My Experience with Navlungo for Shipping Paintings from Turkey
As an artist living in Turkey, I struggled to find an affordable way to ship my artworks abroad. The Turkish post office (PTT) charged at least 675₺ even for the smallest package, which made shipping miniature works unprofitable.
That’s when I discovered Navlungo — a platform that partners with major carriers (DHL, FedEx, and others) and lets you choose the cheapest option. For light paintings under 100 grams, the savings are impressive.
Registration and First Issues
The first step was creating a Navlungo account. You’d think it’s simple — just a form to fill in. But if your kimlik starts with 99….., the system may not recognize it right away.
In my case, the website rejected my registration several times. I had to contact support, explain that I officially work in Turkey, my kimlik begins with 99, and it’s my only valid document. After some verification, they approved my account.
Important points:
- You must provide your real residential address that matches your kimlik.
- In the “company name” field, I simply wrote my name as an artist, since I don’t own a company.
- The system is very sensitive: even forgetting to type the postal code can block saving the form.
Once support confirmed my profile, everything went smoothly.
Wallet Payments: My First Mistakeі
When I started using the Navlungo Wallet, I made not one but two mistakes.
First mistake: I topped up the wallet but forgot to check “automatic payment.” My parcel reached Istanbul and then got stuck. Without auto-payment enabled, Navlungo won’t dispatch abroad. I had to contact support and quickly activate the option.
I chose the wallet. But at first I forgot to check the box for “automatic payment.” The result? My parcel reached Istanbul and got stuck. Navlungo does not dispatch internationally until the payment is cleared. I had to contact support and quickly enable auto-payment.
Second mistake: later, even with funds available, one shipment got stuck again. I couldn’t understand why. It turned out I had simply mistyped the buyer’s address — instead of house number 68, I wrote 66. And here’s what impressed me: Navlungo didn’t just ship it blindly, they flagged the issue and sent me a notification to double-check. I corrected the address, the payment went through, and the parcel was finally shipped.
Takeaway: Navlungo not only saves money, it also protects you from small but critical mistakes.
How I Ship from Home
I pack my small paintings in bubble envelopes (“zarfs”) from stationery shops — perfect for works up to 12×12 cm.
My process:
- Create the shipment in Navlungo — get the code and C22 customs forms with barcodes.
- Attach the forms to each parcel.
- Put everything into one larger bag and bring it to PTT.
- At PTT, I say it’s for Navlungo, show the code, and they send it to Istanbul.
- In Istanbul, Navlungo sorts and forwards the parcels to DHL, FedEx, or whichever courier I selected.
The beauty is that the PTT step is already included in my final Navlungo payment — and overall it’s much cheaper than sending directly with PTT.
Track number you can see and use since you create a shipment.
And -Yolda – infront of your adress and track number means all right ur parsels is on the way!
The Biggest Reason Why I Chose Navlungo
The main reason I chose Navlungo is because they allow me to pay US taxes on behalf of my buyers. Starting August 29, a new tax policy came into effect: 15% for shipments from Turkey (10% for Ukraine). In theory, handmade art is exempt, but in practice, a buyer in the US might still face unexpected charges.
I know how discouraging that can be. Even a small tax bill can ruin the joy of receiving an artwork. So I decided to take this stress off my collectors. Yes, it raises my own costs, but my clients get their paintings delivered without extra surprises. For me, peace of mind is worth the expense.
.PS…(Coming soon last paragraf about how long take the way and happy art lovers )
PPS link for Navlungo calculator
