Recently a couple of people reached out to me on IG asking for recommendations about courier services for sending parcels to Armenia. You might have made good friends in Armenia and now you want to send them a gift. Or maybe you visited Armenia and loved our country so much that you decided to move here, and now you are looking to ship your belongings here. So, let’s have a look at courier services that deliver parcels to Armenia. I’ve done my research to list a couple of convenient options for you, with prices, timings, and other details. If you find it helpful, ping me on Twitter or Instagram with #ArmeniaTravelTips. Let me know if this post made your life a tiny bit easier.
Before I proceed to the description of courier services, let me make one thing clear. When going through the list you will notice big discrepancies in prices. For example, FedEx and UPS ship a 3 kg parcel to Armenia for about 800 USD while Planet Express ships a 4.5 kg package to Armenia for USD 63 to 73. The reason for this is that Planet Express is an intermediary or a broker company, like many others. Intermediaries typically ship at a much better price. They have a higher volume of orders that can be passed on to the courier service provider. That’s why don’t be surprised if you see this discrepancy.
Another thing that caught my attention is that there are a couple of good online shopping courier services whose prices are quite reasonable. You can also ship a parcel by a shopping courier service. For example, Globbing will receive your parcel at their foreign warehouse and deliver it to Armenia. These sites are super useful. In the case of Globbing, you can use the “Buy for me” service if you want to buy something from a shop abroad and have it delivered to you in Armenia.
So much for now! Let’s go ahead with the list of courier services that in my opinion are worth your attention if you’re shopping around for a shipping provider to get a package to Armenia.
These are the most common courier services that ship to Armenia:
- UPS
- FedEx
- DHL
- Parcelabc
- Cargo Express
- Onex
- Globbing
UPS
UPS Armenia is one of the fastest and most reliable courier services to Armenia. Its official representative in Armenia is “EXPRESS-HAYK” LLC. The company carries out imports, and exports to and from Armenia for individual and legal entities.
Although your parcel will reach its destination in less than a week, I would say it’s rather expensive. A 3 kg parcel will cost you somewhere between 800 to 1000 USD if you ship from the USA. I understand you may choose this option if it is absolutely necessary. But if you have some extra time, there are other options available. Also, as mentioned earlier, many intermediaries ship through UPS at much lower rates.
FedEx
FedEx Armenia is pretty similar to UPS when it comes to rates and timing. You won’t gain in time or money if you choose either, although I would say that FedEx is slightly cheaper. In terms of timing, it also will ship a 3 kg parcel to Armenia in less than a week. These two are global competitors, so it’s not surprising that they often price-match against each other, and they offer comparative service reliability.
DHL
DHL Armenia is a better option for deliveries to Armenia. It is present in over 220 countries globally providing various solutions to logistic needs. It is cheaper than FedEx or UPS. For example, a 1 kg package may cost you USD 110. So, this is a much more reasonable price! The catch is in timing, unfortunately. These are quite unpredictable. Shipping to Armenia may take anywhere between 5 to 25 business days, regardless of where you ship from. The exact timing depends on the shipping method, of which they use a whole plethora – planes, trucks, ships, trains, etc. Also, it’s worth noting that DHL also often acts as an intermediary by actually outsourcing shipping your parcel with FedEx, UPS, or others. What’s important for you is that even in that case you don’t have to pay anything extra.
Parcelabc
Parcelabc is a less-known provider, but actually, it’s a better option both in terms of money and time. It is more affordable and you can use it even if you want to relocate. Or you may want to ship your luggage because it is too big for the plane. Also, you don’t need to go through the hassle of handling a stack of documentation. You can check online exactly how much you will pay and how long it will take to ship to Armenia. But for example, in the case of shipping from the USA, a 3 kg parcel will cost you less than USD 60.
Cargo Express
Cargo Express is an online platform that offers global transport services. The deliveries are made either by air or road. They are better known in post-Soviet countries, like Kazakhstan, but they also deliver to remote locations in Asia. Their pricing makes their offer very attractive – the price for a 6 kg parcel is only 8600 AMD or USD 25. It will take 10-12 days to deliver. But, unfortunately, their online platform isn’t very English-friendly. So, I only recommend this carrier in case you’re going to visit their office personally, or if you can actually communicate in Armenian.
Onex
Onex is huge in Armenia! Most locals have heard of it, and many have tried their services at least once. They offer regular parcel shipping to and from Armenia, as well as act as an intermediary between buyers in Armenia and large marketplaces around the world. For example, Armenians who buy stuff on Amazon, usually use Onex to arrange delivery to Armenia. I think Onex is one of the best options for courier services shipping to Armenia. For example, you can ship to Armenia from the USA in 3-9 working days and pay only 6000 AMD or 15 USD per kg.
Here is the price list for the USA:
- USA (shipping by air) – 3-9 working days – 15 USD per kg
- USA (shipping by sea) – 3-4 months – 15000 AMD or 36 USD per 10 kg or about 4 USD per kg
Globbing
Globbing is one of the most affordable options. And it is very popular in Armenia, easily competing in popularity with Onex. This is partly because many online shops around the world don’t ship to Armenia, and this is where Globbing enters the scene to help Armenian buyers with their shipping needs.
Globbing is an international online shopping platform that allows you to take advantage of all the benefits of online shopping, shopping in 7 countries: USA, UK, Germany, China, UAE, Italy, and Russia. I think they intentionally target such markets where they know Armenians are more likely to buy stuff. The thing is many locals travel to those countries or have friends and family there, so they are often familiar with goods and products in those countries and sometimes they crave those. 🙂
Globbing ships from the USA in 3-9 working days. The price is 6000 AMD or 15 USD per kg. This amount may go down if you ship large goods. It is also possible to use an express shipping service if you’re shipping from the USA, in which case the shipping time is only 2-4 days, and it will cost 8000 AMD or 20 USD.
Is your courier service to Armenia insured?
The answer is actually pretty straightforward: if your courier to Armenia offers insurance (and most of them absolutely do), then you’ll be asked if you want to pay extra for insurance. And here is where I step in and say my resounding ‘Yes!’. 🙂
Please ensure your parcels when you are shipping to Armenia. We are not the most organized culture, we have to be honest. And logistics is not the strongest skill of my people. So, better safe than sorry. Especially when you consider that globally 1 in every 10 shipping packages arrive damaged (source), you can imagine that in Armenia we don’t fare above the global average.
Wrapping up
As you have seen, you don’t need to spend tons of money on shipping to Armenia. There are lots of affordable options. If shipping to Armenia is on your agenda, try the broker or intermediary companies that are much more affordable. And if you are also interested in the cost of your stay, read my post about the cost of living in Armenia. I have another good write-up for solo female travelers to Armenia, which you may also want to check out.
Well, I hope you got at least some answers to your questions on cargo services to Armenia. If you have other questions or concerns, don’t forget to ping me on Twitter or Instagram with #ArmeniaTravelTips.
Featured image credit: Photo by Sahand Babali on Unsplash (edited)
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