I was wondering for those people who have used either shipito or shopmate to ship from US to Australia, how much did you end up paying all up right up until the package was at your door (includes shipping, gst, etc.). I was hoping to ship a pair of shoes that costs around $320 AUD and im concerned at how much it will cost.
Hey mate, would you be able to PM me a little more information about your experience with Shipito? Looking to use them. Thanks
Given your item is of high-ish value, I've experienced that they often don't bother to collect GST on behalf of the gov, so your item will sit in customs for weeks until assessed for its value, even though you declared the item value to shipito while filling in the required customs forms. Usually, the likes of DHL & FedEx will act as the broker on your behalf with the gov and allow you to pay with your credit card. UPS/USPS tend to let it sit in customs and then hand it over to AusPost once released from customs for the enjoyable wait of waiting 5-6 days to deliver to WA by road, of course.
I should also add that shipito's policy of charging you a 10 dollar monthly subscription fee, even when not making use of their services, is an absolute joke. If you go without sending parcels for a few months and then come back to use their service again, prepare to pay up 20-30-40 dollars. Stackry is who I'm going to use next as they don't charge membership fees.
Bit confused, why would they charge membership fees if account is inactive? Don't they let you cancel the membership if you're not using it that month?
Be careful with Shipito, they attempted an insurance scam with me. Paid for insurance etc, item arrived damaged and so filed a claim. They came back and said claim was denied but wouldn't respond when I asked why. Followed it up with Fedex and they said the shipment was never insured. Took months to sort out. Would not recommend them.
Hey mate, did you end up getting this solved? Have you gone with any other shipping forwarders instead?
Yeah ended up in my favour but as I said, probably dragged on for about 6 months. I've used USgoBuy a few times but TBH, I don't really trust any of them and the problems don't show up until something goes wrong so it's hard to recommend anyone. I've mostly gone back to shipping direct.
Shipito
WEIGHT
2.90 lb
DIMENSIONS
11.00 " x 7.00 " x 2.00 "
CUSTOMS VALUE
$50.00
TOTAL CHARGES
$43 (USD) made up of:
Package Processing Fee $2.00 (USD)
Shipping $31 (USD)
Insurance $2.00 (USD)
AU GST on Goods $5.00 (USD)
AU GST on Services $3 (USD)
Total $43 (USD)
About $65Aud
The delivery was fast, from seller to shipito to my mail box about 3 weeks. They used preferred Australian post which was cheapest option anyway. Insurance is optional. GST on goods depends on the value you declare. I don’t have a monthly account with them, so I don’t pay the $10 monthly for cheaper.
I see that there are some pros and cons of using Shipito. Does somebody of you have experiences with other forwarders like Planet Express, Stackry, etc.?
I have used Planet Express and a few others. This was after using Shipito 80+ times without any issues. Shipito were steadily increasing the shipping costs so I tried some alternatives.
Planet Express is quite good. Reasonable costs, Word is that it is owned by the former owner of Shipito.
Wow really? What a coincidence with the founder… :) Ok, thank you. I will give them a try.
Quick update: Today I found out that Planet Express opened a new warehouse in Oregon. This means sales tax-free shopping!! :)
The only time I did a “like for like” comparison was shipping an empty box to both carriers simultaneously (a complicated International Apple product trade-in) and Shopmate was more expensive so… I let them keep that empty box, on me.
I've used Shipito multiple times. I've listed below some examples of how much I paid
Item #1 (Low Valued Item):
Dimensions: 14.00 " x 10.00 " x 3.00 "
Weight: 0.90 lb
Shipping Method: Airmail Economy
Total Shipping Cost: $26.41 USD
Item #2 (High Valued Item):
Dimensions: 8.60 " x 8.20 " x 1.40 "
Weight: 1.30 lb
Shipping Method: Shipito Preferred Carrier with AU Post
Total Shipping Cost: $38.00 USD