# Airmail from Chicago to Taipei?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airmail-from-chicago-to-taipei/381505>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [November 23, 2006, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airmail-from-chicago-to-taipei/381505 "2006-11-23T01:34:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\
**Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airmail-from-chicago-to-taipei/381505/1 "2006-11-23T01:34:55Z")

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To make a long story short, I need to get some legal documents (which I haven’t created yet) from Chicago to Taipei before Dec. 7. I’d rather not shell out Lord knows how much for Fedex if I don’t have to. I am hoping to draft the documents tomorrow while my Thanksgiving stuff is in the oven, and mail them on Friday.

Does anyone have recent experience with sending regular airmail from the U.S. to Taiwan? How long does it typically take?

( @&%@^%@ friend didn’t listen to me six months ago when I suggested the idea then…it wouldn’t have been an emergency if he’d listened to me! But that’s a rant for another day.)

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**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\
**Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airmail-from-chicago-to-taipei/381505/2 "2006-11-23T02:05:33Z")

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Well, the [USPS Mailing Products & Services site](http://www.usps.com/business/mailingtools/mailingproducts.htm?from=home&page=mailingproductsservices) gives the following information for international mailing:

```auto

Service Options Price Speed
Global Express Guaranteed $25.25 and up 1-3 days
Global Express Mail $16.25 and up 3-5 days
Global Priority Mail $4.25 and up 4-6 days
Global Airmail Letter-Post $0.63 and up 4-7 days
Global Economy Letter-Post $2.85 and up 4-6 weeks

```

I went to FedEx’s website and selected shipping from Arlington, VA to Taiwan, 0.5 lbs of business documents. The results for picking up right now:

```auto

Delivery Date/Time Service Rate (US$)
6:00 PM Mon Nov 27, 2006 International Priority $37.13
6:00 PM Wed Nov 29, 2006 International Economy $50.83

```

I’ve no idea why the slower service is more expensive.

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**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\
**Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airmail-from-chicago-to-taipei/381505/3 "2006-11-23T02:07:27Z")

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P.s. I used Arlington because it’s on the East Coast. I figured that would be good for a long distance.

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**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\
**Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airmail-from-chicago-to-taipei/381505/4 "2006-11-23T02:15:09Z")

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[QUOTE=Monty]  
P.s. I used Arlington because it’s on the East Coast. I figured that would be good for a long distance.  
[/QUOTE]

Thanks - I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me to check the USPS. Fedex is $80 for similar service. I haven’t had good luck with international express shipments via USPS, but then my last attempt was in 1991 to the Soviet Union; hopefully things now to Taiwan are somewhat better than that. 🙂

Well, let’s hope airmail gets it there soon enough that the express shipment isn’t necessary; my friend says it typically takes less than a week, but then if he weren’t being so boneheaded, I wouldn’t need to ask the question in the first place.