Mailing laptop from Spain

cher99840 · Dec 22, 2016

My grand daughter and I will be walking the CF in April/May. She will be completing online courses with her USA university until the first week of May. After that we'd like to lighten our load and get rid of the laptop. Has anyone had experience with sending expensive electronics back to the states? I also thought about sending it ahead to @ivar for storage. Thoughts anyone?

Rick of Rick and Peg · Dec 22, 2016

Check with the post office and customs about complications. You may need/want to register the laptop with customs before leaving the U.S. to avoid duties. Registering beforehand might be a good thing to do even if it will come back with you after staying at Ivar's.

cher99840 · Dec 22, 2016

Rick of Rick and Peg said:
Check with the post office and customs about complications. You may need/want to register the laptop with customs before leaving the U.S. to avoid duties. Registering beforehand might be a good thing to do even if it will come back with you after staying at Ivar's.

Oh, very good point about checking with customs before leaving. I never thought of that. Thank you.

As for "complications" I'm somewhat concerned about safety and wondered if others have had good experiences or if there are horror stories.

ivar · Dec 22, 2016

...also, mailing anything with a battery in it across the ocean (it would then go by plane) is a risk (batteries or liquids are not allowed on). It might not leave Spain sine parcels are scanned in Madrid before they are allowed on planes (even if it is in the mail). This is true with the post office. Might be different with UPS/FedEx/... I would ask them about it if I were you.

cher99840 · Dec 22, 2016

ivar said:
...also, mailing anything with a battery in it across the ocean (it would then go by plane) is a risk (batteries or liquids are not allowed on). It might not leave Spain sine parcels are scanned in Madrid before they are allowed on planes (even if it is in the mail). This is true with the post office. Might be different with UPS/FedEx/... I would ask them about it if I were you.

Battery yes. Something else I didn't think of. Thank you.

Have you had laptops safely sent to you in the past? I'm thinking that is probably our best option and then we can just carry it home.

ivar · Dec 22, 2016

cher99840 said:
Battery yes. Something else I didn't think of. Thank you.

Have you had laptops safely sent to you in the past? I'm thinking that is probably our best option and then we can just carry it home.

Yes, I get laptops (at least people tell me that they have sent me their laptop, I don't really know what is inside) several times during a summer... if you put it in a box with some clothes around it, it will most likely be ok... but I still is a bit nervous about it. I will store what I recieve...

cher99840 · Dec 22, 2016

@ivar Thank you.

Dave C. · Dec 22, 2016

We used Ivar's storage service last May. Top notch! Highly recommend for anything not needed. Much safer than shipping overseas.

Saint Mike II · Dec 22, 2016

Apart from the concerns about the battery, my major concern would be about protecting the data stored on the computer hard drive. If its irreplaceable and a total back-up (to external hard drive; or to a number of large storage flash drives) is not really practical then I suggest - bite the bullet and carry it. Ivar has mentioned issues with Spanish postal service; I don't have experience with Fed-Ex but I doubt they would accept any liability concerning the data stored on the hard drives. Happy Christmas.

cher99840 · Dec 22, 2016

Saint Mike II said:
Apart from the concerns about the battery, my major concern would be about protecting the data stored on the computer hard drive. If its irreplaceable and a total back-up (to external hard drive; or to a number of large storage flash drives) is not really practical then I suggest - bite the bullet and carry it. Ivar has mentioned issues with Spanish postal service; I don't have experience with Fed-Ex but I doubt they would accept any liability concerning the data stored on the hard drives. Happy Christmas.

Thanks for your thoughts. I hope she will have backed up her data. Whether or not to trust the Spanish post office will be a decision I'll let her make. Hopefully we shall get even more input on that subject. I know that a lot of forum members have used the storage service and they must use the post. You may be right tho about biting the bullet to get to SdC. Then we could always store it if we decide to go on to Finisterre.

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