I have just successfully bought some toys from Lego US online store for my kids with the package forwarding & BuyForMe service of USGoBuy. I am satisfied with their service and price!
Before I settled down on USGoBuy, I had a hard and long time deciding which package forwarding service to use, as we all know there are so many to choose from. A list of such package forwarding services is already available at OZbargain: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/wiki/list_of_mail_forwarders
So I wonder why not have a post on US package forwarding services, and share our experiences. So future users can avoid potential problems and save money!
Here I share with you the points to look at when using a package forwarding service:
- Set up fee: Not all package forwarders charge for membership setup fee. You can avoid paying this!
- Package handling fee: Yes, some package forwarders ask for handling fee, though it might be clearly written down. Be aware of this.
- Package consolidation fee: If you buy from Lego and Amazon, then you have 2 packages, but you surely would not like to get them shipped separately to Australia, so you can combine these 2 packages into one. Some package forwarders charge a fee for this! Some not!
- Package storage fee: if you keep your package at their warehouse for more than a certain time period, you have to pay some money each day!
5: Shipping cost: Those with lower shipping rate, cannot guarantee a total lower costs. You should be aware of the above fees.
For a detailed comparison of the charges and services, USGoBuy has a page on that, take a look and you will learn more!
http://www.usgobuy.com/en/services-and-fees.html
Share if you think there are other things we should pay attention to!
Here are some companies I've used so far, and my experiences:
Hopshopgo
-Quick, hassle free
-Prices are reasonable
-Rebates for certain websites through Ebates
-Free upgrade to express shipping on your first order(not sure if this still works)
Comgateway
-From my experience, very similar to HopShopGo
Price USA
-Aussie based company
-Option to pay through local bank deposit
-Replies to emails really quickly
-Honest. They have always been upfront with me when they think after shipping, the savings won't be worthwhile
-Offers quite a range of options, for example, 'free return shipping to USA for warranty repairs' for a small fee
-Only downside is that, you can't purchase the item and have it sent to their USA address. They have to purchase the item for you
Ustooz
-Aussie based company
-option to pay through local bank deposit
-can be quite slow when it comes to replying emails
-from the quotes I've got so far, they are usually 5-10% more expensive that Price USA
-Can pay for the item yourself
The last 2 are Aus companies. From experience, if you're buying something small(mobile phones), Comgateway, Hopshopgo works out cheaper. But if you're buying something large or shipping a few items in one go, 3 & 4 sometimes works out cheaper.