Shipping books / package to Poland from US

Hi,

I'm planning to ship a care package to a friend in Poland from the US. Just the usual type of things, candy, baked goods, misc items and some books. I was planning to ship the package via USPS, but I was reading the USPS website and they listed some restrictions including this :

Books, periodicals, notes, printed matter, calendars, tables, drawings, cards, sketches, manuscripts, photographs, lithographs, and other reproductions of any kind made on paper or cardboard by a polygraphic process are admitted provided the number of copies of each kind does not exceed 20 and provided the addressee has obtained an import permit issued by the Minister of Foreign Trade.

I'm only planning to ship one copy of a few different books, but this seems to say that my friend would need an import permit. Has anyone shipped books to Poland? Did you have any issues?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I have shipped packages to an individual like you are writing and never had a problem. As long as value is less than $35 they should just deliver it to the door like any package. It wasn't with USPS though but with a polish company - Doma Export

domaexport.com
hope this helps :)

Thanks for the info, PolGrl.

Depending on where you live it might be more economical to find a Polish store. They send packages via. Air or Sea for less than the USPS rate (much less!)

Like AdamK said, find a Polish Store... in my area (Boston) it would be done in one of our many Polish Travel Agencies. They use private reliable shippers that I've used for over 25 years with no problems at all.

Merged: How would I go about getting a package from Poland to the US? They don't ship international

I want to order some clothing from Poland but they don't ship international. I believe I need to find a courier service? Can anyone give step by step guide on how this whole process works? As well as getting it through customs.

Thanks

Merged:

Shipping package from USA to Poland

Greetings! I sent a painting to a friend in Poland on July 11 and paid for 3-5 day delivery. I have tracking number and was informed that package is currently being "held in customs". Does anyone have an idea how long it will take to clear customs, especially with corona issue? Thank you in advance for reply.. Cheers!

Depends where you sent it from , where are you?

@dolnoslask Hi, I sent from Philadelphia PA last Saturday. The package is currently being "held in customs" in Warsaw as of today.

That should be ok , it should clear in about 2 days , some other US states can take up to a week plus (I guess you know why).

The whole postal customs thing is intelligence led , so clearance times may vary state to state.

@dolnoslask - so even with corona situation, it should clear customs in Warsaw and be delivered to small village outside Krakow by this weekend?

I had a parcel DHL Express delivered to me in Poland from the UK (I Live in a very small village) I got it in just 24 hours.

Yeah I hope they get it at the weekend , there are no corona virus postal issues this end.

@dolnoslask - Really? My friend tried to ship me a package from outside Krakow to USA on Monday and they were denied and told to try again next week?

Erm I thought the connections were clear now they certainly are in Europe, I will dig around for info and get back to you if I find anything. good luck, let me know if they get it at the weekend.

@dolnoslask - Thank you SO much for the feedback!!