Sending books from China to Europe

[Gaogao]

Hi!

I´m not in China yet, but since I will buy the books I will later need at university and loads of HSK tests and dictionaries, I will probably have to get them home in an other way than packing into a suitcase and stuffing my handbag and laptop bag. I´ve read more threads about China Post, Fedex, EMS and such, but those were about sending to the USA or Australia. I would like to know which one do you think would be most suitable to send books to Europe (斯洛伐克). It should not be as fast as DHL for instance, rather secure and not too expensive. If I send it with China Post, what type of parcel should I announce it to the officer, as well as how should I pack the books, should I pack them at the post office and show the receipts of the books? (Any experience with BLCU post office, or rather take it to another??) I would be really grateful to know a little bit how this process goes and what service should I look for, because I really want those books to arrive at home.

Thank you very much for your advice.

[yonglin]

I'm not too sure how sending to Europe will be any different than sending to Australia or North America. China Post is probably a lot cheaper than any Fedex-type courier. SAL is usually a good compromise between air mail (too expensive) and surface mail (too slow). The China post website has price schedules and delivery times for different options. I suggest that you don't pack yourself, but let them pack for you (they repacked what I'd packed). Don't know exactly why they would bother about book receipts...?

[Xiwang]

(Any experience with BLCU post office, or rather take it to another??

I used the BLCU post office right at the end of this past semester. It 's a small office and was pretty busy with students mailing stuff home. The woman working the counter was patient and friendly with everyone, which I appreciated since I had never mailed any packages before (let alone, multiple packages to different destinations) and had filled out one of the forms incorrectly.

Some of the students brought sealed China Post boxes to mail. Others played it safe and left the tops of their pre-packed China Post boxes open so they could be sealed at the post office. (Maybe it was because it was busy that day but the woman was content to let us pack our own things.)

In contrast to the friendly woman, there was an unhappy older woman whose job that morning was to move packages from the front into the back room. She yelled at a couple of Japanese students who were standing at the end of the line because they were talking to each other and laughing. (Fortunately, by the time you finish your course, you should be immune to the experience of Chinese clerks yelling at you.)