You might think that mailing something to Italy would be as simple as popping it in a letter box. You would be wrong though, for this is often when the trouble starts.
I’ve lost count of the number of stories I’ve heard from expats in Italy who have lost things in the post here. More often than not it is items sent to Italy which tend to disappear into the ether. I know, I have had direct experience of this. Two things which stick in my mind are a Christmas card which never arrived, and a few humble pairs of Marks and Spencer’s socks which my mum sent to me a few years back. Said socks never made it to my house in Italy. Yes, I know that these items were not life threateningly important, but losing them was annoying, and others have lost much more valuable items.
Other more costly items which I have heard of that have gone astray include a watch, and a Sony PlayStation, plus many other things which simply never arrived at their destinations here.
It’s not just sending things to Italy which can be haphazard, but also sending items out of the country. Whether or not the letters, packs and parcels reach their destination tends to be down to chance. I cannot say whether it is Italian postal workers who take a shine to whatever people are sending to one another, or whether it is the postal people in the countries through which the post passes, but I have my suspicions with regard to Italy’s post people.
This how-to post, if you’ll excuse the postal pun, may help you avoid losing things to this country’s rather erratic postal system. And if you think I’m being paranoid, then take a look at the comments which this post has attracted since it was first published in May 2009.
By way of an update for 2011, an Italian friend of mine in Genoa who often buys things online and uses the Italian post office to have them delivered has not had any problems, and has not lost anything, nor has he had packages opened. I suspect he has the things he orders posted to his offices, but I’m not sure – I’ll ask him about this the next time I see him. The point is that posting items to Genoa (Genova in Italian) seems to be safe. This information may help someone. Genoa, for those who do not know, is in north Italy.
October 2011 – Credit Where Credit is Due
Although this post does not paint a great picture of Italy’s postal service, recently, I ordered some camera gear (a wireless flash kit to be exact) from a maker called Phottix in Hong Kong. The package arrived in Milan, where I live, in good time and in perfect condition.
More Credit January 2012
I ordered, via Amazon.it, a memory card from a German company for my camera on January 6th. It arrived at my home in Milan, Italy on January 10th using normal postal service.
Live in the USA? Please Read this Paragraph
Right, before you read on, if you live in the United States of America please read this USPS list of items which you cannot mail to Italy or you can only send to Italy if they are packaged correctly and please read the rest of the page too – before you send anything to Italy. There are also specific rules regarding labelling and other aspects of parcelling items which you need to refer to.
For quick reference, here is the USPS list of prohibited items (correct as at 6th December, 2011, but I still recommend clicking on this link to see if the list has been updated and to check the rest of the information on the page USPS list of items which you cannot mail to Italy ):
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Albums of any kind (of photographs, postcards, postage stamps, etc.).
Arms and weapons.
Articles of platinum or gold; jewelry; and other valuable articles unless sent as insured Priority Mail International parcels.
Artificial flowers and fruits and accessories for them.
Bells and other musical instruments and parts thereof.
Cartridge caps; cartridges.
Clocks and supplies for clocks.
Compound medicaments and medicines.
Coral mounted in any way.
Ether and chloroform.
Exposed photographic and cinematographic films.
Footwear of any kind.
Haberdashery and sewn articles of any kind, including trimmings and lace; handkerchiefs; scarves; shawls, needlework including stockings and gloves; bonnets, caps, and hats of any kind.
Hair and articles made of hair.
Human remains.
Leather goods.
Lighters and their parts, including lighter flints.
Live bees, leeches, and silkworms.
Live plants and animals.
Nutmeg, vanilla; sea salt, rock salt; saffron.
Parasites and predators of harmful insects.
Perfumery goods of all kinds (except soap).
Playing cards of any kind.
Postage stamps in sealed or unsealed First-Class Mail International shipments.
Radioactive materials.
Ribbons for typewriters.
Roasted or ground coffee and its substitutes; roasted chicory.
Saccharine and all products containing saccharine.
Salted, smoked or otherwise prepared meats; fats; and lard.
Tobacco.
Toys not made wholly of wood.
Treated skins and furs.
Weapons of any kind and spare parts for them.
No doubt some of the items on the list will surprise you. If you ignore the list and send items anyway, they may be seized or returned to the sender. Exactly which of the two will happen is unclear. If in doubt, don’t mail it to Italy.
With thanks to reader Helena for drawing this list to my attention.
Residents of other countries should check with their postal services to see what can and cannot be mailed to Italy. The Italian postal service cannot be blamed if items on such a list do not arrive at destination in Italy. I imagine the Italian postal service has a similar list too, and when I find it, I’ll add a link.
Now, for items not on the list above, or on any other list for that matter:
Covert Operations
A Boring Envelope
Red envelopes shout ‘rip me open!’.
Mail workers are wise to the fact that colourful envelopes from overseas may well contain cheques or, even better, cash.
When sending simple things like greeting cards, do not use that flashy red or sky blue envelope that it came in from the card shop. No, pop the card in an envelope of the nice ordinary buff brown variety, like the one on the left.
If you like, you can still put that card in its original glorious technicolor envelope, as long as both are placed in an anonymous-looking boring brown envelope.
The dull brown envelope creates the impression that the contents are official, and thus of little or no value. This discourages tampering, especially when there are all those other nice bright red and sky blue envelopes to tinker with.
December 2011 Update
22 December, 2011: A reader who sent a colorful package to Milan from the south USA on December 2 contacted me to say the package had not arrived at its destination in Italy. The unlucky reader had not read this how to post before sending the pack to Italy. Remember – covert operations 
Box It! Feel It!
If you can understand what is in a pack from feeling it, then you can be dead certain that someone else will too, especially someone who makes a living handling parcels. However, it is possible that the extensive list of items linked to above which cannot be sent to Italy from the USA may be to blame for certain items never arriving at their destinations. Those living in the USA need to check the list carefully before assuming Italian postal workers are light fingered.
To keep curious hands from understanding whether something is worth stealing, if you are sending things to Italy, pop items like DVDs, CDs or clothes in a rigid cardboard box. Otherwise the chances of these things mysteriously evaporating will be considerably higher. But note that packages may well be opened to ensure they conform to the restrictions mentioned at the start of this post.
Hold your horses for a moment. Resist the urge to rush off to the mail box, as you are still not ready to post something to the Living Museum. Please read on.
Print that Address
Scribbling the target address on that ordinary envelope or parcel is a big no-no. Hand written addresses are a dead give-away. They shout ‘personal‘, ‘gift‘, and ‘money‘.
Instead, invest in those self-adhesive labels you can run through an ink jet or laser printer, and print that address. Use a formal looking font, too. Printed addresses add to the ‘this is official, and thus of no value’ impression.
In case you can’t be bothered to take a trip down to the local stationers or computer shop to buy those self-adhesive labels, a piece of white paper on which the address has been printed, and which is then taped or, better, glued to a boring brown envelope, could be used as a do it yourself sticky label alternative.
You could, of course, simply print the address directly onto your envelope, if your printer is able to do this.
Still not ready for the mail box just yet though. There is the address itself.
Send it to a Business Address
From experience, I have discovered, well, my parents have, that sending a parcel, card or letter to a business address, which means a company name with ‘Srl’, ‘SpA’, or ‘SAS’ after it in Italy, tends to build upon the impression that the contents are probably boring stuff like brochures or a report. This little distraction technique keeps those who love to tamper from fiddling with packages.
Instead, these despicable types home in on the more obviously personal packages. You know, the ones in bright red, pink or pretty flowery envelopes, Christmas packing paper, or the things that can be squeezed.
Christmas and birthday cards disguised as official mail can probably be sent to home addresses in Italy quite safely using the boring brown envelope and printed label trick. Well, this works for me.
December 2011 – The Christmas Mail to Italy Arrives Safe and Sound
My parents, who live in northern England, recently sent three Christmas parcels to Milan, where I live in northern Italy – with the technique of disguising the parcels shown here: using printed addresses and sending them to a business address.
I’m please to be able to report that all three packages arrived in good time – around a week – and the contents had not been tampered with in any way.
Register and Insure the Item
To add some icing to the cake, sending your item by recorded/registered post (and insuring it) also seems to help ensure (but does not guarantee) that whatever it is you are posting will arrive at its destination in Italy, or in the country outside Italy to which you are sending something. You may even be provided with a tracking number which can help if the package does not arrive at destination.
Oh, and beware of writing just what is in the package on it to help those nice customs people – they should have X-ray machines anyway. Write something anonymous like ‘books’ or ‘gift’, or whatever else you can think of which will broadly describe the contents without giving too much away.
The package containing the watch I mentioned at the beginning of this little how-to guide arrived at its destination – minus the watch, most probably because the sender wrote on the parcel just what it contained. Indeed, I know for a fact that the sender did indeed write ‘watch’ on the pack. To be quite honest, it is best to avoid sending anything of value to or from Italy by post – unless you don’t mind losing it.
Wait
Once you have actually sent the item off, be patient. Posted items can take up to two weeks to pop through that Italian letter box. Once the two weeks are up, start checking.
DHL, Fed Ex or TNT it
DHL it!
Last, but by no means least, if you really have to send something to Italy which is either highly important, very valuable, or extremely fiddly to replace, like a birth certificate or passport for example, then use DHL, Fed Ex or TNT.
The cost will be high, but the chances of the package going astray will be greatly reduced. But never, I repeat never, send raw cash this way, unless it is fully insured, and even then, it may well become lost, resulting in the long drawn out process of making a claim against the courier service’s insurance – if it covers lost cash, that is.
Sending Money
As stressed above – best avoid it, and simply do not send cash using normal postal services, especially not to or from Italy.
Indeed, US residents can only send cash and banknotes to Italy if they are placed in special packaging.
If you really must send money, either transfer it electronically via your bank, or use a service like Western Union. A non-transferable cheque can be sent, as even if this never arrives, not much can be done with it – although the information on the check could end up in the hands of identity thieves, which is something to bear in mind.
There, I hope that helps. The suggestions contained in this post are not foolproof, but should help ensure that the post to Italy really does get through, and arrives in one piece. Similarly, sending items out of the peninsula will also benefit from a little ‘camouflage‘.
Let me know how you get on, and if you have any losses to report. Please say whereabouts in Italy you are sending items to and from, if you do leave a comment – this might help us identify the trouble spots.
I hope you found this post on the ‘post’ interesting. Let me leave you with one final thought.
Ever wondered why Amazon took so long to set up shop in Italy? Well, this post might explain why. I hope that Amazon does not end up losing buckets of money as a result of high-ticket items never getting to where they were supposed to go. I could be wrong, but…
UPDATE 23 November 2010: Amazon has, finally, decided to brave the Italian market – but Amazon read this post first: Amazon Lands in Italy, but Visited ItalyChronicles/BlogfromItaly.com first
UPDATE 25 May 2011: Added links to USPS list of items which may not be sent to Italy, or which may only be mailed to Italy if certain packaging conditions are met.
Italy Chronicles Feed
About Amazon. Therein lies the unfortunate part of all this. It makes Italy look second rate.
Have they tried cleaning it up?
Hi Alex,
“Have they tried cleaning it up?” – I do not know, but someone who has only recently arrived in Italy commented on the randomness of the postal service, so this probably means no.
Then again, I’m not 100% certain that the problem is in Italy – could just be a problem with international mail.
Best,
Alex
I’ve lived in Italy for 30 years and can honestly say the postal system hasn’t made much progress since I arrived.
