Frequently Asked Questions

Fees, Postage, Free Storage Period

• How much are the registration and user fees?
• How much will I pay for a package up to 2 kg?
• What do you charge for oversized shipments?
• When and how will you send us the invoice?
• How long can you store my shipments?

My Address In Germany, Prohibited Goods

• How will you know that the shipment was meant for me?
• The sender forgot to mention my ID or my name. What should I do?
• Which address in Germany will I get?
• I forgot my address and ID, where can I find them?
• The carrier doesn´t deliver to a P.O.BOX address – is it a P.O.BOX address?
• Do you accept shipments from the USA or from other countries outside of Europe?
• Where can I find out about prohibited goods for transport?
• Why do not you send items subject to excise tax such as alcohol and tobacco products?

Processing Of Shipments, Shipping

• When and how should I pay for the transport?
• How fast will I receive the package?
• After how much time will I be able to see the shipment on my account?
• How do I confirm the order and choose the carrier?
• How can I consolidate all shipments?
• Why do you charge for the consolidation of the shipments annually?
• What if I won´t be home at the time of delivery?
• Can you set up the automatic dispatch of shipments?
• How do I calculate the correct customs value?

How much are the registration and user fees?

• None. The address in Germany is without any registration or monthly fees. You pay just for the transport and the fee for forwarding. If you require consolidation of your shipments, then you´ll have to pay a fee of 16.80 EUR (annually) for this service.

How much will I pay for a package up to 2 kg?

• The forwarder´s fee is 3.52 Euro + postage. If you are from a country outside of the EU, then your fee will be (2.96 Euro excl. VAT) + customs declaration (1.70 Euro excl. VAT) + postage.
• You can calculate each shipment with the shipping calculator or contact us.

How will you know that the shipment was meant for me?

• You´ll receive your own mailbox number which you´ll provide the sender in your mailbox delivery address in Germany. If the shipment is delivered without this number, we are able to find your name in the database.

The sender forgot to mention my ID or my name. What should I do?

• If the shipment does not arrive in your mailbox on the day expected and is indistinguishable by name, send us an email with the tracking number of the shipment, name of the sender and preferably also the postcode or city. You can also attach a copy of the order. We´ll search for it among the indistinguishable shipments and try to help you. In some cases (if the information is provided), we contact the sender first before we send it back marked as undeliverable. These shipments are kept in our warehouse for approximately 14 days in case the customer contacts us on their own or for the purpose of finding the address.

Which address in Germany will I get?

• It is also possible to write the address in this form:

• The name of the company Mailboxde.com GmbH (or c/o Mailboxde.com GmbH) must be in the address - the authorities check whether, for example, companies have fictional business addresses written at our address without reporting it to the Trade Office. If the name Mailboxde.com GmbH is mentioned as the processor or c/o (care of) Mailboxde.com GmbH then everything is alright.

I forgot my address and ID, where can I find them?

• You´ll find your address by logging into your account Mailboxde.com under the link My Address, ID.

When and how should I pay for the transport?

• You pay for the service before sending the package. You can also pay for the transportation from your saved credit card, which you previously set up in your account on Mailboxde.com. The payments could be transferred to Commerzbank or through PayPal. After logging in to your account at Mailboxde.com, click on the link „Recharge“, fill in the amount and let it generate a request for payment to your email address. There you´ll find our bank accounts and variable symbol. It is necessary to generate a notice for payment before every new financial deposit (the variable symbol is always different).

How fast will I receive the package?

• The orders which are confirmed for the transport by 2 p.m. are sent the same day (In the case of Deutsche Post Weltpaket, no later than 12 noon). Delivery time is displayed in the price list of transport for each country. It takes 3 to 5 working days within the EU with UPS. Unfortunately, the delivery time is not guaranteed (except for UPS Express Saver).

After how much time will I be able to see the shipment on my account?

