As you may know, starting May 14th the United States Post Office
will no longer ship items overseas via Surface Mail.  Everything
must now be sent by Air Mail.

This more than doubles the cost of sending items like piano rolls.
A recent shipment I mailed to Germany costing $42 by Surface Mail
would now cost $99 by air.  This change will be a real problem for
book dealers as well.  I checked the USPS.com web site, and find
the M-Bag service is still listed.  The M-Bag is a canvas sack you
may fill with up to 66 pounds of "Printed Matter, Sheet Music,
Publisher's Periodicals".  The cost is about $18 for 20 pounds (see
http://www.iosart.com/misc/m-bags.html), the minimum weight charged
is 11 pounds.

I cannot find the exact dimensions of the bag, but it's around 18"
wide and 36" high or so, as I recall.  I have sent piano rolls this
way in the past, but I'm not certain of the current rules.  The bags
are free, but check first to be sure your Post Office has them.

Philip Jamison
Pennsylvania