Poste Italiane makes available a wide range of simple and fast services, that meet the various needs of customers who have to send a parcel in Italy or abroad. With the range of Poste Delivery services sending a parcel is in fact an operation within everyone’s reach. The solutions available are diversified by destination, dimensions, price band and accessories, and private and professional customers can purchase these at any post office, but also online on the Poste Italiane website or through the Post Office App to ship conveniently from any place where they are. But let’s look in detail at the characteristics of the various services for shipping with Poste Italiane.
How to send a parcel in Italy
Poste Delivery Express is the service dedicated to anyone who needs a fast delivery. It offers the possibility of sending up to 30kg in Italy with delivery in one day, in addition to the day of acceptance in most of the country. Available also in carnet format, which makes it possible to save money purchasing one of the various prepaid shipment packages to be sent in all post offices, or directly from home with free pick up. It is possible to send an express parcel also online through the Poste Delivery Web portal, home pick up is always included. Anyone who has less urgency and has to send a lighter parcel can instead choose Poste Standard Delivery, to ship all over Italy up to 20 Kg of weight with delivery in four days.
The options for express and standard shipments
For both the express and the standard version of Poste Delivery two delivery attempts are provided for. If in both cases the addressee is absent, he or she has ten days to withdraw the shipment at the post office indicated in the notice left by the courier (Saturday is included in the 10 days). In addition, a vast range of optional services are available: recorded delivery, oversized parcel, poste restante, delivery to post box, return to sender (in the case of non-delivery), pick up at home (only for carnets), insurance and cash on delivery.
Prepaid carnets
For anyone who needs to have prepaid shipments always available it is possible to purchase at any post office prepaid carnets of waybills, containing shipment codes already ready to be applied to the parcel. The carnets are available in different numbers (5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 100) and each waybill has its expiry shown on the front. In addition, with the carnets savings can be made on multiple purchases. Each shipment can be used in all post offices, or sent directly from home. The carnets can be used all over Italy up to a maximum of 20 kg for standard shipments, and up to 30 kg for express shipments. The price is single for all destinations and is blocked up to the expiry, with no risks of increases and supplements. Home pick up is included in the price.
How to send a parcel abroad
With Poste Italiane parcels can be sent around the world to approximately 200 destinations with faster or standard delivery times as needed, choosing among various solutions.
Poste Delivery Express International provides for urgent shipments up to 30 Kg, two delivery attempts and with indicative times of two working days for shipments in the EU, 2-3 days in non-EU countries, 3-4 days for the rest of the world, in addition to the day of sending and excluding customs times. The service is available online through the Poste Delivery Web portal or through the Post Office App and, after preparing the parcel with the waybill and the customs documentation (only for Non-EU Countries), free home pick up can be requested (only through Poste Delivery Web), or alternatively the parcel can be delivered to authorised post offices.
If there is no particular urgency for the delivery, but in any case it needs tracking up to destination and weighs up to 30 Kg the following services are available:
- Poste Delivery Globe, for Non-EU destinations (indicative delivery times 5 working days, in addition to the day of sending excluding customs times)
- Poste Delivery Europe for European Union destinations plus Switzerland, Norway and Iceland (indicative delivery times 3 working days in addition to the day of sending excluding customs times)
Poste Delivery Globe and Europe can be purchased and sent from authorised post offices, or online via Poste Delivery Web which also provides for home pick-up of the shipment. Via the web it is also possible to consult customs assistance and obtain information on the documentation required for the shipment.
If you don’t need tracking to destination you can use Poste delivery standard International, which enables you to send up to 20kg with indicative delivery times from a minimum of 10 days for Europe and up to 25 days for deliveries in the rest of the world, in addition to the day of sending and excluding customs times. Also in this case the shipment can be purchased online but it is necessary to deliver the shipment to an authorised post office.