• The goal is to offer you the possibility of shipping the same day when the shipment arrives at the warehouse in Germany. Most of the carriers in Germany unload between 10 am and 1 pm and most of the shipment are processed and loaded to your account within 2 hours so that we manage to send it the same day. There are also carriers who deliver the shipment in the afternoon. Officially, we would rather say that the shipment was processed and is visible on the account and sent the same day.

How do I confirm the order and choose a carrier?

• On the website Mailboxde.com, log in to your account, find the shipment meant for dispatch in the section Received Shipments. Check the total price for the transport and make sure that you have enough credit for the payment. After that, click on the button „Continue“, choose the carrier and in the next step on Forwarding order (transport order) check the address of the recipient and enter the description of goods (add the price and invoice for customs declaration if needed). After checking the Forwarding order and after your approval of the conditions, click on the button „Confirm and pay from my credit“ in the lower part.
• If the button „Confirm and pay from my credit“ isn´t visible, it´s necessary to add credit and repeat the confirmation.
• Shipment will be after this step in the section „Ready to send“. We will send you the tracking number via email after the shipment has been sent.

How can I consolidate all shipments?

• Shipment consolidation is a paid service and it costs 16.80 Euros for 12 months from payment date. You buy this service by clicking on „Buy consolidation for 1 year“ button and then you will be able to see on your account the button „Consolidate all shipments“.
• As soon as you get all of your packages to your mailbox in Germany click on the button „Consolidate all shipments“ and after that they will be consolidated into one box within one working day and you will be able to see the final price on your account. At the same time you´ll receive an email with information about the new consolidated shipment.

Why do you charge a yearly fee for the consolidation of the shipments? Is the consolidation always beneficial?

• We offered the service to consolidate shipments for the price of packaging materials in Germany in the first four years. It was only feasible to a certain volume of shipments. Our employees have maximum monthly working hours allowed by the law and we still needed to employ more, just for consolidation of shipments. When calculating the German wages and adding to it the 30% extra pay for night work, I found out that the company can´t afford to hire more employees and we have to make radical changes. When I was returning home at 7 am after finishing the consolidation of all packages, I decided that for the sake of speeding up the process and even for getting a possibility of hiring other colleagues for these activities we will have to introduce an annual fee.
• The consolidation service is not a solution for all parcels and for all countries. We know it. Especially for countries where the postage from Germany is relatively low. Sometimes the consolidation is advantageous for 5 or more shipments.
• If you´ve paid for the service and haven´t use it yet, let us know, we´ll pay the fee back to you.
  
  Ondrej Krabs, Mailboxde.com GmbH

What do you charge for oversized shipments?

• UPS:
  • Large Package Surcharge: 87,47 EUR - If the package is oversized (2xH + 2xW + L > 300 cm), there will be a one-time supplementary charge of 87,47 Euros (max. dimensions: 2xH + 2xW + L < 400 cm). Seasonally (in the period from November 1 to January 16), this surcharge is higher: 163,51 EUR
  • Additional Handling: 23,80 EUR - An additional handling charge may be applied to the following:
    
    • Any article that is encased in an outside shipping container made of metal or wood
    • Any cylindrical item, such as a barrel, drum, pail, or tire that is not fully encased in a corrugated cardboard shipping container
    • Any package whose longest side exceeds 100 cm (max. length 200 cm) or when its second-longest side exceeds 76 cm
    • Any package heavier than 32 kg
    • Seasonally (in the period from November 1 to January 16), this surcharge is higher: 31,30 EUR

• Deutsche Post: 
  • Bulky Goods: 24,99 EUR - A bulky goods charge may be applied to the following:
    • Any package whose the longest side exceeds 120 cm (max. length 200 cm - depends on the country - see the column "Sperrgut" in this PDF file) or when its second-longest side exceeds 60 cm
    • Any cylindrical item, such as a barrel, drum, pail, or tire, that is not fully encased in a corrugated cardboard shipping container

How do I calculate the correct customs value?

