Answers to the most common questions —
everything worth knowing before you ship

BPD Express has been operating since 1992 and has been registered with the UPU with its own International Postal Exchange Point since June 2003. We are one of the few private postal operators recognized by the Universal Postal Union. Our GmbH registration details in Büttelborn (Germany) are public — you can verify them with the Chamber of Commerce Germany.

Yes, it's legal. We operate under the rules of the UPU Universal Postal Convention — parcels travel as international postal items through our IPEP. For Russia and Belarus, EU restrictions apply to certain items (sanctioned goods and dual-use items). Ordinary personal belongings — clothing, cosmetics, baby products, food — are not affected. Unsure about a specific item? Send us the contents list on WhatsApp and we'll check it before shipping.

Two options to choose from. The "to post office" rate: weight 5–30 kg, box up to 50×50×100 cm, delivery in 15–20 days. The recipient picks up the parcel at their nearest post office. The "EMS courier to door" rate: weight 5–31 kg, box up to 60×60×120 cm, delivery in 10–15 days. A courier brings the parcel straight to the recipient's address. If your shipment exceeds the upper weight limit, we'll split it into several boxes — the same rate terms apply. For an exact quote based on your weight and destination country, use the calculator on the homepage.

Box only — sturdy and sealed with tape. A travel bag won't survive sorting and can tear, and in that case the insurance doesn't apply. Don't have a box handy? Ask for one at the drop-off point — we'll provide it for a token fee (€1–2 depending on size). Fragile items get extra wrapping and a "fragile" label.

The contents list is an itemized inventory of what's in the box, with the quantity and estimated value of each item in euros. Example: "women's jacket — €120, perfume 50 ml — €80, two books — €30". The list serves two purposes: the CN23 (customs declaration, which we fill out ourselves based on your list) and the insurance (if anything goes missing, we compensate you based on the list). A printed copy must go inside the box. Also send it to us on WhatsApp as text or a photo — no need to write it in Italian, we'll translate it ourselves.

Prohibited: liquids (except sealed perfume up to 500 ml), prescription medicines, weapons, ammunition, lithium batteries separate from devices, cash and securities. We don't take perishables without vacuum packaging. For shipments to Russia and Belarus there are separate EU restrictions on sanctioned goods and dual-use items — we'll check against your contents list. Documents (passports, diplomas, originals) are shipped under a separate procedure — see below. We'll send the full list on WhatsApp on request.

Yes, we ship food — up to 5 kg of food per parcel, not past its expiry date. Cheese and cured meats (prosciutto, salami, dried meat) are fine, but only vacuum-packed: the parcel travels for about two weeks without refrigeration, and without vacuum packaging the food simply won't make it. Keep temperature requirements and shelf life in mind — anything that needs refrigeration and spoils quickly shouldn't be shipped. Unsure about a specific product? Ask us on WhatsApp before sending.

Yes, we ship those. Documents go through a separate procedure as registered international mail — a flat rate of €50, delivery in 10–15 days, EMS courier to the recipient's door. Here's how it works: you place the originals in an inner envelope (with your own address and phone number in Latin letters, and the recipient's address and phone number in Russian), and we pack it into an outer envelope with BPD Express details and send it off. The envelope is not opened at customs — it travels as mail under UPU rules.

No, we don't ship in the reverse direction. Our channel works strictly one way: from European Union countries to 10 CIS countries. This is due to how our UPU infrastructure is set up — our own International Postal Exchange Point is located in Germany and handles only outbound flows to the CIS. If you need to send a parcel from Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine or another CIS country to Italy (or another EU country), please contact a local postal operator or shipping company in the country of origin — unfortunately, we can't help with that.

The schedule depends on the country. To Russia — every Tuesday. To Kazakhstan — on the 25th of each month. For other CIS destinations, the calculator on the homepage shows the next dispatch date and the estimated arrival date. To make the next departure, your parcel must be at the drop-off point no later than 24–36 hours before the truck leaves.

We are rolling out a network of drop-off points across Southern Italy — Calabria, Sicily, Campania, Puglia. If there's no point near you yet, we'll send you a free shipping label: drop the box off at your nearest Poste Italiane or a partner tabaccheria. The rate stays transparent.

Before the parcel is accepted at the drop-off point — just send us the correct address on WhatsApp and we'll fix it free of charge. If the parcel has already been accepted and is on its way, redirection is possible as long as it hasn't left Italy (editing the CN23 costs €10). Once the parcel has cleared Italian export customs, the address can no longer be changed: the recipient can collect it at the old address, or we return the parcel to the sender (return shipping at the sender's expense).

We handle all export paperwork ourselves — CN23, EAD, invoice. You don't write a single line in Italian. Our customs rejection rate is under 1%.

In most cases, no. For the EAEU countries — Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia — a single duty-free threshold applies: €200 per shipment and up to 31 kg. If the parcel's value is higher, the recipient pays a 15% duty on the amount above the threshold, with a minimum of €2 per kilogram. For countries outside the EAEU (Georgia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan) the thresholds are national — we'll check against your contents list. To avoid surprises for the recipient, show us the contents list in advance and we'll calculate the duty before you drop off the parcel.

Every parcel is automatically insured up to €100 — coverage includes loss and mechanical damage in transit. Compensation is paid based on the contents list. For shipments worth more than €100, extended coverage is available for an extra fee: €1 for every €100 above, up to a maximum of €2,000.

Insurance is included in the rate. Door-to-door with no handover to third-party carriers — our loss rate is under 1% (for comparison: informal minibus couriers lose 5–15%). If something does go wrong, we compensate the declared value.

Once your parcel is accepted at the drop-off point, you receive a tracking number in the format "b…" on WhatsApp. From there, status updates arrive automatically: "accepted", "in transit", "cleared customs", "delivered". You can also enter the number in the form in the site header — it updates 1–2 times a day.

At drop-off — Visa / Mastercard bank card, Apple Pay, SEPA transfer or cash in euros. For regular clients and personal shoppers — invoicing with deferred payment under contract. Payment in euros only, no cryptocurrency and no ruble transfers.

Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine — ten CIS countries. Russia is our main destination: the highest shipment volume and the most reliable delivery times, with a regular departure every Tuesday. We are the only company running regular shipments to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Georgia and Belarus — none of our competitors maintain a dedicated channel there with full back-office support (in English, Italian or Russian).

To Russia: EMS courier to door — 10–15 days, to the recipient's post office — 15–20 days. For other CIS countries, the calculator shows the exact timing once you select the country and rate (10–14 days for most destinations, up to 18 days for Kyrgyzstan and remote regions). Delivery times can be affected by customs in the destination country during peak periods (December, before the New Year holidays).