Shopping Discussion

Best / Most Reliable Way To Ship A Gift (Concert Tickets) To Italy

  • Last Updated:
  • Jan 20th, 2017 4:28 pm
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
May 2, 2006
8355 posts
2267 upvotes
GTA

Best / Most Reliable Way To Ship A Gift (Concert Tickets) To Italy

Hey RFD,

Long story short... My childhood friend, who now lives in Italy, is turning 40 this February and I got him a pair of tickets to see his favourite band perform in the neighbouring town.

I bought the tickets last month from the Italian equivalent of Ticketmaster, gift-wrapped and all, and had them shipped to my address in Toronto because it was way too early for direct delivery. I am now trying to figure out the best/reliable way to ship them to him, hopefully without incurring any import duties. The face value of the tickets is about 105 Euros each (210 total).

If you had experience shipping items to Italy, I would very much appreciate any suggestions. Cost is not my biggest concern.

My other option is to ask the ticketing site to re-issue the tickets and have them shipped directly to his address. Thoughts?

Thanks in advance.
Last edited by izzyzz on Jan 3rd, 2017 11:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
15 replies
Deal Addict
User avatar
Jan 3, 2014
3252 posts
3029 upvotes
Vancouver(ish)
izzyzz wrote: My other option is to ask the ticketing site to re-issue the tickets and have them shipped directly to his address. Thoughts?
That would be your best bet, by far. Sure...it's not gift wrapped, but it'll be a lot faster and you don't have to worry about it getting lost at the international mail centre in Italy.
Proud RFD member since January 31, 2007. Feel free to add 3,034 to my post count.
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
May 2, 2006
8355 posts
2267 upvotes
GTA
ALLCAPS wrote: That would be your best bet, by far. Sure...it's not gift wrapped, but it'll be a lot faster and you don't have to worry about it getting lost at the international mail centre in Italy.
Thanks for suggestion. I think I'll still try to ship it (the packaging is just too nice :) ), but keep this as backup option, in case the tickets get "lost" or otherwise get stuck somewhere in their processing facility.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Nov 5, 2006
2397 posts
575 upvotes
PM - VK3Q69
you said it was similar to ticketmaster. do they nnot have electronic tickets?
.
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
May 2, 2006
8355 posts
2267 upvotes
GTA
o0vL wrote: you said it was similar to ticketmaster. do they nnot have electronic tickets?
It's TicketOne.it. Yes, similar to Ticketmaster, but they did not have electronic tickets for the concert in question.
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
May 2, 2006
8355 posts
2267 upvotes
GTA
Any insight on minimizing the import duties? As mentioned, the face value on the tickets is about 210 euros (105 each) and the threshold for customs for gift items is about $100 CAD. Since the tickets were printed (made in) Italy, wouldn't that make them exempt from import duties?

Also, based on TicketOne.it FAQ (haven't contacted them yet), it may be problematic re-issuing the tickets: http://www.ticketone.it/biglietti.html? ... anguage=en
Deal Guru
User avatar
Mar 23, 2008
13006 posts
10009 upvotes
Edmonton
izzyzz wrote: Hey RFD,

Long story short... My childhood friend, who now lives in Italy, is turning 40 this February and I got him a pair of tickets to see his favourite band perform in the neighbouring town.

I bought the tickets last month from the Italian equivalent of Ticketmaster, gift-wrapped and all, and had them shipped to my address in Toronto because it was way too early for direct delivery. I am now trying to figure out the best/reliable way to ship them to him, hopefully without incurring any import duties. The face value of the tickets is about 105 Euros each (210 total).

If you had experience shipping items to Italy, I would very much appreciate any suggestions. Cost is not my biggest concern.

My other option is to ask the ticketing site to re-issue the tickets and have them shipped directly to his address. Thoughts?