I rememember my mother sending me Christmas and birthday presents that never arrived. My sister used to send packages to my son from the US which sadly arrived after his birthday or they just didn’t come.
It boils down to simple dishonesty. They just take what they want from the pile and walk away with it. We know that thieves are all over the world but these people are Italian postal workers. Problem is, the post office knows it happens and turn a blind eye telling people ‘your package was probably lost before it arrived in Italy’, yeh.
Almost the same thing happens at airports, they see a case coming from the US or UK and know people have done shopping, so they open the cases and just take what they want.
I’ll never understand why Italians are so dishonest. They don’t even trust each other.
Carol – your comment is one hundred percent accurate. I’ve sent things to Italy that have either disappeared or showed up several months later if I got lucky. It’s beyond frustrating. I also lived in Italy, and your comment:
“I’ll never understand why Italians are so dishonest. They don’t even trust each other” Is so true. And so sad.
This is why they will never dig themselves out of the hole they’re in with the European Union / Euro fiasco. Like Greece, Italy is stuck in the 18th century and the rest of the world has passed them by. Yet, they think the problems they are facing lies with every one else but themselves. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, is delusional if she thinks that Italians will agree to change their ways and develop the discipline and work ethic similar to the Germans.
Hi Alex,
actually I have always received in Italy wathever I have ordered to Amazon. With some delay, maybe, ma never loosing anything. The quirks of Fate, in my experience, are instead on the side of the custom: you never know if there will be a nice add-on to the price or not…
Hi Giorgio,
Good to hear that Amazon ordered goods have always arrived. Thinking about it, I too have ordered stuff from Amazon USA, and this stuff arrived, and fairly quickly. Not yet been hit but the customs charges – but they worry me.
But have you ever noticed that there is an Amazon UK, Amazon USA, Amazon Germany, Amazon France, Amazon Spain, but no Amazon Italy. Strange, is it not?!
Best,
Alex
I too have not had any problems either receiving or sending stuff through the post, including receiving items from Amazon in the UK.
Maybe, I too, am lucky. I shall be crossing my fingers for the next item though, as I’m sure fate will take a hand now that I’ve said it’s OK!
Hi Andy,
Good to hear that you have not had problems. Long may this continue! Hope commenting here does not tempt fate!
Best,
Alex
I’ve been living in Genoa for 12 years now. The postal service is quite irregular now. Regarding packages, I recently ordered some books from Amazon. SDA, the postal carrier, called me a week or two ago and said they would deliver the next day. I told him my house was difficult to find and to call me first. I was home all the next day, but no phone call and no delivery. Today I learned that they shipped my package back to Amazon. Better yet and not uncommon? They state they tried to consign the package numerous times. Strange since I was home on the days they mention. Welcome to Italy! I strongly suggest using a business address.
Hi Joanne,
Thanks for your comment.
Although SDA is part of the Italian post office group, it’s not really the same as the post office, perhaps. Then again, if it is SDA which deals with packages on behalf of the post office, then I suppose it suffers from the same odd levels of efficiency.
And yes, that trick of saying they tried to deliver is something I’ve heard of before – I think it’s done on purpose, but have no proof.
As you say, a business address is the safest place to have packages delivered too – if you can.
Best,
Alex
Hi Alex,
First of all brilliant post, excellent advice! I have to say that things have greatly improved over the years (and forgive me for saying this – since moving North) I know, I know, all heck will break loose when people read that but the reality is that when I lived in Rome (15 years ago) I had ENDLESS problems with receiving packages and letters.
Since living in Milan I have had few problems and I order a lot of stuff on the Internet – mostly from the UK, but also from the US, Canada and Thailand. Purchases always arrive and I rarely have to wait very long for them. I also receive a lot of stuff from DeAgostini in the mail and their stuff always arrives. My sisters in Canada regularly send me things and I always get them. Perhaps I’ve been lucky lately, but I think your advice is spot on.
Glad you liked the post, Joanne. I hoped it might be useful to some.
Sounds as though you are one of the not so lucky ones, like me, or at least you were when down in Rome.
I’ve always been up north, and still worry about things getting through. Quite paranoid, I am!
Good to hear that recently things have been getting to you without problem, but I wrote this post after having spoken to someone who has only been in Milan for a few months, and has been having post related problems. So while the problem may be diminishing, it’s not been eliminated just yet.
As for the poke towards Italy’s south, I think it is warranted, as you will know if you catch RAI 3′s investigative documentary series Report.
Boring brown envelopes for me!
Cheers,
Alex
hi Alex,
I post weekly to Italy and it causes me nothing but problems
99% of parcels are stolen and never recovered.i post over 45,000 parcels a year and would class it as the most corrupt postal system in the world.
Italians do not understand or recognise postage systems and never understand tracking references and just get upset and angry every time you try to help them.
I have had the odd parcel that arrives 2 months late and by then it’s not worth getting it back.
most of the time postage to Italy is a waste of time
kind regards
Jamie cannon
http://www.beginningwithi.com/comments/2007/10/31/italys-postal-embarrassment-vergogna-postale/ – ’nuff said!
Hi Dierdré,
Read that post of yours. Incredible! How could it possibly take longer to post something to a major town in Italy, then to some middle of nowhere hill station in India?
And I noticed that you ran the same post in Italian too: http://www.beginningwithi.com/comments/2007/10/31/vergogna-postale/
But then the words ‘Italian’ and ‘efficiency’ are not often seen together. RAI 3′s Report makes this very clear indeed. You may have heard that Italian managers have recently claimed to be some of the best in the world. However, there must be no world class managers working for Italy’s generally dire postal service.
Thought this post might have provoked a few mail related tales.
Best,
Alex
Couldn’t help but put my two cents in!
More Italian bureaucracy horror stories!
great post!
I cannot count the number of hours I spent in lines at the post office only to arrive at the front of the line and be told that the color of my box was wrong, or the lettering was too big or too small or in the wrong colour or the wrong place on the box, or the dimensions were wrong, or … whatever.
I did order 6 books from amazon once, to be sent to my Milan address, and after something like 3 months, when they hadn’t arrived, I called them and told them. They immediately sent another order, with no questions, which I received pretty quickly. Then, 6 months later, my original order arrived. Honestly, who knows….!!
Glad you liked the post, Madeline.
And thanks for telling us about your fun with the funny Italian postal system.
I’d not heard of people having problems with boxes before now. Incredible.
As for the Amazon tale, well, that’s a good example of how random the Italian mail service can be.
Best regards,
Alex
oooh yes, boxes have stirred up some of the best Italian horror stories of all!
this is an excellent post! i found this in a search for amazon delivery problems – in rome over xmas they are now using SDA couriers to bring packages but – get this – if you happen to be out when the courier calls, you then have to call SDA on a very expensive number to request redelivery – unfortunately they cannot give a precise time and instead suggest that you stay in ALL day in case they call?! if you miss them – they send your stuff back to amazon!!
i’ve also had empty envelopes and packages delivered to me in rome – often with one side slit open or even roughly torn – once even a completely ripped open and unfolded amazon package was dutifully brought to my door…minus contents! i never had any problems when i lived in a rural area, however – only in rome.
Hi Deborah,
Glad you found it interesting! A few people seem to have, and I know that there is a .pdf guide out there somewhere with a link to it too.
I’ve not had any experience of SDA couriers, I have to say – sounds as they fall into the ‘are couriers, but not in the way you know it’ category! TNT and FedEx seem to work normally in Italy.
As for stories of empty packages, not a surprise. Interesting to hear that you had no problems in rural areas.
Merry regards,
Alex
Dear Sir I have send a Parcel (about 10 kg) to Italy 0n 23 of november and did not arrive The address is [address removed by Alex Roe] -The parcel was sent from 482 holloway Road Post office.- would be any change to find out what Happened to it? Many thanks. Mrs Franca Garcia.
Sorry Franca – this is not something this site does.
I suggest you ask the Italian addressee to speak to the Italian post office about this.
Best,
Alex
PS I have removed the address you mentioned because I don’t think it is a good idea to make it public.
Hello,
I checked this what you said about shipping items to Italy or out from Italy.
There seems to be just this kind of problem also. Even I had registered mail and simple package, Italy post workers had opened my package, took item out and just put case back in where the item was.
It is unbeliavable what those people can do there.
Hello Furious,
Very sorry to hear your story. As I mentioned above, the suggestions are not foolproof -but I have used these techniques and have been lucky -so far.
I’m afraid that while using registered mail helps, it is not always a guarantee -registered mail just means you can check that your item actually gets to destination and that you may be able to claim on insurance if something does happen.
The downside to registered mail is that it shouts ‘something interesting inside’. Dishonest postal workers are well aware of this.
I’ll leave your comment here in the hope that it warns others of the dangers.
Thanks for writing.
Best,
Alex
Happy to report that my Christmas package sent November 29th from Los Angeles California to Bologna Italy arrived safe and sound on January 12th. That’s 44 days if anyone is counting.
At least you are happy to report that it took 44 days! I guess those mail men cannot cycle as fast as they once did, Julie.
It got there, that is the important thing!
Best,
Alex
Hi Alex
I received a Chirstmas card in a plain white envelope yesterday (27 January) posted in the Netherlands on 22 December. It confirms all your pessimism EXCEPT the handwritten address contained 4 lines: my name, my village, ‘Tuscany’, ‘Italia’. No house number, no street address, no province! A helpful postal worker had written ‘Lucca’ on the envelope. The postina had done the rest.
Best
Heather
Not so much pessimism as prudence, Heather. Experience teaches you things…
I’ve been in Italy for a long time, and the postal service has not really improved. Only the other day someone, a German, moaned to me about how slow the Italian mail service can be.
Still, not everything is bad. Some postal workers are nice honest people, I’ve no doubt at all. From the way the card had been addressed, you were pretty lucky to have got it at all!
Your story is a classic example of the way things are in Italy – the general problem is a lack of consistency. One day something will go well, the next day the same thing will be like taking the slow train to the moon. Painful.
Best,
Alex
In the end, the majority of the stuff I’ve had posted to me in Rome did eventually arrive. What gets me is the sheer randomness of the timing. My parents sent two packages to me, a month apart; they arrived on the same day. I imagine they put the first one in a corner where it lay forgotten until somehow jogged back into the system by the arrival of the second! Of course, if you keep them waiting they’ll charge you – if they hold a package for you at the post office until you go and queue for it they’ll charge for storage from day 6 onwards…
Hello Alex!
Great post! ♥
I have never sent anything to Italy and I’ve only ordered one thing so far (last Summer).
It was a lovely hand crocheted clochet hat, which arrived safely & quickly.
Anyhow, this is not the first time I read “horror” stories about the Italian postal service.
There’s a website where I like to shop for handmade items & there happens to be a forum & blog section where artisans get to discuss their experiences & I have to admit that a lot of them mentioned the problems they’ve encountered with lost packages and what not.
Some were worried about sending out their stuff but would still do so anyhow, others would resort to sending insured & registered only and another group of people would just refuse to send anything whatsoever due to the high amount of lost parcels & orders.
So, I can assure you that you’re not being paranoid.
There definitely is a problem.
PS: I run an informative website concerning the promotion of handmade goods and anything that goes with it (selling, packing, shipping, shopping, …).
And I would really love to add a link to your blog post
.
Let me know what you think!
Hi Miriam,
Glad you found this post worthwhile.
It’s always interesting to hear about other peoples experiences concerning Italy’s somewhat unpredictable mail service.
