Shipping Home Souvenirs While Abroad

Some seasoned travelers will tell you that once upon a time they would bring along empty suitcases on their journeys and fill them up with the purchases they made while abroad. While that may not be entirely cost efficient today, you don’t have to drastically cut back your shopping experience in foreign countries. Shipping your souvenirs home via the postal system is an excellent, easy and affordable way to ensure your items are waiting for you when you get home.

Some stores will ship your purchases home for a minimal cost, saving you from doing any of the work yourself. This is typically limited to worldwide luxury brands that you may be able to find in your own home country, but who’s to judge if the itch to purchase a new Louis Vuitton occurs when you’re in the middle of Rome. In that case, have the store ship it home for you.

However, you may find yourself facing a locally sourced, artisan item that you just can’t live without. In this case, you’ll have to do the shipping yourself. Firstly, you’ll need to know the shipping and mail laws in your location. If you’re already familiar with shipping via UPS or FedEx, there are both UPS and FedEx stores abroad that can assist you in sending packages back to the United States. If there aren’t any familiar shipping stores in your vicinity, a normal post office should be able to help you.

A fair amount of caution should be used, however. Never risk mailing something of significant worth or value, as no postal system is perfect. Also, if you’re in a remote area or third-world country, the chances of mail and parcels being lost, either by accident or purposefully, increases substantially. If you can get your hands on them, use sturdy boxes, packing tape and either bubble wrap or shipping peanuts. Be sure to use the correct amount of postage to avoid the risk of your purchases being returned to their country of origin. In most cases, postal workers are more than helpful and will assist you where need be.