Recently I went in China, and seeing the prices, it was difficult to don't buy too much stuff, even online, sending the stuff to the hotel address.

As an Italian, I was skeptical about the shipping time: in Italy the snail mail is slower than real snails, for example an invoice that I sent to my customer in May, arrived last week...

But, I was pleasantly surprised, here are two examples:

Parcel 1, light, spare parts that are almost impossible to find in Europe (inside a common air bubble envelope): from Wenzhou to Guangzhou, 1250 km,

Sent at 7pm, arrived at 4pm of the next day! Sending fee: about $5!

As an Italian, I could even not conceive a letter sent at 7pm that can arrive the day after. And the price includes the pick-up fee!

Parcel 2, a little heavier, a T-Mobile myTouch slide: from da Guangzhou t Jilin, 3250 km

Sent Sunday, arrived Tuesday, with cash on delivery and the option to actually try the device before the payment (!). Total price: about $8

Again, I was shocked, a courier that works on Sunday!