Vietnam Souvenir?

Others had already mentioned the cheapest means of shipping items from Vietnam to the U.S. - go by sea.

Shipment by sea is not as straightforward as shipping by air or smaller packages, because you have to go through a freight forwarding service to ship large items. Contrary to a previous answer, the limit to what you can ship is not due to how much a crane can lift. Rather, your limit is how much you can stuff into a shipping container, which is a global standard that any shipping company can advise you of.

Maersk is the largest shipping company in Vietnam (and one of the largest in the world). You can call their Vietnam office in either Hanoi or Saigon for reference to a freight forwarding company or a shipping company who can better accommodate your needs. Their Web site link is as follows:

http://www.maersklogistics.com/sw33341.asp

If you have smaller packages or want to ship by air, your best bet is DHL. One of the co-founders of DHL had lived in Vietnam for years and invested heavily into the country. This leads to why DHL is the most trusted and most reliable shipping service in Vietnam.

Information for DHL in Vietnam is at the following link:

http://www.dhl.com/wrd/office/vn.html

Good luck!

I was quoted around US$125.00 to ship one m3 by boat to the US - there may have been some additional handling / forwarding charges on the US end, I don't know.

An organization I worked with sent some materials to the US by airfreight, and the price quotes were varied. So, make sure if you do air freight that you get a number of quotes. Saved about $75 with the materials that were shipped - total cost was less than $200 but I don't recall details.

ship is cheaper typically then airplane if time is not of essence.

Air freight is faster but more costly and has weight restrictions.

Ships are slow, but the limit is what a crane on the dock can lift and the price your willing to pay

ship is much cheaper than plane but it also takes a longer time to deliver

ship is cheaper but it takes at least 3 months........