Get a Free German Shipping Address: mailboxde Package Forwarding Walkthrough (Oct 20, 2026)
One-line takeaway: Plenty of German shops won't ship internationally. Grab a free German address in 2 minutes, have parcels sent to a German warehouse, then forward them worldwide — all online.
What you need
- An email address (to receive your German address)
- PayPal or a bank card (to pay forwarding fees; registration itself is free)
- Heads-up: the name you register with must exactly match the recipient name you use when ordering from German shops. A mismatch means your parcel can't be matched and gets returned — a real pitfall covered below.
Step by step
Step 1: Register free on the official site
Open mailboxde.com and hit REGISTER FOR FREE front and center. The company has been doing exactly one thing since 2011 (14 years): German address + worldwide forwarding, claiming ~200,000 shipments a year for 140,000 customers.
Step 2: Your German address lands in your inbox in 2 minutes
Within 2 minutes of registering, you get an email with your personal German delivery address. Use it as the shipping address at any German webshop. When a parcel arrives at the warehouse, you get another email the same day — that's the 4-step flow shown on the homepage screenshot above.
Pricing, upfront: receiving parcels is free — you only pay when forwarding. Parcels up to 2 kg cost €3.85 service fee inside the EU (€5.44 outside the EU), plus actual postage (DHL/UPS etc. by weight). Want several parcels consolidated into one box? That's an extra €3 per consolidation plus box material.
Step 3: Check the postage table for your country first
Before ordering, check postage: the site lists postage tables per country — China is on the list — click through to see DHL / UPS / Deutsche Post rates by weight bracket:
Also worth a glance at an independent comparison: mailboxde's free membership and no receiving fee make it ideal if you only forward occasionally — no membership to buy for a single parcel. Alternatives: myGermany (fuller service, more fee items), Shopogolic (addresses in several countries).
Step 4: Order from a German shop → warehouse notifies you → pick a shipping option and pay
The full loop: order from a German shop (recipient name = your registration name, address = your mailboxde address) → get the "parcel arrived" email → log in, compare DHL/UPS/Deutsche Post rates → pay by PayPal or bank transfer → parcel ships, typically 2–6 business days inside the EU.
Real user reviews (good and bad) are worth a skim on the company's own feedback page before you order:
Notes, costs, pitfalls
- Names must match: if your registration name ≠ the recipient name on the order, the warehouse can't match the parcel and it goes back. One reviewer lost months and international shipping fees over a misspelled name. Spend 30 extra seconds at registration checking letter by letter.
- Check the banned-goods list first: batteries, liquids, counterfeits etc. are excluded — the site publishes the list, compare before ordering.
- Customs outside the EU: shipments outside the EU get a customs declaration filled by the warehouse, but any duties are on you. Factor that in for high-value items.
- Retro website, responsive support: the site design looks a decade old, but users report fast email support (replies within minutes in some cases). Don't judge the service by the web design.
- Use cases: eBay.de second-hand finds, German Amazon small appliances/baby goods, and niche European brands that don't ship to your country.
Sources
- mailboxde official homepage (registration flow, 4 steps, €3.85/€5.44 fees): https://www.mailboxde.com/
- mailboxde postage tables by country (incl. China and non-EU countries): https://www.mailboxde.com/postage-from-germany.html
- Germany forwarder comparison (7 services, membership/receiving fees): https://www.worldwideshoppingguide.com/package-forwarding-en/germany-companies/
- mailboxde real user reviews (including the name-mismatch return case): https://www.mailboxde.com/address-in-germany-user-experience.html?&page=2