My cousins in Frankfurt have requested that I purchase them iPods (one iPod touch and and iPod video) in Canada and mail them to Frankfurt while I%26#39;m in Paris (apparently they are a whole lot cheaper in North America than they are in Europe...cheap enough even to offset the shipping costs, I guess)
I%26#39;m just a little bit worried about the safety in doing this, for instance, whether they are likely to get there in good condition, or if I should be worried about them getting %26quot;lost in the mail%26quot;.
I was wondering if anyone had any experience doing this? If it%26#39;s strongly cautioned against, and whether there are options (ex. insurance, tracking, etc.) that would give me the peace of mind that they will get there?
Thanks in advance for all of the help!
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Is there some reason you can%26#39;t mail them from Canada? Why from Paris?
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If you wish to use a service similar to Federal Express in France, you can use this one:
chronopost.fr/transport-express/livraison-co…
It offers a tracking number, insurance for purchase, email notification upon pkg. delivery, etc. It is an excellent service, but it don%26#39;t come cheap.
If you know the weight of one iPod, you can put in the data on the site to see what shipment options are available, at what price.
Chronopost has walk-in boutiques all over France.
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The idea is of course to save cost, and services like TNT, Federal Express and Chronopost would almost certainly cost more than the savings you get by buying in North America.
I suggest you use the French postal service, and send it as registered mail. As an example, a 750 g package from France to Germany, registered with recorded delivery, will cost € 13.80 priority rate. Insurance is extra - you can buy separate %26quot;stamps%26quot; to insure the package. I couldn%26#39;t find how much they cost, though.
La Poste has an extensive website, with a separate English-language section for foreign tourists, visitors and immigrants: www.laposte.com
When you bring the iPods into France from Canada, officially you would of course be required to declare them to customs, and pay 19.6% VAT and other charges (like maybe the %26quot;redevance copie privée%26quot;?) on the value of the players. I%26#39;m sure that not everybody does this, but you have to decide for yourself whether you declare them or not...
When mailing them from France to Germany, there are no customs formalities or duties.
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thanks for all of your input
K_Tournesol, my cousins wanted me to mail them while I was in Paris because they figured that shipping would be less and the package would get to them sooner.
toutou %26amp; JanToo, thanks for the websites, I will put the decision to my cousins as they are the ones who are going to pay the bill :)
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