The holiday season is here and here are
a few tips for sending gifts to Russia or Ukraine.
Holiday Rush
The Russian gift holiday
is the New Year but Christmas gifts are understood and
happily accepted. A gift for the New Year is a must and a
gift for Christmas is optional. A gift for both occasions
is better, celebrating both the Eastern and Western
traditions. -Mail early, post-mailing delay can be 2+
weeks to Russia or Ukraine. -Customs duty due on posted
items is ~30% of the declared value due on receipt.
Declare parcels at $99 or less cash value to avoid the
duty. This will allow the parcel to be picked up at no
charge. The parcel will be insured for only the stated
amount, however, unwise, as: -Precious items are regularly
stolen by Customs. Do not send jewelry, computers or cash
by post. Instead, send money by Western Union (check for
scam first) and use a reputable delivery service that has
operations in the city of interest.
Romance and Flowers
Romance requires flowers!
Send a fruit/gift basket as usual, but don’t forget the
flowers. Russian girls are traditional and respond well to
romance, flowers and courting. -Use a delivery service to
send flowers. There are several available but the best
offer more for the romantic-sender.
Look for added features at
no extra charge like: Scam check on order placement, ID
check on delivery, keepsakes like a stuffed toy or
dictionary or photo of you in a frame at no extra charge,
multiple delivery photos for one price.
Add delivery photos to see
the delivery results. Many recipients have never received
flowers or a gift delivered and their expressions are
priceless. A picture is worth a thousand words!
Scams - Watch Out!
Main scams, Agency and Recipient
Agency Scams
Agency writes as the girl
with polished but generic letters using numbered Email
address (for tracking the mark, ie tanya456@mail.ru).
Money is requested with a payoff letter asking for $100
for continued communication (the spending power of
US$3000) or $300-400 for visa to the US (spending power of
US$9,000-$12,000, no such visa exists for young, pretty
girls).
Recipient Scams
Recipient asks for money
instead of flowers and gift, and is not destitute. This
indicates a gold-digger and she should be dropped. A good
delivery service will not deliver a cash equivalent and
will report such important behavior immediately. Watch out
for unscrupulous delivery services that deliver cash to
recipients but report flowers were delivered. Select a
reliable, recommended flower delivery service.
Pay by Credit Card to a U.S.
Company!
Funds sent overseas are
gone forever. There is no recourse in case of a problem
without a credit card payment. Use a US-based company for
deliveries, as it’s unnecessary to risk international
distribution of your credit card.
Recommended Delivery Service
We recommend Flower and
Gift International (
)
for flower and gift delivery to Russia, Ukraine and the
former Soviet Union. They are the most reliable and
automated, and have been delivering flowers and gifts to
Russia since 1998. ID checks are done on every order and
an automatic ScamCheck is made on order submission for
further confidence. - Add delivery photos to see the
recipient’s reaction firsthand.
Other Flower and Gift International
features:
-Real-time, on-line order tracking
-On-line recipient address book
-Recipient’s Reaction (paragraph of how
the delivery was received)
-Pre-written, drop-in notes for
greeting cards
-Occasion reminder by Email
-Choice of gift
-Credit card numbers stay in the USA
-A US Company
Good luck and Happy Holidays!
Flower and Gift International
