Is it possible to mail a suitcase to the US from China?

Question

I will be adopting a child from China, I am sure that I will be gathering up as many souvineres as possible and I can't carry that many on the plane.

Answer 1

yes you can, it will very expensive though. i sent 2 boxes from shanghai to the west coast on the slowest possible route (via sea) and it cost me over 100 dollars. the boxes weren't very large...and it took over 2 months to arrive. and pack well, my boxes were damaged, one with a big hole in the side (something i find to be common in china), and a lot of things were broken (basically to the point where someone must've purposely smashed them as they were coming thru customs).

Answer 2

You have several choices.

If you are flying economy you will be allowed to check 2 bags at 50 lbs each. Take as little with you as you can get by. Better yet, take clothing you don't care about, and leave it! This will give you a lot more room to pack. Don't forget, you will be able to buy new clothing there too.

You might want to check into flying business class. If you have any friends or family who fly a lot they might donate some frequent flyer miles to upgrade you. This will raise your checked luggage limit to two 70 lb and one 40 lb (80 pounds more). Also you will me MUCH more comfortable traveling!

If you do go over your limit, you can pay the airline for overage and your bags will travel with you. You can call the airline now, to get the rates.

You may not want to have to deal with a lot of stuff and a child. In this case, have your hotel get some 25kg boxes from UPS. These ship flat rate, and will arrive at your house in 3 days. By using the boxes provided by UPS the shipping rate is about half of the normal cost. You can use the UPSs website or call them for the rate before you leave.

To give you an idea of the cost, I shipped the same box from Malaysia for $145.00 last month. (Malaysia is further distance than China)

Congratulations on the new family member, and happy shopping.

Answer 3

It would be cheaper to pay for excess baggage. When you start to get a big as a suitcase, you have to ship it. You can do that through any shipping agency, but they charge by cubic meter and they charge other fees as well. When you live here and you are finally leaving, you get a break on taxes, but just shipping a bunch of merchandise as a tourist, they may gouge you.

When I go home to the US, I bring very little with me. I often pack one suitcase inside another. Then, on the way back to China, I'm packed to the absolute limit. Maybe you don't need to bring a lot with you, or bring things you can leave in China so you'll have more room in your suitcase.

Answer 4

if you're going to adopt a baby from china, you're not going to be there that long. and you can carry 2 suit cases plus a carry on on the plane. i'm not an expert but i would think that you'd have plenty of room for souvenirs. you also can purchase a suitcase in china way cheaper than anywhere else. also you can pay extra and have the suitcase on the plane with you. check wth the airlines, it's not that big of a problem.

Answer 5

Yes you can put a suitcase in a box and mail it from China to the United States though it will be extremely expensive and you can't get insurance against damages. Why don't you just check your additional baggage instead of carrying it on? You are typically allowed quite a few pieces of checked luggage on the plane and they sometimes allow more than usual for additional fees.

Answer 6

You should listen carefully when watching the History channel (Something I do a lot). They are not gonna make any strong claims unless they can prove it. There's no strong proof that Chinese 'discovered' the USA. It's not to much of a stretch to imagine that some Chinese ships did go as far as some of the lower Aleutian islands in their explorations. China is closer to the Aleutian islands (Current portion of state of Alaska) than the Lower 48 states are. Whatever the case, we don't spend much time reading Chinese history in USA/Europe. Too much confusion surrounds the whole thought of 'Discovery' of a particular region of the world. When Europeans or Chinese or whoever showed up to explore the 'New world', there were already people there who 'Discovered' the place thousands of years before.

Answer 7

Sure you can. You should enquire at a courier company to send the bag back for you. They can help you to clear customs and deliver it to your doorstep too. Paying for excess baggage may be more expensive. Why not ask around for more information from the airline office and a courier company like FEDEX or DHL before making a decision?

Answer 8

Yes...I did that last summer after forgetting some luggage in the hotel lobby after checking out!! It will be quite costly though and could take a few weeks (mine took 1 week b/c I had it rushed here)
Congrats on adopting!!

Answer 9

I would check with the airline to see if it's possible.

Answer 10

of course!