Very interesting to hear that artisans have noticed sending stuff to or out of Italy can be problematic.
Stuff does get through to Italy- I can vouch for that. And stuff does become lost too.
As for linking to this post, feel free. If it helps people avoid problems, then that’s great!
Thanks for commenting.
Best,
Alex
Ugh. Whenever I buy something from Italy it’s always a headache to mail it out to the USA. Usually the shipping costs more than the item!
What I don’t understand is that Poste Italiane’s international site has COMPLETELY different prices from their Italian side. Note the price for a 1-2kg item for the USA (6.20):
http://www.poste.it/en/postali/economymail/a_prices.shtml
Now look again for a 1kg item (46,70!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and that’s without insurance):
http://www.poste.it/online/paccocelerein/application/privati/index.html
WTFF?
I ordered a a personal item which DHL lost a second post arrived later than DHL claimed on their tracking site. So far, SDA have performed better.
Hi Alex,
We run an internet retail site in the UK and have discovered the hard way about the Italian postal service. We have been trading for nearly 4 years and 80% of all of our international losses have occured in Italy in the run up to christmas 2009. As a result of this we have removed Italy from the list of countries we deliver to – which is unfortunate because there is a blog in Italy specifically linking in to our site. We do still send to Italy but only if the customer accepts that we will not accept responsibility for any item lost in the post.
I find it very shocking that a first world country such as Italy has postal reliability to rival a third world one.
Thanks for your blog.
Hi Jonathan,
Thank you for your informative comment.
As you may realise, your story of Italian postal service woes does not come as a huge surprise. What does come as something of a surprise is that you no longer deliver to Italy via the Italian post office. That is quite amazing, and is something to be expected, as you say, of some tin-pot country in Africa, but not a G8 nation in the 21st century!
Let’s hope someone from the Italian post office ends up reading this, and assures us all that things are going to get better. Somehow, though, I doubt this is going to happen, but I would love to be proved wrong!
Best regards,
Alex
Hello!
My mother and I are just trying to solve the mystery of opened cards and parcels that always arrive to me from Italy where she lives. Sometimes only one item has been taken out of the parcel – but all my cards from her are always without fail opened and then re-stapled together. We’re trying to decide whether it is Italy or Uk that are opening them. Nothing else I receive from any other country or person arrives opened, but my mother says nothing else she sends arrives opened at it’s UK source, so we are perplexed….can you help?
Best
Clare
Hi Clare,
Stories of opened cards and parcels are nothing new, alas. I think it’s dishonest Italian postal workers who are to blame, but cannot prove this. Some might say that it is the customs people who are opening the parcels, and this could be the case if the contents of the parcel are not marked – but don’t be too specific – that’s asking for trouble.
As for helping, I can’t really do much aside from advise that people disguise their parcels and cards to reduce the possibility of items being ‘inspected’. Sending things to a business address with a printed label may help, if this is possible, of course, and I know not everyone can do this.
Where in Italy does your mother live? Perhaps others in the same area of Italy have had similar problems.
Thanks for commenting.
Best,
Alex
Hi there, thanks for your reply….she lives in Perinaldo, near Ventimiglia. My birthday card just came opened too, very frustrating! Clare
Hello,
great post. The existence of this proves what’s happening is real. And trust me, postal service workers DO open packages and STOLE items systematically.
In the last months 4 packages I should have received have been stolen, they also have the courage to open it, stole some items or all of them and then fake-retape it.
AFAIK, in a civilized society, stole and open packages of others is considered a felony that puts you in jail. Do you think they’re punished? yeah right. Let’s not even start the discussion about people who work at customs!
A friend of mine who lives near me receives packages almost everyday and they’re arrive ALL open, if they arrive of course
Can you blame ebayers from leaving Italy out of their business or amazon? Come on, they made the best decision they could have made!
We tried to report the facts you wanna know everyone’s answer? “what can you do about it?”.
I know what I’ll do eventually: MOVE OUT!
Hi Sandro,
Glad you liked this post. It does sound as if Italy’s postal service needs changing. Dishonesty and unreliability will be damaging businesses – even if Italians are very good at finding alternatives.
And you are right, interfering with the mail is considered to be a crime in other nations – here in Italy it seems to be quite normal. Odd.
Thanks for commenting.
Best,
Alex
I had terrible experience with Italian post office. 2x sent gifts from US and never arrived in Rome and Naples. Shame on the mail carrier there. I’ve been sending packages and letters to Brazil (3rd world) for the past 10 years and it NEVER got lost!!! They should do something about it. It makes the “hole country” look as if everyone is dishonest and a joke. The Italian residents have the power to complain and to make them change!!! Just a “brilliant” thought!
I have had success sending stuff to Italy from the USA but it takes FOREVER. But from Italy to here… two to three weeks max! I sent a package a couple of years ago and had tracking on it. It listed it as tried to be delivered for something like two weeks and then sent back to me! (thank goodness I got it back even though I had to pay $20 to get it back!!) The strange thing is, I know that the person would have been there many of the days that it had ‘tried’ to be delivered! Plus it listed as trying to be delivered at 3 am once! I think there was definitely something fishy but at least I got it back!
Wow, I had no idea the italian postal service was like this. I’m disheartened as well because I just sent my boyfriend 2 things to suprise him!
What do you think of the final status of 1 small, white, handwritten, envelope and one post card (open)
addressed to
Ben ___ (last name)
-occupation-
luncignan, italy
zip code
?its such a small town I know they would know him I also addeed “vicino a cheisa” dead give away to where he is..
do you think they will not deliver it? its such a small old town with friendly people I thought it would get there no doubt, but after reading this.. *tear* whats the prognosis??
Don’t panic, Stephany!
Postcard should be OK – but might take some time to arrive – depending where you are and where it is going – and how accurate the addresses are.
Envelope should be OK too – provided that there is nothing but a letter in there. Sending money is a big no no.
Wait two weeks and see if your boyfriend says something.
Post to north Italy may be safer than post to south Italy. It’s not the postal workers in the smaller towns who may be the problem, but, I suspect, the postal workers in the bigger sorting offices in Italy through which the post may pass.
At the end of the day, it’s difficult to know. Both items may get through, or one might and one not, or both might never arrive or one might arrive long before the other, but not the one you posted first! It’s very random and hard to predict, which is part of the problem.
Let us know if the post to Italy does get through!
Best,
Alex
I was so nervous to send to Italy a huge box of magazines which cost $600. I didn’t lie on the customs either. I sent it out October 8th by USPS Priority Mail International and she received them all on the 27th. They didn’t take anything out nor did they open it up! It did take them two days to go through customs. I guess they’re getting better!
Hi Sara,
Hopefully things are getting better, but Italy is often inconsistent – some people have zero problems, others have infinite problems. Depends on what you are sending too – if the value of the goods is low, or is thought to be low, then there are less likely to be problems.
Christmas is on its way, so let’s see how things go. I’d still advise caution.
Thanks for commenting.
Best,
Alex
Hi. I’m Lala from Malaysia. I want to send a package to a friend in Milano, Italy.
The thing is I promised quite a lot of items:
5 postcards
1 bracelet
1 necklace
1 hand hold fan
Can you give some tips in sending jewellery? I don’t have any idea how to disguise? Perhaps I shouldn’t declare it?
It’s fake gemstones, so it isn’t really expensive but it looks like expensive ones…
American companies stop shipping to Italy because of theft (let’s not mince words) and people wonder which country has the problem. UK companies take the same steps for the same reason and people ask the same question. Half the world is scared of posting anything more valuable than a stamp to Italy. It’s no wonder.
I live near Milan and have two ‘friends’ who live in my building and work inside the postal distribution system. I can’t say where. They openly boast about how much extra money they make from their job, and they aren’t talking about salaries. Post into or out of Italy to the UK, “richer” parts of Europe and the USA are considered prime targets. Nobody really cares when foreigners start whining about lost parcels and they can always blame foreign postal services..
Parcels are routinely opened. They are taped back together, sometimes even after stuff is stolen. Why? They can say that the stuff arrived in Italy opened and that an Italian worker, out of the goodness of his heart, repackaged what he thought was the entire package…
However, once every decade, a new manager arrives who doesn’t know the score (take the money and keep quiet) and makes a point of catching the least liked thief who works for that particular branch office. He is then sacked (the theif) and, after appealing, is then reinstated and even given his old job back. It’s nigh on impossible to sack someone just because he steals. Don’t believe me? Go to wikipedia and look up Umberto (I hate anyone who isn’t Italian) Bossi. He’s the leader of the Lega Nord, part of the Italian government. Failing that, look up Silvio (I have a thing for under-age foreign prostitutes) Berlusconi. Judge for yourself why criminals are rarely sacked, let alone imprisoned in Italy unless they happen to be from Africa or Eastern Europe. There are over 30 convicted criminals in the Italian state government.
Really, you don’t need to know any more, and asking further questions is just plain silly.
Brian
You are painting a bleak picture – but I suspect you are right – and your friends appear to support your claim. I know too that there have been cases of airport baggage handlers stealing passengers goods, and the situation within Italy’s post office is not dissimilar – unhindered access to personal items.
The point you make about Italy’s politicians is relevant – the people at the top should set the example – if that example is bad, others will follow suit. I really do not understand how convicted criminals can stand for public office – but this is Italy – a country overflowing with rules which are, for the most part, ignored.
As for Italy’s legal system – yes, at times it seems to be overly lenient, this is true. It is also very slow.
I’m aware of both Berlusconi and Bossi, as you will discover if you search BlogfromItaly.com.
Thanks for commenting.
Best,
Alex
What Brian says is 100% true. I would be crazy to ever ship anything to or from Italy. Why the Italian economy doesn’t grind to a complete halt is the interesting question given the rampant corruption in shipping there. I tell everyone I can whether they have any business in Italy or not, to never send anything to or from Italy. The postal service left a bitter taste in my mouth. And to Italy, enjoy your descent in the Third World squalor.
Robert, can you explain why Italy’s postal system left you with a bitter taste in your mouth?
Thanks,
Alex
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Some very good tips here for shipping things to and from Italy ..thanks!
I’ve always had good luck receiving packages and letters where I live on the Amalfi Coast. But I’ve also heard so many horror stories from expats as well! So even if there is a slight delay, I’m always thankful for my good service. I order often from Amazon UK, and the delivery is relatively fast and reliable. For me the main problem is the excessive cost and customs requirements for shipping from America to Italy. My family has had to come up with workarounds for the holidays (like Amazon UK wishlists), because it’s just too expensive and complicated to mail from America.
Thanks for commenting Laura. Good to hear that the post in the Amalfi area is relatively reliable. But I see you’ve heard plenty of mail related expat horror stories too – like most of us expats in Italy, I suspect.
Postal costs are another topic – its not cheap from the UK, so from and to the States must be painful. I think electronic goods are an alternative, or, if possible, relatives could purchase things in Italian online stores – but they may have to forget the nice surprise factor though.
Glad you found the tips handy
Best,
Alex
In the last couple of years I had quite a lot of packages shipped to Italy from abroad – UK, USA and Germany. Of these, only one was actually “lost” (it was a shipment of non-tobacco nasal snuff – white powder! – from the US. I wonder whose nose it ended up in); several had long delays, though. What annoys me the most is that non-registered, non-signed-for packages actually are delivered a lot faster. For instance, I repeatedly bought nasal snuff (yep, it’s kind of a hobby for me) from Germany, from the same vendor. The first two times it was registered, trackable and signed-for packages, and it took a couple of weeks in both cases. The last two it was regular packages (brown boxes), and it took three days both times.
