Sending gifts to a friend in Vietnam....

Cash always works, then she can buy what she wants...

As above.
Perfume is nice, but u can't  post them any more (from Australia anyway).
I used to send perfume, clothes, chocolates & cash to my now wife.

Ok thanks,
So perfume is also a prohibited item from Canada as well....

Yeah,
I was hoping to send something more personal than just money...but thats will be the last resort.....lol

For me here in Australia to send someone perfume these days, I'd have to find shop (online) that posts to VN and pay them ship it.

cth wrote:

For me here in Australia to send someone perfume these days, I'd have to find shop (online) that posts to VN and pay them ship it.

I see, I called a place here in Toronto that sends money and packages to Vietnam and they said no perfume.....lol

Search for an online shop that sells perfume that ships out to VN.

Where in Viet Nam is the lady, I may be able to help you. I did the same thing for a guy in Malaysia who needed something given to a lady in D1. You can PM with the details I might be able to help you if you cant get the stuff online.

1. There are many duty free shops in the city selling perfumes. Unlike Western girls, many do not use fragrances, just body deodourants.
2. Any parcels sent to Vietnam, is taxed. There is "no gifts". The State gets it first in the form of taxes.

However, what they say about "diamonds"?

I surprised my fiance on her birthday with a big bear about her size, roses and cash all in one for her birthday. Had her cousin go purchase it and paid him a nice sum. My fiance was so happy. It turned out it was her first time receiving a birthday present as they don't really celebrate birthdays.

I'm a girl, and I don't like to receive cash on my birthday
I think you should buy a lovely small gift with some her favorite flowers. She must be happy and surprised.

how about handbag?scarf?sweeter? just choose a nice one for her.girl love bag or something convenience

thaonguyen1990 wrote:

I'm a girl, and I don't like to receive cash on my birthday
I think you should buy a lovely small gift with some her favorite flowers. She must be happy and surprised.

I agree, if it was for my niece I would send her money, but this is a friend. Thanks for the input.

christine thuy wrote:

how about handbag?scarf?sweeter? just choose a nice one for her.girl love bag or something convenience

Thank you. I will look for something girlie.....lol

khanh44 wrote:

I surprised my fiance on her birthday with a big bear about her size, roses and cash all in one for her birthday. Had her cousin go purchase it and paid him a nice sum. My fiance was so happy. It turned out it was her first time receiving a birthday present as they don't really celebrate birthdays.

That is really cool. Thanks .
I am in talks with one of her friends about what to do also.......

I take it you are wooing this girl?  I am late to the discussion but for starters, nix the perfume.  Vietnamese girls don't wear perfume.  I've been by the "mall" and never seen any customers at the perfume shop.  When they do use it, they splash that stuff on like they're showering in it...It drives people away instead of towards them.  Also don't send candy or chocolate because they melt in the heat.

Enough of the don'ts.  Here's a do:  You are from Canada so do send her something Canadian that you can't get anywhere else.  There must be some tourist sites in Toronto you can buy trinkets to send and share with her your world.  If she likes you, she can image herself at those places in Toronto...such as after you marry her and bring her to those places. 

Other than that, I can only recommend your "presence" as being the best present.  Buy a plane ticket and come visit her. And bring some of that famous canuck maple syrup with you.

Tran Hung Dao wrote:

I take it you are wooing this girl?  I am late to the discussion but for starters, nix the perfume.  Vietnamese girls don't wear perfume.  I've been by the "mall" and never seen any customers at the perfume shop.  When they do use it, they splash that stuff on like they're showering in it...It drives people away instead of towards them.  Also don't send candy or chocolate because they melt in the heat.

Enough of the don'ts.  Here's a do:  You are from Canada so do send her something Canadian that you can't get anywhere else.  There must be some tourist sites in Toronto you can buy trinkets to send and share with her your world.  If she likes you, she can image herself at those places in Toronto...such as after you marry her and bring her to those places. 

