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Shipping personal belongings to the U.S. from Russia

Shipping personal belongings to the U.S. from Russia

Old Sep 6th 2001, 10:42 pm
  #1  
Sthansard
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I would like to ask what is a good way to ship personal belongings from Russia
to the U.S.

Has anyone done this before and who shipped them? Advice? Suggestions?

Federal Express says that if I give my fiancee' blank shipping forms with my account
# on them, it is possible to ship them but it sounds expensive and a lot of work. I
also may have to pay duty and/or taxes on the boxes when they arrive in the U.S.

My fiancee' has and is bringing her few meager possessions with her and is leaving
most everything in Russia to either be reclaimed by her when she returns in 90 days,
if she doesn't marry me, or next summer, after we are married.

Thanks, Steve
 
Old Sep 7th 2001, 1:05 am
  #2  
Michael Voight
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StHansard wrote:
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Not the method I would use. After all, the last care package we sent to Russia cost
$140 for FedEx

it is possible to ship them but it sounds expensive and a
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Correct. Until she has the K-1 (or another immigration visa), they are
subject to duty.

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How much stuff is she actually wanting to ship?? This is a perfect time to get rid of
the old junk..

You might check prices for mailing things from the Russia Post Office. My mother in
law is always sending tapes and books, so the charge can't be too out of line.

It really makes no sense to ship furniture and appliances. And... My wife does have
clothing still there for when she takes trips home.

We actually did get quite a bit here by airline with our trips back and forth.

Michael
 
Old Sep 7th 2001, 2:13 am
  #3  
Shussbar
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I am sure there is lot of brokers for Western carieer companies who can give you a
quote . Otherwise, ask the company she is flying on if you can have extra weight,
luggage, for free or how much?
 
Old Sep 7th 2001, 3:22 am
  #4  
Javaranger
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I sent quite a few books back from St. Petersburg last summer. Russian post. Cheap as
hell, but it might have been a special "book" rate. Took two months, but it got here.
Regardless, FedEx et.al are going to charge you out the wazoo. I think Russia's
postal service is slowly getting better, and I've never heard of anyone having any
problems getting anything ripped off, despite the stigma.

Here's what I would do/what I'm doing: My fiancee, like your's apparently, doesn't
have a lot of stuff, at least not compared to [me]. I've told her not to waste
weight/space on replaceables such as clothes. We'll hook her up when she gets here.
So, she's sending stuff which I/She thinks are important and can't easily be bought
here....we'll call them "cultural identity" items.....such as books, her favorite
Russian movies/shows, music, etc here via regular mail. Irreplaceables, like her old
family samovar, pictures etc, are going to be hand carried. Anything else will be
stored for future transport. Large scale shipping of her belongings was never really
considered due to the inevitable cost. Just package by package...a few books and
tapes at a time.....

You may be facing a bigger problem than this, though. I'd still send as much as
possible by Russian post. Every pound sent with them is going to save you big bucks
versus UPS and co.

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Old Sep 7th 2001, 8:55 am
  #5  
Sthansard
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By the time she ships her belongings to the U.S. [they leave Russia], she will
have her K-1.
 
Old Sep 7th 2001, 10:33 pm
  #6  
Michael Voight
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StHansard wrote:
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You mentioned duty, so I thought you were referring to sending them early. If they
are less than one year old, they might be subject to duty, but personal items over 1
year old that you ship after the immigration visa is granted are duty free.
 
Old Sep 8th 2001, 12:34 pm
  #7  
Stevem
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Hey now,

We had relatively more stuff to move over here, and did in three parts:

1. My son and I took some things over before she and her son came here last
September.
2. The two of them brought pretty close to the 70 pound limit each in September.
3. All four of us brought things back this summer.

In other words, find as many pack mules as possible. In our case we were fortunate
because my son and I went over to visit about a month before she came here. If you
don't have that option, perhaps she can find someone else at the airport who is
flying over here, but not using their entire 70 pound allowance--possibly an American
tourist returning home.

Now about stuff, it seems to me you might have things a bit backwards--you can bring
a whole bunch of clothes instead of a few books. If you live near a big city, you can
probably find a Russian book store to fill in the book gap at lower expense than
doing a new wardrobe.

Just my 58 kopecks, at current exchange rates...

Steve M.
 
Old Sep 8th 2001, 3:33 pm
  #8  
Javaranger
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You're right. 70 lbs of clothes is a lot more than 70 lbs of books (well, you know
what I mean). I may have been too focused on my own situation (she doesn't have a
huge wardrobe, and we'll have to do some shopping regardless).

Simply stated, my thinking was this, though: She has probably got 70 pounds of
irreplaceable items and stuff she'll need immediately, and those should be hand
carried. Shipping everything else is undoubtedly cheapest using Russian post. I guess
that's my bottom line.

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