Have you ever traveled with an extra suitcase or two? Or skis? Between the fees and the hassle of lugging around an extra 50-lb bag, sometimes trips become more stressful than they have to be. That’s why I want to introduce you to a service I recently heard of that makes getting from Point A to Point B with extra bags a whole heck of a lot easier. It’s called SendMyBag and I wish I’d heard of it years ago to send luggage to France!
Read on for my SendMyBag review!
SendMyBag review: Ship your luggage to France the stress-free way
Before I get into my SendMyBag review, here’s a backstory on why I needed a service like this.
The last time Tom and I traveled to the USA was over Thanksgiving. We had an extra suitcase to bring back with us and all I have to say about that is “never again.” From the baggage fees, to walking through the crowded airport jet-lagged with 3 suitcases plus carry-ons, it was not an experience I’d like to repeat.
The worst was getting to the TGV (high-speed train) in the Paris airport and then having to drag all of our luggage upstairs (yes the only seats available were on the upper level) to the too-small storage area. And then down again when it was time to get off. The train was crowded, the stairs were narrow, and it was really difficult to manage all the bags on our own.
Sometimes international travel makes it impossible to travel light.
That’s when I realized I should have used SendMyBag.com.
This specialized worldwide luggage shipping service takes the “ahhhh” out of travel by shipping your suitcase (or box) to your destination. This door-to-door service makes travel easy because you won’t have to waste one thought on your bags. I’ve used Send My Bag a couple of times now and have had a seamless experience each time. It’s also a major help when you live abroad and want to send yourself personal items that just won’t fit in your suitcase.
SendMyBag is great for:
- Sending an extra suitcase to/from your destination: In our case, Tom and I did a fair amount of shopping while in the USA and knew we’d have extra luggage on the way back to France. In many cases, SendMyBag is on par with airline baggage fees or even cheaper. It’s a pain to lug around an extra suitcase especially when you have a train or bus to catch, so shipping it ahead of time makes a lot of sense.
- Sending specialized equipment like skis, a surfboard, etc. These bulky items incur high airline fees too.
- Traveling light: It doesn’t always make sense to check a bag. In a rush? Forget waiting around the baggage claim carousel for your bag(s)! Once you’re off the plane, you can head right to your home or hotel without having to worry about lugging around a bag.
- Tight connections: If you’re afraid your luggage might not make your connection, use SendMyBag to not have to worry about it. Personally speaking, we’ve had 45-minute connections twice and our luggage didn’t make it. Would be nice to avoid that sort of thing entirely!
- Expats: If you live abroad and want a reasonably priced service for shipping your personal belongings, SendMyBag is perfect for that.
Here’s how SendMyBag works:
Everything is set up on the SendMyBag website. In my case, I had a box that was about 13 kg going from Florida to France full of clothes and shoes I wasn’t able to fit in my 2 suitcases on our last trip.
First, you get a quote online by clicking over to the SendMyBag site (click my link for an $8 discount) and entering some information about your shipment. After entering the weight and pickup/arrival locations of your luggage or box, you’ll get a quote right away. If your route can be serviced by both land and air, SendMyBag offers both economy and express services. So if you’re not in a big rush and can prepare your shipment ahead of time, you can save a little money by going the economy route, if available. For large items like suitcases, prices are in line with what you’d pay a commercial airline for an extra bag on an international flight.
Then you can go ahead and finalize your shipment online.
Prepare your luggage or box. You’ll be instructed on how to prepare the suitcase or box and asked to fill out customs and delivery forms. Make sure you pay attention to this part and do not put the full retail value of what you paid for your items 10 years ago.
Give shipment to driver. In my case, I was able to select a pick-up time frame and the driver came right as scheduled.
Receive bag at its destination. That could be your home, vacation rental, hotel, etc. In my case, the bag was picked up on a Friday and arrived here at my home around lunchtime on Monday.
SendMyBag reviews: Here’s my 13-kg box going from Florida to France.
It wasn’t damaged in transit but was opened by DHL, as evidenced by the yellow “repacking” tape. This is always the case for my DHL shipments so customs can make sure you aren’t sending any prohibited items.
