how to send a PC to France?

Dai · 28-07-2011, 08:10

I need to send a desktop machine including TFT to my daughter in Provence. Has anyone here done something like this themselves? I'm wondering who to use as carrier to get the safest result and best price.

TIA.

Taf · 28-07-2011, 08:43

Judging by the cost of sending anything to europe via Royal Mail, it would have been cheaper to take a plane there and hand deliver! The missus has vowed never to post anything back home ever again.

Best of luck finding a carrier with reasonable rates.

andrewlutonuk · 28-07-2011, 09:26

Why Does it have to be Royal Mail?

How about one of the other companies Like (UPS) United Parcel Service, (Fedex) Fedral Express or TNT

Don't know what the costs would be though

andrewlutonuk

Dai · 28-07-2011, 10:00

I've used the Interparcel service in the past for less breakable items but I'm a bit concerned about sending a flat screen.

Any CF members planning a holiday near Avignon in the near future?

haydnwalker · 28-07-2011, 10:10

If you pack it securely with bubble wrap or foam padding and advise UPS that the items are Fragile, they should be relatively careful with it... We send items to be repaired in Belgium and they always come back OK...

DocDutch · 28-07-2011, 16:10

Might just be cheaper to drive over yourself as i wanted to sen a parcel to Holland afford and it wasn'it heavy but would have cost me 50 by royal and about 70 via ups

Hom3r · 28-07-2011, 18:38

Silly question, what do they need it for?

It might be easier to send a cheap laptop/netbook.

Dai · 28-07-2011, 19:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hom3r

Silly question, what do they need it for?

It might be easier to send a cheap laptop/netbook.

Tried that already. Unfortunately the grandson is rather clumsy and heavy-handed and has managed to wreck 2 lappies already. I'm hoping a sturdy desktop will have a slightly longer working life.

DocDutch · 28-07-2011, 20:14

Dai, I would forget about UPS myself... just done a quick test run from UK to Holland and on a guestimate on the weight of a pc and tft (10kg) and packaging to match a standard would cost ya Â£112 (thats to Holland so perhaps France might be cheaper)
http://www.ups.com/content/gb/en/shi...?WT.svl=PriNav

Dai · 28-07-2011, 21:19

argh indeed. cheers Doc, if I can find anything better I'll let you know.

qasdfdsaq · 29-07-2011, 04:55

There are quite a few delivery companies that do it far cheaper, but as for packaging I'd advise against using bubble wrap for the monitor. Foam blocks that came with it originally would be better as stress and shocks would be applied to the frame rather than directly onto the more vulnerable panel surface.

Anyhow, I've had quite a few desktop machines get bashed around when using parcel services that I generally don't trust non-specialized couriers with my kit anymore.

But if you are looking, places like this do it pretty cheap - and they use the main reputable carriers so there's no issue of trust:

http://www.parcelmonkey.co.uk/
http://www.interparcel.com/

A 15Kg box with them starts at around Â£20 to France with 2-day economy service. But beware, most places won't insure valuables (i.e. computers) in transit.

DocDutch · 29-07-2011, 16:07

Just take the holiday as the wife would be happy to see the grand children

Dai · 29-07-2011, 16:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by DocDutch

Just take the holiday as the wife would be happy to see the grand children

lol, we're planning to take a trip out in September but I don't think the daughter wants to wait that long for a computer. She needs one for the skype-based teaching work that she does and is rather in need of a child-resistant computer so that she can pay the bills.

moiraf100 · 31-07-2011, 11:02

Why not order a new one from a french site and get it delivered? Just a thought :-)

Smilie · 31-07-2011, 11:59

you can try mail box etc

go into ur local branch and ask for the prices

the can also pack for you