How safe is it to send objects of some value to Africa?

Question

A friend of mine wants to send a handmade neckless to her friend in cameroon but has heard that often African mail workers open mail that might contain valuables and take them. How safe would her mail be?

Answer 1

Hello,

Whatever country within Africa that you are sending a package to, it should be insured, with the value stamped on it. To send it regular mail does indeed increase the risk that someone will open it and steal the contents. All the packages that I have received intact were insured, but mail that I expected to receive that was not insured, I only got those some of the time. Especially those shaped like a card of some sort, which the workers anticipate may have hard currency in it, so they open it.

When the package arrives, the recipient will most likely be required to open it at a main parcels depot, wheere she will open it in sight of the clerk and a customs agent. If no value is written on the insurance form, the customs clerk can charge whatever customs duty they wish to assign. Here in Ghana, the customs duty is our VAT charge, which is 15% of the assigned value. So, if something comes from the US and is valued at USD 100, they will assess it USD 15 as a VAT charge, converted to approximately 135,000 cedis.

Hope this helps.

Barb

Answer 2

dont use regular mail best will be dhl insured and no problem only litle more money, and dont forget that customs are verry severe in some country's so they may have to pay for it

Answer 3

is safe but means of it is not,i may suggesting you should use DHL as is safer here in africa