Other than that, I can only recommend your "presence" as being the best present.  Buy a plane ticket and come visit her. And bring some of that famous canuck maple syrup with you.

Thank you Tran Hung Dao,
I like what youbare saying, there are lots of little things from Canada that I have been considering sending.
Again, thanks for the input.

Barber368 wrote:

Thank you Tran Hung Dao,
I like what youbare saying, there are lots of little things from Canada that I have been considering sending.
Again, thanks for the input.

So send an assortment of Canadian things in a box.  Like a Toronto Maple Leaf hockey puck.  A Toronto Blue Jays baseball.  These items are unfamiliar in Vietnam so it'll give you two a chance to talk about those items.  You can explain what hockey or baseball are. 

It's out of season but if you can, find some snow and stick it in a bottle; yes we all know it'll melt and she'll just receive a bottle of water, but you can explain to her it's authentic Canadian snow!  Or you can send a authentic Canadian rock.  You'll laugh over the silly stuff.  Anyhow, you get the picture.

Sometimes it's the smallest stuff about you that women love...not the iPad or the diamond ring (if they love the latter, you better run away fast).

Tran Hung Dao wrote:

Barber368 wrote:

Thank you Tran Hung Dao,
I like what youbare saying, there are lots of little things from Canada that I have been considering sending.
Again, thanks for the input.

So send an assortment of Canadian things in a box.  Like a Toronto Maple Leaf hockey puck.  A Toronto Blue Jays baseball.  These items are unfamiliar in Vietnam so it'll give you two a chance to talk about those items.  You can explain what hockey or baseball are. 

It's out of season but if you can, find some snow and stick it in a bottle; yes we all know it'll melt and she'll just receive a bottle of water, but you can explain to her it's authentic Canadian snow!  Or you can send a authentic Canadian rock.  You'll laugh over the silly stuff.  Anyhow, you get the picture.

Sometimes it's the smallest stuff about you that women love...not the iPad or the diamond ring (if they love the latter, you better run away fast).

Agreed and agreed. Good advice for everyone.....

Tran Hung Dao reminded me of one nice gift that I think can resemble Canada.

Send her those glass christmas ornaments. You know the ones where you turn upside down and the snow falls down. That way she will always remember you when she plays with it.

As they say it's the thoughts that count and I find this old saying resonates more so with Vietnamese people.

khanh44 wrote:

Tran Hung Dao reminded me of one nice gift that I think can resemble Canada.

Send her those glass christmas ornaments. You know the ones where you turn upside down and the snow falls down. That way she will always remember you when she plays with it.

As they say it's the thoughts that count and I find this old saying resonates more so with Vietnamese people.

You mean snow globes.....
Yeah, not a bad idea.......thanks....

or the one with a CN Tower inside. Gives a good talkng conversation.

Sorry Tran Hung Dao
but my gf is vietnamese and is using perfume.
She can use it correctly and really likes it...
I know some other friends that wanted me to send them perfume too...
But I guess it depends on the girl.

Greetings

Remember anything you send will be taxed. In order to receive the package she will have to pay that tax. I am sure there is a way you can pay it when sending maybe....not sure how it works. I lived in HCMC and my family sent me gifts for Christmas. My GOD, after paying tha taxes on everything it wasn't like i was receiving a gift. It felt like I had just went out a bought everything myself.

Jayhawk wrote:

Remember anything you send will be taxed. In order to receive the package she will have to pay that tax. I am sure there is a way you can pay it when sending maybe....not sure how it works. I lived in HCMC and my family sent me gifts for Christmas. My GOD, after paying tha taxes on everything it wasn't like i was receiving a gift. It felt like I had just went out a bought everything myself.

Wow really....Maybe a better option is to bring the gift myself, I will be about 2 months late for the actual birthday but saves everyone some money amd headaches.....lol.
Thanks for the info.

Good day! My name is Igor. My uncle Sukhobok Nikolai looking for friends from Vietnam Dang Quang and Le Van Sean 55-60 years. They studied in Kharkov. Please respond!

