International Shipping from / to Italy

Shipping to Italy

Shipping to Italy is notorious for being spotty and inconsistent.  This is largely due to people not wanting to pay for Customs fees so things that are seized by Customs are left to rot in their offices.  Some things tend to ship faster or more reliably than others, relatively speaking of course.  These items include smaller parcels like books or documents.  Larger items like furnishings, art work, or automobiles tend to have to largest delays.  The hold ups can last anywhere from a few days to a couple of months which is why Italy holds the reputation for not being consistent in its delivery timing. 

Shipping services to Italy

The exception to the aforementioned delays in delivery is when you ship with a courier.  You can go with either a public or private courier and still get good results most of the time.  Basically you, the shipper, will pay them in advance.  They will use this money to pay for any customs fees they encounter and then deliver the package to its addressee.  The courier will then refund you whatever money is left over after the transaction is complete.  Obviously since you are trusting someone with your money and goods up front, you will want to do some due diligence before choosing a courier to use.  Also this route does tend to be a bit more expensive than other shipping means but at least you can rest assured that your package will get to its destination. 

Preparing your shipment to Italy

You will want to prepare your shipment to Italy with the above mentioned delays in mind.  With any luck your package will go right through Customs to the desired parties without much delay.  Unfortunately, that is more often than not unlikely to happen so you will want to prepare for the hold up.  This means steer away from perishable items unless absolutely necessary and make sure your packaging can withstand numerous people inspecting it over the course of it's stay in the Customs office, no matter how long that may be.