<p>My son will be doing a semester abroad in Hong Kong and then traveling in Asia for a significant period of time before returning home. Looking ahead, we are starting to look into ways to ship some of his things back to the from Hong Kong before he embarks on his independent travels. I looked at UPS, and it is very expensive. Anybody have a better idea(s)?</p>
<p>We faced the same problem when D was in China for a summer. We never came up with a good option, and in the end decided that it would cost more to get her stuff home than most of it was worth. So she just left it.</p>
<p>How much are you planning to ship? 1-2 suitcases?
Try DHL and look at sea freight prices if 1 month shipping time is acceptable.You can also try Hong Kong Post Office, they ship large boxes airmail or seamail.</p>
<p>I checked the HK PO rate for surface mail parcels and it looks like the max is 30 kg which would be about HK$1090 or just under US$140.
[Hongkong</a> Post - Postage Rates](<a href=“http://www.hongkongpost.hk/eng/postage/overseas/parcel/surface/index.htm]Hongkong”>http://www.hongkongpost.hk/eng/postage/overseas/parcel/surface/index.htm)
My D moved from China to Australia and shipped all her stuff surface mail (something like 10 boxes). It arrived safely and duty free. That was by far the cheapest option she found.</p>
<p>I’m so glad you started this thread, EMM1. My son is also studying in HK next semester. He’s spending time in Tokyo before heading to HK, and he’s traveling light. We’re trying to decide whether it makes more sense for him to buy a larger suitcase in HK for his return to the US, or ship some things home. I’ll be keeping an eye on this thread. :)</p>
<p>My son will be at HKPU. Where is your son studying?</p>
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<p>I have relatives who live in Asia, with kids here in the US at college. They don’t ship, they go the large suitcase route. They have some of the largest rolling hard-sided luggage I’ve yet seen.</p>
<p>You can check in only one bag, with a weight limit of 50 pounds in economy. Two of 70 pounds if you are in business or have some special mileage level. That’s for United but it is typical out of Hong Kong. An extra bag will cost $200.</p>
<p>Thanks for that info, sorghum. I thought the extra bag fee was $100. At $200, it certainly wouldn’t be worth it for anything my son is likely to have! It will certainly make sense for him to use the post office, as per Puzzled88’s calculations.</p>
<p>If he does use the PO, be sure to check the size restrictions on the boxes (and recheck my math). My D failed to do that and showed up with packed boxes that were too big. They were nice enough to give her smaller boxes which she repacked on the spot in a very haphazard fashion. She had no idea what was in which box and it was very lucky she didn’t have to make an insurance claim as she’d even split up pairs of shoes.</p>
<p>Incidentally, my better suggestion is that you find an inexpensive fare and visit him near the end of his stay so you can carry back his stuff. Why should he have all the fun?</p>
<p>sorghum, are you sure it’s $200 for a second bag on United out of HK? I just looked on their website and using the interactive tool I came up with one free bag and the second for $100.
[United</a> Airlines - Checked Baggage Service Charges](<a href=“http://www.united.com/CMS/en-US/travel/Pages/CheckedBaggage.aspx]United”>http://www.united.com/CMS/en-US/travel/Pages/CheckedBaggage.aspx)</p>
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<p>I would love it, but the fare is $1700. You can ship a <em>lot</em> of boxes for $1700!</p>
<p>Singapore Airlines allows 2 checked bags under 23 kg with each passenger.
An economy RT ticket to Hong Kong from US costing $1700 seems high. You should check with travel agents who sell tickets mainly to Asia.</p>
<p>I guess it depends on where in the US. It’s cheaper from the west coast, but I’m on the east coast.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for their input and suggestions.</p>
<p>axw, my son will be at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.</p>
<p>Yeah, sorry, I think the $200 is for pieces over 50 pounds (up to 70 pounds)/</p>
<p>If you have over 500 lbs, you could use a freight forwarder, as I have discussed in the other thread. There is a fixed basic fee charge(custom broker fee) from a freight forwarder, after that the actual shipping cost is much lower than any other public carriers.</p>
<p>you can use HK Post, they have reasonable price. </p>
<p>You can also check on this site, they are the cheapest. They provide free pick and drop it to your shipping destination service. </p>
<p>[S.F</a>. Express](<a href=“http://www.sf-express.com/us/en/]S.F”>http://www.sf-express.com/us/en/)</p>