Jayhawk wrote:

I lived in HCMC and my family sent me gifts for Christmas. My GOD, after paying tha taxes on everything it wasn't like i was receiving a gift. It felt like I had just went out a bought everything myself.

@Jayhawk, if your family live near a big "Viet" town in USA, there is a service which sends packages to Vietnam by weights (about $3 USD/lb including import tax). If not, you can ask your family to google it.  I found this site http://vietlinkglobal.com/Eng/Index.aspx through google.

Good luck....

rhinoq wrote:

Jayhawk wrote:

I lived in HCMC and my family sent me gifts for Christmas. My GOD, after paying tha taxes on everything it wasn't like i was receiving a gift. It felt like I had just went out a bought everything myself.

@Jayhawk, if your family live near a big "Viet" town in USA, there is a service which sends packages to Vietnam by weights (about $3 USD/lb including import tax). If not, you can ask your family to google it.  I found this site http://vietlinkglobal.com/Eng/Index.aspx through google.

Good luck....

Very good to know and very useful.

Just used these folks about a month ago. No problems, they did a good job and delivered the package down to me here in the Delta:

http://golden-freight.com/index.html

Each one has their own interests. You are suggested to explore it yourself. You can find something when talking with her...It's not so difficult if you are really care for her...

Hi Barber 368, 
don't know if he import laws have been changed or modified in any way, BUT about 4 years ago I tried sending my g/f, now my wife, a package of cosmetics from Australia to VN via DHL Couriers.
The package contained various 'Dr. LEWINN'S' products. Skin care, anti-aging, eye wrinkle remove and a few other produces for her personal use. Not large quantities, just enough for a few months use for one person. Total value of about AUS $600.
VN Customs seized the entire package ! 
When DHL in Sai Gon notified her that the package had arrived and was being held by VN Customs, we assumed it would be over some sort of import tax and that was all.

WRONG !   

When she went in to claim the package, VN Customs refused to release it to her. Instead they told her that to import cosmetics, even to be sent them as a gift, she would require an importing license !!!   

NOT JOKING EITHER ! 
VN Customs wanted her to pay out a small fortune, thousands of dollars, and go through the whole government procedure of obtaining a commercial importing license for women's make-up and beauty products !!!   

It took nearly three months of arguing back and forth between VN Customs, my g/f and the Sai Gon DHL representatives, the DHL Head office in Australia, numerous phone calls and we still got nowhere.
In fact someone in VN Customs decided the the whole package was to be confiscated as an illegal import.   

At this stage DHL Headquarters in Australia directed DHL Sai GON to demand the entire package be turned back over to them so it could be returned to the sender as 'An undeliverable item'.
After another two weeks the package was returned to my home address in Perth by DHL with their apologies for being unable to deliver it - this all was done by DHL at no extra cost to myself. 

A month later I simply opened the DHL package, which had not been unsealed since it left their Perth Airport office, took everything out, put it all into my suitcase along with my shaving and hair care products, and simply walked through VN Customs at Tan Son Nhut International Airport with everything in my suitcase - which wasn't even put through the X-ray machine at the arrivals area !   

A woman from VN Customs just pulled my suitcase off the rollers going into the X-ray machine, didn't even look into my suitcase or carry on bag - and just waved me straight on through and out of the airport terminal building !   

That was it !   After all the warnings I'd been given as to how tough VN Customs was, it was 10 times more difficult to get through Australian Customs to get onto my out going flight than it was going through VN Customs at Tan Son Nhut on my arrival ! 
Even the guy who stamped my passport and entry visa didn't seem to take any notice if the passport photo even looked like me !  Just a quick, bored glance up at me then stamped my passport and visa. - - - ALL FINISHED !   

Make anything out of that if you can !

Ian W. aka Flip465.

