All-

Apoloiges if this is a repeat; a few searches have not yielded an answer for me.

I am flying to South Africa in late July. We are traveling with a lot of donated clothing and gifts to leave behind at the community we are visiting.

Based on our travel schedule, we would probably get charged several times for the bags, in airline fees and in storage (staying in London, also going on safari).

So we want to consider alternates. This includes putting these 4-5 duffel bags on a container ship and sending them on to Durban, so as to avoid any extra charges and the hassle of carrying them through various airports.

Does anyone have experience in doing this? I guess my big concern is timing- we won't be there to pick them up when they arrive, and that seems to be an issue - though perhaps we can hire an agent to pick up and hold?

Any advice is appreciated. It's only a month away, so I want to figure out something in the next few days... otherwise, Delta and Kulula will be excited about the extra fees.

Thanks!

try the post office....we used us mail to ship boxes of donated shoes to swaziland from northampton.....it was about $60 each.....

You'd be lucky to get a sea freight route now that would have them customs cleared and ready for pick up in Durban by late July. It's possible, but tight, by the time you get quotes etc. Your profile says Boston, which is a port area, so I guess you could start but asking freight forwarding companies what the best options are.

Even better, contact a freight forwarder in Durban. It's always better took have the receiving end arranging pickup and clearance. Things go smoother that way. ( assuming your stuff is bigger than just a couple of bags)

I'm a licensed broker for a major int'l freight company. I deal with import cargo (arrival to the US) your case is export, but I'm somewhat familiar. First off, please remember that if you use a freight company or send this through cargo will still cost $. If ocean cargo, it will have to be consolidated with other cargo going to the same destination, this might take some time since you probably have about 200 pounds or so, not enough to fill a 20' ocean cntr. If this is still acceptable you should get some quotes. Keep in mind that once the goods arrive

In Durban it will have to go through customs procedures and other formalities need to be arranged. Try to keep the commercial value at a minimum, 200-500 USD. You can also try and get an air quote, to compare if it is equal cost.

Finally, the other option is postal service, and again, keep the commercial cost at a minimum.

One suggestion I have is that you mentioned duffel bags, these are not sturdy enough for such a long time and distance traveled as there will be too much handling involved. We all know how luggage is handled, don't get me going on cargo.

If you are part of a nonprofit with IRS status I would try to talk to airline for a discount or a comp on the baggage charges and have them sent directly to SA as airfreight.

Not sure of what the potential cost is or what the value of the goods you are donating is.

But at some point wouldn't it make sense to donate the items to a domestic charity and donate the shipping money to a South African charity?

In our Flyertalk Cares! Forum, I found this following thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/flyer...some-kids.html

Perhaps contact the above organization and see how they can help coordinate your shipping need to S. Africa?

Thanks so much for all your suggestions- I need to start making some calls ASAP! I'll let you all know what happens.