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dbooster
Joined: 24 Feb 2005
Posts: 33
Location: Okazaki
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 Posted: Tue May 30, 2006 9:43 pm Post subject: sending books to Japan |
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In an effort to keep luggage to the bare minimum (my goal is only the carry-on and backpack, tho I realize this may be a little too ambitious) for my 1-year+ move, I am packing up some books and clothes in boxes to send via seamail. I was searching the forums for more info on doing this, and I keep seeing m-bags mentioned for books. What are these? I can't find them mentioned anywhere on usps.com.
Let's see how many people can anwser me before tomorrow when I phone the local post office. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Tue May 30, 2006 9:56 pm Post subject: |
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| I found it was very helpful to actually talk to the people at the post office and private mailing services (like UPS). "Seamail" alone sometimes is not sufficient a description, but you will have to tell them how large are the dimensions of the box and its approximate weight. |
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earthmonkey
Joined: 18 Feb 2005
Posts: 188
Location: Meguro-Ku Tokyo
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| Posted: Wed May 31, 2006 12:01 am Post subject: Re: sending books to Japan |
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| dbooster wrote: |
| In an effort to keep luggage to the bare minimum (my goal is only the carry-on and backpack, |
You are allowed 2 checked bags of 50 pounds each. Why not take advantage of this? I understand travelling light for a weekend holiday, but I don't understand it in this situation. You should be thinking the exact opposite, i.e. "How much can I possibly carry?" instead of "How light can I travel?".
Almost everything is more expensive here. Bring as much as you can. You only have to carry it for one day. |
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dbooster
Joined: 24 Feb 2005
Posts: 33
Location: Okazaki
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| Posted: Wed May 31, 2006 12:41 am Post subject: Re: sending books to Japan |
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| earthmonkey wrote: |
You are allowed 2 checked bags of 50 pounds each. Why not take advantage of this? I understand travelling light for a weekend holiday, but I don't understand it in this situation. You should be thinking the exact opposite, i.e. "How much can I possibly carry?" instead of "How light can I travel?".
Almost everything is more expensive here. Bring as much as you can. You only have to carry it for one day. |
Like I said, that may be too ambitious. I still have a month before I leave, so I am exploring things. And I am curious about the "m-bags" thing - if it turns out to be a good deal I may use it to ship some books even if I do take 2 big bags to check. So either way I'm taking in the info as I can. |
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Shonai Ben
Joined: 15 Feb 2003
Posts: 617
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| Posted: Wed May 31, 2006 12:46 am Post subject: |
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I shipped books and winter clothes here by surface mail or sea mail if you wish.It took about 6 weeks so give yourself lots of leeway.
The boxes were heavy but I had them taped up well so they arrived intact.No problems.
After travelling for almost 20 hours I was glad I only packed the bare essentials.I was too tired to lug heavy baggage around.Something to consider. |
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chirp
Joined: 03 Dec 2005
Posts: 148
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| Posted: Wed May 31, 2006 1:06 am Post subject: |
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shonai ben,
Maybe you could share which company you used, approx. cost, and the country you shipped your winter clothes from for us types considering the excess luggage route! 
Thx! |
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Shonai Ben
Joined: 15 Feb 2003
Posts: 617
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| Posted: Wed May 31, 2006 1:14 am Post subject: |
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| chirp wrote: |
shonai ben,
Maybe you could share which company you used, approx. cost, and the country you shipped your winter clothes from for us types considering the excess luggage route!
Thx! |
I shipped the stuff from eastern Canada via Canada Post.That was a long time ago so I forget the cost exactly but figure on $50.00 a box,give or take,depending on weight and size of the box too....but don't quote me on the price eh... |
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Gordon
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 5309
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Wed May 31, 2006 2:13 am Post subject: |
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| Look into a shipping company called Nippon Express. They have offices throughout NA. I have shipped stuff with them a few times already. A big 30 kg box cost me $120 CAD, much less than Canada Post I believe and they deliver it to your door. |
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jules128
Joined: 28 Apr 2006
Posts: 10
Location: Maryland
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| Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 6:57 pm Post subject: |
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M-Bag is a way to ship books or other printed materials overseas from USPS. I believe it used to be an 11 lb. minimum and then a dollar pound thereafter up to like 70 lbs.
http://www.usps.com/global/mbags.htm
http://www.iosart.com/misc/m-bags.html
It all depends I guess on what your priorities are. If you want to save money, try to carry as much with you as you can. If you want to be comfortable, ship it beforehand if you have an address to send it to. Things sent by M-Bag can sometimes take a long time to get there though. |
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dbooster
Joined: 24 Feb 2005
Posts: 33
Location: Okazaki
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| Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 9:04 pm Post subject: |
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| jules128 wrote: |
M-Bag is a way to ship books or other printed materials overseas from USPS. I believe it used to be an 11 lb. minimum and then a dollar pound thereafter up to like 70 lbs.
http://www.usps.com/global/mbags.htm
http://www.iosart.com/misc/m-bags.html
It all depends I guess on what your priorities are. If you want to save money, try to carry as much with you as you can. If you want to be comfortable, ship it beforehand if you have an address to send it to. Things sent by M-Bag can sometimes take a long time to get there though. |
Thanks, jules! That's exactly what I needed. |
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