After all, since there is absolutely no way of knowing who’s handling a box or envelope at a given moment, the hypothetical post-office thief will happily devote his/her time to rummage through registered, insured packages: they’re more likely to contain interesting stuff, and the thief will never be called to pay for the loss anyway, right?
Of course, the problem is that if a regular shipment gets lost, there’s really nothing you can do.
A final consideration: all Amazon (.com and .co.uk) shipments I received have been mostly speedy, and the boxes seemed to have been left alone. This might sound surprising, until you learn that 80% (ish) of Italians are functionally or actually illiterate. Amazon’s stuff is mostly books, so it’s not *that* interesting.
Good, Pgcd – someone who has not had too many problems with Italy’s mail system – I know they do exist. Actually, I wonder what the ratio of good experiences to bad experiences is.
I shudder to think what ‘nasal stuff’ might be! A hobby too! I’m surprised you have not had curious policemen turn up at your door asking questions!
Where did you get your facts on 80% illiteracy? I know Italians are not great readers, and I know that Amazon will generally send books which are in English or German, and not too many Italians will be able to read them.
From what a few people have said, it sounds almost as if Amazon boxes are not touched. Why this is, I don’t know. I would never order a camera from Amazon and have it sent to Italy – I don’t think it would get here – I could be wrong, but I’m not going to try it!
Anyway, good to hear that some people do not find Italy’s post too bad. As for registered items, I guess they take longer because more paperwork is necessary in Italy – although everything should be electronically controlled.
Best,
Alex
I’m sorry if I gave the impression my experience with Italian Post is anything like “not too bad” – one lost package and several “priority shipments” that were expected to take days and took weeks instead is more “rather bad”, in my opinion =)
PS: Nasal snuff is a type of, relatively harmless, smokeless tobacco. It smells very good and seems to be effective in helping those who would quit smoking but fear the nicotine withdrawal – I wouldn’t know since I quit smoking quite some time before taking up snuff.
I’m sorry, I realized I didn’t answer the question re: italian illiteracy; I couldn’t find the original article, so here’s a copy: http://www.eddyburg.it/article/articleview/10848/0/65/
I’m sorry it’s in Italian, but the gist of it is that only 20% Italians possess “full” literacy and numeracy, while the rest is variously illiterate (functionally or worse) according to at least two different studies. Sadly I couldn’t find either published online, but the author (Tullio de Mauro) is a rather respected linguist, and I’m inclined to trust him even if he fails to mention specific sources.
Great article with lots of valuable information! Thank you for sharing. I’ve shipped a couple of packages to Milan. The first time the contents were stolen, it was a homemade photo album for my friends wedding. She and I were both upset, it took me a lot of time to make and it was sentimental. The second time was just a couple of months ago. I mailed my package out priority mail from Ohio to Milan on a Saturday, it arrived in Italy on a Tuesday. Pretty quick, but then it sat in customs for over a week. I did pay extra for a return receipts where she had to sign for the box, and also insured the box. I was pleased I could track the package online, however it’s been close to two months and I never received the postcard back with her signature, but I know she received it. I wasn’t too happy that it still took a couple of weeks sending it priority mail. For the price I paid for postage I was expecting much quicker delivery time!
I’m sending out her Christmas gift this week, also priority with a return receipt. I just hope it arrives safely. I’m going to write in books even though it’s not. I always wondered if I had to spell out all the contents in the package especially when it’s a gift I don’t like doing that.
Wow, I’ve been here for many years and thankfully, I haven’t experienced any real problems with any packages arriving…a delay, every once in awhile for certain packages arriving here, but really, I have had very few problems. (Knock on wood o tocca ferro…) Anything I have sent from Italy has most always arrived on time. My Italian husband tells me that the postal service really has improved over the past decade…and although I can’t make the comparison as he has, I can say that I have been relatively pleased with Poste Italiane.
It’s consoling to read that I’m not the only one who has experienced problems with the Italian postal system.
I have encountered many problems over the past 8 years. From boxes sent from Canada which never arrived (I presume stolen – they were loaded with lovely Christmas presents) to letters which took months. Last year my Amazon.co.uk order (cd’s) never arrived. In December 2009 I received no mail for 3 weeks; in February 2010 suddenly one day my mailbox was stuffed with mail sent from Italy and the UK in November 2009. By March 2010 all the extra-EU Christmas mail arrived.
Yesterday I received a card that was sent priority from Canada… over a month ago. Issues from my magazine subscription, sent from the UK in a nice bubble-wrapped package, sometimes don’t show up.
Then there are duty charges, which I’m sure are not the fault of Poste Italiane but you never know if there could be a link: two years ago we made a silly decision to mail some of our things to Italy from Canada rather than travel with extra bags: our old ski clothes and shoes, a couple of books. The box was delivered, but only after it was delivered and the postman left were we informed that we could not actually OPEN the box because we had to pay 600 Euros in duty. If we opened the box we would be fined. We tried everything to explain that these were personal, used items and not new items, from many phone calls to letters written, but it made no difference: customs officials showed up at the office to seize our box. So we forked out the dosh just to keep our own items.
At this point I actively discourage friends from sending mail, unless they feel like using FedEx or TNT.
Do not, under any circumstances, send cash to Italy by post. It will be pinched. I have personally had a couple of experiences of this. Many is the parcel or card I have had which has arrived half-ripped open (although sometimes someone has made a half-arsed attemp to sellotape it up again). I live in Genoa.
A senior Poste Italiane official once told me, when we were meeting on official business, the reason for the totally random delays in deliveries. These occur, he said, when either a local staff shortage or a temporary boost in quantity of items to sort (e.g., Christmas) means that the bins containing the mail to be sorted are not yet empty when the next lot arrives. These are then thrown in on top of the remnants from the previous sort, covering them. The potal workers carry on working from the top down, but until they have completely emptied a bin, the items at the bottom may have been covered and delayed several times. I asked why they can’t use a FIFO (first in, first out) system. There’s no room in the sorting offices, he told me.
Makes sense (of a sort)…
Hi, thank you so much for this informative post. I sell quite a bit of stuff on ebay and I state that I only post to Ireland and the UK. However an Italian from Milan bid on an expensive bottle of perfume the week before Christmas and against my better judgement I posted it to him. Now he has instigated a dispute on ebay claiming he never received the gift and he never contacted me personally about this. Also when I checked his feedback, he claimed in the summer that he never received a bag from a UK seller and received a full refund. I should have been more wary because many ebayers say they will not post to either Italy or Bugaria. I will never post anything to Italy again.
Great post! Chanced on this website after i googled “italian post”. I have been sending packages from Singapore (Asia) to my sister in Milano for the past 4 over years, and 8 out of 10 times she has been taxed for them up to hundreds of euros per package.
Today was the last straw, the customs sent her a letter asking her to pay 60 euros for a christmas package (brown box and just labelled “gifts”, registered) i sent her. Posted on 29 Dec, just received the customs letter on 21 Jan. She said i should stop sending her anything anymore. Never had such bad experiences with other post offices.
Very informative blog. I sent a package from NYC to Venice on November 3, 2010 via USPS Global Express Guaranteed. The package was to arrive approximately November 17. The package has not been seen or heard from since leaving NYC on November 4, 2010. I confirmed with the recipient that the package has not arrived as of January 2011. Incidentally, the address is to a business in Venice. I followed most of the rules stated above but the package is still M.I.A. I labeled the contents as ‘gift’ on the customs declaration form but regret adding that the gift included ghiradelli chocolates. The package weighed less than 1kg and had a value of about $12 USD. Of course, the cost of postage was astronomical.
I contacted the Venice post office who directed me towards Poste Italiane S.p.A. Poste Italiane stated that they would not correspond with me since I was not the recipient of the package. So now I wait. I would be interested to hear from others what is the longest they waited for a package to arrive to Italy.
I am going to give it about another couple of days and then send another package. If the second package does not arrive, I’ll do the next best thing to guarantee my gift arrives to the recipient – hop on a plane and deliver it myself!
Good luck to everyone.
Lisa
UPDATE: Second time is a charm. As I mentioned above, a package I mailed to Italy on November 3, 2010 dropped off of the face of the earth. I sent another package to the same business address in Venice on February 3, 2011 and it actually arrived to the recipient on February 23, 2011 (all contents accounted for). It was sent through USPS registered mail, in a boring brown box with hand-written addressing. I originally had computer printed labels on the package but the post office made me cover it up because of the location of the labels on the box. I chose not to insure the package since the cost of the contents was under $12 USD.
USPS sent an inquiry on February 17, 2011 to Italy on my behalf because there were no updates to the tracking information online at USPS.com. Italy should have posted details of the packages’ movement by February 16, 2011 based on USPS estimates.
Thanks to the information in this article, the package is where it needs to be, the recipient is happy and I have an idea about what to do when posting a package to Italy or anywhere for that matter. Good luck all!
Lisa
Great article. I despise Poste Italiane. Of the 6 things I have had posted from the UK to me here – 1. Blackberry phone – never arrived and stolen en route. 2 – Birthday pack – never arrived and stolen en route. 3 – Employment Contract – arrived a month late.
Again, I really do despise this farce of an organisation and hope heads roll until someone has an ounce of common sense to be able to sort things out. I fear I will be waiting a long time……
/rant
Thanks for the feedback, Giacomo.
Sounds as if you have had some bad experiences.
Two questions:
Where are you in Italy? Knowing this might help people know where the trouble spots are.
Did you have the items posted to a home or work address?
Thanks,
Alex
Ciao Alex,
I live in the centre of Milano. Items were posted to a home address.
Buona domenica.
I have had SOOO MANY THINGS STOLEN IN ITALY via post! I live in Milan and have been here for 10 years! I have had 1) a nokia 5800 phone stolen and it was sent by courier, package arrived empty. 2) a beautiful cross 3) a do at home hiv test kit 3) face cream (expensive) 4) license…..ITALY is full of thieves. Its shocking and sad that this country is so full of moral less people… Of course NOT ALL, but MANY more than most places. Why is that? Burlosconi is as dishonest as people come, so I guess it starts at the top. its sad, I hope to move out of here soon.. 10 years ago I would have said I LOVE ITALY, sadly 10 years later, I KNOW TOO MUCH!
Horrified to read this blog especially as my last posting to Alassio has not arrived after 10 days and is causing much upset at both ends. Having had ALL previous cards (6 since my brother moved there in August 2009) arrive opened and /or taped up, I bound this envelope up like a mummy with sellotape. My mother has a similar poor success rate and so gives presents/money on my brother’s annual trip home. Beginning to think we will have to give him all birthday/Christmas cards etc at the same time. How sad is that especially as, in every other respect, he is SO happy living in Italy. Sian
I posted one item to Italy last year and after two months gave up hope of it arriving. It was a very low value item so spending a fiver on airsure seemed a bit of a waste of time. After the friend in Italy vaguely warned me of ‘thieves’ constantly blighting the service but wouldn’t blame the post service for reasons that seemed weird to me.
So next time I thought I’d do things differently and when I went down to the post office got told blank straight away that airsure wasn’t offered to Italy in a slightly funny but revealing tone. I got international signed for that cost nearly as much and offered tracking within the UK. Within a few hours in the extreme early hours of the next morning the package had left the UK and was in the hands of the Italian Postal System, it then ambled along for most of the next week and took 6 working days to arrive (just within the quoted time). I feel the service was a bit on the sluggish side, for such a premium service I feel it should have been 3-4 working days.
