M-Bags to Send Books to the UK?

I didn't put "M bag postage paid" but I guess I should have. The post office clerk just put them in the bag for me. Easier than I thought it would be 

Ignore my last email, I see you figured out the M Bag situation.  When we moved here, I sent 2 M bags by surface.  It took nearly two months. We shipped them about 2 weeks before we arrived in the UK so didn't have to wait too long; would have done it sooner but we didn't know our address until then.  If I had thought about it sooner, I would have sent them to my work address or a friend's house.

Woohoo!  I'm just back from the post office and I shipped....drumroll please...444 lbs and 10.2 oz of books!     I'm glad that we have nice happy postal workers at our branch because it took a fairly long time and there was a lot of heavy lifting involved. 

They wanted all of my books in boxes, and it definitely helped to have the "Postage Paid M-bag - __ of 14" label on there.  She thanked me for doing that and it saved her a little time.  One thing that I did do wrong was to have the tags tied to the necks of the bags when I arrived - they needed access to the boxes on the inside to stick the green customs form to and mark with the postage paid stamp.  So I had to untie all 14 little cotton-string tags.  I filled out HMR Customs and Excise Form C3, since I had so many boxes going over at once, and put it in an envelope taped to the side of box 1.  Hopefully they'll find it and there won't be any holdup because of that.

It sounds crazy to send so many books, but we collect old books (sentimental value, not monetary value) and I'm in a field where I'm likely to refer to my textbooks throughout my career.  Heck, at less than a $1 a pound I figure I managed to ship everything over for less than the cost of 1 year's worth of texts.  I love M-bags.  And my friendly postal workers.   

.  I filled out HMR Customs and Excise Form C3, since I had so many boxes going over at once, and put it in an envelope taped to the side of box 1.  Hopefully they'll find it and there won't be any holdup because of that.
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Erm I was just told to fill out the regular little green customs declaration...but I only had two boxes of books (1 M-Bag). Hope it won't hold up mine 

Juls - The people at the post office didn't have a clue about form C3.  I only filled it out because I knew I had to for my other shipments and I was sending A LOT of boxes.  I doubt 2 boxes totaling 25 lbs would elicit any interest at Customs.

Just checking Thanks for the reply 

Just sent another box of books using an M-Bag for $10 woohoo!

Two of the 3 M bags I shipped on 21 June showed up this past week. That's 6.5 weeks. Not too bad.

The first time I did not get the bags they were shipped in, only the box. This time I received the bags as well, which is good since one of the boxes fell apart. The other box was torn on one side. Not sure what they did to them this time. The books themselves are OK though since I had packed them in plastic bags.

I think if I would have to do it again, I would reinforce my boxes even more than I did.

It IS fun to unpack the boxes though. 

So it would be a good idea to go to the post office first to get the tags/bags.  Go home, fill those out & then return to the PO with everything ready?  Or can I just show up with my box and mail it?

I always thought I had a lot of books, but now I feel pathetic with only one box!  I'm sending over all my important (mostly school related, needed for research) books first and then when I move all my stuff to my parent's next week, I might send off another box (since I have a bunch of books over there, too) of the less-important ones.

You can just show up with your box, but you may want to double check your post office has a bag a day or two beforehand so if they don't, they have time to get one. Most post offices seem to have a few on hand.

Don't feel pathetic! I only shipped one box initially. I still have loads in storage in the US and will prob bring them over as needed. The libraries in my area are quite good, and charity shop selections are much better here than thrift stores at home, so there is no lack of books for me to savour! Maybe just wait and see how things are when you get here and take it from there.

So it would be a good idea to go to the post office first to get the tags/bags.  Go home, fill those out & then return to the PO with everything ready?  Or can I just show up with my box and mail it?

I always thought I had a lot of books, but now I feel pathetic with only one box!  I'm sending over all my important (mostly school related, needed for research) books first and then when I move all my stuff to my parent's next week, I might send off another box (since I have a bunch of books over there, too) of the less-important ones.

I just went in with my boxes. Though I did print off the "quote" from when I went on the USPS website and did an example of the weight of my boxes and the rate it would be - but that was more for an idea of what they charged. The post office worker I got both times (same person) knew the procedure and gave me the tag and green customs form to fill out (small one) I've heard if you're sending a lot of books you should fill out another one, and the name of it is on this thread somewhere I believe, but I was never told to so I didn't. The PO guy gave me an extra tag this time, even though I probably don't have more to send...well I have more but not sure if I want to send them. Anyway I'd say if you can go to the PO and make sure they use M-Bags, get the tags, fill them out, address your boxes and put "M-Bag postage paid" on them and you should be set to go.

The post office worker I got both times (same person) knew the procedure and gave me the tag and green customs form to fill out (small one) I've heard if you're sending a lot of books you should fill out another one, and the name of it is on this thread somewhere I believe, but I was never told to so I didn't.

The post office required that I fill out little green forms for each box.  They had no idea what form C3 was (not surprising since is an HMRC form).  However, due to the fact that I had such a large shipment (14 boxes, 445lbs) and had done research about moving, I chose to fill out a C3 form for the UK Customs officials.  (http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageLibrary_Forms&propertyType=document&id=HMCE_CL_000308)

Here is an excerpt from the instructions for this form:

This form is for you to declare your belongings to Customs and to claim any duty and tax free reliefs that may
apply when you return to or transfer your normal home to the EC, or when you are a student coming to study
in the EC. The reliefs are explained in Customs Notice 3 - 'Bringing your belongings and private motor vehicle
into the United Kingdom from outside the European Community'.

I believe that you will be required to complete this form if you are sending personal goods (ie not a gift, merchandise sample, or commercial goods) through a shipping agent, including UPS or FedEx.  I'm sure that if you are shipping a small amount of stuff you could get away with just filling out a standard customs form, but the UPS website does state that you are required to complete C3 and a detailed packing list for "personal goods" to the UK.  Assuming that Customs actually finds the C3 form on my M-bag boxes (it's taped to the top of box 1), there should be no question about me having to pay duty or tax. 

I went straight into the PO with my rather heavy (to me!) box, mostly because I was unsure if it was too heavy to mail singularly. I figured if it was, at least I could get the forms to fill out so I'd be prepared after repacking them into more, smaller boxes or something.

Surprisingly, it was only 43lbs!  Felt like more than that .  I only sent the one box and it cost $40.05.  I remember sending a boxof less than half that weight to the UK last time I went over (mostly clothes & miscellaneous crap) by ground and IT cost more than that!  Great rate, great find in using M-Bags.  Valuable money saver and now I can have most of my books with me!!

I might send another box right before I go over, depending on how clingy I'm feeling to the rest of my books.  This round only included essential ones I know I'll need for school - non-fiction, plus my Harry Potter books!! (crucial!)