I'm surprised nobody has had my experience; my sister has sent me 3 small packages over the last 3 years and not one arrived. When I went to the Saigon Post Office they said I would have to supply them with the registration number. My sister had never registered the packages so I was out of luck. Apparently, theft is absolutely crazy at the Post Office and it was suggested I use a courier. I told my sister to just not send anything so no pressies for 3 years now......sob..sob

As I do believe said it's true that you better hire a courier to get your things delivered,
Try to make friends with one of the cabin crew and they will gladly deliver small amounts to your Vietnamese address. We always ask friends who know people frequently traveling to Vietnam to deliver gifts

I ordered two CD box sets on Amazon.  The first one, 41 disks of Claudio Abbado conducting symphonies with the Berlin; the second, 22 CDs of Stravinsky conducing his own music  $98 and $50 respectively.

The 22 disk set arrived almost a week ago, paid the moto-postman 300.000 đ thuê.  OK, fine.  $15, I can live with that, since it's so far ahead of the old $15 per disk in music stores.

But the other?  2.2 mil to kiểm tra (inspect) the disks.  Another 590.000 thuê.  Another 20.000 for no clear reason.  Total of $130 atop a price of $98, and the box is still not here yet.  At least I have a paper trail from the post office.  I could have bought the music on iTunes and downloaded it but nnooooooOOOOooooo, I wanted lossless rips from a real copy.

And about one package in six never arrives at all.  I had to laugh at the married thread where he said he bought an iPad and shipped it to his wife.  I have a better chance of leaning on a bank vault and quantum-tunneling through it than an iPad has of arriving to a recipient in VN.

And then there's the delivery delays; some things arrive from HK in under a week while some packages take three months.

Not In TPHCM wrote:

I ordered two CD box sets on Amazon.  The first one, 41 disks of Claudio Abbado conducting symphonies with the Berlin; the second, 22 CDs of Stravinsky conducing his own music  $98 and $50 respectively.

The 22 disk set arrived almost a week ago, paid the moto-postman 300.000 đ thuê.  OK, fine.  $15, I can live with that, since it's so far ahead of the old $15 per disk in music stores.

But the other?  2.2 mil to kiểm tra (inspect) the disks.  Another 590.000 thuê.  Another 20.000 for no clear reason.  Total of $130 atop a price of $98, and the box is still not here yet.  At least I have a paper trail from the post office.  I could have bought the music on iTunes and downloaded it but nnooooooOOOOooooo, I wanted lossless rips from a real copy.

And about one package in six never arrives at all.  I had to laugh at the married thread where he said he bought an iPad and shipped it to his wife.  I have a better chance of leaning on a bank vault and quantum-tunneling through it than an iPad has of arriving to a recipient in VN.

And then there's the delivery delays; some things arrive from HK in under a week while some packages take three months.

I thought you were Chris Fox but I guess you are Toto.

Hello!! I am late to the conversation but here are my concerns about sending packages. We are assuming the packages will arrive to their destination safely but I am learning we can't assume that. What service? How do we send packages to VN without them getting "lost" or have them be taxed by VN?

I am sending to VN some anti-aging cream from Rodan and Fields .... can't buy that anywhere but Canada and USA (so I can't send money for them to buy it in VN). It is not expensive but still is pricey ... about $500 worth. *you know us girls, we need our Long Lashes and Flawless skin*

I saw Golden freight and DHL recommended by some. Gold Freight sounds expensive, especially since I can't walk to the office. I am messaging from Texas, not Cali. I don't know anyone here in Texas that is going to VN, so no to sending the package with people. Anyone have any suggestions??

***

Never fails, although emailing a pic may take some of the romance out.

I am new to this site but I am wondering the same thing! Moreso, can I order something via a website and have it shipped to my boyfriend. Like if you order from Amazon, how would that work.

I had to laugh at the married thread where he said he bought an iPad and shipped it to his wife.  I have a better chance of leaning on a bank vault and quantum-tunneling through it than an iPad has of arriving to a recipient in VN.

Someone must have a flashy new ipad they didnt pay for.   
Its strange how such items get 'lost'  it must have fallen off the conveyor belt and someone must have picked it up and claimed it