Has anyone tried US mail forwarding to another country for online shopping?

[kushiel]

So I'm thinking of trying one of those online services that charges a fee to give you a US address to online shop with and then forward your items to you in another country. I was wondering if anyone has tried one of those sites and has a recommendation? It just feels weird to pester any Americans I know whenever I want something from the US.

[Yarster]

I imagine a lot of it depends on the country where you are. My understanding is that this is a very common practice in the country of Bermuda based on a friend who just visited us for Comic-Con last week. Their forwarding costs depend on a combination of the price of the item (for official tax purposes) and the weight of the items.

[Girl From Mars]

It depends on where you live. I live in Australia and have used PriceUSA several times. Many Australians report that Shipito has worked well for them, although I haven't tried them yet, or Paypal's Shophopgo.

The difficulty I have found is that shipping rates are hard to estimate before purchase as they are based on both weight and volumetric weight and not all sites provide the package volume. I've been a little loathe to purchase something and have it arrive at a reshipper only to discover it's going to be expensive to on ship.

[gunnergoz]

Sometimes where you are sending the package matters a lot too. We routinely send packages to family in Ukraine. Their postal service is so corrupt that there is almost a certainty that a fair percentage of packages will be pilfered by postal employees, who then split the take with their superiors. We get around it by using special tape to completely envelop our packages, which semi-proofs them from being pilfered because it quickly reveals any tampering and is nearly impossible to replace in Ukraine. No third-party mail forwarding firm will do that for you.

[aruvqan]

Originally Posted by gunnergoz

Sometimes where you are sending the package matters a lot too. We routinely send packages to family in Ukraine. Their postal service is so corrupt that there is almost a certainty that a fair percentage of packages will be pilfered by postal employees, who then split the take with their superiors. We get around it by using special tape to completely envelop our packages, which semi-proofs them from being pilfered because it quickly reveals any tampering and is nearly impossible to replace in Ukraine. No third-party mail forwarding firm will do that for you.

When I send stuff to my Romanian buddy, I make a packing list and put it inside the package, and make it clear that this is a copy of the packing list sent to Jin so he will know what is in the package, and I make sure that every single item is listed on the customs paperwork. The box gets mummified in that tape with the fibers in it, and it is sent insured. The time I sent an ipod it actually got there unstolen!

[kushiel]

Originally Posted by Girl From Mars

It depends on where you live. I live in Australia and have used PriceUSA several times. Many Australians report that Shipito has worked well for them, although I haven't tried them yet, or Paypal's Shophopgo.

Shophopgo looks great! I never heard of them before - but since it's Paypal, I don't expect them to flake out.

Originally Posted by gunnergoz

Sometimes where you are sending the package matters a lot too. We routinely send packages to family in Ukraine. Their postal service is so corrupt that there is almost a certainty that a fair percentage of packages will be pilfered by postal employees, who then split the take with their superiors. We get around it by using special tape to completely envelop our packages, which semi-proofs them from being pilfered because it quickly reveals any tampering and is nearly impossible to replace in Ukraine. No third-party mail forwarding firm will do that for you.

Just Canada!

[grude]

Me and my wife use Ezone to forward packages to Trinidad.

A warning though, at least for the Carribean ALL the forwarding companies use USA addresses in an industrial block in Miami, a very distinctive street.

Since we have been using the service we have been getting a LOT of defective merchandise, a lot of stuff dead on arrival. One time we ordered a new laptop, and we received a completely different brand laptop that had stickers labeled DEFECTIVE on the box and it was dusty and obviously used and had a broken hinge.

This has happened so often and to such outrageous degrees we believe that companies know exactly what it means when a customer uses an address in that industrial block in Miami. Once an order was cancelled, I had to call in and refuse to budge when the woman kept asking me was my address a PO box? I had to answer no about 6 times before they agreed to ship, and her tone of voice said she did not believe me.

Don't be shocked if you receive broken crap. the companies know that the cost to ship the crap back to the USA, and then pay customs fees a second time to get the replacement are more than just giving up.

[aruvqan]

So, wonder if remailing would be a decent gig to get into - not being in Miami would be a plus!