FedEx deliveries from the US

A friend of mine sent me a crystal that I asked her to buy me in the US. It didn't arrive until after I left so I asked her to send it to me in Italy. Normally, things come fairly quickly between 3-10 days by standard mail. She called me last Saturday to tell me that she just sent it to me, but failed to mention that she was sending it via FedEx.

I received two phone calls from FedEx the day before the delivery asking me if I moved because the address they had for me was different. I didn't know that they kept this information at all and the address was when we first came to Italy in September for a month to see if Dave would like living here, so it was only a temporary residence. The first man from FedEx wanted to confirm my address and I told him about the name on the buzzer outside and what floor we live on.

A few hours later, another woman from FedEx called me to tell me that I'll need to pay 41,71 Euros to the driver when he drops off the package. I was happy they told us because Dave waited for a shipment last year and when the delivery person arrived, he wanted almost 300 Euros in cash. Dave told him that he'd have to go and get cash because they couldn't take credit cards.

I asked the woman at what time I might expect the delivery might be. "Non si sa ancora a che ora passerà" (We don't yet know what time he might come), she told me.

The next day, Dave stayed home while I went to the gym and the market. On my way home from the market, I got up to our landing and the FedEx delivery guy had arrived. I walked the entire street and didn't see his truck, so I don't know where he could have parked.

I gave the FedEx delivery guy the exact amount because he doesn't carry any change on him. I got the receipt and this was the breakdown for an item that only cost $100, I had to pay an extra $50: 11,05 Euros for dazio (customs office), 23,46 Euros for IVA (value added tax), and 7,20 Euros for spese incasso contrassegno (expenses on delivery). So, not only did I have to pay tax back in the US for the crystal, but I also had to pay the local taxes, customs, and delivery expenses for them when they arrived.

If it was sent through the mail, I might not have paid anything. Sometimes I get packagges that I have to pay the IVA and other times I do not. I just know that through FedEx, I always have to pay everything and then some.

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