Me again   ::)   ;D.

I agree that an awful lot of parcels must arrive in NZ but I think it could depend on what’s in them and how they arrive e.g. post, shipping, air, as to how they’re dealt with.  There would certainly be more paperwork involved with, say, a containerised shipment than just a couple of boxes as there’s a lot more stuff to go through.  I would think sending just one or two parcels by post or courier would be a lot simpler than the hassle of shipping or air freight which seem to come in for intense scrutiny.  I’ve sent small parcels abroad many times and have just had to fill in a customs’ declaration form about the contents and mark that it was a gift and there was no problem, so I think the crux of the matter is how big the load is that you want to send and whether what’s inside complies with customs’ idea of what’s allowed in free of GST.  They may differentiate between gifts for someone and household/personal goods.  I read a while ago that residents/WP holders are only allowed one delivery of personal belongings free of GST.  In other words, one bite of the cherry, so if Deb has already had a shipment in and your belongings are classed as household/personal, they may pick up on this and a problem may arise.  I really don’t know but I hope someone else on here does.  Perhaps they've also taken delivery of items from outside NZ, like Ebay, as you say.    

Referring back to shipping our 13 boxes, hubster had to show his Omani residency visa at the time we were arranging the shipment in the UK.  I can’t say offhand why this was (I wasn’t paying attention in class at the time ) because there’s no such thing as tax here, so maybe it was to avoid paying customs’ duty.  Also when I went to live in Kuwait, I shipped 3 tea chest size boxes of my clothes and a few other bits and pieces.  I sent it to hubster and he went to collect it and had to show his residency.  That was all fairly straight forward so I don’t know if NZ is more picky about it.  

This is a link to a site that mentions Parcel Force and zone 11 shows you the prices of parcels from UK to NZ.  Then there’s Excess Baggage a company that deals with just that.  This is their NZ page and this shows all the documentation required which might be interesting to read through in case it applies to other services.  Perhaps you could also give a courier service like DHL a ring and ask about their service to NZ, what is involved in sending a large parcel or two to a friend in NZ and asking for a quote.  Pick their brains.  They may give you some useful info about restrictions or necessary documentation that will alert you if there’s likely to be a problem with sending it to Deb.  Perhaps Deb can ask her mum how she went about it and if there was any formality she had to undergo.

Perhaps I’m overly complicating the matter, but you know what NZ is like for being a stickler for anything or anyone that enters their hallowed doors.