Thanks in advance.
My first thought is that you should talk to the organization that handles Italian customs. Hopefully you speak Italian... :)

But the tickets were bought in Italy, so you've already paid taxes and any required duty on them (and have a receipt for that). IMHO, you shouldn't have to pay duty on them again. But WTF do I know? :)

C
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Sep 19, 2002
7843 posts
9203 upvotes
Vancouver
Mark it as a document and ship it in a FedEx or UPS envelope. You can save a bit of money if you choose Xpresspost and use a smaller envelope. You're simply shipping two pieces of paper.

If you don't care about import duties, ship him the fancy package and risk inspection and duties. Your choice.
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
May 2, 2006
8355 posts
2267 upvotes
GTA
Spinner wrote: Mark it as a document and ship it in a FedEx or UPS envelope. You can save a bit of money if you choose Xpresspost and use a smaller envelope. You're simply shipping two pieces of paper.

If you don't care about import duties, ship him the fancy package and risk inspection and duties. Your choice.
Thanks for the tip! The "fancy package" is actually just an envelope-like container (which will fit into a standard envelope) with a nice cover photo/print and tickets themselves having a "limited edition FanTicket" artwork. I might add a Canadian Birthday card and ship the package as a "document".

Is there are any advantage to using UPS/FedEx/XPresspost beside cost?
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Sep 19, 2002
7843 posts
9203 upvotes
Vancouver
UPS and FedEx will be slightly faster but more expensive.

Canada Post Xpresspost will take longer, up to a week, but is 10-20% less expensive. Once it gets to Italy, it relies on the local postal carrier.
Sr. Member
Jun 5, 2016
608 posts
804 upvotes
Am I wrong in thinking the value for customs should be $0.00? You're not importing anything (the concert isn't in the envelope) and there's no value to the paper the tickets are printed on (if they can be re-issued).

For mailing, lettermail + advice of receipt would cost $5 ($2.50 postage & $2.50 AoR) unless they've changed the price for 2017.
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
May 2, 2006
8355 posts
2267 upvotes
GTA
fremmy wrote: Am I wrong in thinking the value for customs should be $0.00? You're not importing anything (the concert isn't in the envelope) and there's no value to the paper the tickets are printed on (if they can be re-issued).

For mailing, lettermail + advice of receipt would cost $5 ($2.50 postage & $2.50 AoR) unless they've changed the price for 2017.
The UPS Store guy I've talked to seems to share your opinion. When you mail them as "document", there is no value attached to them. I've decided to go with the DHL Courier which is the cheapest registered/trackable service. Thanks everyone for your input!
Deal Addict
Apr 10, 2009
2845 posts
2536 upvotes
Ontario
A family member of mine shipped cheques to Italy. Twice a year as gifts for family. All were bank drafts and sent via xpresspost. We recently found out that the last few did not arrive and launched a full investigation as the cheques were cashed at a bank in Italy. Long story short even with signature and tracking you're running a risk.
I would not opt for xpresspost. Go with UPS .
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
May 2, 2006
8355 posts
2267 upvotes
GTA
CaptainCrash wrote: A family member of mine shipped cheques to Italy. Twice a year as gifts for family. All were bank drafts and sent via xpresspost. We recently found out that the last few did not arrive and launched a full investigation as the cheques were cashed at a bank in Italy. Long story short even with signature and tracking you're running a risk.
I would not opt for xpresspost. Go with UPS .
Yes, I've heard quite a few stories about mail going missing in Italy. I found this guide quite helpful: http://italychronicles.com/how-to-post-things-to-italy/

As I already mentioned, will be shipping the tickets as "document" through my local UPS Store via DHL Courier service.
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
May 2, 2006
8355 posts
2267 upvotes
GTA
So, to conclude this saga... Sent the package via DHL Express Worldwide (cheapest service available from my local UPS store). Marked as document with no value attached. Printed out from/to addresses and used my business name so it doesn't look like a personal letter, per suggestions on italychronicles.com. Sent on Wednesday, received in Italy on Friday (today). Total cost: ~$68. Mission accomplished. :)

Top

Thread Information

There is currently 1 user viewing this thread. (0 members and 1 guest)