Hi everyone! I’d say what a great blog but actually it’s quite depressing really. But congratulations for picking up on a major problem and something which obviously affects a lot of people.
I live in the north of italy (near Turin) and I can assure those in the south that it’s no better here (can’t speak for Milan). I’ve never received anything opened, I just don’t receive things. And if I do, they take a long time….
I accepted this as a problem only recently when I made a intensive spate of purchases on ebay…arrivals were very hit n miss and I now don’t bid on anything unless it allows me to pay for signed-for package. HOWEVER, I’m still waiting for the first packages I’ve paid extra for to have sent in this way. I’ve paid more for the postage than for the items!! I thought this would be a secure way but after reading some of your posts I’m not so confident now! My orders (mostly from England) stem from the fact that it’s quite difficult to find a lot of the things you can find easily in the UK…so I have to resort to internet buying.
I totally agree with Jonathan who made the comment about this being a 1st world country – after being here long enough I often find myself making comparisons with developing countries. It really doesn’t deserve the status it has. Sadly.
Does anyone remember the undercover investigation done in the UK with Royal Mail? Obviously theft must be a problem where ever you find people and valuable things together, but systems HAVE TO be in place to reduce it as much as possible. I think it was the BBC that did the investigation which was very indepth and involved an undercover person getting a job in the sorting office and befriending the people working there. He soon was given advice from his colleagues on how to know when there’s something valuable inside and how to steal it without getting caught. The broadcast program also showed the other techniques they used to steal parcels such as informing friends of addresses to which laptops etc would be delivered, and they would be there early in the morning and fool the postie into thinking they were just leaving their house…kindly taking in the parcel on the doorstep.
This sort of investigation could be a good step – it will never stop all crime but at least blast it out into the open and shame the italian post into doing something (however short-lived it is!).
I also totally relate to Brian A, and his comments about many other areas of the italian economy and politics…its a terrible mess and a shock that this is here in western europe.
I’d also like to comment that I use amazon a lot, and have never had anything lost (except something thru the market place that was coming from america and never arrived). I think this may be because the postal workers are careful enough (furbi) not to stir the wrath of a huge, corporate power that might shake up their nice little earner. As said before, stealing personal things, gift etc means there’s only ever individuals complaining rather than any major body with real weight to throw around.
I think it’s time Italy was shown a bit of people power!! Egypt could give us some lessons…..companies and money rules here and it’s not a good place to be a citizen.
Hi
I wonder if anyone can enlighten me as per the regulations in Itay, i live
in Australia and send many items of Clothing toys and other gifts even jewellery, i dont seem to have many problems, i have been doing this for a few years now, in the last 18mths when they have been clollecting there parcels or have been delivered they are paying some sort of tax, sometimes 11euro or 17 euro, i cant understand why in Italy (north) when you have a gift or parcel delivered you have to pay to receive it, we dont here…. I feel awful that as i am sending a gift they are paying to receive, does’nt seem right..I have asked at my end but they cant see a reason, not like i am sending a crate ..
Hope someone can help ..
Thanks, Alex, for the post (belatedly discovered). PAVIA – university town – is a bad spot for theft. I have lost 4 or 5 small gifts sent to a relative there, before I realised that this disgusting problem was widespread. Presumably one has to register everything…
Hi Alex
I was just having some trouble of my own and i was wondering if you could give me any insight. Last F/W I was in Milano as an exchange student and had an awful lot of luggage to send back home through poste italiane.. i
sent a total of three boxes, each weighing 15-20kgs. All of them were sent by boat, piu economico, no tracking number. Although they told me
this method would take a good two-three months the first two boxes
each reached my home in Seoul, Korea in ten days. At the end of December i sent my final box of 20kgs full of valuable personal belongings to Seoul.. that was about December 23rd. 3months have past and im desperately worried..have you heard about anything of the like? Is it possible
that the box got caught in customs because a tiny bottle of pesto..?
If you could answer any of my questions would be so helpful..
Thanks
Hi Cecile,
I really have no knowledge of shipping, literally, items. I suppose the pesto might have caused a hold up – but I’d have thought they would have sent the package on minus the pesto.
The other question is which customs?? Italy or Korea? Have you any way of contacting either? Three months is a long time and you should start doing some checking, but I don’t know how exactly. Maybe someone else will. I’ll broadcast your comment via Twitter to see if anyone else has any ideas.
Best,
Alex
Hi Alex,
Good blog but I have some sad news.
I am an actual shipper who ships all over the WORLD from the USA, and the only country that we have constantly had a problem with is Italy, so much so that we have now stopped selling to Italy. In fact most shippers I know do NOT ship to Italy either.
We can understand shipping delays for customs, postal misrouting packages and even the occasional loss etc but with Italy there is a MAJOR problem and THEFT seems to be it.
You would think the Italian government would be embarrassed because this is such a well known problem but they are not.
As for Amazon, I am sure they have had to make special arrangements with the government to guarantee their packages get through. My guess is that the carriers are on notice that if they STEAL any Amazon packages they lose their jobs, but are probably told any other packages are fair game.
I am surprised that the Italian people are not more upset that so many online sellers will not even sell to them because their postal service is so corrupt and demand their government address this HUGE problem.
To be fair though, France is not real good but no country compares to Italy from our experience.
ITALY has no morals, can i tell you the phones i have found and turned in, can i tell you HOW many have been stolen from me! can i tell you how many packages never arrive! plus, if put on top of the mail boxes in the apartment, someone always steals them from inside the building, I hate to say it, but Italy is majorly dishonest, and i dont know if it stems from the church, the children being totally spoiled or just bad genetics, but the country is majorly screwed up……
I live in Verona, Italy and have done for almost 3 years in total, at 3 different addresses and only since January this year have I started having problem with the post. At the moment i am FURIOUS, hence why I went google-ing and found this blog….
Since January, 8 PARCELS (at least) that have been sent to me fro the UK have gone missing – all apart from 2, from online shopping websites, which fortunately I think I will be refunded for. ‘Lost with our carrier’ seems to be the main excuse, apart fro one, which was apparently attempted to have been delivered 3 times, and seeing as I wasn’t home, was sent back to the company. I was absolutely furious, given that I had been left ONE delivery note and called immediately to re-arrange delivery for the following day. The didn’t show up. I called again to be told the hadn’t been in my area, and would deliver the following day again. They didn’t show up. I called again, this time with the intention of going to the depot to pick up the item – and was informed by Bartolini that the company had ‘requested the item back’!! The company have assured me that they most certainly didn’t request the parcel back, and never do that. I was then forwarded the tracking report which stated around 4 FALSE delivery attempts (most of which I would have been at home for!)
The other 2 items, which were sent Royal Mail Standard (unfortunately with hand-written addresses, from my parents) that have never arrived, and which I fully don’t expect to, now, included:
1 phone charger
1 skirt (new)
2 dresses (new)
1 bridal tiara (new)
2 packets of wedding favour tags
A total cost of over £100, that I will never see, and cannot pursue as the delivery method was not recorded. I had never experienced such difficulties and I am so upset/frustrated.
The other items I am expecting are all clothes purchased from online websites.
It’s true that things are so inconsistent here, in all services. I know many Italian people who have never had (or won’t admit to having had) problems. My local post office has also been very unsympathetic. But I have come to realise that this is a country where ‘anything goes’ and you can’t do anything about it.
‘Customer Service’ is a laughable concept for these people.
Fantastic, beautiful country to visit – but living here definitely leaves a sour taste in the mouth. I’m leaving at the end of the year – thank goodness!
HI, I lost 3 out of 4 parcels sent from the UK different locations , different times to Ali Terme in Sicily, the only parcel which arrived contained school shoes for a child and these could be seen through the packaging ( so I guess the post person was not interested in these) . All the post I have sent to and from Mazara del vallo Sicily arrives safe and sound.
Love your article, its so sad, and true at the same time. Italy is full of thieves……so many things have been stolen from me via post over 10 years i cannot even count!
I find this post and all relative comments very offensive. I kindly suggest you all to go back living to your own countries instead of staying here and spitting on Italy. Most of the stories you tell are as incredible as false. Do you happen to know that when shipping from and to the USA your packages pass through Romania? Don’t you know that all new postal services are tracked and you can always know where your stuff is? How come that E-commerce has highly increased in Italy in the last months? Maybe why people like to get robbed? Please stop writing unkind adsurdities and learn to respect a country where you all are guests. For God’s sake if you don’t feel confortable here go away. The same things you are writing here can be read on posts about US postal services, UK Royal mail and so on. Shame on you for speaking so badly abouy this country. The story of Amazon then… I’m so sorry to see how badly informed you are. Amazon was simply NOT ALLOWED to open Amazon Italy because of the local laws. They are used to sell below cost and this is ILLEGAL in Italy. Amazon, which has opened now, is being continuosly monitored by Italian Revenue Office for this. Even multinational societies like Lego don’t like what Amazon does. Lego Italy is not happy that Amazon sells to regular customers at almost the same price they sell their merchandise to the phisical resellers. Last but not least please kindly remember that Italy is divided in 20 regions. Regions of northern and central Italy have different local laws and procedures from the southern ones. Some of the problems you mentioned may have happened in problematic areas around Naples (Campania) and Palermo (Sicily) due to the particular situation of those places. I challenge you to say that in your own countries everything is perfect. London and Liverpool are the same? The State of Washington is the same of New Mexico? I visited all those places and I could see with my own eyes that problems are the same all over the world.
Sorry for my strong words. I didn’t intend to be rude, but I don’t like reading enormities about my country. Again, if you really don’t like to stay here, please leave. We won’t miss you. Marco Mariani
Hi Marco,
I don’t think you can find this post offensive – there does seem to be a problem with Italy’s postal service – I’ve had problems, and, as you can tell from the many comments here, I’m not alone.
Maybe some of the stories are false – but not all.
Certainly when I lived in the UK I did not have the same problems and I wrote this partially to find out if it was just me and one or two others, or whether there is a bigger problem – it seems the latter is true judging by the comments – and we are not talking about people living here – the guests – but also people/businesses from outside Italy which have had problems. There are forums on the internet which moan about sending and receiving goods where Italy is concerned.
As for the Amazon thing, I was unaware that Amazon’s pricing policy was illegal in Italy, this is true – obviously Amazon operates on tight margins to keep itself in business – it’s the pile them high sell them cheap strategy beloved of Walmart. But, if things are constantly lost in the post, then Amazon would not do at all well.
It’s good that e-commerce is on the increase in Italy – but the what is being sold is generally not something which is posted to someone as you may have noted from my recent post on e-commerce growth in Italy.
You did not use rude or strong words and I’m happy for you to have your say – this too is what the internet is all about.
As for asking people to go away from Italy because the postal service has problems, well, that seems a little extreme! It would probably be easier to demonstrate that the postal system is not as bad as some people seem to think or simply improve it so people can no longer complain. And people are complaining generally because they are comparing Italy’s post to the post in their own countries – it’s not a complaint about Italy generally – but about the postal system.
And just because the post does not work too well does not mean Italy is dishonest – but if someone has lost many items to Italy’s postal service over the years, then they may, logically, come to the conclusion that Italy is not as honest as their own countries.
Thanks for commenting.
