I still have the email in my drafts. I need to finish it up and then translate it into Italian through MS word because she had told me in a previous email that she doesn't really understand English. I wish I could speak and write Italian. My family is Italian, but my grandfather never spoke it to my father or my aunts. I think he and my grandmother would only speak in Italian when they didn't want my dad and my aunts to understand what they were saying. How wrong is that! Thanks for reminding me though, I actually had forgotten it was still sitting in my drafts! I'll let you know what she says if she responds....
Skigirl, just PM me if you need assistance with Italian language. I can translate your letter if you want.
Besides, some info to set the record straight:
- There are no problems with importing leather goods in Italy. The important is that the leather does not come from an endangered species (listed in the CITES). In extreme cases, the customs office might ask the recipient of the parcel to undersign a self-declaration in which he/she states, under his/her responsibility, that the leather is not from a endangered species.
- The information on the USPS site is out of date (of like 30 years!). This also concerning other articles, not only leather goods. The list on the USPS site is actually quite enterntaining to browse.
- So far, based on my personal experience, the only thing that is really a PITA to have delivered to Italy from outside the EU is cosmetic products (soaps, bathing oils and things like that). These goods are subject to a sanitary inspection and the procedure takes a helluva long time.
- Regarding import duties: anything over 45 Euros (+/- 50 US$) is subject to an import duty. If the parcel is marked as a gift, usually we have to pay only an import duty that is specific to the kind of good imported (might be from 5% to 15% as far as I know). If the parcel is not marked as a gift, on top of the import duties we also have to pay VAT, which is 20% of the declared value PLUS the postage paid. in your case the fees would be calculated on the declared value + the postage paid = on the whole 600$. That's quite an amount to pay... but such is life. I purchase a lot from the States and sometimes even with all the taxes it is still convenient for me.
- Italian postal service is a huge pile of cr*p. Some parcels get taxed, others not, others are taxed ridiculously and others outrageously and you'll never know the logic behind this. Some parcels arrive in a week from the US but most of them take two or more weeks. The only things that I am absolutely sure to get are those sent via private couriers (UPS, DHL and alike) and these get *surely* taxed, but at least they get to their destination! Currently I'm waiting for a small gift from a US friend of mine, and the packet has been sitting at the customs from the 12th of August with no means of contacting the office in Milan to have info about the status of it.
- Italy is literally *dead* in August. The vast majority of people is on holiday. So maybe the person was just not at home to sign for the parcel. As far as my experience goes, if you refuse a parcel there won't be more attempts to deliver it. So probably she just wasn't there to accept the delivery, or maybe, used as we are to postal delays, she didn't think that the parcel could arrive so quickly.