International bike shipping

[CNY rider]

I’m looking for suggestions regarding bike shipping this summer.
I would like to take my coupled bike with me to Italy in its S&S case and then ship it back in the case separate from our luggage.
It will be an extra checked bag on United for the flight to Italy which will be $100.
I will use it the first week of our trip and then not need it any more as we travel to a couple of cities. So I would like to just ship it home at that point in the trip instead of lugging it around.

Bikeflights quoting me around $450 to do that.

Hoping there are better options.

Thanks.

[tuscanyswe]

Italian post office will be cheapest. Just like usps is cheapest for frames from usa and as swedish post if cheapest for frames out of sweden.

[rccardr]

Depending on where you'll be, might be worth checking with an Italian frame maker to see if they will let you piggyback on their shipping contract. Most stuff out of Italy charges around 100 Euros to ship a whole bike in a box, so much cheaper than full retail.

Also might want to check with some of the bike oriented hotels like Lungomare to see if they have any ideas or suggestions. Would also touch base with DHL, as a lot of the bikes I get from overseas seem to come through them.

[Polyglot]

Just a small word of warning, I have arranged for private (not business) shipping a few hundred bikes from Italy to the US over the years, the post office is definitely the most appealing price wise and is dependable, however be very careful if you ship anything with the mail when shipping south of Bologna. Anything North of Bologna usually gets shipped through Milan and anything South of Bologna is shipped through Rome. I have heard many many horror stories of shipments disappearing when passing through Rome to take that risk.

[CNY rider]

Just a small word of warning, I have arranged for private (not business) shipping a few hundred bikes from Italy to the US over the years, the post office is definitely the most appealing price wise and is dependable, however be very careful if you ship anything with the mail when shipping south of Bologna. Anything North of Bologna usually gets shipped through Milan and anything South of Bologna is shipped through Rome. I have heard many many horror stories of shipments disappearing when passing through Rome to take that risk.

Much appreciated along with the posts above.
Fortunately shipping from northern Italy.......