places to purchase luggage/boxes/containers

phobal

I'm going to be in India April 30-May 25, and I'm coming in with nothing more than a backpack with the core essentials. However, I expect to come out with a lot more than I'm coming in with . Stupid friends. I'm wondering if there's a luggage storage place in DEL, or if it would just make sense to buy a box or some luggage in Delhi (Jaipur or Mumbai are acceptable as well) so I can haul all my stuff off as checked luggage.

Another option of course is to mail the stuff, which I am going to do for quite a few things, but I'd like to carry some of the more valuable items home with me.

Any advice?

04274108

Hi we were in the same position and decided to buy while we were there. Our plane left from Delhi and our hotel was about a km away from NDLS. Outside of NDLS and across the street are a lot of shops that sell luggage. I went from shop to shop and scoped out some pieces and some prices. All of the shop keepers saw this of course and as I walked along, the pricing got better and better. Eventually, I picked up a couple of large plastic suitcases (one shop keeper jumped on them to demonstrate their durability) and a large duffle bag for about $12. There were more than enough to bring all our purchases home as checked baggage.

All I can say is don't buy the first suitcase you see. Let the shopkeeper put the price on the table first, negotiate, and don't be afraid to walk away if you don't like the store's lowest price. If the shop keeper can go lower, he'll follow you out the door and quote prices lower than what he said in the store.

ddevadatta

pholbal:

I do not know the Delhi area but I am sure there are plenty of places to buy luggage. Locals can help ya. Also buy the cheaper variety and also bang it up a bit so it looks used. Better still buy used luggage if you can. This will avoid folks getting into it. They tend to steal from newer looking luggage.

Also carry all valuables on your carry-on baggae. I wouldn't put it in checked luggage or even mail valuables.

Hope this helps... and happy travels...

phobal

Ha, of course I don't put my valuables on my checked luggage! I'm naive, but not mad!!

When I was talking about mailing, I was talking about gifts, like sandals, gift items, books, etcetc. I've heard that the post is extremely reliable and reasonably priced, any contradictions?

Nick-H

I have bad experience of Indian zips, but if you only need these cases for a one-off trip that probably doesn't matter. But do make sure the zip is not the only thing holding it shut.

Problem is, a bad zip looks the same as a good zip until it falls apart. How can one tell?

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phobal

Delhi Ghandi has one of those plastic suitcase wrappers that you can go to after your bag clears the 10398810328 security checks from what I hear.

LuAnnandJawahar

Yikes, where'd you hear that? Extremely slow, yes. Extremely reliable--maybe somebody was talking about DHL or UPS etc.
Just buy a cheap suitcase or two. Do check the zippers carefully especially if you buy a couple of duffle bags.

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phobal

Weird. My friend who lives in Mumbai says the India Postal service is fabulous and efficent, and the reviewers on mouthshut seem to agree. I'm going to India for a month with a 24 litre backpack, I do not have the capacity to carry every gift that I get from a friend, and I'm not looking for FedEx priority overnight . DHL reliable? HA! They're bad enough in the Western World . But please, do tell me about your horrors, or any horrors that you have heard of when it comes to international parcel shipping. I'll definately buy luggage somewhere during my last week of consumption to check on my outbound flight, but I cannot realistically haul around luggage for my delhi-kolkatta-chennai-bangalore-goa-mumbai-jodhpur-jaipur-delhi journey .