Sending something to family in Egypt, from abroad

This one is for Egyptians living abroad, and for anyone who wants to get something to a person in Egypt without being in Egypt.

The instinct is to buy the thing where you are and send it. It is usually the expensive way round, and it puts the awkward part — an unexpected demand for money before the thing can be released — onto the person you were trying to be generous to.

Why buying it yourself and sending it goes wrong

The cost lands on the recipient, not on you. Whatever charges arise in Egypt are generally settled at the Egyptian end. Your gift arrives as a bill for somebody else, which is the opposite of a gift.

The amount is unpredictable. You cannot know it in advance from abroad, which means you cannot warn them, which means it is a surprise.

You cannot fix anything from where you are. If something is held or queried, the person dealing with it is your mother, not you.

Nobody enjoys any of it. The thoughtful thing turns into a chore with an invoice attached.

The alternative

Order it here, to their door, at one fixed final price you pay yourself.

You choose the item — from the American shop you would have used anyway.

We come back with one number in Egyptian pounds, everything inside: product, shipping, Egyptian customs, our work.

You pay it. All of it, from wherever you are.

It arrives at their door with nothing to pay on arrival. Not a smaller amount. Nothing.

The person receiving it never sees a price, never settles anything, and never has to go anywhere. That is the entire difference.

Practical things worth knowing

Give us their address and their phone number. Delivery is arranged by a person, and that conversation happens with whoever is receiving it. Tell us who to call.

Tell us if it is a surprise. We will keep the arrangement between us and them as light as we can, and we will not spoil it by explaining what is in the box.

Timing. Two to three weeks from the day we buy, so a month before an occasion is comfortable and a fortnight is a gamble. See how long it takes. If the date is fixed and close, buy something in Egypt instead — we will tell you so.

Choose well for the arithmetic. The same rules apply as for any order: dense and valuable travels well, big and cheap does not. A watch, a bag, perfume or headphones make excellent gifts and price well. A large boxed set of inexpensive things prices badly. What it really costs has the comparison, and what not to buy from abroad is the short version.

You can pay from outside Egypt. Card payments work from abroad. If you would rather someone here settled it, that works too.

For the ordinary things, too

This is not only for occasions. Parents needing a specific supplement, a replacement part for something at home, a piece of equipment nobody stocks in Egypt — the same route works, and it means the person here does not have to manage any of it.

What we will not do

We will not describe a purchase as something it is not to make it cheaper or easier, and we will not accept an order we do not think should come in. If what you want is restricted, we will say so rather than send it and let somebody else discover the problem.

How to start

Send us a link — or a photo of it, if you do not have one — with the recipient's address and phone number. A person comes back with one fixed price, usually within hours, and you decide from there.