When this post about the post ceases to get more comments – then we’ll both know that things have got better
Best,
Alex
Hi Marco. Italy is as close to a third world country as a first world country gets. And I’ve been all over the world too. I can understand your patriotism, but Italy can S a D.
Just been looking through your very interesting blog and the various links. I live (on and off) in a small town/ large village in the Cilento, and have noticed that post from abroad is unreliable. Sometimes there are no problems and a normal delivery time, but other times post just doesn’t turn up, or turns up late. For example, a package of books dispatched from a UK publisher never arrived. My husband also had trouble with a courier – the van driver called him from the marina area (we are up in the paese) and asked him to come down and collect his parcel, or else wait a couple of days to have it delivered to our door – he wasn’t in a hurry so he said he’d wait. But the parcel didn’t arrive, and on calling the sender he found it had been registered as ‘refused delivery’!
OTOH, amazon.it has always delivered with no problems at all, we’re so glad it exists!
Hi Alex,
thanks for your reply.
About italians’ illiteracy and the “reliable”author Tullio De Mauro… I had better to use a very, very strong word this time, but I won’t do it because I have respect for you. The article above mentioned is total bullshit and Mr. De Mauro is sadly famous for this. I kindly remember to you and all of your guests that Primary and Secondary instruction is PUBLIC and compulsory in Italy till the age of 16th. I also remind to you that our “brains” are hired all over the world, expecially in the United States and in the UK.
Sadly illiteracy is still present in Campania and generally in the south, but it is 20% and NOT 80%!!! I can hardly understand how you can simply take in consideration similar baseless information. Thank you very much for your consideration… Expecially if you live in Italy.
As for Amazon books, there is no secret accord with the government I can assure you. Amazon is not so powerful and somebody on this blog must have seen too many american conspiracy movies. Moreover Poste Italiane IS NOT any more a public service, but a private one.
I kindly remember to all of you that Italy is the richest country in Arts and History. Many of the languages that you all speak derive, or have been highly influenced, by our ancient language: Latin. Italian is the closest modern language to Latin, of which it is the natural evolution. Italian is also the most analytical language, which can correctly express 100% of human thought and emotions without any risk of misunderstanding, and without any help of phrasal verbs. We have a word for everything and a proper verb for any situation.
I’m sorry for the unrequested dissertation, but the thing of the “illitteracy” is really unbearable.
Personally, as a typical illiterate italian, I worked hard for my two degrees and for my doctorate. And that was just for culture, because I am a musician, properly a classical singer (tenor) and also run (you never know) a medium business with the rest of my “illiterate” family.
As an European I proudly speak and write 5 languages: Italian, French, Spanish, English and German.
I’m sorry I had no time to do more.
Because of my job I have travelled all around the world and, sincerely, I could’t find such Great Culture anywhere.
I won’t tell you where for respect, but in a Great Nation I found so many people who hardly knew where Italy is and who had never heard about something called Roman Empire.
Last but not least, I beg you to slow down with unrespectful surreal posts expecially when they have no other intent but to offend Italy and its people. I kindly renew my invitation to leave Italy to all those people who don’t like our country, reassuring again that we won’t be offended at all for such decision. Feel free to go back to your more literate countries with perfect postal services and absolutely no problems.
No hard feelings! Take care.
Marco Mariani
Hi again Alex,
there is something very important I forgot to tell you.
In order to improve the service of Poste Italiane and, therefore, not to read any more insane statements about illiterate, thieving and dishonest italian people, I scheduled an appointment with an officer of the Polizia Postale, in order to show the complaints on this blog. I also contacted “Le Iene” TV show which is used to investigate and resolve this cases.
Be assured there’ll be no problem for you and you blog.
Simply it will help to move something to improve the postal service.
Clearly the people who are going to read some posts above won’t be particularly happy, as well as I wasn’t, but I’m sure this will definitely help to wake up some asleep concience.
I am convinced that sometimes acting is much better than chattering.
Again, don’t worry for your blog or for yourself. As you can easily assume from Italian newspaper, in Italy you are free to express your opinion on every matter.
I’ll keep you updated.
Kindly do not remove any post: in particular the
“strongest” will be of great help to shake the sleeping tiger.
Thank you.
Regards.
Marco Mariani
Excellent Marco! Thanks. Tell the world!
If you can then provide evidence to refute the claims here – I’ll be more than happy to publish them. Evidence along the lines of how many items (parcels) are sent to and from Italy in an average year, and how many complaints are made about losses.
And by creating a little more awareness – I still think there is a problem – but do not really know its extent. This post has been seen some 4,000 times, so maybe its not as great as it seems and the number of people affected is relatively small and it appears that many of them are not Italians.
Let me know how you get on – and if someone starts looking into this, great.
Thanks for your efforts.
Kind regards,
Alex
To the honorable gentleman Marco Mariani: to settle the dispute I suggest that you do some shopping over the Internet and order some goodies from the UK (just don’t shop at Amazon, which thankfully has started using SDA; and don’t buy books as they, indeed, seem to be of no interest to third parties in the delivery process). Do report back your findings
…
I do understand that Italy has a very rich history, it has many incredibly intelligent and honest people and has a lot of other things going for it. But it has hardly anything to do with the topic of this blog, which is the fact that Italian post is as unreliable as it can get in a half-civilised country. Many comments have been made here by people who had had repeated trouble with non-deliveries. And it is a fact of reality that many foreign internet companies have for this reason simply discontinued shipping to Italy because nowhere else on this planet have they experienced so many lost deliveries.
I am neither English, nor Italian, but have lived in London for 4 years and now – more than 2 years in northern Italy. And let me tell you something – in the UK, I never experienced a failed delivery (or even a delay!) using Royal Mail (and I did buy things from foreign countries). In Italy, I have stopped using online shopping unless two things: I am buying books (100% safe!) or it’s a courier delivering. Otherwise, the hit ratio is roughly 50%, no more.
To summarise the feelings a foreigner normally develops towards Italy, I will use this phrase of an unknown person I once came across on the net: Italy is too stylish to be hell; however, it is too chaotic to be paradise. In other words – credit where credit is due, but let’s face it – Italian Post is very unreliable.
In the past year I have mailed 4 packages to Northern Italy and 2 to the Napoli region via USPS Priority International Flat Rate Mail. I’m so happy to report that they have all arrived to their intended destinations without any problems (all with handwritten labels). Only 1 out of the 6 packages could be considered “late,” but only by 7 days.
I confess I was VERY weary to mail the gifts at first because I had read on a few blogs and forums about the unreliability of the Italian Postal system. It’s been reported to me- by my friends- that their presents arrived intact and without any package tampering.
In the past few weeks, April 21, 2011, I mailed out a very special birthday present to one of my friends who lives in Pollena Trocchia. I used the USPS small flat rate Priority International boxes which, unfortunately, do not have the same detailed tracking features as the larger sized options. I decided to add the “Registered Mail” option to be safe. Well, it’s been 20 days and my friend hasn’t received it. I have checked both the Customs & Registered numbers on the USPS site and the last information available is that the package left the USA from NY on April 26th. I have called and gone into the US post office and am told “Registered Mail” normally takes longer then the stated 10 – 14 business days.
But now, after reading this thread I’M WORRIED! Anyone know what the process is for “Registered Mail” once it’s in Italy? Also, how long does it normally take for it to be delivered? Lastly, if USPS cannot provide additional information once it leaves the USA, who do I call to get a status update on the package? I have gone to the Poste Italiane site and tried to track with the numbers I have (i had to try) and of course the numbers I have don’t come up as valid on the site.
Any advice would be helpful. The gift was for my friends 21st birthday present and he just got out of the Italian Military and I wanted him to have something special from me.
Best Regards,
Marie
Hi Marie,
Hopefully someone else will add some other advice, but my take is that you’ll just have to wait and see – sometimes it does take much longer than predicted for items to turn up.
This, of course, assumes that the package actually got to Italy – it could have gone astray elsewhere.
Anyway – wait a little longer – a week or so – I have had letters from the UK turn up 2 weeks late in the past.
Be patient!
Best,
Alex
Hi Marie,
Did your parcel show up in Italy as I am anxiously awaiting a parcel from Italy. It has been about six weeks – sent on the 3/8/11. Or should I give up?
Sorry but your post is really offensive.
First, I used to work in a postal office and none of the postal workers stole anything! Of course is illegal to act in this way! Isn’t the same in England?
Second, I’ve never lost anything and it’s very unusual that something is lost. I bet this can happen in England too or other europeans countries, so why are you blaming Italy for this? Come back in your country if Italy is so dangerous and populated by thieves!
Hi Linda,
I’m sure not all postal workers are dishonest, indeed, it might not be Italian postal workers who are dishonest, but having seen pictures of luggage handling staff who steal items from luggage, and having read all the stories here – somebody somewhere is dishonest.
Which post office did you work in? Not everyone has problems, but a number of people – including me, have: fact.
I never lost anything in the post when I was in the UK and the post was much more efficient too.
Not sure why stealing things from the mail is dangerous… And I did not write that Italy is populated by thieves either – perhaps you should read the post again to check.
Thanks for commenting.
Best,
Alex
I never lost anything in the post here in Italy, but I was pickpocketed in London, but I don ‘t tell everyone London is dangerous and some people are dishonest over there only because that happended to me. So, why are you always telling so many bad things about Italy that are untrue? Dishonest people exist everywhere, even in England!
Well why are people’s parcels going missing before they leave Italy??????
And why you aked me which post office I worked in? Maybe you think it was the only one which never had problems? False, Italy is made by honest people, unlike most foreign people uses to think thanks to Hollywood movies. And if your post was lost, maybe it happened in England, who knows!
I asked you so we could understand where the problems lie Linda. Strange that you do not wish to reveal the name of the post office you worked in. The location would be enough.
As for Italy and honesty, if you take a look at the World Corruption Perceptions index – you’ll see that Italy is at position 67 for 2010 and has been getting worse: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index
Corruption is one measure of honesty – and from that index – Italy does not come across as being the most honest place in the world, I’m afraid. So there is some evidence to contradict you. I did not state that all Italians are dishonest, nor did I state that all postal workers in Italy are dishonest either – try reading the comments here and spend a little time reading other articles on this site – such as the Good Italian Things section http://italychronicles.com/category/good-italian-things/
All the best,
Alex
didn’t say stealing is dangerous, but it’s illegal, just to remind you in Italy there are laws and you are not allowed to do whatever you want, like most of foreigners think. Youcome here and think everything, even stealing, is allowed and it’s normal, well, it’s nor normal, and you go in jail, like in every civilized country in the World. Just to remind you, Italy is part of EU.
Hi Alex,
I’m waiting on a very important parcel – our wedding rings which were handcrafted in the US! Our wedding is in 2 weeks time and they should have arrived a month ago but so far niente! We got an ominous looking slip of white paper through the door to say that there had been an attempted delivery on the 6 May, but it didn’t have an address or telephone number to contact. All we can see that suggests it’s an official courier service are the initials HB. I’ve approached our local post office twice and they shooed me away saying that unsuccessful deliveries by courier services are usually left with the local post office and when it arrives, they’ll let me know….Help!! At this rate, we’ll be putting ring pulls on our fingers! Any ideas for who to contact?
Hi Rowan,
Who attempted the delivery? Italian post office or a courier service used by the post office? I don’t know where you are, but there appear to be two companies called HB Express – one in Rome and the other in Naples. If you search Google.it you’ll find phone numbers.
There is also the possibility that your gold rings have been held up at customs in Italy. Do you know where the rings arrived in Italy?
