Not sure if this is the correct area to post...

Ciao Tutti!

I am a student living in Milan and have recently encountered some computer problems, forcing me to invest in a new laptop. Unfortunately, Apple's computers in Italy cost about 2500 euros; unaffordable to an american student dealing with the weak dollar. So, my family has purchased me a computer in the States, but now I face the difficulty of receiving it here in Italy....

My question for everyone is, what is the most cost-efficient way to get the computer into Italy? Shipping through DHL/Fedex is approx. $200, which i am willing to pay.. but i am worried about VAT taxes, duties etc. A suggestion from a friend was to claim the computer "repaired" in the states, that it is not new, so that i will avoid additional taxes. Has anyone had experience shipping electronics into Italy? Thanks for taking the time to read my post; i hope that someone has a good suggestion!

It's a gamble. You will likely pay customs duty, but maybe you'll get lucky. Let us know how it turns out.

Bill is right, it is a gamble. You can mark "used" or "repaired personal item" but if the shipper notes a value (for insurance) or description you are likely to get the customs opening it and then requesting the tax and fees. This can add another 20+% to the cost. So with shipping and taxes you may pay several hundred to get in shipped.

Any chance someone is coming over to visit who can bring it with them?

well.. my mother in the states called FedEx today and they suggested that it may be possible to provide my visa/passport with the box, identifying that I am an american student temporarily residing in italy to avoid the taxes. There is not much information posted on the web regarding VAT taxes and who they apply to. I don't know if it is possible to avoid VAT taxes... since I am not a citizen (nor have i received my POS yet of course!)

Does anyone have any knowledge about VAT taxes?


I know one person traveling back to the states near the end of August; but I am afraid that is too far away!

Whenever I've been here, temporarily or permanently, I've had to pay IVA for purchases in Italy and customs duty for imports. Unless there is a special exemption for students I haven't heard of, you'd have to pay.

Jamurp01,

Where does your family live in the States?

Ask your parents to ask their friends if they know of anyone coming to Italy this summer and then for someone to bring it to Italy for you.

Otherwise, you'll have to pay a customs fee and/or VAT to get it deliver to you in Milan.

Ciao, Ben

Also, is there really any shipping company left that would provide (reasonably priced) insurance for such an item? Do NOT have it shipped without insurance!!! I see you live in Milan, what about your family in the States? I have lived here 2 weeks and I already have a friend of a friend who is going to summer school in my home town (Berkeley) next week and in exchange for cheaper rent at my mom's house he is taking a whole bunch of gifts for my family (ok, ok, mostly chocolate I will admit)! So... ask around, if your family lives in a big city GOOD chances some friend or colleague is going to be there at some point in the near future and you can strike up a similar bargain!

Thanks for all the responses! unfortunately the soonest anyone will be traveling to Italy is the end of August... FedEx will insure the computer for the full amount; and as an additional precaution, our primary insurance company would cover the cost in case of theft/damage. FedEx still claims that i am a student and exempt from paying VAT.. i will keep you all updated; the computer is set to ship out on monday and should arrive in italy by next friday.. though with customs, i don't know how long until i can turn it on...


...crossing my fingers that i don't get charged duty/taxes...

Bumping this up to ask another question - probably for Bill.

I bought an iMac here in the states, and shipped it off to an FPO AE box via UPS. Is it correct that I won't be paying tax on it, since it's going via military mail?

Do you mean USPS? UPS doesn't deliver to military PO boxes.

Everything that comes in via military mail is tax free.

Nope, I meant UPS. I shipped it out on Tuesday (went to an actual UPS store) and they had no problem taking it and sending it to the FPO box. Hope it won't be out there in limbo!

Let us know, but I'm betting UPS takes it to New York and gives it to USPS to take to the FPO. APO/FPO have contract mail service subsidized by DOD, so the cost of sending an item to Europe is basically the same as sending it to the US east coast.

That could definitely be the case. I'll update once it gets there. Thanks for the info!

I hope so. If it goes UPS to Italy, it will go through Italian customs. That could get expensive.

Just an update...

I emailed one of my husband's coworkers and this is the response I got:

"If they use the FPO address, it will more than likely get returned to sender. UPS should not ship to an FPO address.

If the customer uses UPS and ships to our geographical Italian street address, it will be delivered to DDSI. Keep in mind that in order to use UPS the customer would have to pay the international shipping rate."

Soo... now it seems as if the computer is probably headed back to the States. I'm going to go to the UPS store today and see what they can tell me. I am hoping for a full refund. Thankfully I insured it for the exact amount it costed me and hopefully it'll be returned safe and sound. I'm so extremely frustrated by this whole thing. As soon as it's returned, I'll be headed for USPS. Any tips or advice on that process??

No, just remember to fill out the little customs form at the post office.

Will do. I have another friend from another board who lives in Milan and she was telling me that I should NEVER ship with USPS. Something about how they all steal, aren't reliable, etc. She said that no expats use them because of this. Have you found this to be the case?

I'm thinking that if my package is returned to me before I leave (which is next Saturday), I'm just going to put it on the plane with me and pay the excess baggage fee.

This is getting to be a little ridiculous!!

You must distinguish between shipping via USPS to an APO/FPO address and mailing via USPS to an Italian address.

The APO/FPO route is all DOD contract carrier, with military or DOD civilian personnel picking up the mail from the airport (ours flies in to Venice) and sorting into PO boxes. I've never heard of anyone having anything stolen from APO/FPO in 27 years of using it.

USPS to an Italian address is handed off to Poste Italiane when it lands in Italy. There are a number of threads on this forum about postal theft problems here, as well as problems with items passing through Italian customs.

Bill, you are such a valuable member of this board. Thank you so much for the helpful information. Will update as soon as I get the computer back from UPS. Who knew it would be this stressful?

Just got back from The UPS Store. The manager took my package to USPS and shipped it from there. So, systems a go! Woohoo! The only downside is that because the box was so big and heavy, the only method they could ship it was parcel post. I know from experience that that is the WORST, but seeing as we probably won't get into housing for awhile, I guess I can go a few months without the desktop. I still have our laptop, which will be good.

Parcel post usually takes about 2 or 3 weeks to get here, so not too bad.

When you first said UPS shipped the item I envisioned your computer trapped in Italian customs for weeks, and you getting stuck with a big duty payment. So this is definitely good news.

Two-three weeks? Heck, I can handle that!! Good news all-around. Gotta love that!

Just wanted to update that the computer got here, didn't have to pay any kind of Custom fee, and everything works properly. Yay!

Great! Mail to FPO addresses never goes through Italian customs- you save on postage and duty- quite a benefit!

I remember correctly you only pay what the US postage would cost to mail something to the someone with the same Zip Code as the FPO box.