SendMyBag uses DHL to ship most of the time so you’ll be able to track your bag every step of the way. As you can see below, my box arrived a couple of days later with no issues. It’s super easy to use SendMyBag to send your belongings from the USA to France. If you’re looking to send a suitcase to France or anywhere, Send My Bag is a no-brainer.
What about customs fees for SendMyBag shipments?
To be clear, I did not incur any customs fees or duties for my SendMyBag shipment and never have and you shouldn’t either. This is because SendMyBag is intended to ship used personal items. My box had a declared value of $35 and I certified that the goods were my own used personal effects. SendMyBag is not a service for sending new or commercial goods.
For more info on fees, their FAQ states, “Most countries offer a generous allowance for ‘Used Personal Effects’ and therefore no duty or tax will be due in the majority of cases. Some countries will require further information such as passport copy or flight information in order to confirm the status of a consignment as used Personal Effects and relieve the shipment of fees.”
Cons of using SendMyBag
When you have food, gels/liquids/pastes, new goods or anything of value to send, SendMyBag might not be the best option. There are a bunch of restricted items including food (major bummer), nail polish, tobacco, aerosols, etc. Most of these are common sense, but depending on what you’re shipping, it might not be possible to use SendMyBag. The no food rule was a major letdown because any expat knows sometimes you just want something from home! The fact that we can’t send any food in luggage from the USA to France is the biggest con for me.
The other drawback is that for smaller suitcases/boxes, prices aren’t always competitive. But then again, paying for convenience is sometimes well worth it and in most cases, SendMyBag’s prices are right on par with airline baggage fees.
SendMyBag Review: My overall thoughts
SendMyBag is a lifesaver for those of us who like to travel light and not have to worry about bulky items and extreme extra baggage fees. My extra suitcase back over Thanksgiving could have arrived safely in France for the same price I paid the airline! I absolutely recommend SendMyBag the next time you’re traveling. Two thumbs way up for SendMyBag France services! I use them several times per year and have always had a fab experience when I send luggage to France.
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Do you often have extra baggage? Would you considering using SendMyBag France? Click here via my link for an $8 discount on your shipment!
Hope you enjoyed my SendMyBag review. 😉
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Where was this when we were emptying my parents’ house? Sigh.
Never heard of send my bag but this is a great idea
I would’ve loved to have used this site when I made my move to Germany from the US. It looked like a great, affordable option that even serves rural areas (according to them). I then came to discover that they don’t serve the ENTIRE state of North Dakota!. This makes their service pointless for a lot of potential customers. And if they don’t serve not-even-entirely-rural ND (not even the sizable towns), what other states aren’t included? I know that Send My Bag uses DHL, which has delivered to my ND address in the past, so it’s not as though this company itself is unwilling to work with my home state. Because of this, I wouldn’t ever recommend Send My Bag to any of my friends.
I will definitely try this. I am currently working and travelling around the world and have 2 suitcases. This would make life so much easier for me if I can just take my smaller suitcase as cabin baggage and send my larger suitcase this way. No having to lug 2 suitcases. Great idea!
Yes, definitely check it out. Will simplify things for you!
I have used them and it was terrible. DHL asked for extra documents which weren’t indicated on the print list, and we nearly weren’t able to ship our bags after spending hundreds. Would have been a disaster without a printer handy.
Diane,
Thank you so much for this recommendation. We just moved from the US to Lyon last week and we used Send My Bag to move everything! 17 boxes for our new expat life. It was really the best option because we cannot ship things right now overseas (they estimated it could take 6+ months for our stuff to arrive). We’ve received 3 boxes already, and no broken items, boxes look fine. Really nice door to door service. Although DHL did 3 boxes and the rest was picked up by FedEx.
Anyway, this option was a game changer for us. Thank you!
Kathleen
You’re so welcome!! Great service and so glad it worked well for your situation. Welcome to France and happy holidays!!
Just done a comparison to send snowboard gear. Airline cost £60 each way. Send my bag want £108.50 each way, require it being boxed up, who has a 2m long box and suggest my gear is valued at £100 not the £1000 plus. Doesn’t seem viable for a ski holiday.