Any Americans here have experience shipping beer to belgium? Am I stuck paying $160 shipping USPS, or is there a cheaper method? Thanks
There are cheaper options like Parcelmonkey. They use random carriers though, so could be slow, and carriers like FedEx will reject your box when they notice that there are liquids/alcohol in it. USPS is not the cheapest option, but it's the most safe.
Most European countries have flat rate shipping rates with USPS (if you can stick everything you want to ship in their standard sized boxes). A medium sized box to Cyprus is $75 and it fits 8 cans in it (just to give you an idea)
I used this a few times and it worked out great. I was able to send a case of 750ml bottles for $20 using the boat option. Took about 6 weeks, but not a bad option during the mid-late Fall or early Spring.
Transglobalexpress.co.uk is what a lot of guys over here use to buy labels for US boxes coming into the UK. Worth checking out for Belgium too.
I usually receive boxes from US (to the Netherlands) through USPS. Like all carriers, they don't allow alcohol. However, once the package has been acceptated at the post office, it rarely gets rejected before it's sent across the big pond. The cost is generally around $5/lb. The shipments take somewhere between 1 and 3 weeks before they arrive at my doorstep. I've never felt the need to try out cheaper options.
