Why wont some people send things to Italy?

[mercynova]

Hi all!
 
Selling some (non-pony) items on ebay and someone has messaged me saying that they are honestly a legitimate bidder and will I post to Italy?
 
Well I've seen a lot of auctions stating that people wont send things there... What's the reasoning behind this? I would like to say yes to this person but ebay has not treated me too well in recent months and I don't want to make a mistake.
 
Cheers!

[Oneleo1]

Italy's custom agents tend to be a bit corrupt...and packages that are not tracked end up missing on a regular basis. If you are lucky enough to get a package through customs, it can take ages (like months) to get to where it needs to go.

Post Merge: March 05, 2012, 08:12:38 AM

Tracking can more than double the shipping price, and many buyers don't want to pay that much for shipping.

SoSilver can shed more light on it, he lives in Italy

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Also there is a certain way you have to fill out the customs form, as toys are prohibited in some form or another. 

[tinrobo]

Yikes, I had no idea about that. Guess I've been lucky so far o_o

[Izrabeth]

Italian customs agents are thieves and scoundrels. I can only confirm.
The most big problem is when a package comes from extra EU countries, they hold it at least 1 month, they ask you fees that often are more than the value of the object, they calculate these fees over the value of goods + shipping costs.
Packages from EU countries aren't really a problem, I receive regurarly packages from UK, they tend to arrives after 2/3 weeks but no fees and no problems.
Honestly I had some problems of waiting 2 months and pay fees but I always got my packages.

I would suggest you anyway to ship in registered letter and tell to the customer that may takes 2/3 weeks from EU or up to 4 weeks from US

And about the forbidden toys, yes it's true there are laws about...but on my packages I saw plastic toys really often and they always pass...so it's just poop they say. They are just interested in add those damn fees

[willa]

They don't allow leather items or plastic toys to be imported x

[Brightglowpony]

I've actually shipped to Italy before and had no problems   I sold a non-pony item (a necklace) on ebay and the buyer agreed to have it shipped insured with tracking and it arrived with no issues and did not take too long either.  But I understand why you would be cautious, it seems as though lots of people run into trouble when shipping there.  Maybe it really depends on the item you are sending and the wording on the customs form, but I'm not too sure.  Good luck! 

[ponylady]

I have shipped to Italy many of times with no problems.
I am always leary though because of what I have heard about customs.  But usually I am just extra careful how I word what the item is and it's worked so far.

[Stormy31685]

I have heard that there can be problems with Italy's customs, but I have never had an issue.  It seems most issues are avoided by shipping Priority.

[kCherry]

I have also shipped to Italy with no problems in the past, but I won't take the chance with high-value items.

  I think Izrabeth's post says it all....

[Binkyfinder]

I don't think I can add any additional reasons that haven't already been mentioned here.  I haven't really had issues with things disappearing, but I've sent several packages that have taken forever to arrive.  Luckily, most of the buyers are aware of customs delays - but not all of them are.  It helps if you tell your buyer upfront that it may take several weeks for their item to arrive.

[Oneleo1]

I've had a few take more than 2 months (from the US to Italy), but have never had any go missing. I have heard the horror stories though!

Yes, you must be very careful how you describe the items not only because of the items that are not allowed, but also to keep those pesky customs agents from stealing the box. So don't mention 'collectable' in your description

[wystearya]

They don't allow leather items or plastic toys to be imported x

Really?   Plastic toys are banned?  That doesn't make any sense.  :/

[babystarz]

Just for future reference, would it be easier for me to send a package from the U.S. to a middleman in the U.K. before shipping the package on to Italy? Or would the cost of shipping it twice cancel out any benefit of that strategy?

[Ringlets]

A lot of people will not ship to Italy because of possible problems with customs as the others mentioned
babystarz it depends on the size/weight of the item as to whether it might be best to use a UK "middleman" , or whether it will work out too expensive. There is also the time factor to consider as sometimes it can take 4 weeks from US to UK and the same again to get to Italy from the UK.
 TBH in the UK it is easier for us to ship there because we dont have to fill in a customs form to send items to Italy ,and normally the items get there just fine In fact I have sent items to Italy over the last few weeks without tracking and they have got there fine. For more expensive items I do tend to use tracking