Can someone simplify parcel postage in France please? I have never had to bother much with postage of parcels around France but need to now. What size/weight parcel can I take to the post office and what size is more beneficial to send by Courrier? Also, can someone recommend a website that compares postage with courriers for collection from domicile and delivery within France mainly. It is mainly for exchanging car parts.
I presume Colissimo are postage as a regular parcel through the post office? Does this need to go in specific packaging?

All I can say that it has gone up quite massively since the New Year. We spent €17.00 + this morning to send a smallish, and not very heavy parcel to our son in Jersey.

Thanks. How did you post it? Was it Colissimo, via your post office and just in a regular box? I realy haven't a clue on posting boxed parcels. I have found a rate on the Colissimo website giving weight postage but not sure whether Colissimo delivers all packages in France, and how large a parcel I can just take to the post office.

The thing about my post office is that parcels have to be in a plain brown box. Brown wrapping paper is not permitted. It is a move to get you to buy their ridiculously expensive pre-stamped boxes.

So we collect suitable boxes and use those with added labels and lots of parcel tape.

There is a good website which i will find tomorrow as I am in a bit of a dash ce soir. Inside France we just use La Poste, Colissimo is more expensive but necessary for other parts.

You can actually send rather enormous parcels from the Post office - at a price

Here is a useful link for working out your options and the costs:-

La Poste

Thank you. I am looking at the La Poste link. It asks you for the weight of the item but doesn't seem to state sizes of packages? I would hate to sell something for a said price, then go in there to find some hidden extra. There must be a limit on size of parcel that you can take to the Post Office, it's so complicated.I thought I saw something about 2 metres, but cannot make head nor tail out of this parcel posting in France.

My understanding is that 2 meters is the limit because I once received some curtain rails that were that long. The facteur was not amused.

I have also received, in the past, a 46" TV which weighed about 25kg but I had to go and collect it from the bureau.

Thanks, yes we ordered a 25 kilo food parcel from an excellent online food shop in the UK Weighed a tonne!! Well 25 kilos to be precise. It was just the size I was concerned about. All sorted and thanks for your help all!

One tends to hear mixed reports about the Collissimo service here. I've always found it good. As an example last year I had an old, large Mackintosh computer sent to me which cost 20€ by Collissimo - which I thought was pretty good for the size, weight and rapid service.

I order stuff from Amazon pretty late in the evening and it still gets here the following day. We get a parcel post in the morning and letters at lunch time sending stuff is typically a different mater it means dealing with folk that remind you of the Vogons from Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy.

No Vogons in the PO we usually use (in another village). They are lovely, helpful and seem very good at finding the best method to post. If they think your package is not secure they add a bit of extra tape. The only thing is they won't tolerate brown paper but that, I am sure is because they have had orders from on high to sell their own boxes.

Our post office is rubbish. It used to be good but a new lady is there every day now and has recently didn't check the postage on my passport and ended up being held at a postal holding point somewhere in Paris. A time when I wish my french was better than it is!!!!

My post office is rubbish too - I avoid going there if I can. The last time I posted something important, after queuing for 10 minutes while she buffooned through the preceding clients she said to "Why didn't you weight it and buy the stamps on the machine over there?".

"What the one with the big 'en panne' sign", I replied.

Our post office reorganised its desks a while back. (Without, I believe, any attempt to analyse customer flow.)
Three separate counters for Virements, particuliers, and a third one that I do not remember. (There are never more than two staff at them though and usually only one) They also installed a self service machine. Which only takes coins. Not surprisingly, few arrive provided with the necessary coinage, so all queue at one of the desks to get change.
They have just installed a change machine, but it too is always broken.

Our last post office had yet another refit to move the banking section away from the mail and outside they dug up the 8 steps and handicap ramp to replace the with the same steps and ramp. Personally I would have to be held at gun point to open a bank account with them having dealt with the postal side of the company.