How to Get a Parcel from the Turkish Post Office

I think that if Franz Kafka ever had to pick up a box from the Istanbul Customs office, he would have had enough fodder for another novel. I think he absolutely could have penned a terrifying and disorienting novel called The Post, in the same vein as The Castle or The Trial.

Because having to pick up a package at the Istanbul Posta Müdürlüğü is no easy feat. I've had to do it a few times since moving to Turkey, most recently a couple of weeks ago to pick up a Christmas box from my mother-in-law that had been languishing at the Customs office for three weeks with nary a note from the post office saying that it had arrived.

I don't know why the Customs office refuses to send notes saying that a package has arrived and you must come and pay a tax on it. The only way that you can track a package is by getting a Customs number from the person who mailed the package to you and then plug it into this website (in Turkish) to see where it is in the Turkish system. After that, though, you then have to actually call the post office -- 0212 565 1400 -- and ask what reference number they gave your package so that you can go pick it up.

Don't be surprised if, when you call, the phone is either busy for hours on end, or it rings for ages without anyone picking it up, or you are immediately routed to a phone maze in which pressing zero multiple times does not connect you to an operator but instead disconnects the line. Keep trying. Eventually, even if it takes several dozen attempts, someone will answer the phone with a very angry "Alo?!".

The reason I had to physically pick up my mother-in-law's box from the post office was because the declared Customs value of the items in the box exceeded 100 euros, the limit in Turkey for Customs-free boxes. 

And because the box was valued at $204, which was well over the $130 limit, I had to pay a Customs tax on it.

This is why you are supposed to either 1) Lie about the value of the box on the Customs Declaration Form; or 2) Separate the items in the box into several, smaller boxes so that the value of each box is listed as under 100 euros. (I highly recommend option 2, though I know many, many people who employ option 1.)

If you've ever had to go to the post office and pick up a box at Customs, you know there's something very Kafkaesque about it.

Upon arriving, push your way past the gaggle of people languishing in front of the entrance and go to Window 1. Show the employee the slip of paper on which you wrote the parcel number that you got earlier on the telephone. No words are necessary here, as the man will sort through his shoebox of tissue-thin paper to find the original Customs Declaration Form that they removed from your box.

Go to Window 8. You thought I was going to say 2, didn't you? Ha! I told you this was Kafkaesque. At Window 8, hand the Customs form to the gentleman behind the window. This employee will find the box for you and pass it along to his colleagues. Stand around idly while you wait for your name to be called. When it is, you will watch as another employee opens the box and inspects the contents. Then, a third employee will calculate the Customs tax you have to pay, which is based on the value that is written on the Customs form. I don't know the formula for this, but for my box, which was valued at $204, I had to pay 63 TL.

Now go back to Window 1. Hand the man there all the slips of paper you now have. He will stamp a few things and give you a few slips of paper back.

Take all of these to Window 2. Here is where you pay the Customs tax. Only cash is accepted and exact change is required. Annoying? Quite. Oh, and you can't find out in advance via telephone how much tax you have to pay. The only way to find out is to go to the Customs office yourself.

Now go to Window 9. Show the gentleman here all the slips of paper you have accumulated. Show him your passport. Pay him 2.05 TL. 1.50 TL is a clearance tax and 0.55 TL is a stamp tax, though if you ask him why you have to pay this money after you've already paid Customs, he simply stares at you. Best not to ask.

Go back to Window 8 and give the employee there all your little slips of paper. Within a few minutes, he will emerge with your package and voila! You are done!

How to get to the Istanbul Posta Müdürlüğü (Davutpaşa Caddesi No. 99, Cevizlibağ, next to the Ülker Fabrikası): You can take a bus (most likely the 92T) from Taksim but since I'm a full-time working girl I don't have loads of time to waste during workhours on public transport so I take a taxi from Taksim Square (22 TL one-way, about 15-20 minutes) and a taxi on my return. Don't bother having the taxi driver wait for you while you get your box; there will be plenty of other taxis you can hop into on your way back.