• For customs purposes, this is the amount actually paid for the goods.
• Foreign sales taxes (for example the German VAT ~ MwSt) are NOT deducted from the price if included.
• Shipping costs within the EU (from the seller to our warehouse) are NOT deducted from the price if included. The customs value is free of shipping costs from our warehouse to your country.
• Do not round the amounts up or down, please.
• Convert the foreign currency into euros. Use the converter of the European Central Bank with the date of payment.

Where can I find out about prohibited goods for transport?

• You can find out about everything that we are not able to transport in the list of prohibited goods and shipments which we aren´t able to transport. The most important ones are marked and the most problematic ones or shipments which are liable to get damaged are posted below:
• v) Shipment from countries outside of the EU.
  x) Oversized shipments.
  z) Shipment which was not paid for properly.
  ap) TVs over 21 inch, LCDs over 21 inch, packaged furniture above 15 kg, subwoofers and speakers over 5 kg, toilet bowls, sinks, mirrors, white goods over 5 kg (in particular, kitchen appliances, washing machines, refrigerators, cooker hoods, hobs, ovens etc.), bumpers, spoilers, car fenders, car exhausts, large car parts, bicycles (except children\'s bikes).
• Please, read through the list before the first order or contact us before the order if you are not sure.

Why do not you send items subject to excise tax such as alcohol and tobacco products?

• States that have the highest excise duties on tobacco and alcohol, logically want their citizens to buy goods in their country and maximize excise tax collection. Therefore, while these states allow the cross-border carriage of goods (within a certain limit), which citizens have bought and transported by themselves, they do not allow them to be transported by a hired carrier without payment of excise duty - they would require the recipient to pay excise duty at the place of delivery (according to the ruling of the European Court of Justice of 23 November 2006 - last paragraph in the text, language can be changed in the heading). Transporting these consignments is administratively very demanding, so please feel free to always contact us and we will discuss in advance whether we can process your goods.

  The Customs Act requires us to check these shipments which are evidently containing alcohol. Several times we dealt with statements from the customs administrations of foreign countries (e.g. the Czech Republic, where the shipments pass through). We received an opinion that refers us to a new law in force in the Czech Republic, where even alcohol gifts shipped from a different EU country are not allowed from November 2022.

What if I won´t be home at the time of delivery?

• If the mail or another carrier won´t catch you in, then you can agree on a redelivery at another time or the shipment will be left at the post office or other depot. With UPS, it is possible to let the shipment be sent to a chosen country to an Access Point.

The carrier doesn´t deliver to a P.O.BOX address – is it a P.O.BOX address?

• Our warehouse is not a P.O. BOX address or DHL Packstation – we are a standard warehouse. All tracked shipments brought by the couriers are signed for by the employees of the warehouse.

How long can you store my shipments?

• The package up to 5 kg: 60 days for free, up to 10 kg: 30 days, up to 20 kg: 20 days, up to 30 kg: 10 days.
• Consolidated shipments are sent within 5 working days.

Can you set up the automatic dispatch of shipments?

• Yes. We can set up the automatic sending for you either for every incoming shipment, or only for consolidated shipments. In the case, that you would choose only consolidated shipments, it is necessary to enter the instructions in to your account to always consolidate incoming shipments. As soon as the shipment consolidates, it will be automatically sent. The first setting is charged with a one-time payment of €7.90 for an unlimited time. Afterwards, it is possible to turn on and off the automatic setting according to your needs and at any time. You choose your carrier when you set up this service in advance.

Do you accept shipments from the USA or from other countries outside of the EU?

• We only accept shipments from EU countries. Customs clearance of shipments are very difficult and costly from countries outside of the EU, in some cases even unfeasible.

When and how will you send us the invoice?

• The invoice for the accepted payment will be issued within one working day. The summary statement is sent after the end of the month. We will send the invoice in PDF format. Invoices can be downloaded after logging in to your account.