I don’t know who you can contact really – but maybe someone else will – if you tell us where you are in Italy.
Best,
Alex
Maybe this had something to do with at least some of the incidents:
This is what is illegal to ship to italy..
http://pe.usps.gov/text/imm/il_008.htm
Helena
Hi, I have sent some documents to the embassy by registered mail. Is there any way to check if they arrived? I have the registered mail code but I don’t know if the italian post has any service like that. Any idea? Thanks
Hi Christine,
I’m afraid the answer is no, you can’t track registered mail – unless it is sent in Italy using the ‘smart’ registered mail service http://www.poste.it/online/dovequando/controller?action=start&subaction=raccomandata
I think you may have to call them. How long ago did you send the documents? If it’s longer than two weeks – do some checking. Wait around a week before getting too worried.
Best,
Alex
Thanks for your reply Alex. I sent them a week ago. Actually I have read no good things about italian post service, that’s why I am worry about. I am afraid it is just an registered mail because I don’t know that kind of smart mail you mentioned. I live in Greece, near enough. And I know that the embassy doesn’t inform about receiving documents. So, I have to wait until I get them back which can take over a month. Unfortunately, mail service was the only way because courier service in Greece doesn’t support prepaid airway bill which is required from the embassy.
I think that all the services that offer the Italian post for tracking are for mails that are sent from Italy only. Am I right?
Christine,
From what I remember, it’s possible to track parcels sent from another country via Italy’s postal service. This is something I’ve done in the past – but I cannot remember how I did it – and even then, it only worked with specific parcel services.
If you have a code, you could try putting that in one of the boxes on the Italian post office website – it might work, but then again… Something for a coffee break.
As for the quality of Italy’s postal service, ‘variable’ is perhaps the most charitable description. Lots of people seem to have problems – and stories of problems are legion. Anyway, wait another week before becoming too worried.
Good luck,
Alex
Do we know how many attempts does the Italian post office make for delivery?
Thanks
The Italian post site says that:
“In carico al portalettere del centro postale…”
What does it mean? And when do you think they will deliver it?
I forgot to mention that it is a registered mail. Thx
Irene – as far as I know, with registered letters they only make one attempt, then you have to go pick it up – this has happened to me more times than I care to mention – not the fault of the post office – reason is because no-one was in the sign for the letter.
“In carico al portalettere del centro postale…” – I’m pretty sure this means the letter or whatever, is out for delivery – which means either you’ll get what you are waiting for, or receive a card which tells you where to go to get it. It’s best to wait a couple of days before going to get the item.
Hopefully, the post office you will need to got to will be close by, but if you live in a rural area, the pick up location may be in the nearest major town – the address and opening hours will be on the card. These cards are a mustard colour here in Milan, not sure about the rest of Italy.
Best,
Alex
First of all thank you for your quick response! An newer update says that “Consegnato dal portalettere del centro postale”. Does it mean that the recipient got the mail? Or it is still at the postman’s hands? Unfortunately, I will not be informed by the recipient that’s why I am a little bit nervous. What is the final message I will got by the site anyone? Thanks again Alex!
Yes, Irene, “Consegnato dal portalettere del centro postale” means it’s been delivered, or should have been.
Alex
I mailed a package to myself from Florence Poste IT on April 19, 2011; have the tracking number and it shows the package went from Firenza to the Roma Hub, back to Firenza and then back to the Roma Hub Espresso (April 28, 2011). After that, the package has apparently disappeared into the Poste IT black hole! I have written the Poste IT service, written two Consulate officials and have now gotten two reports from Poste IT. . . one says it was returned to sender (that was me and to the B&B Toursit House Ricci) because there were no admitted items contained in the package and the other says that there is insufficient paperwork to track the package. I copied the mailing tracking documents, the customs paperwork, and the information of tracking that I can get; what else could I possibly send??? Being totally frustrated regarding this package is an understatement. Having sent packages to and from the UK for many years has resulted in no package ever disappearing! This is the only package I have ever sent from Italy and now I truly understand the existence of this Blog site; I just want my stuff (clothing I had taken on a trip and did not want to lug around in my bags and on Ryan Air flights). Obviously, non admitted items cannot possibly be clothes I purchased in the USA, brought with me on a trip, and was attempting to return to myself in the USA. Any recommendations on what I can do to find my long lost package?
FYI – I have sent Stephano from the B&B Touristuse Ricci an email asking if the package was returned to him and have not received a reply.
Terri Handy, North CArolina
Hi Terri,
Sorry to hear of your postal problems.
As for what to do, you’ve done it. Keep having a go at the B&B Tourist House Ricci place to find out whether or not it was ever returned to them. If the answer is yes, then maybe some other kind American tourist can bring your clothes back to the US for you. Otherwise I suspect you might have to say good bye to your clothes.
Was there any footwear in the package? Apparently it cannot be sent from the US to Italy – not sure about vice versa.
Good luck.
Alex
I also had a parcel sent from Florence. The date my parcel was sent was the 3/8/11. My parcel had a dress in it and it was sent by someone at the hotel I was staying at. I do believe that the parcel was sent and they have sent me a scan of the receipt. With tracking I have learnt that it was sent to Milan – where it was last scanned on the 8/8/11. That is it.
Now 9/9/11 and still the same tracking information. The guy at the hotel who sent the parcel has contacted the post office in Florence but no additional information as yet. My parcel is meant to be coming to Australia. I thought it was interesting that you experienced problems from Florence aournd the same time too. SOOO frustrating.
Hello,
I stupidly left my ipod in my hotel room on a recent trip to Italy (near Chianciano, Tuscany). I have contacted the hotel and they have found it. They have offered me two options for its return – A ‘Postal order’ or ‘Transfer money in a bank account’. I am not really sure what they mean (the english in the email is a bit dodgy). Do you have any advice on the best way to procede so that I have the best chance of getting my ipod back?
thank you
Don’t have them send it through the mail. I left a dress at my hotel in Florence and they put it in the post to me in Australia. It was sent registered post and cost about 12 euros but six weeks later and it has still not shown up. The tracking number can only tell me that it was last scanned in Milan on the 8/8/11. Use a courier service and insure.
I studied abroad in Italy for a year and a classmate of mine both stayed in a convent to save money. When my friend’s birthday came around, his elderly grandma innocently mailed him $20. Needless to say the card was delivered – with scotch tape and $20 missing. He only knew about the money because his grandma wrote in the card “Here’s something to help you out.” He called his grandma and told her next time to just give the money to his mom to deposit into his back account. I learned my lesson from all this and always had valuable items sent to me via FedEx.
Hi and thank you for such an interesting blog. I am sorry to hear about all the nightmarish experiences most of you have gone through but I am even sadder to see some ultranationalistic posts from Italians trying to defend the image of Italy by clinging to the rethoric of its glorious historical and cultural tradition.
You know what, I am Italian but I have had so many terrible experiences with the postal service here (and I didn’t have problems in Japan, Uk, Ireland, Holland) that I can only symphatize with those complaining about the third-world service of this country. While not all Italians are dishonest (I consider myself an honest citizen indeed) I do believe there are a way too many scumbags (excuse me for the word but that’s what it is about) working in the government and for the government (and don’t tell me that poste italiane is a private company. It’s as private as Alitalia is…read: entrepreneurs make business with money from the state then any profit is theirs and any loss is to be paid by the taxpayers). The kind of attitude “if you don’t like it here move away” is the very one that is bringing this country to a fatal decay.
We either give up our right to protest (and to be honest, daily life in Italy -especially in the south- can be so excruciating that rather than a protest a bomb would be needed) or we just follow the old saying “when in Rome, do as the romans do”, becoming complicit in more or less direct ways of the twisted and corrupted system that is now the norm in this screwed up country.
We need to face the limits of our political and cultural system and acknowledge them rather than trying to find a justification in our history (i.e. what Italians of the past did… how about the italians of the present? But I guess that’s what democracy is about, right? We Italians have the system we voted for, after all) .
My parcel was sent from Florence on the 3/8/11 to Australia but to date it has not turned up. It was sent Registered mail and was given a tracking number. However, using the tracking number I have only been able to find out that it was last scanned in Milan on the 8/8/11. Since then there have been no updates and the same information is given. Should I hold out any hope of receiving my parcel or after this amount of time accept defeat and put in a claim?
Hi Leigh,
If I were you I’d wait until the end of September before making a claim.
Italy goes into a form of hibernation in August – many people go away and it is likely that the mail service will have suffered. The postal service which is slow at any time in Italy will be slower in summer and very slow on the run up to Christmas too.
Best,
Alex
Hi Alex,
Very interesting. Thanks a lot for all the info. Usually these happens when the mail company is from the government. No control. I know as Iive in South America.
I wanted to ask you something: Due to weight restrictions on her plain, my daughter left some bags in England, before going to italy (we are from Argentina). Do you know a secure and cheap truck freight company or service company to send all her winter cloth from England to Venice, italy? tks in advance and best regards
Hi Roberto,
Italy’s postal service was, like many such services around the world, founded by Italy’s government and although private on paper, its stock is 100% held by Italy’s government. This may explain why the service is erratic.
As for a secure and cheap truck freight company, I don’t know of one off the top of my head, but I may be able to find out. If I do, I’ll post another comment here.
Best,
Alex
OK Roberto – two names to check out, both of which are reliable, I’ve been told:
Parcelforce – UK parcel service – provided the quantity is not huge, and
Trans Ship Italia – telephone numbers/ email here: http://tuscany.angloinfo.com/afdetail.asp?Rec=6855
There is also this – cheap and fast: http://www.dpd.com/
And this: http://www.voovit.com/
Heard good things about all of the above shipping companies.
Hope this helps.
Best,
Alex
Wonderfull!! Thanks a lot Alex. Im sure it will.
Have a nice day.
Prego – but do check prices for some of the companies listed – I understand some are not as low as they used to once be.
Best,
Alex
I was looking for some info on posting goods to Italy, as I am due to move there soon, and came across this blog. The comments are not encouraging. I recall having a conversation with an Italian bank manager about having my bank cards sent too me in the post and he advised against it saying that the postal system in Italy is very unreliable. I didn’t take much notice of what he said but reading these comments I’m seriously having second thoughts about moving there.
Hi Teresa,
I have not had problems with bank cards – although bank does get me to go in to pick some up nowadays.
Recently I ordered some camera gear from Hong Kong and it got to Italy without any problems and took less than the predicted time too.
For bills and other items, Italy’s postal service works fine. Some have few problems with other items, whereas others have had real problems, as you have read. The trouble is the service is inconsistent – you never really know whether the mail will get through or not. Nowadays though, aside from big items, most of us can avoid traditional mail and use email.
I don’t think you should have second thoughts about moving here just because the postal service is a little random! Up to you though – but ask other people – maybe a few Facebook friends who have lived in Italy, for example.
Best,
Alex
google today 11. October 2011 gives:
“not ship to italy”: 6’580’000 hits
“not ship to the US”: 5’900’000 hits
“not ship to the USA”: 4’330’000 hits
“not ship to USA”: 3’020’000 hits
“not ship to UK”: 2’390’000 hits
“not ship to the UK”: 1’980’000 hits
“not ship to US”: 1’590’000 hits
“not ship to germany”: 1’960’000 hits
“not ship to france”: 821’000 hits
“not ship to russia”: 811’000 hits
“not ship to australia”: 530’000 hits
“not ship to spain”: 243’000 hits
“not ship to japan”: 191’000 hits
“not ship to switzerland”: 78’000 hits
“not ship to sweden”: 47’400 hits
“not ship to vatican”: 2 hits
I wish I had read this a few weeks ago!
