What You Should Never Carry for Someone Else
Carrying an item for someone is legal and pays, but everything in your suitcase is your responsibility, at security and at customs. Some items are never carried for someone else, others are regulated, and some situations should make you say no. Here is the list to keep in mind before every trip.
Why the list matters
The law makes no difference between your belongings and the ones handed to you. Saying an item is not yours protects you neither from seizure, nor from a fine, nor from prosecution if the contents are illegal.
The good news is that the risks are predictable. The vast majority of requests are for ordinary items: a phone, cosmetics, clothes, a spare part. You just need to recognize the exceptions.
What you never carry for someone else
A sealed package
If you cannot see and check the contents, you do not take it. No exceptions, not even for sealed original packaging they refuse to open.
Drugs, weapons, counterfeits
Banned everywhere. A counterfeit can be seized and cost you a fine, even for personal use.
Medicines
You carry medicine for yourself, with your prescription. For someone else, rules vary by country, and some products sold over the counter in Europe are banned elsewhere.
Cash
Do not carry cash for anyone. From €10,000, a declaration is mandatory when entering or leaving the European Union.
What is allowed, but regulated
Spare lithium batteries and power banks travel in the cabin only: up to 100 Wh with no formality, 100 to 160 Wh with the airline's approval. Liquids are often still limited to 100 ml per container in the cabin; in the hold, aerosols and flammable products are the main concern.
Food is the other trap. Meat, milk and their products are banned from entering the European Union from outside it, with rare exceptions, and many countries restrict plants, seeds and fresh fruit. Check the arrival country's rules.
The warning signs that should make you refuse
An unusually high reward for a small item, someone insisting on handing over the package at the airport at the last minute, a vague description, a refusal to open the packaging, or pressure like "it's urgent, don't ask questions". Any one of these is enough to say no.
Refusing is not rude: it is what every serious traveler does. And on a platform where everyone leaves reviews, a reasoned refusal protects you, while a mistake can cost you dearly.
How Colia helps you say no
On Colia, the item is described in the request and you discuss it in the chat before the deal. On handover day, you check it in hand: if it does not match, you refuse the handover by choosing a reason, and the deal is cancelled.
If a request looks suspicious, report it: the moderation team reviews it. Your best protection stays simple: only take what you have seen, and what you could explain to a customs officer.
Check what you may put in a suitcase, item by item
Useful? Pass it on.
Carry knowing what you carry
Post your trip on Colia: every item is described before the deal and checked at the handover.