calculator as some countries don't allow packages over a certain size. I just sent a mandolin to France, in a 36 x 18 x 12 box and it cost $90. The mandolin was in my customers hand in 5 days. I have not used any other shipper for overseas shipping so I'm not sure how they would operate regarding size restrictions.

[amowry]

I've been using Priority International, with no problems (no jinxes, no jinxes). Last time I looked it was way cheaper than the other carriers, and not much slower. The main contributor to shipping time always seems to be customs anyway. The boxes I use are indeed too big for Express.

[Paul Hostetter]

The USPS calculator was really helpful, and gave me a 3-5 day and a 6-10 day option that seem reasonable. The receiver in Ireland can deal with customs, unless I have to pay it out front.

It used to be that FedEx was the most expensive, but when they said two day delivery, it always resulted in a package being through customs and arriving on the doorstep in two days. UPS was a mess back then, their 2-Day was 8-14 days thanks to customs. The US Post wasn't an option. I use it often domestically, no problems. If I see a few dissenting comments I'll just go ahead with 3-5 day delivery via Express Mail® International. I'm still all ears.

[Pete Summers]

I'd say the "best" way is probably the most expensive -- Fed Ex or other international carrier like UPS.

[brunello97]

Paul, this is a useful discussion and once the package arrives I'd appreciate your follow-up on whatever service you choose, particularly at the Irish (receiving) end of things.

In the last 3-4 years I've used USPS to ship mandolins to France, Switzerland and Italy with pain free results. 3-5 days from you to Eire sounds pretty good. But my confidence in any shipper is only as good as my last experience..

Mick

[Folkmusician.com]

Nearly everything we ship internationally goes USPS. It is MUCH cheaper. An observation is that Express mail gets there a bit sooner, but also seems like it gets through customs quicker. Customs can cause delays when shipped Postal. Postal tracking doesn't always work well, though Express mail tracking is fairly reliable. Insurance claims are slow with postal and a major problem if the receiver does not cooperate.

[mandroid]

I thought the difference between Fed Ex and USPS was a grey merge,
and they used space on the Fed Ex planes for overseas cargo, ..

[coelhoe]

Last time, I just carried it over myself. Saved everybody trouble. Little more expensive, though.

[Ben Milne]

Having mandolins (as well as audio equpment etc) shipped from the US to Australia I have always been happy with people using USPS. Have heard bad reports abourt both fedex and UPS and the charges seem exorbitant compared to USPS. Others MMV as my experience is to Australia and OP is asking about Europe.

Oh and add an invoice or bill of sale with the instrument. Frustrating knowing your new instrument is a couple of Km away, and being held by customs while proof of goods value is established

[Billgrass]

The overhead bin. Preferably on a Luftansa plane (free good german beer).

[Eddie Sheehy]

USPS - if the size is allowable - L + 2x(w+d) <= 108" - say 15lbs - about $60-$80 depending on where in Europe - they also offer Global Express for a bit more... check the USPS site.

UPS and FEDEX are about $160 for the same service... and a lot more paperwork...

Paperwork will be - customs form showing value, Cert. of Origin - just fill in where it was made, (Fedex and UPS will require a Commercial Invoice)...

[mtucker]

....if you ship USPS international, they contract out to FedEx, and it's less costly than using FedEx directly.

[peter.coombe]

Having mandolins (as well as audio equpment etc) shipped from the US to Australia I have always been happy with people using USPS. Have heard bad reports abourt both fedex and UPS and the charges seem exorbitant compared to USPS. Others MMV as my experience is to Australia and OP is asking about Europe.

That is fine for any thing worth less than $1000AUD. I am still waiting for a vintage Lyon and Healy to arrive, it has been in the postal system for no less than 7 weeks! It was sent priority mail USPS which is supposed to take 6-10 days to Australia. First it got bounced by US Customs becasue of some paperwork problem (don't know what that was), that took 3 weeks. 2 weeks to get to Australia, now it has been with Australian Customs for nearly 2 weeks, and I am still waiting for it to be cleared after having paid the exorbitant duty and GST. Never again, if there is ever a next time I will request the sender use DHL or I will hop on a plane and pick it up myself. Not happy! I always use DHL to ship to the USA and the longest shipment was 7 days thanks to US Customs. Usually takes 3-4 days, but is expensive.

[trevor]

I've had similar experiences with receiving stuff from the US with USPS. I gave up, gets stuck in customs, the postal service here says they are not allowed to talk to customs!!!

The big couriers have their own customs agents. It costs more but in the end its worth it. Of course there are some horror stories with them too.