Comments

[Stranger]

Kafakesque indeed. It would be funny if it weren't happening to you, right?

I'd say Cevizlibağ has significantly improved the system since I was last there (minimum 2 hours each time, and once they lost one of my slips of paper along the way, blamed it on me, and made me go back to each of the 5 windows I had visited to inquire after my paper).

One way to avoid this whole thing is to have packages sent to someone you know's business (I have stuff sent to my husband), where there will always be someone around to accept it. Make sure, though, that the name of the business isn't written on the package-- only the address. If it has a business name on it, it will be treated as a business import and go into a whole 'nother world of baffling taxing and inspection. Usually, it's best to have it sent to your own name-- customs are higher on some things for Turkish citizens.

[Barbara J. Isenberg]

Having the package go to a business does not ensure that the package gets delivered to you. This was not a case of them trying to deliver the package and me not being available. The package was addressed to the firm where I work so there is always someone here to collect packages, even if I am not here. The reason they kept the box was because it was over the Customs limit and I had the pay a tax on it. The post office will not deliver a package that requires a Customs payment, NOR will they send a note saying that your box has arrived and is sitting at the Customs office waiting for you to pay tax on it and retrieve it. It is quite baffling why they do not bother letting me know the box is there and I have to go get it, which is where the website I linked to comes in handy. At least there you can see that it has arrived!

[turkey's for life]

You see Barbara, I've just had a good old chuckle at this - because it happened to someone else rather than me. I know I would be absolutely fuming of it was me! :)

I'm just hoping now that no one sees fit to send me a parcel from the UK!

Julia

[Barbara J. Isenberg]

Hahahaha Julia!! It IS funny if it's not you. And if you can appreciate the utter absurdity while doing it, it's not really so bad. I've picked up packages from the customs office in Izmir before and it is just as weird -- in fact, weirder because NO windows are marked at all! There isn't even a pretense to have some kind of semblance of order there!

[Arif]

Dear Barbara,

You mean to say that you got your package the SAME day you went there? My God, we've improved a thousand fold.. and you didn't even know anyone there, right?, no insider helped you? :-)

Yesterday, a friend of mine arrived at the DMV here in Chicago at 5 PM and got done (some licence plate thing) in 10 minutes.. we're having a party tonight to celebrate!

What you didn't tell us though:

1. Anyone reading the newspaper?
2. Anyone knitting?
3. Anyone online checking the horse races or their futbol team or FB (Facebook, not Fenerbahce)?
4. Anyone cutting into your line? Same person cutting into your line again?
5. Anyone cleaning the floors with everyone milling around and re-dirtying the floors as they are cleaned?
6. Anyone accepting a guest in their office for an extended (about 3-4 hr) non-business chat? More than one guest?

Inquiring minds want to know!!

Stay warm, stay happy..

[bridget]

haha! this is hilarious because I just did the very same thing...a nice way to spend 3 hours. My kafka story started with having a non-mailman deliver a slip of paper and having me sign it. I then took a trip to the local Arnavutkoy PTT (which is also no small feat as it is only open from 8:30-12:30, and then 1:30-3:30!) where they told me I had to go to the Bebek PTT. At the Bebek PTT they told me we had to go to the main PTT in Cevizlibağ where I went thru basically exactly what you went thru. I loved that there was no need to visit windows #2-7! From now on I am telling my family and friends to send me packages in only small boxes and envelopes. By the way, did they tell you that no food of any kind is allowed to be sent to Turkiye? I've received 5 or 6 boxes with chocolates and other foods so I was wondering if they told you this too.

[bridget]

Oh and one more thing I forgot to mention...the package I received was not over the customs limit (it was around $30) and nothing had been damaged and the address was correct. They gave us no reason at all for why they held it at customs for a month, and I got to watch them as they cut open the box to verify what was inside. sheesh!

