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Shipping a Watch from Italy - MBE?

  1. NT931 Jun 11, 2015

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    Hi all,
    I'm eyeing a watch from Italy, and according to them, they usually ship via MBE (Mail Boxes Etc) Express Carrier, insured. Apparently it will reach me within 72 hours.

    I did a bit of googling, and searching this forum. It seems members here have had varied experiences shipping watches from Italy. The consensus from several forums (watches and otherwise) is that Poste Italiana is erratic. Mixed reviews for Fedex, no word about UPS.

    So has anyone ever used MBE before? Apparently they used to be part of UPS before it got sold, so are they reliable? Any advice from members about methods of shipping out of Italy would help , as this is a moderately valuable watch I'm eyeing, so losing it would certainly hurt. Thanks in advance!
     
    Edited Jun 11, 2015
  2. khmt2 Jun 11, 2015

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    No experience with MBE. So far, I've had 100% success rate with EMS -https://www.poste.it/postali/estero/ems.shtml

    Costs abt 40 eur to SG and reaches in abt a week, most Italian sellers aren't aware of this option though, so point them to the link above.
     
    persco likes this.
  3. lwong Jun 11, 2015

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    The flightmaster I just picked up was shipped via MBE, albeit to Paris and not to SG. Tracking was regularly updated, item arrived in 4 days, so no issues whatsoever.
     
  4. persco Jun 11, 2015

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    EMS is the safest, fastest shipping I've ever used from anywhere. I have never used Mailboxes Etc and would be shocked if they weren't using a third-party shipper.
     
  5. NT931 Jun 11, 2015

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    Thanks guys! Someone else I know mentioned Ferrari Express shipping as an option- any experience with them? I don't think they're connected to the car company.

    I tried searching the forums for reviews but all I get are threads of wristshots and some very fast Ferrari cars!
     
  6. emilio Jun 12, 2015

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    Personally I think it can go wrong with all carriers. And after googling you will also find horror stories about all of them.

    Most of the time those local carriers like Dutch or Italian post provide very bad tracking across borders unless like carriers who ship worldwide. I have had very good experiences with fedex.
     
  7. NT931 Jul 1, 2015

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    So all's well that ends well. The seller used Ferrari Express, and true to their name, they were fast! Shipped on Wed in Italy, arrived in Singapore the following Monday. Apparently the last leg in Singapore is done by Fedex. Everything arrived safely :D
     
  8. ulackfocus Jul 1, 2015

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    Here ya go - you deserve the Chipmonk of Validation for this purchase:

    ChipmonkOfValidation.jpg
     
    Pvt-Public and NT931 like this.