Packages to/from Europe and cost to person receiving them

[Anonymous]

I sent my sister a gift, from the US to France. She had to pay 20 euros to get it when the mail lady came. Has that happened to you recently, either with a package from/to Europe? It was clearly marked as a gift and the value was just $50 and shipping $25. It seems so weird to me they'd tax gifts and it's never happened in 25 years of sending gifts back and forth.

[Anonymous]

We no longer send gifts to family in Spain for this very reason.

[Anonymous]

Just make the value on the paperwork as less than $10 and it will be fine, anything more and there's a charge.

[Anonymous]

Yes, happened to us. Family sent a package of valueless stuff (kid art, posters, an old blanket) from USA to EU and we had to pay €45. It’s best to ship within the EU.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, happened to us. Family sent a package of valueless stuff (kid art, posters, an old blanket) from USA to EU and we had to pay €45. It’s best to ship within the EU.

I do that for many things like my nephew's Christmas gift: just got it from a French site. This was a personalized, special gift. I guess no more of that! It's actually a little upsetting.

[Anonymous]

This happened to my friend in India for the first time this year, and I’ve been sending them gifts yearly for 10+ years. Low value items.