When You Try to Send Parcels from Overseas to South Africa…
One of the biggest dilemmas about living overseas, especially at Christmas time, is how to send gifts back home to loved ones. A South African living in the UK recently sent a parcel to family in South Africa. She used a popular online service in the UK, which allows customers to choose the cheapest courier. It […]
One of the biggest dilemmas about living overseas, especially at Christmas time, is how to send gifts back home to loved ones. A South African living in the UK recently sent a parcel to family in South Africa. She used a popular online service in the UK, which allows customers to choose the cheapest courier. It turned out to be not so cheap…
KIM ROUSELL told SAPeople: “OK, I am completely speechless now and wonder if anyone else has had this issue? I sent a parcel to my sister for my brother’s birthday in SA from UK via Parcel monkey.
“Was told takes 5 days. After 3 weeks I was advised by my sister she had received an invoice for R517 from couriers DPD. This was customs and VAT as my gift was more than £34 (it was valued at £39) and an agency fee from DPD.
“It cost me £23 to send the parcel and I now had to send another £30 to cover the invoice which is a total of £53 for a £39 gift!
“Anyway we paid the invoice and now DPD have said customs wants receipts for the items I have purchased??????? Has anyone else had this experience?”
Options for sending post to and from South Africa
With Christmas coming up, here’s a list of options for sending your parcels to South Africa, as suggested by SAPeople members in various countries abroad:
- Online Shopping
Instead of posting, find a website with door-to-door delivery.
2. International Courier Companies
eg. FedEx, UPS, DHL, The Courier Guy and Transglobal Express
Nina Botha: “Try Transglobal Express. They have various couriers they use. I use them everytime to send parcels to SA. I use the UPS option as they are cheaper than DHL etc. Try and make your parcels worth less than R500 or £27 otherwise duty is payable.”
3. Other Courier Companies
- Parcel Monkey for UK to SA (partners with companies like DHL and Parcel Force).
- PostNet (which partners with companies like UPS, FedEx, and DHL)
- InternetExpress.co.za
- TNT Courier Door to Door service
- Delene McCulloch: “I use Postbox Courier to send parcels and docs from the UK a to SA – they have been faster and far cheaper than DHL.”
- Marie-Louise Audouin: “Try the courier service in Pick and Pay called ARAMEX to send parcels overseas. They are reliable, and one is able to track where the parcel is during transit.”
4. Find a Friend
Alex Kuier: “If I need something overseas I find out from all my friends if they know someone coming down that can bring it for me. Or I ask volunteer places – they always have people flying in from all over the world.”
5. Use an Airline
Kerstin Bachmann Van Kerken: “If the receiver goes to the airport and fills out customs papers, sending parcels directly with an airline works well. It’s quick and cheaper than courier services.”
6. Recorded Delivery
Margaret J. Lacy Thomas: “Recorded delivery from the UK so that it can be tracked. If it doesn’t arrive within a few weeks get the recipient to phone the manager of the post office in SA to enquire why it hasn’t been delivered so that the UK post office can be informed of their poor unreliable service. Seems to jack them up a bit.”
7. SA Post Office
Please remember – as Brendon Cadman says, you could “just use the normal post office. As long as they are not striking you may be surprised! And they’re much cheaper than couriers. Much!” Details on SAPO’s international parcel service here.
Please Note: SAPeople has never used any of the above services. We do not endorse any of them and we have not been paid to mention any of them. Thank you.