Tips on Shipping to Germany???

[Twilight Pink]

Well, i'm about to ship my first international package off to Germany to my beloved German penpal
He's gonna be housing The Crystal Empire's Prince & Princess 

I plan on shipping them off via USPS, so do anyone have any advice, tips, and/or tricks on shipping to Germany?

Thank you!!! 

[kellyponyfeathers]

If you buy first class postage online, it will probably give you a delivery confirmation number, which is sort of like a tracking number, only not as reliable.  For whatever crazy reason, it's not available if you buy in person from the local post office.

If you want a true tracking number, you have to buy priority international shipping, which is super expensive, like $50.  It's expensive because it's also quick delivery.  And the private carriers - FedEx, UPS, DHL - are all the same.  Tracking is only available with priority shipping.  They're all about $50 because they're all quick delivery.  So basically, if you want fairly reliable shipping at a reasonable cost, online first class international postage is your best bet.  It should give you the delivery confirmation number automatically; you shouldn't have to request it specifically.  It's not available to all countries, but I would bet Germany would probably be OK.  Delivery should take around 2 weeks.