First time Amazon user here, I've found some items that do not say "This item does not ship to Australia" but just before I make the purchase, I just wanted to clarify with you guys before I bite the bullet.
Added to this: are the shipping services used for Amazon -> Australia only used for those items which do not ship to Australia in the first place?
I just checked that myus out. Example, 5TB Seagate external hard drive. Shipping weight 2.6 lb. Amazon will charge you AUD $17.76 for shipping and handling.
Myus- 2.6lbs, and the shipping estimates are all huge- AUD$87+ with basic, $72 with Premium membership.
I get one low estimated shipping cost from Myus- US$5- DHL Express with Preium membership. Premium membership US$35 setup fee and US$25 per month.
Beats me how Myus could ever be worth it.
There are always Amazon posts here for products that do ship to Australia.
You can checkout their store page including active deals below.
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/deals/amazon.com
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/deals/amazon.co.uk
Some items from some sellers do ship to Australia, some don't. If you can order without any error messages then you should be fine. Items that don't ship here are marked as such and will give an error message before checkout.
Shipping forwarders are generally only used for items that don't ship directly to Australia, since they add extra cost and time to the whole process.
I have always found this useful when shopping on Amazon. You can see which items ship to Australia, if from the main Amazon page you go to Departments, select your desired Department and then when you are taken to that Departments page, halfway down on the left hand pane, is a Refine by section, which has a heading for International Shipping and then check-box for • Ship to Australia. Select this check-box and the items that are eligible for shipping to Australia are displayed.
It depends what e item is. Some manufacturers only allow items to be sold at that price in the US. One retailer posted in a forum I read a few years ago that Asics had told them if they sold the product to the Australia, Asics would no longer supply their store. This was a couple of years ago so things may have changed. Thorlo socks ($35 in AU physical stores but less than $10 in US) was another example. I have bought other items without hassle from Amazon. Have not used the US forwarding idea.
Just tick the "Ships to Australia" box on the left when you search. You should be logged-in.
The "Ships to Australia" box is probably the easier method. Otherwise if you are looking at a specific item, click on where it says "65 new from $129.99" and then you'll see they say under delivery "Domestic shipping rates and return policy.", and just go down the list until it says "International & domestic shipping rates and return policy."
Maybe test a couple to find one with the better international shipping cost, as it will be ranked by the domestic shipping costs.
I normally tick the 'ships to Australia' box and also in the list of sellers choose only Amazon.com. I limit myself to Amazon as their shipping is normally OK, some of the other sellers on Amazon have crazy shipping prices to Aust
You need to also be wary of non-Amazon sellers. The postage prices Amazon sets (I assume they set them) for non-Amazon sellers on their marketplace can be outrageous.
If you really want something that doesn't post to Australia you can always use a reshipper. My nephew really wanted a Star Wars lego set which just didn't seem available in Australia (except for horrible mark ups on Ebay). Amazon wouldn't post to Australia so I bought him a few sets (as they were only $12 each) and qualified for the free shipping and had it sent to my reshipper of choice (shipito). The postage price to Australia ended up being a reasonable $US2 service fee + $US19 for airmail postage.
Thanks for the reply, I too am currently searching for some Mega Bloks/ Lego sets and from what I've gathered in the thread is that a reshipping service might be just what I need.
Are the reshipping services easy to deal with? A simple 'fill in the box with your address' and you're ready?
Depends on the service. I use Shipito and it's not the most intuitive process (each reshipper has a different process). Basically sign up to the service and you'll be given an address. Post the item from Amazon to the service.
When the item is received and processed they'll send an email. Log into the account, fill in the customs declaration, choose a postage method and insurance level, pay for the fee + postage (make sure the name on the account matches the name on the payment method or they'll red flag you) and then it automatically ships out.
With Shipito's airmail, postage takes about 2-3 weeks to arrive but it's cheap.
However, factoring in postage to the reshipper, postage to AU and the AUD it may work out to buy it cheaper from here. In the current state of play I only really use it for getting stuff I can't get in Australia.
Check out https://www.myus.com/au/. If it is a one time or irregular shopping on Amazon, you can consider getting just a basic plan. Set up fee is us$10, no monthly fees and you pay only for shipping as and when you need them. You will get a unique myUS address so your purchases will get sent there. You then have 5 days to store your arrived package(s) to order your shipment from your MyUS service to Australia.
You get better value shipping rates and a longer storage time if you subscribe to their Premium membership where you pay a monthly fee - so a better value if you do regular shopping from USA online shops.