I’m British but currently in Australia and sent a birthday present to my American girlfriend doing a semester abroad in Italy. It never arrived! It’s been three weeks and I hope it’s just in customs but I have a bad feeling. Sending it registered just did not enter my thought process at all, I just took it to the post office and mailed it. I guess it’s too much to hope that paying Australia post to send something will end with them actually delivering it to Italy and then have an honest person drop it through the box. AP are about as good a a hand break on a canoe!
It a shame because not only was it over $150 but more to the point it was her only gift on her birthday and it never arrived. I wrapped it in bubble wrap and put it a envelope then more wrap and into a second larger envelope to stop the feeling of it by the post man.
Just incase I’m jumping in to soon, can anyone tell me how long customs hold things for?
Don’t lose all hope yet, Karl!
Three weeks is not that long – there is still a chance the mail will arrive at destination.
For future reference, send items to Italy by recorded (and insured) mail – and check that it can be tracked too. This may raise the chances of the parcel arriving.
Whereabouts in Italy is your girlfriend? A town or city is enough – but do not feel obliged to mention it. Knowing this should help everybody can understand where the trouble spots lie. If the same city crops up again and again, then hopefully the police will go and have a nose around.
Wait a couple of weeks longer, and if you remember and have the time, pop back here and let us all know whether the package ever did arrive, or not.
Best,
Alex
Thank you for your help and advice Alex.
She is in Florence at syracuse university. I hope that because it was sent care of her university any post person who might be tempted to have a peak will just think it’s uni supplies.
I will let you know how this ends. I sent a letter today to see how long it takes and if it gets there before my package.
Thanks again.
Karl
You’re welcome, Karl.
I hope the post does get through. Sending it care of the uni was a good idea, I’d say. I just hope it has not been lost within the university!
Please do let us know how things turn out and thanks for the location information – this might help others.
Fingers crossed!
Cheers,
Alex
I am a seller on Amazon and have lost count of the times things have gone missing to Italy. It is by far the top country for lost goods and am considering no longer shipping there.
Last year there was a period of 3 months where 7 items were posted and 4 of those were lost.
There’s definately something fishy going on.
Hi David,
Reading forums on the matter, I have noted that Amazon sellers like yourself have had problems sending items to Italy. The problem seemed to have lessened, but it still exists judging from your experiences. Where in Italy did you send the items which got lost? Can you remember? If you have a moment can you let us know – it can help us understand where the hot spots are.
The scale of the problem must not yet be great enough to worry Italy’s post office, alas.
Best,
Alex
Thanks so much for all this information. An online friend from Italy sent a package to me on September 22, 2011. It is now November 7 and the package still has not arrived (I’m in Hawaii, USA).
To me, this seems like a really long time. Do you think that the package (just some handmade doll clothes) never made it out of Italy and got stolen? Should I just consider it lost by now? As far as I know, there was no tracking #…
Hi Kira,
Some socks posted to me from the UK never got to me in Italy!
From where in Italy did your friend send the package? Some areas are more problematic than others. If you read some of the other comments here, you’ll find out which areas of Italy have caused problems.
Hawaii is a long way away too, so your package would have passed though a few postal areas and customs too. Did you check USPS list of items which you cannot mail to Italy?
Provided it’s not on the USPS list, don’t give up hope just yet – wait until 22 November at least. The package may still turn up – if it does and you have a moment, please let us know.
Best,
Alex
Update as of December 5: the wayward package from Italy still has not arrived. My friend shipped it from her hometown of Napoli. I’ve shipped things to her and she always have received it, but this is the first time she has tried mailing to me in Hawaii…
I am just wondering if it takes extra long because I am all the way in Hawaii, out in the Pacific. I’m still not giving up hope, though. It could still show up one of these days, right?
Thanks for the update, Kira
It is true that Hawaii is a very long way from Naples. However, if you have sent stuff from Hawaii to Naples and it has arrived, then so should your package. As a matter of interest, how long does it take on average for packages to arrive in Hawaii from Naples? The trip from Hawaii to Naples should not take any longer. And there is this from the USPS listed under Prohibitions:
“Haberdashery and sewn articles of any kind, including trimmings and lace; handkerchiefs; scarves; shawls, needlework including stockings and gloves; bonnets, caps, and hats of any kind.” – I wonder whether your parcel has been confiscated by the USPS. Just a thought. The USPS list does change from time to time. Just do not ask me why you cannot send haberdashery and sewn articles by mail!
Assuming the items have not been seized by the USPS, there is a slight chance they will still arrive, by this chance diminishes as time passes. Wait until the New Year and then give up on it. In this instance, it’s difficult to know whether light fingered postal staff in Naples or elsewhere for that matter have taken your items or whether the USPS has officially confiscated your package.
Hope this helps, even if it does not really,
Regards,
Alex
Hello guys,
I will be glad If someone can confirm If it is true that undelivered mail to Italy is just returned to the sender?
I have ordered 3 disks from different UK E-bay sellers. I received only one of them (box was severely damaged, bud disk was OK) and went to the Central Post in Catania. I have explained that the building I leave in have a “portineria” – an old woman serving as a receptionist which should receive the parcels, but sometimes she is not there. So they told me that the letters should be returned back to sender. Is that true? What can I do now?
Hi Kiril,
If the Catania Post office says undelivered items are returned to sender, than they may well be the case – let’s see what others say.
What you need to do is to contact the sender and see if they arrived. Hopefully, the sender will contact you anyway. And to avoid such problems in future, try to have the parcels delivered to somewhere there is always someone to receive them, although I know this is not always possible as some credit card companies/online shops insist on items being sent to the card holder’s address.
Best,
Alex
Hi,
I’ve just sold something on ebay a few days ago to a buyer in Sicily. I sent it standard airmail from the UK. Can any one tell me if it will go directly to Sicily or will it be routed from mainland Italy? Also, does the post have the same problems there as the mainland? Already the buyer has emailed me twice asking if and when it’s been sent, so sense they are going to be a bit difficult if they don’t receive it soon.
Thanks in advance for any replies.
Panic over, item has been received today in Sicily and took exactly one week.
Great news, Patricia!
Good to hear that the post did get through and one week is not at all bad.
Thanks for popping back to let us all know
Best,
Alex
Hello Alex!
Sadly, I am discovering this useful post .. way .. too .. late. Literally. I sent my Italian friend a package almost 5 weeks ago, hoping that it would reach her in time for her birthday which has now passed. In turn, almost 4 weeks ago, she sent me a package which – yeah! you guessed it – I haven’t received yet either.
She lives in Napoli and I live in Hampshire.
Right now, she is still hopeful and optimistic, while I am downright frustrated and more than a little disappointed.Packages get stolen? Ripped open? Lost? Way to make a good impression on foreigners, Italy.
I am beginning to think that neither of us will get her gift. Am I right?
How long does it usually take a package to travel from England to Italy?
Thanks in advance
Mary
Where I live every now and then the post just stops arriving, last year no post for three months, the story in the local papers was they were just dumping the post as it was too much trouble to deliver, people were arrested and post started again , nice post girl, I have been lulled into thinking it would be ok now as stuff was getting through now its stopped again, its so depressing I am waiting for plants for my garden and they will be dead after all this time, I was getting packages from London in four or five days now nothing is getting through, the courier serviced mentioned above are actually even worse and are like sending stuff to the Bermuda triangle, there was a film made and put on youtube showing secret cameras and post workers stealing gadgets from packages, its a real shame, why do they allow it? post workers perks?
this was filmed in the sorting office recently
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNWNbq4ue1c
I wish you would address the problem of customs charging for items clearly marked as gifts. What can be done? If you don’t pay they keep the package! I just paid 35 euros for $100 worth of wrapped Christmas gifts.
Also has anyone run into having to show codice fiscale & ID card when mailing packages? Every time I go to mail a gift I remember why I swore never to do it again!
I wonder what is the new agreement about.
http://www.consumersforum.it/news-archivio/1535-19122011-nuovo-accordo-fra-poste-e-consumatori.html
Hopefully, its for the better of Poste Italiane
We’ll see, Annie – if the popularity, if one can call it that, of this post falls, we’ll know something good is happening.
The post from the UK to me here in Milan did get through – but the senders’ followed the advice in this post – plain packages sent to a business address. Seems to work or Italy’s postal service is improving.
Best,
Alex
i, like many others discovered this post way to late….i am on a 2 month holiday in europe and my gf has sent cards to hotels every now and again…the only one i didnt get was in italy and it was in a red envelope….
I also sent her some glasswear from venice and upon reading this post i am slightly concerned…it hasnt been 2 weeks as of yet but as the post said, nothing expensive or life threatening, just a pain in the arse for tourists who visit italy….in that regard i would say it is the italian postal service…
Also when i went to the post office in venice, no one spoke a whisper of english, it was a nightmare….
I would say, posting from italy is not worth the fuss, if your touring just wait till you reach another country
I’ve lived in Florence for the last ten years and to be honest have had fairly few problems with the postal service, although the occasional package has failed to turn up or arrived with items missing. Since mid November 2011, however, I’ve made a total of 14 online orders from the UK (not counting several from Amazon UK) and so far only one has arrived! Some of these are now around six weeks late and I’m beginning to give up hope of ever seeing them again given that delivery from the UK usually takes little more than a week.
Orders from Amazon on the other hand (only those shipped by Amazon UK’s trackable service) have always arrived exactly on time and being able to track the package is such a comfort.
I stumbled across this blog while trying to find some information as to why my packages are taking so long to arrive and after reading Jef’s post above about the lack of a ‘first in – first out’ system, especially at busy periods over Christmas etc, I’m pretty horrified!
Now I just hope that at some point they’ll get to the bottom of the barrel and find some of my stuff down there! I’ve contacted various sellers about the missing items and most have offered to send out the items again free of cost or provide me with a refund, but for the moment I’ve declined these kind offers.
I find it pretty unfair that an honest seller should have to pay for either the dishonesty or ineptitude of some of those involved in the Italian postal service. And I say some, because obviously some great people are also employed by Le Poste. My post lady is an absolute delight and I’m on first name terms with the lovely gentleman from SDA.
Hi Juliet,
Sorry to hear that the post to Florence seems to have stopped getting through. Very odd.
Six weeks is a long time, but wait a little longer before accepting refunds and asking sellers to attempt to send items again.
With luck, someone from Italy’s postal service will be reading this post about the post and investigating – I hope so.
If you have a moment, do pop back and let us all know what happened re your post.
Thanks,
Alex
I think confidence in Amazon deliveries may be a little premature. I live in the UK and earlier this month we ordered some books from Amazon for my brother to be delivered to his home address in Florence. The books never arrived. But, according to Amazon’s tracking, they were delivered within four or five days and signed for in his name! I have been sending a parcel to Florence every year for about nine years. This is the first time I have used Amazon, but it is the second parcel that he has not received. This very informative blog has confirmed my suspicions and I will not be sending parcels to Italy again. Keep up the good work.
Hi Mandy,
Sorry to hear about your Amazon problems. So far, I’ve been lucky and have got Amazon goods via Amazon.it on time and in perfect condition too.
Thanks for mentioning to where the parcels were sent – this information may well help others and Amazon, possibly.
Best,
Alex