[Anonymous]

The situation in Ankara:

1. They do leave a slip in your mailbox.
2. When you go to the parcel postoffice, they check the number of the slip on the computer--which tells the clerk exactly where in the huge postoffice warehouse your parcel is.
3. You are sent to a clerk who pulls out a form with your customs duty (on the already-examined parcel) has already been calculated. You are also given advice about never allowing the value to exceed 100 Euros so as to avoid any hassle.
4. You go to one window (a few steps away) and pay the duty (and get praised on how "guzel" your Turkish is.
5. You go to another window to pay the stamp tax.
6. You present your receipt and are presented with your parcel.
7. The reason for the separate payments: The customs duty goes to the Ministry of Customs. The stamp tax and storage fee goes to the Post Office.

[Barbara J. Isenberg]

Hahahahaha, Arif! Very funny! As a matter of fact, this particular day that I went the post office was pretty packed and the poor guys behind the various counters had almost no choice but to actually work. Their little cups of tea got cold!!! Good on you for having a party for getting anything done at the DMV! When we are in the US this summer -- insallah -- we have to get our drivers licenses renewed and I am NOT looking forward to having to explain that yes, I DO live in Pennsylvania but happen to be living in Turkey now. That always goes over very well....

[Barbara J. Isenberg]

Your whole ordeal sounds awful, Bridget. What a pain in the ass. I don't understand, as I'm sure you don't either, why in the world they kept the package at customs when it was only valued at $30. That doesn't make any sense. I wonder if on the customs box it was written that there was something inside -- like an iPad -- that was worth more than $30 and so they were checking that out? I've never been told that I can't have food delivered here. I get peanut butter and candy and brown sugar and chocolate chips often from my family and I've never had a problem with it. This is why I like having things delivered via DHL. I just can't do it often because it's so damn expensive!

[Barbara J. Isenberg]

Are you serious about this? Wow. That sounds excellent!! I wish Istanbul and Izmir would get their act together and, in this sense at least, be a little bit more like Ankara!

[Rebecca]

The best option is to take a thick-skinned Turkish person with you such as my husband. He went with a friend of mine whose elderly father had quoted a vastly inflated value on her parcel for insurance purposes! My husband quickly got her tax reduced from 50TL to the 2TL handling charge, and when she got her next parcel she went alone and they remembered her - same again.
Sorry you had such a nightmare though - sounds even worse than a visit to the emniyet!

[Barbara J. Isenberg]

Taking someone with me to navigate is an excellent idea! Now to find someone who will go with me.....

 

[Aaron]

I had a postal person tell me that the value to write on the box is the value at which you think you could resell the items - like at a garage sale. That made everything easier. Unfortunately last year, my mother had the idea that the higher the value, the better the care that would be taken. Nothing like paying 20 TL in taxes on $10 worth of stuff.

[Jedilost]

this was indedd hilarious. if it is going to make you feel better, the situation is not less Kafkaesque for Turkish citizens either. bringing someone local with you hoping that they will help you navigate may not work either because most of the times the paperwork is very complicated as you explained already, and there arent any instructions of any sort in any language which well help you to figure what you should do for a starter.

[Barbara J. Isenberg]

That really is an excellent idea! Too often people tell me "Well, why don't you write the full value in case it's lost and you can collect the insurance?" And I always want to say, first of all, most things don't get lost (knock on wood) and second of all, insurance won't cover the whole cost anyway so don't bother. Your mom's idea is cute and sweet but I hope she hasn't done that since!

 

 

[Barbara J. Isenberg]

True dat!! Funnily enough, I didn't write this in my post, the taxi driver who was waiting for me outside came in at one point and said to the guy at Window 1 (the second time I was there), "Hey, she has to get back to work. Can we move this along?" I sucked in my breath because I actually thought the guy behind the window was going to sock him. Instead, he stared at the taxi driver and said, "No" and proceeded to move just as slowly as he had been. So, yeah, bringing a local isn't exactly the best way to "move things along"!!

 

[E.S.]

