- The carseat we got was Century/Graco Accel 5-PT, Model A45100STH. It is
reversible, so it works from 0-40 pounds. It might be a little big for tiny
infants, but none of the girls from China are newborn, so that should not be a
problem. We bought it at Toys R Us for about $60 I think.
- Make sure the box you get it in is in good shape. Open the box and make sure
the seat is OK. Tape a shipping label (see below) directly to the seat, in case
the box gets damaged. Then put the seat back in the box and fill all the empty
space with bubble wrap or foam peanuts.
- Put a mailing label on the outside of the box and on the seat. You can write
the label in English. I printed mine on 8.5 x 11 paper in large type from MS
Word, so it was very easy to read. You can get the hotel addresses from their
web sites. Also put on the label "Hold for Mr. JONES (or whatever). Arriving
2002/11/25 (or whatever)." Completely cover the label
with tape so it won't get ripped.
- Tape the whole box very well all the way around several times; it will get
badly abused during shipping.
- You can try to email the hotel to tell them that you are sending a box to
yourself. Some hotels are good about answering email; others are not.
- The box for this carseat does meet US Postal size regulations, but it is worth
double checking. Ours made it by only one inch. We paid about $80 for Global Express shipping and it took about
10 days to Nanchang. There appear to be different shipping options now, though,
so you should check
http://www.uspsglobal.com/ for the latest info. You will have to fill out a
couple more forms at the post office and add an official shipping label and
customs form.
- The airplanes in China are all US made (at least that I saw). The flight
attendants may tell you that you cannot use the seat or that it will not fit.
They are not used to seeing them. Just show them (politely) that it will fit.
Once we demonstrated how it worked and was not in anyone's way, the attendants
were fine with it.
- As far as I know, there is only one airline in China, so you don't have a
choice. BTW, the planes were newer and cleaner than in the US. Yes, we are still
using the seat in our car now.
Chuck Connell