I have a business need to purchase items in the UK for UK delivery.
The sellers in question do not offer international shipping.
Is there any way to have a company receive my packages and then bundle them all up weekly for shipment to my US location?
Are there companies that offer that service at a reasonable price?
Depends on the price. I’d do it for your for the right money.
On the other hand, if you want someone more professional, a company near me does that. So yeah, it’s out there.
One option is Mail Boxes Etc. Their website mentions, “With one of our mailboxes you not only have the benefit of a prestigious real street address without paying street rents, and a mailbox sized to suit your needs, but we can also offer you a mailroom service providing mail forwarding and a range of specialist packing and worldwide delivery services, copy & print facilities and office supplies – in essence we create a customised service to match your requirements.”
Mail Boxes Etc. have had criticism lately for lax security, and that’s just for people setting up mailboxes in person (it’s a very useful stop-off on the route of stealing someone’s identity, with the way things work here). I very much doubt they’ll set anything up from afar.
What business are you dealing with, and why will they not send things beyond our borders?
I’m dealing in scarce and out of print books.
While there are few booksellers who will not offer international shipping for the right price, quite a few private sellers including many Ebay sellers are not interested in dealing with the hassles associated with international sales.
There’s also an opportunity to consolidate multiple purchases into a single parcel and gain an economy of scale.
I’m certain 20 books in 2 boxes will ship more cheaply than 20 books in 20 boxes.
I might be able to persuade a couple of UK booksellers I am familiar with from another forum to handle this for me, but I’d rather not impose on them.
The online form for renting a mailbox specifically allows one to specify a non-UK address, so it does seem that they will set one up for someone overseas. (Now, it may turn out that the mail forwarding service will cost more than the OP wants to pay, but it does seem possible.)
Without forking out cash, it’s hard to say whether the ‘country’ field on a payment section (when have you not seen one of them?) actually means anything. The London Oxford St branch does offer “Other…” as an option.
Obviously, it’s up to Mr. Slant to proceed, but the website also says, “Are you moving abroad but want to maintain a base in the UK or Ireland? – We offer you an alternative for any business or personal correspondence. We will consolidate your post and forward it to you wherever you have moved to.” So I think they will work with overseas customers.
Well, I got a response from a London branch.
Looks like the service is very much available, and if purchased on a yearly basis would cost 15 pounds per month and 2.5 pounds per forwarding plus actual carrier cost.
I may shop around a little bit, but I suppose I’ll be pursuing this within a few months.
"Dear Mr. Slant,
I would like to advise you that if you expect to receive books delivered regular basis we can offer you mail box service and mail forwarding.
Current prices for mailbox
3 months: £72.00
6 months: £120.00
12 months: £180.00
24 months: £312.00
60 months: £720.00
Mail forwarding service we can provide through international air mail service via Royal Mail, international priority air mail service which is traceable via Royal Mail or courier service such FedEx or UPS. We only charge £2.50 each mail forwarding NOT EACH PACKGAGE OR ITEM.
The prices various based on weight and can be found at below website.
As an ex-Royal Mail employee I would most certainly not recommend them, they are a useless shower of twats who lose umpteen items of mail each and every day.
Oh and BTW they have just voted for strike action.
Just sayin’