Similar experience. I had my mother ship my winter things in a big box and they arrived in October of 2009. I paid $150 dollars for shipping. I also had other things like books and my running shoes etc. in the box. Everything was clearly listed on the customs form taped to the box. I got a slip about coming down to the post office (I think the one I went to in Istanbul was located in Kasimpasa). Anyways, went there and went to the various windows. The kept asking about a cell phone in the box. I said I didn't have any electronics in it. They wanted me to pay a huge tax since my box was insured for quite a bit of money (but the value of everything in the box was a lot if I had to replace that stuff). I learned from that experience not to insure it for much money. The cut open my box and never found the cell phone they insisted was in my box. I refused to pay the tax. After the man took a lot of time looking at my passport and discussing the issue with other PTT workers they let me have my box and I didn't pay one single kurus.

I have had boxes from American shipped to me in Izmir and I haven't had any problems yet. :-)

[Barbara J. Isenberg]

Sigh. I really do believe that they have no idea what they are doing over there. I read on someone else's blog that she had shipped towels from the US to Turkey (which is insane, but beside the point) and the guys in Istanbul customs wanted her to pay tax on the towels, thinking she was going to resell them! I mean, seriously?!?

[ish]

Where is the office located? I've had several people tell me its next to Atatürk airport and others say in Zeytinburnu/Topkapi. Do you have general directions?

[Barbara J. Isenberg]

Hi there, the office is not really close to Ataturk Airport. Every time I go, I have to remind myself of where it is. Ask any taxi driver to take you to the Ulker Fabrikasi in Topkapi. The PTT is right across the street from that. 

[Dean Clementson]

I'm just commenting to add my experience, and to say thanks for the very useful info. I'm a Brit in Istanbul and I had a load of gear posted to me from home (I'm cycling, so I didn't want to carry it for the 2,500 miles/ 4,000 km through Europe). For the record, I'm staying in Sultanahmet, so I just caught the tram to Topkapi. 

First, I had to put the parcel number into the Turkish Post Office website - there was an English portal, at least, but subsequent screens were in Turkish. This simply said that the parcel was held at customs - no information about where, or how to claim it. And of course, no one had told me that if was being held at customs. 

Onto the phones, then. Since I speak no Turkish, I had someone from the hostel call. Even he was becoming annoyed at how few people were answering their phones and the circular nature of the exchanges (you know the drill: person A says to call person B, person B doesn't answer the phone, nor does person C, person D tells you it's really person Q you want and the person who eventually gives you the information is person A).  We eventually got some help from someone at the PO, who confirmed that it was at Topkapu depot, as my man had suspected it would be. 

So off I toddled. To get there, the best way was by tram. I forgot to ask anyone how the tram system 

I asked a security guard for directions to the Post Office, and as his mate was headed in that direction, I tagged along with him. The PO was closed for its dinner hour. 

After dinner, I went in and was eventually waved to the right area. It was mostly amusing. I went to counter 1 to get the packing slip, then to counter 8 for no apparent reason, then to counter 5, where I was told to wait. They brought out my parcel and opened it and asked me what was inside. Just bike parts, I told them. As my sister had put 100 as the value and this was over the 75-euro limit, I had to pay tax of 52 lira (I did try to convince him that it was 100 USD, but this didn't wash). 

But that wasn't the end: I had to go back to counter 1 for the old geezer to write something across the packing slip, to counter 2 to pay, then finally back to counter 5 to get my parcel. Nearly finally: the woman at counter 2 had kept my packing slip. I needed this to collect my parcel from counter 5, and the bloke wouldn't let me have my parcel without it (despite that being my third encounter with him). And the woman at counter 2 was reluctant to let me have even the third copy of the packing slip - being dumb and foreign and a bit loud at this point served me well. I presented my packing slip to counter 5 man, who charged me 2 lira for some reason. I didn't argue, just handed over a 5-lira note. I still didn't argue when he gave me 2.50 lira in change. I and my package were free! It hadn't even taken an hour.