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    5 Biggest Mistakes Australians Make Sending Gifts To France

    5 biggest mistakes australians sending gifts to france

    5 Biggest Mistakes Australians Make sending Gifts to France and how you can avoid them.

    The best advice on how to avoid hidden postage costs, customs, tax and duties; and most effectively get a beautiful Australian gift to France

    If you don’t want to pay a small fortune on postage, duties and taxes; and want to successfully get a thank-you, Merry Christmas gift hamper, or birthday gift to France, there are 5 key factors you need to consider when purchasing and sending a gift:  weight; what you’re going to put your gift in (so overall size); the type of gift you are sending; special documentation; and if your gift is Made in Australia.

    1. THE WEIGHT – WHAT YOU DIDN’T KNOW

    send lightweight gift to France

    Firstly, select a gift that is light and small! This is because, for most international carriers, cost of postage is calculated based on the dimensional weight  (also called volumetric or cubic weight), or the actual weight – whatever is heavier.

    Each freight carrier has a different calculator for dimensional weight that is a multiplier depending on the width / length / height of the package.

    See all our lightweight Australian gifts by clicking here.

    Here are some links to calculate dimensional weight:

    2. PACKAGING – THINK BEFORE YOU BUY!

    Australian gift wrapping

    Secondly, you want to consider what you are going to put in your gift to get it posted BEFORE you buy it. If you haven’t thought about it but go to your local Australia Post shop, you might find your gift doesn’t quite fit in their standard Box 2 (31 x 22.5 x 10.2cm) but will have too much room in their standard Box 3 (40 x 20 x 18cm).

    Not only will this impact the weight and cost of sending your gift, but you’ll also need to buy some bubble wrap or similar cushioning so your gift arrives without damage to its final destination.

    3. WHAT TO SEND – MAKE SURE THE RECEIVER IN FRANCE DOESN’T PAY HEAVY TAXES & DUTIES ON YOUR AUSTRALIAN GIFT

    Thirdly, consider what you are sending as this impacts the feasibility of getting through customs without incurring taxes and duties. Even if your gift gets through customs, France will charge the receiver any duties payable in order to collect their gift. Yes, even though it is a gift!!! If the receiver refuses to pay these, your gift will be returned back to you.

    Keep the gift value under 45 Euros per person including shipping, and don’t send anything on the ‘restricted’ list  to avoid taxes.

    Note – if you are sending to 2 people you can have 45 Euro each for a gift (total Euro 90 including shipping). Make sure you wrap and label each gift individually.

    As a general rule, anything that is classed as ‘prohibited’ definitely CANNOT be sent at all. Anything just “restricted” can usually be sent either in moderation or following particular guidelines.  As noted above, restricted items may incur taxes and duties so it’s worth checking! This link will show you restricted and prohibited items to France. You might be surprised to see Toys and Games, as well as wood and wood products goes on this list.

    If you are sending via a courier service, 100% of parcels will be checked for taxes and duties. If you are sending through Australia Post, about 10% will be checked in detail.  At Christmas, due to the large volume of parcels, this % goes down a little.

    CAN I SEND WINE TO FRANCE (AND OTHER EXAMPLES OF TAXES AND DUTIES)?

    Items like Wine are an example of restricted items. They can be sent to France however they usually incur extremely heavy taxes, as the French government would prefer their locals to drink French wine! So for an average 750ML bottle of red wine sent as a gift, for example, taxes can be up to $80. Eek! You won’t know about this until your parcel has left Australia and is asked to be collected by the receiver in France. The post service will hold the package until the receiver pays these duties.

    If you just want to send wine, you can go to a company that specialises in this, and you may find some Australian wine held by a company in France ready to dispatch next day to France.

    4. SPECIAL DOCUMENTATION

    Gifts generally do not need an invoice, but you must clearly mark them ‘ gifts envoi isole gratuit’.

    Additionally, you will need to declare what is in the package and the value of it.

    You also may be asked for the email address and phone number of the receiver – if it’s asked as an option we recommend giving it! We have noticed increased security on parcels in France and this seems to help smoothly get your gift through customs.

    5. BUYING AUSTRALIAN MADE

    Australian made gifts
    Finally, people in France like Australia. So you can understand it’s a little disappointing to receive a beautiful parcel from overseas only to find the gift isn’t Australian made. To be sure, look for the Australian made logo or check out certified Australian made retailers. Alternatively see all our Australian made gifts here. 

    IN SUMMARY:-

    • If you’re doing it yourself…
      • 1. Pick something light AND small
      • 2. Think about your packaging before you buy your gift and make sure you have the right ‘fit’ packaging
      • 3. If you don’t want your receiver to pay duties and taxes, make sure there’s no restricted items (see the list of restricted items to France here)  and the gift is below Euro 45 in value per person. If there’s more than one person receiving the gift, individually wrap and tag each person’s gift.
      • 4. Put the right documentation on your parcel – mark all gifts ‘ gifts envoi isole gratuit’, declare the price and contents of what’s in there, and include local French phone number and email address
      • 5. Look for the Australian made logo
    • If this is all too hard (and it is time-consuming!) select a site who specialise in sending Australian made gifts to France. For one price they’ll cover all freight, duties and taxes; and send a beautiful Australian Gift to France with a personalised card on your behalf. And as an added bonus, your gift will be tracked door-to-door and they’ll let you know when it’s signed for other end. They even donate $1 from every pack to the Australian Koala Foundation. Now that’s value!

    USEFUL LINKS: