Honest question about italian mail.

[loosebolts]

gents,
there is a seller on ebay selling jackets and vintage clothing at what i would say is below market value. bout 60% what i would charge if i was selling it. however the kicker is that its not in a major city but not a completely remote part of Italy.
ok so i was curious what the forum thought about ordering large items from Italy. the ship says shipping to US in 3 business days. i find that a little hard to believe.

 

[devilish]

I don't have any direct experience but some companies in Europe use DHL and by all accounts they usually deliver in 3-4 days. I have had stuff from the UK sent that way and it was very quick. I have heard that the Italian Postal Service is a complete nightmare and stuff goes missing all the time. I'm sure you know that there's also always the chance any international item will get caught by Customs and they'll charge their huge fee.

 

[Italian-wiseguy]

Italian postal service used to be a lot worst some years ago; you still hear scary stories sometimes, but as for my personal experience, all the mail I sent and/or received, arrived just in the expected time and in perfect shape;
many italian sellers in the Bay don't use Poste Italiane anyway, but DHL or similar services.

Given the way Italy is organized (and her relative size) it doesn't really matter if the seller is in a major city or in a remote village (with the exception, probably, of some really remote island in the Mediterranean like Lampedusa ); probably it's even better if he's not from a major town, as their postal offices can be quite chaotic...

hope this helps, ciao!!

 

[rocketeer]

Some countries offer fantastic service so I would not be surprised at quoted times. Ok it's not Italy but I have had regular airmail post: 4 days from Australia to the UK and for a slight express payment 2 days from Japan!!!!!!
Many ebayers include "Will not post to Italy" and also just as common now is "No postage to the United Kingdom" from the USA.
J

 

[majormajor]

Some countries offer fantastic service so I would not be surprised at quoted times. Ok it's not Italy but I have had regular airmail post: 4 days from Australia to the UK and for a slight express payment 2 days from Japan!!!!!!
Many ebayers include "Will not post to Italy" and also just as common now is "No postage to the United Kingdom" from the USA.
J

Many US sellers do indeed refuse to send stuff outside the US, but I think the main reason is their (understandable) relectance to get involved with customs & duty issues.

The UK customs is very much a lottery as to whether you will get charged or not. Only last week, I received 4 packages of similar value from the US. Three of them attracted no duty or VAT. The fourth one did, and our wonderful Parcelforce service put their own "handling fee" on for good measure.

Faced with this, some ebay buyers will simply allow the package to be returned and try for a refund. This lands the seller with extra charges. It is a shame this happens. Nothing more annoying than seeing an item you might want, only to read the dreaded "will not ship to the UK"..........:eeek: