As I was working toward venturing out this morning, a courier from Chronopost called to say he would be here in 15 minutes with my bags. I was expecting Monday. Five minutes later I was heading down in the elevator, he called again. . . Waiting right outside.

And the bonus: no customs duty to pay !

So at this point I have these data points to work with: Two boxes with copious documentation get taxed, two suitcases with equally copious documentation don’t get taxed. Until I learn something else, I propose to do all my shipping in suitcases.

NB: I’ve read multiple commentaries online (usually Facebook groups about living in France) asserting that delivery companies make minimal efforts to actually deliver one’s packages. My experience differs; perhaps it’s the difference between big city (Montpellier is France’s 7th largest) and smaller or rural environments. YMMV. Caveat emptor.