This Christmas, I shipped gifts (pastries, mostly) from a French pastry company (Pierre Hermé) to eight French friends and one Italian friend. The Italian one was extremely expensive; I didn't notice at the time, and when I did, it was too late to cancel. (I have a hunch it had something to do with crossing the border; if I ship something to Canada, the price goes way up, too.) The French ones cost about 32 Euros each. I was tickled by the idea -- look how cosmopolitan I am, with all these French friends -- and didn't do the math. One shipment was about $35. Eight shipments was....hum.
So I thought well, hell, I like to bake, home made is best (maybe....), why not bake stuff and mail it? Cut the shipment costs way down. So I spent a little time looking at the Fed Ex, UPS, and USPS sites.
As a general statement, it appears that the minimum cost to ship a one pound box to France is about $6.00.... but thats just a guess. The Post Office makes it hard to ask the question; their web site talks a lot about rules, guidelines, standards, and so forth; very little about what will one pound from here to there, cheapest rate, cost me? The Fed Ex and UPS guys are clearer.... and cost about $40 a box.
Maybe next year I will just send a card...
3 comments:
Happy NEw Year. You can send me pastries anytime.
Give me a mailing address, and it's a done deal!
How about gift certificates to restaurants near them? Those might be easier to find than the post office rates online, and might have options for ordering their gift certificates online? If in doubt, phone! I phoned a place in Maine that doesn't have online ordering, and they hooked me up.
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