Send online or via App with Poste Delivery Web
To send conveniently online from a PC or a smartphone via Post Office App, the customer can use the Poste Delivery Web service, which makes it possible to send objects such as suitcases, goods and documents up to 30 kg all over Italy (with the exclusion of Livigno, Trepalle, Campione d’Italia, Città del Vaticano and San Marino) and to more than 200 foreign destinations covered by the service. To send the parcel purchased online you can request home pick up (always included), or take the parcel to the nearest post office or most convenient Punto Poste. For national shipments it is not necessary to print the label with the shipment data (waybill), because Poste carries out a “paperless” withdrawal, which makes it possible to save time and paper. In this case, if the parcel is sent at the post office or a Punto Poste, it is sufficient to show the operator the 2D Code provided by the purchase completion service.
Via web also pony express in Rome and Milan
For anyone who uses the online Poste Delivery Web channel or sends using the Post Office App, the Instant service is also available; this makes it possible to make urgent shipment in the city starting from 90 minutes, also in the evening and on weekends and holidays (with the exclusion of Christmas Day, New Years’ Day, Easter Day and the August Bank Holiday).
Instant is available in Rome and Milan and is gradually being extended to the main urban centres. The customer can choose one of the following options:
- Instant with delivery within 90 minutes;
- Today provides for delivery in the day in a time band chosen by the customer;
- Tomorrow: delivery the day after purchase in a time band indicated by the customer.
Poste Delivery Box pre-franked boxes
For customers who need to have at home or in the office prepaid boxes always ready to be sent, the Poste Delivery Box pre-franked packages are available. These are boxes of different sizes, designed for shipments to Italy, to the European Union and to the United States. The boxes can be purchased at post offices in the express or standard version. The Poste Delivery Box Express packages available in four formats to send up to 30kg of weight, with pick up at home, or at a post office or the Punto Poste network, with delivery from one to three days, in addition to the day of sending. The Poste Delivery Box Standard version makes it possible to send up to 5 kg of weight with free pick up from home or at a post office. The version for shipments abroad Poste Delivery Box International Express is also available for sending parcels up to 10 kg with indicative delivery in 2 two days in European Union countries and parcels up to 3 Kg in 3 days in the United States (excluding Saturday, Sundays and holidays and customs times).
Punto Poste: withdrawal points and lockers
Punto Poste is the new logistical network made up of withdrawal points and lockers, which is in addition to the 12,800 Post Offices, where customers who send parcels carry out various operations: withdraw parcels purchased online, send e-commerce returns and send certain types of parcels of the Poste Delivery range.
Let’s see how the Punto Poste network works:
- the withdrawal points of the Punto Poste network are numerous and are made up of approximately 13,000 tobacconists, bars, stationers, newsagents and KiPoint shops and approximately 100 Carrefour supermarkets. At authorised withdrawal points Poste Deliverybox Express pre-franked parcels can also be sent;
- the lockers instead are automated cabinets that work in self-service mode, with extended opening times, generally positioned near service stations, shopping centres, railway stations and post offices. There are around 350 Punto Poste lockers currently active. They can be used to send both Poste Deliverybox Express pre-franked parcels and parcels purchased online via Poste Delivery Web.
Search shipments (formerly Dove Quando – Where & When – service)
To check the status of the shipment and look for information on where the parcel sent is and when it will be delivered, customers can use various channels:
- poste.it website, using the Search Shipments function, where it is sufficient to enter the code present on the receipt under the barcode. The code must be entered without spaces or hyphens (for example 050000201242)
- Toll-free number 803.160 (free from landline or mobile phone, active Monday to Saturday from 8.00 to 20.00) and providing the dispatch code. From abroad it is necessary to call the number +39.02.82.44.33.99
- Post Office App, entering the code in the field present on the home screen
- The WhatsApp channel: sending a message to the number 371.5003715 the customer can chat with the Poste Digital Assistant
- Through the Poste Italiane Twitter social channel at the address https://twitter.com/postespedizioni
- any Post Office asking the operator for information
Customers can also consult the page dedicated to FAQs to obtain answers on their main doubts, questions on the world of correspondence and parcels. In addition, business customers have available the range of dedicated services Poste Delivery Business, with solutions designed to respond to the various shipment needs.
