Avoid baggage excess costs Cargo, couriers & customs

Check for new luggage allowances

There are some airlines that offer an unaccompanied baggage service, with your bags flying on a different plane to you, perhaps at reduced cost. But sometimes price isn't the issue.

If you find your dream carpet in Marrakech, but are hiking in the Atlas Mountains before you fly home, you don't want to have to cart it around.

Many shops will offer to send your goods home for you. It's convenient and if you're buying from a well-established business, everything may well turn up safe and sound. But if your vendor just 'knows a man', there is always a risk that you'll never see your purchase again.

The price you are quoted may be for shipping to a UK port and not all the way to your door, even if you are told otherwise. Try to find out the name of the UK freight handler your shipper is using and contact them for an estimate of how much it is going to cost to get the package to your home from the port. And get in touch with the UK handler as soon as you get home - they can't clear your goods through customs without you and any delay will mean storage charges piling up.

You may want to use a well-known international courier service who can handle the operation door-to-door. Or, there's always the postal service of the country you're in. Some have websites with information in English on service types, prices, packaging, documentation and so on. However you send your package, if it's going to get home before you, send it to a friend or family member who can be there to receive it.

We compared the cost of shipping a 10kg rug from Istanbul to Islington and a 2.5kg didgeridoo from Darwin to Derby by courier and post.

The rug was £63 with UPS (www.ups.com) and considerably more with FedEx (www.fedex.com) at £125, but less by local airmail at £42, and £36 by surface post (www.ptt.gov.tr).

The didgeridoo was £78 with UPS, £85 with FedEx, £36 by local airmail and £18 by surface post (www.auspost.com.au).

All prices are for the cheapest available service, excluding packaging and import taxes and duties. Delivery times vary - from a few days to several weeks.

Customs & Excise

If posting from outside the EU, you must complete a customs declaration, usually attached to the package.

Goods sent from outside the EU are liable to a variety of taxes:

• Customs duty (based on the total price paid, including local taxes and all postage and insurance) at a rate which varies, depending on the type of goods and the country of origin.
• Import VAT (on goods over £18) at the rate of VAT on similar goods sold in the UK.
• Excise duty (which is payable on cigarettes and alcohol).

For goods arriving by post, Royal Mail will contact you to tell you how much you owe and how you can pay. If you've used a courier or freight handler, they will either pay then collect the money back from you, or ask for the cash upfront. You may be charged an additional handling fee on top of the taxes.