I know there have been similar posts about this topic, but none of them seem to have thorough responses, so I figured I'd give it a try. I've done a lot of research both through this site and through other means, but I'm still pretty confused about the process of shipping a few boxes from the US to Norway from start to finish. I've found a few companies that either are ridiculously expensive (for what I want to ship) or say they can't help me at all (this includes the partner company for Expat.com).
Here are the details. I'm not shipping any large items. I basically want to ship some clothes, shoes, toiletries and non-perishable foods. This wouldn't take more than a few boxes (or one large box, depending on what's most affordable). I read as much as I could on Norwegian customs and it seems that as long as I don't ship any prohibited items and my items are marked used and for personal use, I may be exempt from VAT. That's helpful, but in trying to find a company to ship through, I'm getting conflicting responses. FedEx Air said personal effects and toiletries are prohibited (I'm guessing that's their policy and doesn't have anything to do with Norwegian customs) but FedEx Freight will ship those items from airport to airport. I ideally wouldn't want to spend more than $500 on shipping, but I'm not sure if that's even feasible or not.
I'm just so massively confused about how to figure out costs for each step and what exactly I need to do to get my boxes to Norway with as little hassle as possible. 
If anyone has had any experience with shipping their personal items while moving from the US to Norway, please please tell me as much as you can about what you had to do to get everything set.
Shipping Personal Items to Norway
Good luck. What i do know of Norway customs is that they have very strict laws with medicine and ban almost all imports. They have a 200kr standard charge for any goods valued above 200kr they have strange laws on electronics and extra tax may be charged. They have a very very high import tax that the rest of Europe have been begging them to lower without any joy. Seems like they want everyone in Norway to buy Norwegian anyway im a bit off subject but i found http://www.excess-baggage.com/?gclid=CP … cwodz50Alw
You can bring personal items that aren't medicinal but there are restrictions shipping things like perfume by air. The alcohol content apparently makes them suspect.
I had an entire apartment shipped by boat without having to pay import costs but it didn't include any tv or electronics, guns or alcohol. Those were the things specifically asked about on the customs form.
james mack wrote:Good luck. What i do know of Norway customs is that they have very strict laws with medicine and ban almost all imports. They have a 200kr standard charge for any goods valued above 200kr they have strange laws on electronics and extra tax may be charged. They have a very very high import tax that the rest of Europe have been begging them to lower without any joy. Seems like they want everyone in Norway to buy Norwegian anyway im a bit off subject but i found http://www.excess-baggage.com/?gclid=CP … cwodz50Alw
Thanks for the tips. This company seems to be fairly reasonable with their prices, I appreciate the link!
ECS wrote:You can bring personal items that aren't medicinal but there are restrictions shipping things like perfume by air. The alcohol content apparently makes them suspect.
I had an entire apartment shipped by boat without having to pay import costs but it didn't include any tv or electronics, guns or alcohol. Those were the things specifically asked about on the customs form.
Thank you too. Hearing specific details really helps. So perfume and alcohol are out, but do you think things like shampoo, face wash, body wash, hair products, etc. would be okay? I'm still finding conflicting answers or whether all liquids are banned (which would be odd, since shampoo and other toiletries are fine to put in checked luggage on an airplane) or whether it's just the extremely flammable items like perfume and alcohol.
As I mentioned, my stuff came by boat (from Iceland) so there were no restrictions on perfume, but I know you can't ship perfume because I tried once.
Liquids are probably not a problem but they will be expensive since they tend to be heavy. Can you look into shipping by boat? I did when I moved from the US to Iceland.
Thanks, I'll look into that. Right now I'm just trying to look at as many options as possible.
I've been to Norway once, and I absolutely love that country, the mountain and the fjords. I want to ship my car over there, wonder anyone has experience shipping vehicles to Norway?
deMor Cai
How about shipping a car to Norway?
"deMor Cai Today 03:29:15
How about shipping a car to Norway?"
Shipping car to Norway is possible.My Husband just got his american car that he bought from USA.From York, Philadelphia to Norway it cost him about USD 2,400 for shipping plus shipping insurance about USD 250.But there is more possibility to get a cheaper shipping it depends which company you choose to and it depends on which type of shipping you want.My husband had it in container thats why it is more expensive but safer.You can send it on what they call 'Roll on, Roll off" shipment it was more cheaper but there is possibility that your car will be damage or there could be stolen parts of your car.
deMor Cai wrote:How about shipping a car to Norway?
is this an exceptionally special car? One thing to keep in mind is that registering a car in Norway is extremely expensive. Someone I know wanted to register an Audi A3 purchased in Germany, and the cost to register it was equivalent to the cost of the car in Germany. Unless it's a special model, a historic car, or a vehicle you got an amazing deal on, I urge you to consider whether it's going to be worth the price.
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